I haven’t bothered to pick up my camera for a few days but my friend Jo travelled to Vancouver this past week, so it is the adventure she and her friend Trey (from the Cold Mermaid photo) had that I’ll write about.
Jo and Trey decided to go by way of the Fraser Canyon; it was raining from the coast all the way to Hope, I think. However, that rain had turned to a snowstorm as it climbed up the Coquihalla and down to Merritt. Their decision to go by way of the Fraser Canyon came when the road report indicated there was again another big transport truck blocking the highway.
When I got Jo’s text message my reply was “Damn it," but Jo said, “It’s just fine, Trey has never been this way.”
Vancouver was being hit with pounding rain when they arrived. After checking into the Best Western Hotel on the corner of Davie and Denman Streets they grabbed their umbrellas, put on winter coats, and walked across the street to enjoy the English Bay beach. Usually the beach, walkway, and what I think is a dangerous waterfront bike-way is packed with people, but they had it mostly to themselves.
I like that location and was happy they chose that hotel. I have told this story before, but when I first moved to Kamloops back in 1975, I joined my friend Kirk Safford for a weekend trip to Vancouver. The first place he took me to was Stanley Park’s Third Beach. That was a colourful and wild location in those days: beads, bell-bottom pants, music, and lots of people smoking that once-illegal plant.
We met people and hung out, enjoying the warm morning, and then Kirk walked me back to Denman Street. Gosh, what an exciting place with an excitingly diverse selection of shops it was. As we were browsing, Kirk stopped, put his hand up on a sign, and said “I know you will like this.” I looked, and saw that he was covering the first letter of Denman Street.
On her recent trip, Jo had her tripod and Nikon D780 DSLR with a 14-24mm lens. She and Trey wandered the beach in the rain for a while, then went into the hotel’s restaurant to warm up and have supper before heading back out for some early evening photography. I know that Jo likes the evening’s low light along the ocean, and even though it was still raining she didn’t let that stop her from making some great photos.
After returning home Jo gave me her memory card to let me choose an image for this article. I really liked the one I included. To me it visually talked about the emptiness the rain caused along the usually busy walkway by including the empty bench, the flat ocean, and the sparkling lights in the distance. She was able to capture the existing light on the water-soaked walkway that contrasted against the dark, hazy, cloud-filled sky. I know that location, and as I viewed it I was wishing I was there.
Jo’s reason for going to Vancouver was to check out a car that was for sale. However, that was a not-as-described bust. Instead, the trip gave Jo a chance to do some fun photography in the rain and also turned into one of those spend-the-night-partying at the hotel’s pub trips. There was live music and lots of friendly people.
Of course, Jo and Trey texted me just after 11 p.m. to tell me they were having a good time, and sent me lots of photos of the hotel’s Park Pub. I expect they had just been checking in with their husbands and had thought “What the hell…we should make sure John is up.”
Stay safe and be creative. These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.
