Checked out the Christmas lights in Stanley Park on Christmas eve, it was a nightmare with all the kids and stressed parents flooding the place, but some nice displays. I realised their were some good opportunities to shoot bokeh here, and through experimentation, found some sweet effects with lights, colours and focus.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Global Syndicate
Looking forward to seeing these guys perform with DJ WHOO KID on Boxing day, should be sweet!!
better late than never....
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Cold but busy!
Well the temperature has plummeted to daytime highs in the negatives! we are lucky here though as it only gets to about -6 or 7 at night and the daytime sits between -2 and 0. Over east ist been way colder and the forecast tomorrow for Manitoba had temperatures as low as -45c!!!! Im loving the sunshine though and have been able to get out quite a lot too shoot. I'v had an interesting week or so recently, I have started working in uniforms distribution with CSC which is helping with cash flow. I met some photographic clients on the street last friday morning and ended up shooting 15 photos for their website which is launching soon with their new business, a law firm operating out of Gastown. The project was a lot of fun, spending several hours around the revived area near the waters of burrard inlet, shooting the buildings, alleys and streets. It was pretty chilly and many times my fingers lost feeling, but the sunshine made for some great shots. I also did a shoot with Garrett and his guys down in Yaletown last night, should be plenty more work there in promotions so looking very forward to that. Its amazing how things have happened lately, just got to keep it going and things will get sweeter. Mt Baker looks like the new years destination, still dying for some snow action!! should be a fun trip down south of the boarder. Hoping to get to seattle at some point for a xmas present, eyes are on a nice prize that will bring my photography up yet another level. Im excited!! still need the 70-200 fixed and now my flash gun has died too, so need to find out whats going on with that!! Wireless flash gear will be here soon so I will need some working flashes to play with it!! couple of shots below from the Gastown shoot and the trio from last night to post soon...
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Winter / New Camera finally!
Hmmm, well the first day of Winter was a beautiful one! Its supposed to be nice right through until next week, where monday is due to be a max of -7c (Its definitely colder without cloud cover, but whoah!!) but tomorrow the forecast could change to blizzards for Thursday, so we'll see. Either way its been nice to be outside without it raining.
New Camera is in my hands and boy is it impressive so far! Hope to take it out repeatedly while the weather is good and shoot as much Vancouver as I can. Desperately need a new mid focal range lens, will need to pocket some coin for a bit and flog an old one to fund it, but once I have that I will be in serious business!
Met some interesting people in the last week or so, lots of opportunities popping up, lets see what I can make of them! Cant wait to get some time in the snow too, everything set to go just narrowing down insurance options, not having a repeat of the ankle experience!!
Couple of shots from the 50d.... I should have bought this a long time ago....
New Camera is in my hands and boy is it impressive so far! Hope to take it out repeatedly while the weather is good and shoot as much Vancouver as I can. Desperately need a new mid focal range lens, will need to pocket some coin for a bit and flog an old one to fund it, but once I have that I will be in serious business!
Met some interesting people in the last week or so, lots of opportunities popping up, lets see what I can make of them! Cant wait to get some time in the snow too, everything set to go just narrowing down insurance options, not having a repeat of the ankle experience!!
Couple of shots from the 50d.... I should have bought this a long time ago....
Under the Bridge Downtown (Burrard Bridge)
Lightning fast! 6.3 frames per second
Seymour & Georgia
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wet ride - Mt Fromme, North Shore.
Since late September I have been recovering from a serious ankle sprain obtained on the "last ride of the season" in Whistler. I have been dying to get over to the mountains on the north shore and get a good taste of the famed north shore trails. At last weeks Halloween festivities I made some arrangements with Keith to try and get out over there before the weather made it totally impossible. Boy am i glad we did.
