Bloedel Floral Conservatory, QE Park

Faced with economic uncertainty, the Bloedel Floral Conservatory is slated to close for lack of operating funds. It has been many years since we have gone inside to view the exhibit.


(MacMillan Bloedel Floral Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC)

Here is an except from their official website:

"The Conservatory is one of the most popular attractions in Vancouver and is open daily, rain or shine. A modest fee is charged. It is dedicated to the wonders of the natural world with an emphasis on plants and birds. As a matter of fact, over 100 birds of various species call the Bloedel Conservatory home and free-fly within its spacious dome. It was constructed through a very generous donation from Prentice Bloedel in 1969. That same donation enabled the Park Board to cover the main reservoir atop Queen Elizabeth Park."

You can obtain more detailed information from HERE (<-- click link)



The first week of every month is my busy week. Tomorrow (1st Tuesday) is my photography meeting where we will have our group Christmas dinner and Wednesday (1st Wednesday of each month) is my car meeting where we have a Christmas social and are expected to bring pot luck to share.

With this in mind I decided to do a short post and stop at Queeen Elizabeth Park on my way home to snap a few pictures of the "Dome" . When I arrived in the parking lot the fountain was doing its aerobatic dance. While I set up my camera and tripod getting things ready the water suddenly stopped which was going to ruin my shots. I waited a short while in the cold 5c air and it started up again - lucky for me (and you)



Other than the sound of falling water it was quiet but as I watched the water dance and slowly ebb up and down to a rhythm of its own, I could imagine the music of a symphony going through my mind.



First all the jets were pushing the water up, then some stopped, then the middle one did its job. It was all so hypnotic not knowing what it was going to do next



Moving water is not the best subject for timed exposures as it creates a blur which invokes action.



The Bloedel Conservatory is on the highest point of land in Vancouver. This is the location for Vancouver's drinking water. There is a reservoir at the top which has been covered by a cement parking lot, when I was a youth the reservoir was open to the elements and surrounded by a fence. The locals call the area of Queen Elizabeth Park "Little Mountain" . There used to be a road running east to west which went "over the top" of the mountain with a little parking lot which had a commanding view of the city. It was a very crowed place on summer weeknights and weekends with all the cars having "steamed up" windows. The occupants presumably were viewing the submarine races. When the Conservatory was built, they closed off the road to use as a pedestrian area, cemented the top of the reservoir and relocated the parking to the top.



All of these images were taken with a Nikon D80, 18-135, AF-s G-ED DX
F stops were all set at F8.0, but shutter speeds ranged from 2 sec to 7 seconds. While I have higher quality lenses it is just easier to carry one. This is the only DX lens I have. All my other ones will work with full sensors.

I tend to use F8 a lot as that is usually the sweet spot of most lenses. The temperatures are getting colder and it is hard to hold the metal of the tripod for any length of time with hands devoid of clothing. I have a cold weather tripod which I have covered with pipe insulation. Make sure to bring a flashlight so you can actually see the controls of your camera. To trigger the shutter I usually use my remote control OR self timer so as to minimize camera shake upon releasing the shutter. I also "lean" on the tripod to weigh it down, or sometimes I just hang my camera bag on it