Thursday, December 3, 2009

Cambie Village, Vancouver, BC

Vancouver is a city of numerous communities spread apart which resemble little towns that you would find in the middle of nowhere. There would be a hub of businesses separated by homes. Some are larger than others and would have a multicultural flare with restaurants from all over the world.

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(Cambie Street at 19th Avenue)

Such it is with Cambie Village, not really a village which used to be called upper cambie to the locals. Here you find a variety of food ranging from exotic to American

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Tonight I am walking about with my Manfrotto tripod breathing in the refreshing cool air. One thing about taking timed exposures is that the buildings stay still enough but the pedestrians look like ghosts scurrying to the other side. Yes, that is a Starbucks on the other side. Although we are 150 miles away from Seattle they proliferate on many street corners.

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(The Park Theatre)

The Park Theatre has been a fixture in this area for decades and is one of the few remaining independants left having only ONE screen. It is surrounded by eateries of many varieties as you will notice the Chinese Restaurant to the right.

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(Key West style pedal mobiles)

As I walked a little farther north, I notice the Barking Dog. I thought it was a shop for the 4 legged variety

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but as I walked closer I noticed that it was a video rental store. I activate the zoom on my Canon G10 to capture the buildings across the street, a mixture of old and new. This area is being rediscovered with modern development grabbing hold

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The building on the corner used to be a TD Bank, but now it is a bakery with a steel vault where they store their cakes. On the left of that newer building there are more restaurants. The head/tail lights of the moving cars make patterns on my digital sensor.

It is a very compact community. If you planned it right you could have your nails done, have a greek meal then move next store to see a movie

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DUDE, Beer ?

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All of our spirits are sold through the BCLB: British Columbia Liquor Board who operate all the liquor stores in the Province of BC, with the exception of a few specialty wine & beer stores.

Here's a place that looks like an upscale dining establishment with its rich wood panelling

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(Pied-a-Terre)

Then we come to an Artist who creates gourmet cakes . . . An Artisian Cake creator

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Creations to put in your stomach, not on the wall

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(Cambie Cycles)

Cambie Cycles specialize in recumbent bikes, those ones where you sit at the back, put your legs directly in front of you as you more or less lie on your back. It seems like such an awkward position but they say pedalling is more efficient that way

Nest to the bike shop there are two more restaurants

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(Thai away home & Stellas)

Here's another view from across the street looking back. If you wanted to sit outside in this freezing weather then you would have your choice of tables tonight

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I would imagine if you asked them very nicely, they would light some of those propane heaters

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I think the red lights make you hungrier

As I headed back to my starting point I noticed that devouring gourmet pizza also creates a sleeping effect as it has done to this patron who is silently passing time

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Now I've come full circle back to Cambie & 19th. This small area of Cambie Village spans a mere 3 blocks from 16th to 19th Avenues, and there is also a spattering of restaurants north of 16th down to Broadway which is one of Vancouver's major intersections. From here by bike it is a mere 5 minutes to the heart of Downtown Vancouver.

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While I was busy snapping photos I noticed the full moon overhead so I zoomed my trusty Canon G10 to full telephoto for you . . .

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(The moon, tonight as viewed from Vancouver, BC)

All of the photos tonight were taken with a Canon G10 mounted on a Manfrotto professional tripod with shutter speeds from 1"sec to 7"sec, and aperature values from F5.6- F8. Did not use the self timer but gently sqeeeeeezed the shutter while putting my full weight upon the tripod

8 comments:

  1. Bob,
    What white balance did you use? The photos have a nice warm tone. Thanks for the tour.

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  2. Hey Bob.

    Reading your blog makes me feel like a tourist in my own city :)

    I also like how you manage put the photographic information in your pics, too. Your pics and your nightly escapades make me want to try out some night pics on my camera, albeit only a point and shoot.

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  3. "Nightly escapades...?" are we missing some vital info here?
    I like Cambie. When they abolish the middle class in the US I am going to seek refugee status in BC and suffer the indignity of socialized liquor sales and haunt a garret in Cambie Village. "Oh yes," I'll mumble with authority. "That used to be a bank back when I was a kid {not mentioning I was in California at the time}, now they keep their cakes in the vault." I will sound like a local, me and my Bonneville rat bike hunting for loonies in the trash.

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  4. Mike:

    There is a lot of mixed lighting, some incadesant and some fluorescent but I liked the warm tone so left it on auto. I think the G10 is easier to use than my dSLR, as I don't have live view

    Tony:

    Night shots are easy as pie. I have some more ideas for some night landscapes, and perhaps some night panoramics. The only problem is that you have to walk as you cannot park on the bridges

    Mr Conchscooter:

    The first week of every month is my busy week with my club meetings. Not as covert as you who wander about silently on your pedal bike so as to not bother the residents.
    I think you will be able to blend right in. Buy a cheap harmonica and blow some nonsense into it to make some random sounds. Make sure your hat is out with some loonies in it and just wait for the people to throw in their loose change, or you could be a squeegie boy. Squeegie boys stand on the roadway at major intersections with a squeegie and a bottle of liquid. You stop for the red light, they come up to you, squirt the bottle of liquid on your windscreen and squeegie the water away for a Toonie. (A loonie is a dollar, a toonie is two loonies)
    Gloat all you want, there is forecast for snow next week. I will mount my snow tires on Monday. I wonder if you have mounted your snow tires yet ?

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  5. Nice pictures of what seems like a nice part of town. As to socialized beer, I assume part of the reason is that somewhere back in time, some evil people took advantage of non-socialized beer and corrupted the market.
    No need for snow tires here with the Subarus.

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  6. Thanks for the tour Bob. I like the ghosting effect of the pedestrians. I looked for the nest NEXT the bike shop, but I couldn't find it ;)

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  7. I love the restaurants , as Viagra Online ! It looks amazing there! You're always so great at finding beautiful vintage looking clothing and accessories in the same place: the big city!

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