John Harvey Photo

November 2015

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images It's a rainy month


Vancouver Viaducts

Road Bike Walking Route Up
I read once that if you can do a good job on architecture photography and nude photography, you can do just about anything with a camera.  After a night of trying to take pictures of architecture in the rain, I think just getting the architecture part down is enough.


Skateboard Tricks Under Viaduct
The city is trying really hard to tear down the viaducts and build condo's in their place.  The viaducts have issues - they basically form a barrier preventing the city from overrunning chinatown.  The land under them is difficult to use (except for the cool skatepark) and if they could just figure out how to move a few thousand cars and hour, they could make millions upzoning the land.

Skatepark Under Viaducts
 
Split In The Viaduct
So the photo club at work thought it would be a good idea to go out and take some photos.  Turns out there the day we agreed on (Friday) had a rain warning and it never did stop raining, but it wasn't raining hard.  My parents were town so I had childcare take care of so I went out for a walk on my own to see what I could capture.

Skytain And Cars With City

Skytain And Traffic Near Stadium Station
This is probably my favorite picture of the night.  It has strong diagonals and a good mix of light colors.  The buildings look menacing but off in the fog.  I'm curious what else I could have captured.


Vancouver Aquarium

Nara Looking At Chesters TongueNara Looking At Chester Eye Level
The Vancouver Aquarium really is your ideal rainy weekend destination - it's mostly indoors so you stay dry (and mostly warm).  The kids have fun (especially if they set the pace and pick the attractions because you have seen them all a dozen times) and there are lots of places to have a snack and just the crazyness go by.
 


Kids Watching The Beluga
The downside is that every other parent in the city has figured out that the Vancouver Aquarium is the ideal rainy weekend destination so the place is full of kids and many destinations (like the beluga display) can take some patience to get an unobstructed view.  As kids get more tired they get a little crazy so a good short day is often preferable to a long hard day.  We usually try to be there just before it opens (so the parking isn't crazy) and leave in time for lunch so that Claira gets a nap.
Claira Looking At Little Frogs

Bike Ride in Stanley Park

Remembrance day is a holiday here - daycares and schools are closed, some businesses close.  We were lucky with the weather so we decided to take the kids out to Stanley Park for a bike ride and to feed the ducks.  We considered a trip on the seawall but opted to go around Beaver Lake because it's much safer (and less busy) for new riders.
On The Trail To The LakeNara Feet Up Through PuddleClaira Feet Up Through Puddle

The kids do like feeding the ducks.  In a twist on the usual, Nara decided she wanted to use my camera to take pictures of the ducks.  My camera isn't exactly kid friendly (she uses the iPad at home) but she is starting to get used to it.  Nara can tell the difference between Mallards and Wood Ducks so she tried to get Wood Ducks in her photos.

Nara Throwing Food At DucksMale Wood Duck ReflectedMale Wood Duck Coming For Food

Chestnut Backed Chickadee
As we walked around the lake, I noticed squirrels and chickadees feeding on bird seed left behind by another walker.  The chickadees looked pretty small to me - turns out there are two types of chickadees here and these are the smaller ones - the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee.  New to me.


East Side Culture Crawl

 Tea Kettle On The Boil
My first East Side Culture Crawl was probably back in 2004 - a friend in class suggested we go and I was blown away (and overwhelmed) by what I saw.  More recently I have became a regular - every year we try to go, even if it's just for a few hours.  So many parts of the show are inspiring - the art obviously, the spaces (galleries and studios) are diverse and expressive, but also the people.  The artists put so much into the presentation and the work - seeing it drives you to want to do more and better yourself.

Paint Splatters On The FloorPatch On The Floor

Rim Highlights On PaintbrushesSingle Brush Detail
So last year I got this idea of taking photos at the Culture Crawl.  Taking photos of work is an sensitive thing to me.  I noticed some artists embrace it and recommend hashtags to focus publicity.  Other artists have "No Photography" signs.  I'm not a big fan of taking photos of someone elses work - as a photographer, I'm not really bringing much to the product.  I decided to focus on the tools and (a little) on the spaces.  I always asked the artists if they minded if I took a photo of their tools (I took pictures of the floor without asking). 


