Granville Island's Waterfront at Night

Friday was more than overcast.  We could see rain to the south, north and west, yet we were spared.  On a whim, I joined a "meetup" group interested in photographing Vancouver.  Since the meeting had been called less than 24 hours before the event (because another event needed to be rescheduled), I got in.  We met at Bridges at 7:30, took a group photo, and then slowly broke off into groups of 2, 3, 4, 6 and eventually disappeared.  Within hours, selected photos began to appear of the group's site.  Here are some of the scenes that caught my fancy.

This business lady's work seems to have concluded.  She was waiting for the little water taxi to take her from the Granville Island Market to her next destination.  I would guess that several thousand people ride these water taxis in the good weather.

Reflections quickly became an interesting theme, whether upside down (as they appear in real life) or reversed.

This rather long time exposure makes it seem as though the sun is still up, but it set perhaps 40 minutes earlier.

Returning to my car, I saw the taxi cabs waiting for the theatre to conclude.

Reflections at Night at False Creek, Vancouver

These time exposures were taken on July 25th from the south side of the area in Vancouver known as False Creek.  This protected inlet was formerly used by large lumber mills, factories of various sorts, and shipping.  During the past two decades, the land around False Creek has been transformed into high density housing, restaurants, and stores.  There is a wonderful seawall which now enables pedestrians to stroll around much of the large inlet, and small pedestrian ferries continually ply the waterway.

Super Moon or Périgée Moon March 19th, 2011, Vancouver (Canada)

Vancouver's skies were nearly cloudless the evening of March 19th, 2011, offering excellent views of the "super périgée moon".  A NASA Science article explains that the moon's orbit brought the moon the closest to the earth since March 1933.  Their article also compares the visible difference in the appearance of the moon to observers on earth:  14% wider and 30% brighter than other full moons.  That this coincided with the moon being "full" made the cold evening all that more amazing.  My thanks to brother Mark for alerting me to this event, and to Janice for dragging me out in the cold to shoot it.  (You may want to click on some of the photos to enlarge them.)

400mm lens

Even after it ascended, its size and brilliance were awesome (24mm lens).

Moon over West 27th Ave @ Chaldecott Park, Vancouver

Red lanterns at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver

On yet another of Vancouver's gray late afternoons in December, I visited our city's bustling Chinatown.  There is a very beautiful and calm oasis within the very heart of our city and its historic Chinatown, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.  Brochures say that the design recalls gardens in the city of Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).  Completed in 2004, this wonderful garden is unknown to many of Vancouver's visitors.

The website indicates that there is a Winter Solstice Lantern Festival on Dec. 21st, but since that popular event draws large crowds, I decided to photograph fewer lanterns while there were virtually no other visitors.  There was still a bit of ambient lighting and the normal lanterns were lit.

The garden is built around water which moves gently and is purposefully made slightly cloudy, a shade of jade green which best creates the desired atmosphere and helps to reflect plants and buildings.  Jade is thought to be symbolic of wealth and power.  Since I was shooting shortly before sunset, the photos cannot show this aspect.

Just one final photo to remind us that this garden is indeed surrounded by Vancouver.