Watching the weather all week it appeared it could be touch and go, but after plenty of early morning rain on saturday, it died off, so we agreed to go for it. Parked up off mountain hway and started pedaling from the dirt road. Seven grinding switch backs later we finally made it to the trail head for "Seventh Secret". I managed to pedal the entire way. The only time I actually stopped was to take a photo (turned out to be 2 mins from the trail head anyway). This may be nothing for some people, but a milestone for me. It snowed on us briefly on the ride up and by the time we had gotten most of the way to the top, the trees and the road were covered in an inch or two of fairly fresh snow. It looked stunning, I was very excited!!
So we dropped into the trail and I realised at that moment that at no point prior to now, had i even given thought to the fact that I was about to ride in rain and heavily wet conditions, a stark contrast to my hot, dry, dusty summer of riding. That was smart! My rotors howled like a banshee as i braked down the first few declines, a sound that faded as they built up some heat. The trails were well built with many stones bedded into to give it definition and no doubt stop it eroding away, the amount of water flowing down the trail in parts ranged from a trickle to a gushing creek! I was already wet but within minutes i was soaked. I couldnt have cared less!!
I was concerned about grip levels and it took me some time to trust my tires in the wet on rocks and wooden features. Fear of falling and re-injuring my still unstable ankle was hampering my confidence pretty badly, but all the same, I was having fun dashing down the more open sections, splashing my way though huge puddles and trying not to fall off elevated ladder bridges. There were some cool features on "Pipeline" the next trail we connected with, Its all new to me but Keith was commenting on some new woodwork that he hadnt seen before.
Some of the steeper descents had so much water going down them it was liking riding down a waterfall, I have ridden in wet weather before, all the time as a kid, but I have never experienced anything like what I discovered on Saturday. I nearly fell into a creek as i crossed a narrow bridge, and decided it would be fun to scare the shit out of myself riding along the very edge of a ladder bridge about 4-5 feet off the ground for some distance before straightening up, its remarkable what you can do when you have no choice.
We took a lower section of the Baden-Powell trail and connected back up with mountain hwy, buzzing down the steep bitumen road back to the car. As i jumped off my bike, both front and rear rotors were steaming away, but dissipated to fast for a photo.
I would love to have a go at the trails here in drier conditions, but as I said, the water and mud really made for a fun experience, and seeing snow like we did at the top had me stoked for whats to come :)
So we dropped into the trail and I realised at that moment that at no point prior to now, had i even given thought to the fact that I was about to ride in rain and heavily wet conditions, a stark contrast to my hot, dry, dusty summer of riding. That was smart! My rotors howled like a banshee as i braked down the first few declines, a sound that faded as they built up some heat. The trails were well built with many stones bedded into to give it definition and no doubt stop it eroding away, the amount of water flowing down the trail in parts ranged from a trickle to a gushing creek! I was already wet but within minutes i was soaked. I couldnt have cared less!!
I was concerned about grip levels and it took me some time to trust my tires in the wet on rocks and wooden features. Fear of falling and re-injuring my still unstable ankle was hampering my confidence pretty badly, but all the same, I was having fun dashing down the more open sections, splashing my way though huge puddles and trying not to fall off elevated ladder bridges. There were some cool features on "Pipeline" the next trail we connected with, Its all new to me but Keith was commenting on some new woodwork that he hadnt seen before.
We took a lower section of the Baden-Powell trail and connected back up with mountain hwy, buzzing down the steep bitumen road back to the car. As i jumped off my bike, both front and rear rotors were steaming away, but dissipated to fast for a photo. I would love to have a go at the trails here in drier conditions, but as I said, the water and mud really made for a fun experience, and seeing snow like we did at the top had me stoked for whats to come :)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Despair!
I am so sicking of saying that I am almost finished my website. Everytime I try and just put it to bed, there is always another problem. Now its coming down to simple aesthetics. Stuff that should be able to be worked out and overcome, yet there seems to be no reason for the problem, no explanation. It is driving me crazy. I am not going to give up, I WILL finish this, I just cant believe how low it is taking and how much of a fight it is putting up. Now I look at all of the time i have spent in the last couple of months making it and think it would have made more sense to pay someone to do it for me. Its not like i havn't learnt anything, but its just so bloody painful!!! aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh, I will not be beaten. I wish I could stop it from making me angry, its very challenging. Tomorrow is another day.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween parties
So the end of October comes and with it the arrival greater darkness and a Halloween frenzy. I knew it was a bigger deal here than other places I have lived, but the extent some people went to was mindblowing. The same way we see people go to town on their houses and front yards with all sorts of xmas decorations and lights, you will see skeletons, eviscerated zombies, pumpkins and spider webs adorning front yards and houses everywhere.
