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!

Hey 2012, What's up?

Already 2 weeks into the year that is 2012!

The weekly photo blog is behind me now so what's next? Well, for the time being I'll be continuing with my writing work for Capcom Games (it's all very hush-hush but once it's official I promise I'll give a little more detail), I'm working on my feature project The Death of Alec Gray which I'll reveal more about soon, the webseries which is approaching its launch and of course there'll be more adventures afoot with my trusty Canon 60D camera.

As you know, even really basic little point-and-shoot cameras these days can capture video as well as pictures and in 2012 I'm hoping to do a LOT more on the video/movie-making side of things. The Canon 60D has already proven itself in my eyes with the quick and dirty short film I threw together early last year but I'm keen to do a lot more with it in this area.

I don't fully know what shape or form these experiments will take yet or how feasible they will be (i.e. paid work commitments) but I have a ton of ideas!

Of course, I'll still be snapping good old-fashioned pictures too. Speaking of which...

The above shots were taken just West of Lost Lagoon and in addition the wide angle fun, I also got a much better chance to play around with the new Tamron 90mm Macro lens.

Though it's designed for super-close work, it handles pretty well as a telephoto lens too. The below is not a leper's foot but is in fact an oddly shaped piece of drift wood.

And here's a macro of the splinters jutting out from the bottom of the "foot"...

The lens renders the out of focus detail (the bokeh) in a very pleasing manner don't you think?

And it handles flare pretty well too.

This final shot turned out to be my personal favourite though...

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 4: Lost Lagoon

A brief respite in the Vancouver rain finally coincided with a break in my work schedule this week to allow me to take the camera for a walk.

I feel so fortunate to live in a place where I can take a brisk 10 minute walk and be in the middle of nature. Lost Lagoon was created in 1916 by the construction of the Stanley Park Causeway although it wasn't until 1922 that it was officially named. The name comes from a wonderful poem by Canadian writer Pauline Johnson:

It is dusk on the Lost Lagoon,
And we two dreaming the dusk away,
Beneath the drift of a twilight grey,
Beneath the drowse of an ending day,
And the curve of a golden moon.

It is dark in the Lost Lagoon,
And gone are the depths of haunting blue,
The grouping gulls, and the old canoe,
The singing firs, and the dusk and--you,
And gone is the golden moon.

O! lure of the Lost Lagoon,--
I dream to-night that my paddle blurs
The purple shade where the seaweed stirs,
I hear the call of the singing firs
In the hush of the golden moon.


Walking around Lost Lagoon one gets the distinct feeling that every bit of nature is impatiently waiting for Spring... Take this guy for example:

This Blue Heron barely moved the entire time I was there. His beak was tucked under one wing except for a brief moment where he lifted his head and glared across the Lagoon as if trying to scare Spring into existence.

This little guy found an all-you-can-eat buffet on the wall of the humpback bridge at one end of the Lagoon. Fruit Loops!

I took a dozen pictures of this raccoon and this was the only one where he had the courtesy to steal a look in my direction and remain still enough to grab focus!

Though much of the beauty of Lost Lagoon is buried beneath decaying leaves, bare branches and grey skies, the swans always manage to bring majesty to the occasion - These birds never seem to have a bad day.

The GEEKY: All of these pictures were taken with the standard "kit lens", the Canon EF-S 55-250mm. The only post-processing was a tweak of contrast and saturation in iPhoto.