The Best of 2011 Part III

October began with me scoring front row tickets to a Vancouver Canucks pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers and the pictures that resulted led to (in terms of numbers) my most popular blog yet. According to my tracking software, I received 1500+ page views - and that was just within the first 2hrs of posting!

TIME magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2011 was The Protester and October marked the beginning of the Vancouver "Occupy" movement. Given the events that followed the Canucks loss in Game 7, I'm sure the officer below had a busy year when it came to crowd control...

Week 42 brought with it a trip to the Westham Island pumpkin farm.

The result of my pumpkin carving certainly isn't up there in terms of great pictures from 2011 but as creative endeavors go I had to include it because I'm still proud of what I came up with!

Week 43 brought with it a trip to the PNE's "Fright Nights" exhibition. I had a frustrating night as far as picture taking went and mostly failed to meet my high expectations (if only I'd brought a small tripod!) but this one turned out great and wins the award for "Most Macabre Shot of the Year"!

One of my regrets of 2011 was not taking my camera everywhere I went. There were so many missed shots. However, in November while on my way to a meeting across town I did have the foresight to pack my gear and ended up with some nice images in and around historic Gastown. This one turned out to be my favourite...

Despite the freezing cold temperatures of Week 45, I wrapped up and had one last foray into long exposure night photography downtown. This image from the corner of Burrard and Nelson ended up being my personal favourite.

With the Fall there often comes some stunning sunsets and armed with what turned out to be one of my best performing lenses of the year, the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 wide angle zoom (had to get some geek material in here!) Week 46 ended up being hugely successful.

Inukshuks and Canadian Geese - talk about being a true Canadian eh?!

As 2011 came to a close, terrible weather and massive work commitments curtailed my photo-taking adventures to a large extent. Testing out a lens I picked up dirt cheap from a pawn shop I was happy with how this one at Vanier Park from Week 48 turned out...

And in another test (the newly acquired Tamron 90mm Macro lens), this one turned out okay considering the low light.

Sticking with lovable pets, Max, the Powell River Goldendoodle made a return and won the award in the 2011 "Awww!" category!

Perhaps its fitting that I close this retrospective photo blog look back through 2011 with this image...

All in all, 2011 was a big, crazy, unwieldy year in many ways. A lot of transition for me personally and professionally. Through the tougher times, along with my awesome circle of close friends (you know who you are!) my trusty Canon 60D and this blog helped me stay creatively inspired.

Though the sun has set on this particular journey, others await! There may be fewer photo blog posts to come in 2012 but I'll still be out there doing my thing - Stretching the muscles of my creative side is hugely important to my physical, mental and emotional health.

Thank you for letting me share my pictures with you over the last 12 months, for giving me hugely appreciated feedback and for continuing to encourage my endeavors. Stay tuned for what's to come next and as always...

Until next time folks!

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!

2011 WEEK 41: 99% vs 1%

Got stuck behind the 8-ball of work deadlines this week but I was able to nip out for an hour and a half and catch a few snaps of the "Occupy Vancouver" protest in the park outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Apparently there were more than 4,000 people in attendance.

Yes, placement of "The Dark Tower of Sauron" in the frame aka the TD Bank building was entirely intentional! Call it subtle (AHEM!) commentary.

And there was a whole lot of commentary to be seen amongst the crowds with people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds making a statement in support of their various causes.

There were almost as many cameras in attendance as there were signs and placards. The media circus was in full swing with professionals, semi-pros and hobbyists all grabbing footage and photos from every angle.

Despite the presence of so many cameras, I still found myself feeling self conscious every time I took a picture. It still seems rude to capture someones image without asking especially given the possibility of sharing it with the world on this blog. This is something I'm trying to get over.

This was my most brazen of pictures. I walked right by him moments later and was half expecting to be   thrown down to the ground and have my camera confiscated but I got a nod and a smile instead.

In light of the horrible events that transpired a few months ago following the Vancouver Canucks' loss in the Stanley Cup final, not to mention certain past incidents involving large crowds and local law enforcement, it was nice to see everyone getting along on Saturday. "Peaceful Protest" was very much the order of the day and though there were significant numbers of Police around (including several undercover guys tucked away up high on the surrounding buildings) everyone seemed to be in good spirits all things considered.

I'm very curious to see how this worldwide movement advances and grows over the coming month. Hopefully the protests will at least inspire intelligent debate. Even better how significant positive change? Regardless of the outcome, I hope they remain peaceful.

There are far too many in this world who are suffering needlessly. There are also too many in this world who are unaware of just how lucky they are. For more on "The Power of Privilege" take a read of THIS BLOG by a very special friend of mine.

Until next time folks, peace and love.

2011 WEEK 39 Pt. 3: Third Period

With the zambonis finished their work, the nets back in place and fresh ice awaiting, the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers hit the ice for the third period.

I snapped this one of Oiler team Captain, Shawn Horcoff, as he circled the net and psyched himself up for the final twenty minutes.

Every goaltender has their routine between plays. For Khabibulin its taking a swig from his bottle then skating off to the right of his net to adjust his mask until the play is ready to start. As soon as the players prepare for the face-off, he jams his stick into his blocker glove with determination then hustles back to his net and hunches down.

After his time in the sin-bin from the 2nd Period fight, Theo Peckham was put to the test by Henrik Sedin. Andy Sutton takes a different approach, not worrying about Henrik but instead keeping his eye on the puck.

Seconds later, Henrik had to slam on the brakes before slamming into the boards.

Five minutes and thirty-six seconds into the period, Jannik Hansen put the Canucks up by a goal. The Oilers came close to tying it several times. Jeff Petry tried an up-ice pass but Vancouver's defence quickly turned it back.

Both Henrik and Daniel Sedin looked to be in fine form again. Seeing their puck-handling skills up close really makes you appreciate their talent. They didn't make it on to the scoreboard on Saturday night but they certainly created lots of opportunities.

Every time they were on the ice their line mate Alex Burrows was causing all kinds of problems in the crease for Khabibulin as he circled the net.

Ultimately it was the combination of the hard work of the 2nd and 3rd scoring lines that made the difference in the third period.

With under one minute to go, Mikael Samuelsson wristed a shot into the back of the net off of a point shot from defenseman Dan Hamhuis. Both of whom I caught in this final shot a few seconds earlier.

That's Samuelsson leaning back to avoid the puck flying by. Oiler #93 is 18 year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the 2011 number one Draft Pick. I'm not sure what he was doing there but it looks like the puck might have clipped him. Either way, he has no idea where the puck is.

With seconds to go on the clock, that same puck was in the back of the Oiler net again care of Cody Hodgson for a 4-1 Vancouver win.

I'd love to shoot some sport action again - it's a huge challenge. Anyone got a spare ticket to a Lions game or a Vancouver Whitecaps game???

Thank you to everyone who's come to check out my blog this week especially to the many folks who came here from Canuck Nation. Thanks to you this weeks entries have been the most popular yet. I hope you come and visit again or I'll be "forced" to go to another game and capture some more action!

Until next time folks...