I saw some really cool carved pumpkins on one house, one on every step on the way up to the front door, each with a different face, some of which looked very evil and uninviting. As i stepped out my front door dressed like an old codger in a last minute effort to come up with something. I heard the sounds of children along my street knocking on doors "trick or treat!" I had never seen or heard that before.
On the way to Matt's place I saw a guy dressed as beetlejuice, I swear he had just come from the make up artist or something, his attention to detail was outstanding and the standard of outfit was fit for the screen. We had a beer or two at Matts while we got organised and then headed out. We walked past a house at the end of his street where an old lady was laying in wait at her front door. We had walked past when she swung the door open shouting "you want trick or treat?" she unload bags of chips and assorted lollies and chocolates into our bags and pockets and we went on our way, bewildered that she actually stopped us on the street! She must have been trying to get rid of all the left overs she had, it was getting kinda late for the kiddies by this stage.
Fireworks are going off everywhere and mist is settling lower on all the streets, or is it all the smoke from the hundreds of fireworks going off, I dont know. We get some beers even though we are heading to a party with free beer and then wait for the bus next to a cemetary, fitting.
The party was awesome, free booze (home brew, it was reported to be ordinary before we got there, but i thought it was alright!), cool people and some funny costumes. There was a mexican, 2 hulks, a flasher (yes in a beige trenchcoat!!) zombie lady gaga, ricky from trailer park boys, pimp, hookers, plenty of sluty whatever the hell they are sposed to be's, darlec, dr who, beer keg, cowboy, wheres wally, bat bitch, a clockwork orange characters, fairies, yada yada. We chugged the free beerand shot the shit with everyone, and even got out on to the balcony for some fireworks. One dude shot one and hit a bus that went past, right on the windsheld!! Sadly we had to leave to head back to another party back our way before the last bus left. I walked out the door of the place as the rolling stones "I cant get no....... satisfaction" was blaring on the stereo, and the place was jumping. i had a gut feeling i shouldnt be leaving, which turned out later to be justified...
We took a long bus ride back to our neck of the woods, we had been out near UBC which is a fair hike west of town. I was chatting to a butler and a maid on the bus, about kiwi and ozzy accents, travel experiences etc, the butler was drunk and his maid girlfriend seemed to be very publicly insistant she was going to take him home and have her way with him. Hmmm. There was also a guy on the bus who I feel was the character of the night, he was dressed as Raoul Duke, the Hunter S Thompson character from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Not only was the costume well done, including the cigarette in the cigarette holder, but he held character for the entire time, he had the speach and manerisms down, even had the suit case full of drugs, minus the acid, ketamine, blow and ether...
Arriving at the next party, the tunes where loud and the house was full. But the sad thing was that the police came and shut it down within about 20 mins of us arriving. Dang. There was another party happening but it was back in the direction we had just come. On top of this, Matt was wasted and Marissa wanted to take him home, so it was pretty much the end of it. I was tempted to go check out this other party, but considering the amount of time i had spent traveling around town already, i didnt want to go halfway back again to a party that was ending or worse gets the finger from the cops. So i thought back to the moment where I walked out of the first gig and felt like i shouldnt be leaving, should have listened to my instinct!
At least this place was on my street, so it wasnt far to get home! It was a memorable Halloween experience thats for sure. My costume started out being Bill Cosby but morphed into Biff (the grandpa biff) from Back to the Future because i couldnt get an afro wig or a grandpa hat to top off ol Bill. Most Canadians though i was "Mr Rogers" who of course i had never heard of, but rather than try and explain, I just went with that, and most people wet themselves. Too easy.