I few surprises emerged.  First, I spoke with the artists more this year than previous years.  I learned more about how they work - for instance paints are often covered up so they don't dry out.  I felt a little bad talking, looking, taking photos and then walking away without buying anything but in a number of cases the art is well out of my price range.  On one hand, I'm not sure what I will do next year, but I'm hoping whatever I do will cause me to keep talking to artists.

Paint Knives HangingUsed Paint Tubes

I was surprised to learn I wasn't alone in taking photos of tools and space - one artist (Gerri York) pointed out her neighbors paint tubes and clips had been photographed twice the day before.  Thanks to the artists who indulged me (no one said no or was short about it).  The Culture Crawl is a real highlight to my year - I'm already looking forward to next year.

Owls in Queen Elizabeth Park

Barred Owl Looking At MeBarred Owl Side View
Nara and Claira have gymanastics class for any hour on Saturday afternoons.  One option is to stare at my phone for 55 minutes.  The other option is to go for a walk in Queen Elizabeth Park which is right next door.  So a few weeks ago I went for a walk and I heard a racket in the trees.  Two Barred owls were having a non-contact argument about who's trees these were and they didn't seem to care about anyone else.  A minute later one bird flew off and the second sat on a lower limb just looking around.  I was quite impressed with the view I got of the owl and wished I brought my camera.  Fast forward to today - I took a walk though the same stand of trees - nothing - but a a little way down the path a small bird was making a racket.  Sure enough a Barred Owl was sitting on a branch watching the world go by.  He was patent - he had no problem while I moved around and tried to get a nice photo.  I was back with plenty of time pick up the kids after class.








Skatepark Under Viaducts
Location: Go To...
Tags: bridge, rain, underneath
Barred Owl Looking At Me
Species: Strix varia (Barred Owl)
Tags: bird, Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver
Split In The Viaduct
Altitude: 6m (19 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bridge, light streaks, underneath, Vancouver
Male Wood Duck Reflected
Species: Aix sponsa (Wood Duck)
Altitude: 19m (62 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Stanley Park
Single Brush Detail
Tags: art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl, paint brush
Rim Highlights On Paintbrushes
Tags: art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl, paint brush, rim light
Nara Feet Up Through Puddle
Person: Nara
Altitude: 13m (42 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Stanley Park
Nara Throwing Food At Ducks
Altitude: 15m (49 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Stanley Park
Used Paint Tubes
Tags: art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl, paint
Claira Feet Up Through Puddle
Person: Claira
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Stanley Park
Chestnut Backed Chickadee
Species: Poecile rufescens (Chestnut-backed Chickadee)
Altitude: 10m (32 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Stanley Park
On The Trail To The Lake
Person: Claira, Helen, Nara
Altitude: 32m (104 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Stanley Park
Barred Owl Side View
Species: Strix varia (Barred Owl)
Tags: bird, Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver
Nara Looking At Chesters Tongue
Tags: aquarium, Vancouver Aquarium
Paint Splatters On The Floor
Tags: art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl
Male Wood Duck Coming For Food
Altitude: 19m (62 feet)
Location: Go To...
Skytain And Cars With City
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Paint Knives Hanging
Tags: art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl, knife, tool
Claira Looking At Little Frogs
Person: Claira
Tags: Vancouver Aquarium
Skateboard Tricks Under Viaduct
Patch On The Floor
Tags: art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl
Road Bike Walking Route Up
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: fog, light streaks, night, road, Vancouver
Nara Looking At Chester Eye Level
Person: Nara
Tags: Vancouver Aquarium
Tea Kettle On The Boil
Tags: art, art crawl, Eastside Culture Crawl, reflection, steam
Skytain And Traffic Near Stadium Station
Altitude: 13m (42 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: city, light streaks, night, Vancouver
Kids Watching The Beluga
Tags: Vancouver Aquarium
Tags: art crawl(7), Eastside Culture Crawl(7), Stanley Park(6), Vancouver(5), Vancouver Aquarium(4), light streaks(3)
People: Claira(3), Nara(3), Helen(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2023 to 2005 > November 2015

Leave a Comment

Some HTML allowed: <b>, <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>, but most isn't.  Text length is limited.  comments from first time authors will be reviewed before being posted. comments with swearing or painfully poor spelling will probably be rejected.


Last Modified Sunday, January 29th, 2023 at 20:46:39 Edit
Copyright and Contact Information.