Van Dusen In Bloom & Vancouver Aquarium

My parents have been in town visiting the last few weeks and among other things, that means getting out and about and doing the tourist thing and hand in hand with that means lots of opportunities to snap pictures!

My Mum and Dad @ Powell Lake on the Sunshine Coast

My last visit to Van Dusen Botanical Gardens was years ago and it was at Christmas time when they put on their annual festive light display (well worth the vist by the way). Since my last visit, they now have a big swanky entrance lobby and interpretation center.

With the first signs of summer showing its face around these parts its a great place to visit and though we were on the tail end of the tulip blooms and the cherry blossom there was still lots of color around the place.

Right now is a great time to check out the Rhododendrons - these purple/lilac ones were my favorite.

I've no idea what these odd looking trio of flowers are but they made for a good picture.

This Boa Constrictor was thankfully not seen at Van Dusen Gardens but was safely behind glass when I took my parents to the Vancouver Aquarium.

"NEMO!"

With the exception of the two pictures above which were taken with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 all of the pictures here were captured with the Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS f/4-5.6. It's a good walkaround lens for this kind of thing and can be found on the used market very easily and for a good price.

The Macro feature on the 17-85mm came in particularly handy for these shots.

I wonder if the guy in this next photo was aware that dinner was sitting on his back?

This last one is I think my favorite of the set. He was definitely "ready for his close-up"!

Until next time folks, thanks for stopping by!