Another birthday party this friday night down with the Ladner gang, should be sweet!
I saw some really cool carved pumpkins on one house, one on every step on the way up to the front door, each with a different face, some of which looked very evil and uninviting. As i stepped out my front door dressed like an old codger in a last minute effort to come up with something. I heard the sounds of children along my street knocking on doors "trick or treat!" I had never seen or heard that before.
On the way to Matt's place I saw a guy dressed as beetlejuice, I swear he had just come from the make up artist or something, his attention to detail was outstanding and the standard of outfit was fit for the screen. We had a beer or two at Matts while we got organised and then headed out. We walked past a house at the end of his street where an old lady was laying in wait at her front door. We had walked past when she swung the door open shouting "you want trick or treat?" she unload bags of chips and assorted lollies and chocolates into our bags and pockets and we went on our way, bewildered that she actually stopped us on the street! She must have been trying to get rid of all the left overs she had, it was getting kinda late for the kiddies by this stage.
Fireworks are going off everywhere and mist is settling lower on all the streets, or is it all the smoke from the hundreds of fireworks going off, I dont know. We get some beers even though we are heading to a party with free beer and then wait for the bus next to a cemetary, fitting.
The party was awesome, free booze (home brew, it was reported to be ordinary before we got there, but i thought it was alright!), cool people and some funny costumes. There was a mexican, 2 hulks, a flasher (yes in a beige trenchcoat!!) zombie lady gaga, ricky from trailer park boys, pimp, hookers, plenty of sluty whatever the hell they are sposed to be's, darlec, dr who, beer keg, cowboy, wheres wally, bat bitch, a clockwork orange characters, fairies, yada yada. We chugged the free beerand shot the shit with everyone, and even got out on to the balcony for some fireworks. One dude shot one and hit a bus that went past, right on the windsheld!! Sadly we had to leave to head back to another party back our way before the last bus left. I walked out the door of the place as the rolling stones "I cant get no....... satisfaction" was blaring on the stereo, and the place was jumping. i had a gut feeling i shouldnt be leaving, which turned out later to be justified...
We took a long bus ride back to our neck of the woods, we had been out near UBC which is a fair hike west of town. I was chatting to a butler and a maid on the bus, about kiwi and ozzy accents, travel experiences etc, the butler was drunk and his maid girlfriend seemed to be very publicly insistant she was going to take him home and have her way with him. Hmmm. There was also a guy on the bus who I feel was the character of the night, he was dressed as Raoul Duke, the Hunter S Thompson character from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Not only was the costume well done, including the cigarette in the cigarette holder, but he held character for the entire time, he had the speach and manerisms down, even had the suit case full of drugs, minus the acid, ketamine, blow and ether...
Arriving at the next party, the tunes where loud and the house was full. But the sad thing was that the police came and shut it down within about 20 mins of us arriving. Dang. There was another party happening but it was back in the direction we had just come. On top of this, Matt was wasted and Marissa wanted to take him home, so it was pretty much the end of it. I was tempted to go check out this other party, but considering the amount of time i had spent traveling around town already, i didnt want to go halfway back again to a party that was ending or worse gets the finger from the cops. So i thought back to the moment where I walked out of the first gig and felt like i shouldnt be leaving, should have listened to my instinct!
At least this place was on my street, so it wasnt far to get home! It was a memorable Halloween experience thats for sure. My costume started out being Bill Cosby but morphed into Biff (the grandpa biff) from Back to the Future because i couldnt get an afro wig or a grandpa hat to top off ol Bill. Most Canadians though i was "Mr Rogers" who of course i had never heard of, but rather than try and explain, I just went with that, and most people wet themselves. Too easy.
Another birthday party this friday night down with the Ladner gang, should be sweet!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Colour Management!
Well this is fun, more setbacks with the site, colour management issues causing poor display of colours and black and white contrasts meaning back to the drawing board on how i display my images. hmmm. Im using a mac where most of you are probably on PC and also using various different browsers, there are so many combinations to try and cater for!
