09-2-17

09-2-16

09-2-15

09-2-14

09-2-13

Not much to say these days. I have a new camera arriving early next week, a little point and shoot but of a higher quality than most. At least I hope it is. Should be interesting to see how it affects what I'm taking pictures of.

Listening to Eric's Trip, Behind the Garage. It's an old one. I've been listening to a lot of older music these days. My days of walking into BeatRoute contributor meetings and walking out with a fist full of new indie music have dried up but two years of that means all the old stuff I have and neglected to listen to sounds new again. Oh yeah, and I still have your Smashing Pumpkins CD, if you ever want it back...

09-2-12

09-2-11

09-2-10

09-2-9

Cumulus clouds are such a rare sight in Vancouver, especially in February where one rarely looks up because the sky is typically blanketed in grey and the incessant rain would do its best to stab you in the eye. It's been an exceptionally dry winter. There were days in the fall where I would curse at what I suspected was to be 100 days of rain but then it disappeared. There's been a fair share of sunny days punctuated by the odd day of rain and even snow. But clouds like this are uncommon in Vancouver at this time of year. It was nice to see them this morning.

09-2-8

09-2-7

There's been lots of pics of the kid lately but, well, she's making me smile lots these days, even if she doesn't understand the importance of a Habs vs. Leafs game on a Saturday night. At least she had the foresight to wear a mask so I wouldn't know exactly who it was getting in the way of the television.

09-2-6

09-2-5

09-2-4

09-2-3

Grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch. Yum.

09-2-2

Monday with Sophie.

09-2-1

We hang out most mornings. It's pretty good.

09-1-31

There's going to be a theme over the next couple of days...

09-1-30

She always makes me smile. (see yesterday's post)

09-1-29

This occupied the better part of my day. Welding a bike frame. Though it's a good way to spend a day it does get in the way of taking many photographs. Perhaps this is a good time to reiterate that this blog isn't about "photography" but about documenting the things that catch my eye or make me smile. "It's in the details." Welding a bike is all about details. And that's how I spent my day.

09-1-28

Huh. I didn't take many photographs today as I wasn't all that inspired. I should have been, the light was good, the sun was out, it was a very nice day. But the energy wasn't there. I still managed to stumble upon this garbage can, prehaps the most glamorous garbage can in all of Vancouver, or at the least the most glamorous one I've seen so far. That's it, that's all I got for now.

09-1-27

Listening to Memphis.

"Then you looked at me
Pointed out that I was drunk on whiskey
You looked at me
Said, 'let's get incredibly drunk on whiskey'"

09-1-26

We made French toast for breakfast. It's her favourite. She likes to help. She'll sit on the counter and stab the yolk with a fork and stir the cinnamon into the egg.

09-1-25

09-1-24

09-1-23

09-1-22

It's a goddamn poinsettia in a bathroom. What more can be said?

09-1-21

Home is where ever you need it to be.

09-1-20

It's been foggy in Vancouver for the better part of a week. I've tried a number of times to take photographs of the mist but it's not easy. A couple of blocks away from where I live is Trout Lake and I thought it might present the mist in a unique manner suitable for photographing. When I got there at dusk I found crows. Hundreds of crows. A murder of crows. They call this a "roost" which seems obvious really. No one is really quite sure why they do it but crows will congregate by the hundreds, possibly thousands, in a common roost for the night. I had seen them flying over the house a number of times but didn't realize they were stopping just a few blocks from the house until I was there today.

09-1-19

It's feeling like spring in Vancouver. It won't really be here for another month or so but the sun has made more regular appearances lately and the snow is slowly disappearing.

09-1-18

What are the odds of me finding such a majestic mountain range in the alley behind a community center and next to a tennis court? Is this what they mean when they talk about the beauty of the mountains on the west coast? They were right, they are amazing.

09-1-17

I've taken these types of photographs of trees before. It's been a while. Today it feels like a regression. I like this photograph but I'm not sure why and that's a question I'm usually pretty good at answering.

09-1-16

There are moments I wish I had a tripod with me all the time. This is one of them. I like the exposed archeology of the bill board. I also like the remnants at the base of the bill board. I'm not sure the dynamic nature of the environment was captured here. The scale is missing. It seemed more monumental when I was standing there. It seemed permanently temporary. That's an energy that's hard to capture in a photograph.

09-1-15

I started a series of photos once called "the things you do for love" and I think this photo would have fit into that series perfectly.

09-1-14

With elevation comes prestige in this city. The further up the mountain your home is the better your view and the higher your property taxes. This picture is very far from North or West Vancouver but the houses on the other side of this fence command views of the mountains which probably adds a good percentage to their value. It was the same in Calgary, the houses up on the ridge overlooking the city were worth considerably more than the ones just one road in. I like the subversion of status as represented by the graffiti here and the idea that it's on the backside of the fence so the owners of these houses may very well be oblivious of it. I'm not a fan of graffiti though I recognized there's a lot of skill and artistic ability involved in it's creation but I do like the story this image tells and so here it is.

09-1-13

09-1-12

I'm not one for taking photographs of flowers but these are from bulbs my room mate planted. The bulbs don't get the luxury of soil, instead they perch upon a small handful of smooth rocks and are treated to some water and they grow to be just over a foot tall. They flower white for a couple of weeks and then die away for the year. It's so fleeting.

09-1-11

Don't know about this one. I liked the space but it didn't photograph well.

09-1-10

There should be more "trumpet" in bands. I was told this recently and it's probably true. This guy is in the band Fond of Tigers who played at a somewhat underground venue in Vancouver today. They are really quite good and the location they played which is accessed through a loading dock in the alley of downtown Vancouver, well, it's one of the places that makes this city tolerable. Unfortunately this night ended with the Vancouver Police escorting the patrons outside. A relatively new thing that the Vancouver Police are doing is confiscating the money from these kinds of shows so Fond of Tigers lost a bunch of cash they couldn't really afford to lose. They've just spent three or four days in the studio recording and now they have to pay for the mixing etc. A small show like this makes all the difference in the world to the budget of an indy band. If you're so inclined go to their MySpace page, listen to their music, and if you like it maybe drop them a line and buy a CD. Every little bit helps.

09-1-9

It's a painting. And apples are sometimes the perfect green. I think I will have to paint a bicycle this colour.

09-1-8

09-1-7

09-1-6

09-1-5

09-1-4

It was cold tonight. No less that fourteen buses were stranded on Main Street fighting the snow and the ice up the modest climb. It's getting to be two solid weeks of snow. I don't mind it so much but the city grinds to a halt when it snows like this. No one here has snow tires. No one here owns winter boots. The cold and soggy sneakers muddle through the snow and slush, shoulders are hunched, necks stiff and heads afraid to turn as the cold may sneak into and the heat out of tightly zipped jacket necks.

09-1-3

09-1-2

09-1-1

Tobogganing on the first day of the year.

08-12-31

Happy New Year.

08-12-30