A Snowy End To 2013

Back in December of 2013 we had a brief snowfall in Vancouver and it suddenly occurred to me that in all the time I've had my camera (3yrs now!) I've never taken snow pictures with it. So with small flakes still drifting down I bundled up and braved the elements before it turned to rain.

Davie Street. No buses getting up the hill today.

Vancouver is a city ruled by umbrellas. I still don't really understand why people bother with them in the snow though. Umbrellas are for rain or for creating shade on a hot sunny day!

I love the quietness, sense of isolation and starkness a snowfall brings.

Those who have followed my photographic adventures over the past 3yrs will know I have a recurring fascination with benches... So here's another one for the collection! Corner vignetting added by me and is intentional ;)

A cold day to be a Blue Heron.

I like the perspective on this one but it would have worked better if I'd turned and looked back sooner so the silhouetted pedestrian was better featured.

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink except for this lone drinking fountain.

Thinking of making this next one a Christmas card for next holiday season.

Or maybe this one too...

This is one of my favorites - The water in the lagoon was just starting to freeze over but was still watery enough to reflect. The tree branch layered in snow feels like a gnarly hand reaching down to touch the surface.

Another Christmas card possibility?

Or how about this one?

I'm not really sure what these were (crabapples?) but I love their little snow hats. The entire tree was festooned in them.

Another "snow hat", this time on the bud of a magnolia.

Towards the end of my walk, on the edge of Stanley Park, I came across this fir tree which someone had chosen to decorate.

Just for fun, here's the closest thing I'll ever get to doing a "selfie"...

For those of you interested in the technical side of things, all of these pictures were taken with my trusty old Canon 60D paired with the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 - I have to say I am really, really impressed with this lens. Many of these shots were captured wide open and of the many I took almost all of them were sharp and those that weren't were more down to user error than any fault with the lens. Great to see a company like Sigma step it up and give the big guys a run for their money all while doing it at a great wallet-friendly price point.

Over Christmas I was on the Sunshine Coast and got some great pictures while on a post-turkey feast hike. I'll try and share those soon.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, let me take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy New Year and the very best of wishes for a healthy, prosperous and inspiring 2014.

Comment below with which image you like best and I'll send you a Christmas card next year :)

S-M-C Pentax Takumar 105mm f/2.8

It sure is good to be back!

After a long distance marathon of work completing my writing contract for the awesome folks at Capcom Games Vancouver, I finally had a little free time. Miraculously, we got a taste of Spring here in Vancouver this weekend (although as I write this it's pouring rain again...).

It felt like forever since I took the camera out and I was surprised at how rusty I felt with it.

It was nice to see a few old friends.

Yes, I still get a kick out of photographing our feathered friends! This guy got a kick out of me...

I don't think any of these pictures are necessarily remarkable from an artistic standpoint but I'm happy with how they turned out simply because they were all taken with the manual focus Super-Multi-Coated Pentax Takumar 105mm f/2.8 - a lens that's FORTY ONE YEARS OLD!

Focusing manually can be a little challenging (especially with moving subjects) and the lens has some funkiness to it in certain light conditions but overall, it's an awesome piece of glass. There's a reason why the Takumar aficionados give it a 9.06 out of 10 rating. Though some would consider this lens outdated and too much work, there's something I find kind of cool about manual focusing and relying on my eyes and hands rather than the brain of the camera. With a very long focus throw compared to modern day auto-focus lenses, the Takumars are also great for shooting video which is another reason I love hunting down these hidden gems.

Most of these pictures are pretty much SOOC as the pros would say - Straight Out Of Camera, i.e. no post-processing or tweaking. I have to say, I love the way these particular vintage lenses render colour.

Nice bokeh too!

This particular lens I found off of Craigslist and got from a retired pro photographer who was the original owner and only used the lens a couple of times in the last 41 years so it's in almost brand new condition.

Hopefully I'll be able to shoot some video projects with it soon. Stay tuned!

Until next time folks, here's hoping Spring is here to stay!

The Best of 2011 Part I

Almost 2,500 pictures... That's how many images were captured and were KEPT in 2011! That's a lot of pictures (never mind those that weren't keepers!) and overall, I'm really proud of the results I managed to get out of my little Canon 60D DSLR.

There were a few mis-steps such as the ones from WEEK 7 but there were also lots and lots that turned out pretty well. So without further ado, here are my top picks from the first 6 months of the year.

Max, the Goldendoodle recently featured in WEEK 50 has only one dog as competition in the awesome picture stakes and that's Gracie who was featured way back in WEEK 3.

Periodically throughout 2011 I posted a number of black and white photos. The ones featured in WEEK 6 I'm especially proud of and it was really hard to pick just one but the below image won out purely because it's my favourite candid shot from the whole year.

WEEK 8 was definitely one to remember. I had my closest encounter ever with a Blue Heron in Stanley Park...

..And I captured the below image of the first signs of Spring - I love the colours and the perspective on this one. So much so it was my desktop wallpaper for several months.

WEEK 11 brought with it a trip to The Bloedel Observatory and one of my favorite bird pictures of the year - and considering just how many pictures of birds I ended up taking, that's saying something!

The following week was a huge step forward in many regards since the rare event of the Super Moon afforded me the opportunity to finally get out and try my hand at some long exposure shots.

Despite forgetting to bring my telephoto lens I still managed to capture some great images.

April brought sunny days and cherry blossom all across Vancouver none of which I feel I fully managed to realize. I did get a moody abstract view inside Waterfront Station though!

Speaking of moody... I love this throwback homage to Asian horror movies...

...And this view of a boy on a bridge in Stanley Park, both from WEEK 16.

The above is kind of a busy image but the red shirt and the reflection makes it work for me. At the other end of the scale and also from the same week is this simple and elegant image of a magnolia bloom.

Easter brought with it a trip to visit family in Powell River and my favourite photo turned out to be Piper-Dove and what must surely be an entry in the "Cutest of the year" category.

May began very sparsely due to too many work commitments but it ended on a high with a video tribute to the Vancouver Canucks during the Western Conference Final vs the San Jose Sharks and another successful photo adventure in Stanley Park.

My second favourite candid picture taken in 2011 may not be as moody as the black and white of the sleeping man on the Skytrain but it was certainly interesting...

June brought a real mixed bag of photos from WEEK 22 to WEEK 25. Just as the city of Vancouver went crazy over the sad end to the Canucks run for the cup, so did a flock of seagulls on a colony of unsuspecting starfish...

Far from the ravenous and bloodthirsty end of the bird scale came these lovely balls of cute furry fun.

Keep your eyes peeled for Part II of this retrospective look at a year in photos.

Until next time folks!