Just another road block, I'll get through it. Explains a lot about previous issues I have had and even why some of the images i post here are not always very punchy.
Lots of reading is sorting me out, now its just the time in changing the settings of my images or changing the way i show them on the site, or both. Make a decision.
getting there!!!!!!
TEST IMAGE
lets see how this looks...
Just another road block, I'll get through it. Explains a lot about previous issues I have had and even why some of the images i post here are not always very punchy.
Lots of reading is sorting me out, now its just the time in changing the settings of my images or changing the way i show them on the site, or both. Make a decision.
getting there!!!!!!
TEST IMAGE
lets see how this looks...
Thursday, October 22, 2009
progress, and setbacks, managing the two...
Ok Site is inching closer. Have just spent hours narrowing down folios, resizing images, hunting through old work for images i cant find etc. I just need to create flash slideshows and away we go. I am finding it difficult to categorise some of my work. Travel is often represented in photographers folios of work, problem with that is probably 85% of my best work was taken overseas! may need to create new categories later but for now I'm sticking with what I'v got.
Had an interesting day shooting earlier this week. Took out my gear to try and trouble shoot some autofocus issues that have arisen recently. At first I thought I had lost the function on my 70-200, effectively turning it in to a long, heavy, expensive, manual focus lens. not good. Turns out that the problem has worsened and now now of my lenses will autofocus, indicating issues with the camera not the lenses, both a blessing and a curse. Also have error msgs on screen and mirror freeze ups as well, eeep. Removed battery grip, errors went away, but autofocus still bung. Took photos for the rest of the day manually focusing everything, I actually got some great autumn shots so it wasn't all bad.
I attempted to clean contacts on camera and lenses when i returned home, which got 2 of 3 lenses autofocusing , but 70-200 still wont have a bar of it.
New camera. Been wanting to upgrade for a while, now i NEED to upgrade. Was always thinking of 50d but just in the last few weeks Canon have released the 7d, and oh my god is it a beast! a rather expensive beast, but an investment in many years of great photography. Canadas pricing, or more specifically their GST and Provincial Sales Tax (applicable in BC and always added on to the price at the end ???????????? why dont they just include it in the price if you have to pay it?) can jump into the freezing pacific ocean. Might have to see what else is possible.
Still dont understand why colours just arent the same when i post shots on this blog, but anyway, a couple from the other day.
Had an interesting day shooting earlier this week. Took out my gear to try and trouble shoot some autofocus issues that have arisen recently. At first I thought I had lost the function on my 70-200, effectively turning it in to a long, heavy, expensive, manual focus lens. not good. Turns out that the problem has worsened and now now of my lenses will autofocus, indicating issues with the camera not the lenses, both a blessing and a curse. Also have error msgs on screen and mirror freeze ups as well, eeep. Removed battery grip, errors went away, but autofocus still bung. Took photos for the rest of the day manually focusing everything, I actually got some great autumn shots so it wasn't all bad.
I attempted to clean contacts on camera and lenses when i returned home, which got 2 of 3 lenses autofocusing , but 70-200 still wont have a bar of it.
New camera. Been wanting to upgrade for a while, now i NEED to upgrade. Was always thinking of 50d but just in the last few weeks Canon have released the 7d, and oh my god is it a beast! a rather expensive beast, but an investment in many years of great photography. Canadas pricing, or more specifically their GST and Provincial Sales Tax (applicable in BC and always added on to the price at the end ???????????? why dont they just include it in the price if you have to pay it?) can jump into the freezing pacific ocean. Might have to see what else is possible.
Still dont understand why colours just arent the same when i post shots on this blog, but anyway, a couple from the other day.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
maps
These are the two road trips i have completed since arriving in Canada, Im gonna discuss a few of the cool things that happened along the way in more detail soon.....
apologies for the crude tracing and arrows of directions, its the best i could do quickly. Red trip was first 3 weeks here, blue trip was from 6 July to 1 Sept. click for a larger view...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
colour
sadly the stunning colour is not well represented when posting the images on here. But thats ok, soon enough you will be able to view decently on my website wooo hooo!
blogging isnt really that hard, what are you afraid of!
yet again i have failed at the blogging. Really gotta change that!
