A Sunday, close to home

This is our last weekend before we leave for our big adventure so it was a planned day to pickup some last minute items. We also wanted to save some time so resorted to fast food in the mall



We were too late for breakfast so settled on Butter Chicken, Curried Chicken, Rice and naan bread instead as a substitute for my regular diet of eggs. Then it was off to a shoe store to check out some walking shoes. It's not that I don't have some shoes that I can walk in but I thought that I should purchase something better with more padding.



This particular pair was a bit too large but nothing that a bit of paper stuffed in the toes won't cure but I settled on a pair of Merrells. I know that we will be spending a lot of time walking during the next couple of weeks. The rest of the day was consumed picking up toiletries, polysporin, tylenol, and hayfever pills. You just never know what you may need and which may not be available in a foreign land.

Soon the day was nearly over and we had planned a family dinner in the Gastown district. While the family was gathering inside a famous Spaghetti Eatery I walked about looking for pictures

With the combination of cobblestone roads and historic buildings it is a popular place for filming movies



I stopped on the crosswalk to take this photo and drew the ire of a passing motorist who was going too fast for the conditions and honking his horn for me to move out of the crosswalk, else he run me over. The motorcycle cop turned his head and shouted at me to get back onto the sidewalk.


(Hotel Europa, Gassy Jack Square, Gastown, Vancouver, BC)

It was still light but I had to go inside as family was waiting. I was thinking to myself that tonight I would be in the perfect place for some more night photos.

Like that Old Codjer in KW I am set in my ways and for the past 40 years have managed to always order the same thing. The meal comes out as expected but the prices increase over time.



This is a combination of Rich Meat Sauce with Mitrah Cheese and the meal includes beverage, salad and spumoni ice cream. It is a great place to bring our grandchildren.

Two hours later we finally finish our meals and head on our separate ways and I get a chance to bring out my tripod


(Water Street & Steam clock)

This is a view facing west towards Harbour Square with a revolving restaurant at the top, and the Steam Clock on the right side.

I decide to change my vantage point a bit closer to the Steam Clock to capture the Cambie Street sign



I walk up the street to look for different vantage points and pass a group of photographers walking the other way. By the time I turn around and walk back to the Steam Clock I noticed this



I wasn't sure what was happening but with all these photographers clicking their shutters and flashing their flashes I had to get in on the action too



I was talking to one of the younger photographers and he said he wanted to improve his model portfolio. It seems that this is an informal group of friends who had brought their own "model" for a location shoot.

For a brief moment I was transformed into a Jack "r" as the model blew a Kiss in my direction



For this type of photography you need fast prime lenses, such as an 85mm f 1.8 and perhaps a two light system with a small flash from the front and a more powerful one from the sides and use a very slow shutter to catch the ambient light behind. For my photos I had to bump up the ISO to 800 and 1600 and shoot wide open



I mention to one of them that they had chosen the wrong side to photograph as it was a one way street and all the headlights from the approaching cars were causing backlight problems, so a few took my advice and now were shooting the other direction and able to catch some tail light streams in the back



With such a large group to please, the model was requested to the other side so the rest of the group could also grab a few pictures



This female photog was the only other person I noticed who brought their tripod



I was actually going to go to another location to capture more night photos but I wasted all my time with this "model", so you will have to wait for next time, sorry . . .