Car washes in vancouver, as in a manual one where you wash the car yourself with the spray gun and the brush. Couldnt find one, and one guy even said with a smile they dont exist!! I know of some way out of town, but in the downtown area, no go!
I stuffed around preparing the "truck" for a guy to come and have a look this morning, but in the end he couldnt make it. It has been a dismal and rainny day, sposed to be like that all week.
Ankle was really bad again last night, well actually its some of the tendons in my foot and even the lower parts of my toes that are giving me grief, and its only when im in bed!!
have been making space in my room for bookshelf, just to help keep me more organised. Starving hungry, chicken salad time i think, then more work on website and some excercise for my ankle.
Autumn colours here are stunningly beautiful, and stand out well over the surrounding grey!
Car washes in vancouver, as in a manual one where you wash the car yourself with the spray gun and the brush. Couldnt find one, and one guy even said with a smile they dont exist!! I know of some way out of town, but in the downtown area, no go!
I stuffed around preparing the "truck" for a guy to come and have a look this morning, but in the end he couldnt make it. It has been a dismal and rainny day, sposed to be like that all week.
Ankle was really bad again last night, well actually its some of the tendons in my foot and even the lower parts of my toes that are giving me grief, and its only when im in bed!!
have been making space in my room for bookshelf, just to help keep me more organised. Starving hungry, chicken salad time i think, then more work on website and some excercise for my ankle.
Autumn colours here are stunningly beautiful, and stand out well over the surrounding grey!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
and its been a while.....
BOOM! the first 5 weeks have gone past rather quickly. A lot has happened and as time went by my list of things to write about got longer and longer and so I started to put it off. Bad idea. Now i have a rather large project ahead of me and i must admit its a little daunting!
For those of you who cant be bothered reading through paragraphs of thoughts, events and stories, or if you just cant stand to read about how some other lucky person is off traveling the world while you're stuck at work (totally understand) This a run down of some of the stuff seen and done, and there are some pics at the bottom.
For the rest of you (hey where did everybody go?) I shall elaborate on the stories of shenanigans, great places i found myself in, and the people I met in more detail some time soon...
in random order (chronological wouldn't make sense would it?)
A380 flight to LAX, got an exit row seat, with more leg room than business class, happy as a pig in brown stuff.
5 hr LAX layover, still havn't slept.
Flight to YVR and finally I succumb to exhaustion, 30 odd hours and I was toast. only got about 90 mins sleep though.
Missed couchsurfers on first night, couldn't be assed stuffing around, too tired, straight to hostel, crash out.
First few days exploring Vancouver, Capilano bridge and the north shore, Stanley Park, downtown area and a visit to Brians for some beers. Weather beautiful.
Whistler next, sea to sky highway is a great drive, despite quite a lot of Olympics roadworks.
Zip trekking, mountain biking, golf and some nice live music from whistler village, what a great place to be. I road all day on my birthday as planned, not all trails were open being so early in the season, but I still had an awesome day. Crank it up was my favourite trail, rode it repeatedly!
The drive to Revelstoke was long, but amazing, so much wonderful scenery. The Shuswap area and accompanying lakes are looking great, ski boats line the frontage of numerous marine outlets.
Checked out the hot springs, old growth forests and waterfalls, there is something awesome everywhere you go!
Despite nice weather, many trails and attractions are still closed, a long, cold, snowy winter left a lot of places still inaccessible.
Driving through Glacier National Park opens up more unbelievable scenery, the mountains through here really start to tower over you.
Northern Lights wolf Sanctuary is eye opening. Hiking with female Wolf "Maya" is very impressive, she is photogenic, but very skittish. A beautiful animal. Never though I would get so close to one out in the open.
Head through Banff to Canmore, meet up with old roommate from London and have a pretty awesome night on the juice.
Climbed Chinamans peak the next day hungover. Best hike, views and experience of the trip so far. Hard work, and not even a big peak! one mad bastard climb up with his unicycle and then rode down it!!
Explored Banff township and Lake Louise area, saw Moraine Lake as well. Lovely places, quite cold here, both lakes still frozen over, but melting.
Had a run in with a large bear on the wrong side of the wildlife fence along the highway. Not sure if it was a grizzly, but it was bloody big, ended up running right behind the car!
Icefields Parkway drive from Lake Louise, not as eye bulging as I expected, again a number of lakes and water falls still very iced up. I think the Glacier national Park region is more impressive. Went as far north as Columbia Icefield, worst weather of the trip on arrival, 6c, dark clouds and windy. upon departure an hr later, the wind had gone and the sun was shining.
Headed back to Vancouver via Kelowna. Its hot here, almost 30c. Its a very summery place even though there are a number of ski mtns close by for winter. Wing night at local pub, i gorged. Tried the "Johnny Cash" wings (stupidly hot) not my cuppa really.
Roadworks force a detour back to Vancouver, lose almost 2 hrs to delays etc.
Next trip was to Vancouver Island, ferry from Tsawwassen (spelt something remotely like that) to Nanaimo and then drove across the island through Port Alberni to Ucluelet.
"Ukee" is a small place some kilometres from the larger, more touristy Tofino. Its very surf cultured, laid back. Everyone knows everyone here.
Saw the main beaches of, and I will use the slang, Wick and Flo. Ocean temperate might as well be below zero. Surf... I don't think so.
Stayed in a beautiful big house and got a pretty good introduction to this area. Saw Sea Lions, Bald Eagles, bears, and Whales. Ate amazing sushi, (salmon country !!) went fishing and ocean kayaking.
Had a great beach fire on a secluded beach 2 nights in a row, huge big cliff face on one side and a nice little inlet on the other.
Will also mention the weather here for the week was the best in history. high 20's to 30 everyday. Got sunburnt, swam in a bloody cold but bearable lake (with snow on tops of the mountains in the background!!) and got bitten by the worst insect in the world - Blackflies, I am still itching weeks later.
Camping, now this was a hoot! soooo much happened that if you want the full story you will have to read the associated post. Got lost in the dark then punctured. got found, guy rolled his 4x4, we somehow got it out the next day! Shooting tournaments with rifles and shotguns! Insane off roading, another car nearly over a water fall. Drinking, beer bongs, and accidents leaving me with more cuts, bruises, sprains and swollen limbs than the guy who rolled his car!!
Have been visiting local areas since returning, such as Granville Island, Richmond, Burnaby and White Rock. Now looking for the next adventure!
right, so some photos and a video maybe and then I'm done for now. Gotta go do somethin!
I have learnt my lesson, I wont leave it so long in future!!
I think this video was taken driving through Glacier National Park
Seton Lake, could be wrong on this one, my bad. was in the middle of nowhere!
This big Lake was actually dammed at the right of shot, hydro plant.
some nice afternoon sun coming through near this random waterfall
Maya, one of the cooler shots I got of her sneaking out of the bush.
Between Golden and Banff somewhere, Yoho National Park I think.
The view from Chinamans Peak, over the edge goes straight down!
making his way down!
Parts of Lake Louise where melting
Peyto Lake viewing was only possible through 15 minutes of snow!
But this was the view, though still frozen you can see how blue it is!
Humphrey, he looks friendly right?
Athabasca Glacier & the Columbia Icefields Centre
Heaps of sea life on Vancouver Island
Awesome Beach fire spot!
It took us 2 hrs to get it out. (it was on its left side when we got there, and the engine still ran) it came flying up that embankment backwards and landed on the road in rather spectacular fashion!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
just days
only days from departure, excitement builds. Camera ready and keen for action, the Pacific ocean is all that stands between me and the adventure of a lifetime ....
follow me on this amazing journey of discovery....
stay tuned :)
follow me on this amazing journey of discovery....
stay tuned :)
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