Autumn on the Drive

Strathcona Fire

I’ve been keeping an eye on this beautiful tree since autumn started.
God lit it for me to share it with you today

enjoy!

Winteruption In Vancouver Feb 2011

So much for getting away from the nasty weather predicted before winter started here in Vancouver. As of Saturday morning the snow came and by the evening Vancouver became a winter wonderland. It’s the snow we never got to see during the 2010 winter Olympics just a year ago. What to do ‘when life deals us lemons…’?
I had a shoot that evening with the lovely Shannon Heth and George Vergette  as they celebrated their wedding at the beautiful GreyChurch/Gallery on Fraser and Kingsway. I managed to talk Shannon into going outside to brave the elements for a few snaps. Here is one of them

The lovebirds headed south to Turks & Caicos to miss the rest of this. too bad for them! 😉
My buddy Dan had joined me and the first video above was shot on the way home from the reception, [with a little short cut through South Granville]. As Dan drove his jeep through the snow and I with the 5D[Dan has done these time laps vids before without another hand to man the camera]. I shot a frame each time the windshield wiper swept by. We used the moving wiper blade as our makeshift intervolometer and shot as we drove all the home. – so that’s why my arms were so sore the next day!

The Following morning Sofia woke early but i was actually excited to see how much the snow had fallen. by 7am Sofia and I were outside to make fresh tracks and to get the first snow man up before the rest of the neighbors got out to play…

By the next morning it most of it had melted away. -i kinda miss it.

“No Tanks!”

 

   As of 2007, multi national oil companies have been shipping 700,000 barrels of crude oil from the tar sands through Vancouver’s harbor. Previously, crude oil made its way to the refinery via pipelines, but recently two large tankers have been spotted passing through the Burrard inlet carrying three times the amount of oil discharged by the Exxon Valdez spill. The dirty secret was revealed when a man spotted the tankers outside his office window passing under the Lions Gate Bridge. After a few days of inquiry, he discovered that no public process or debate had been conducted on the use of Vancouver’s harbor as an official tar sand port. With the countless oil spills that have taken place up to date, it is well known that the risk associated with a potential spill has indeed become a certainty. British Columbia is home to the richest ecosystem in Canada, it has become refuge for 17 keystone species of carnivores and holds spawning grounds to over 5 species of salmon indigenous to the coastal waters. Fishing is a critical sector in British Columbia’s economy, it contributes to more than $1.9 billion in revenues to the provincial economy and accounts for more than $601 million in GDP annually. It is the primary sector that supports first nations – an oil spill is something we simply could not afford.

Members of No Tanks, the Wilderness Committee and Greenpeace held a rally last Sunday calling for a public process to ban oil tankers off the BC coast. A large group of ships and kayakers gathered around the Lions Gate bridge voicing their concerns to media and government officials. As British Columbians, it is our responsibility to turn these tanks around – so let’s say No Thanks, No Tanks.   

 

 

 

 

• Saying no to oil tankers off B.C. coast (globaltvbc.com)
• Saying no to oil tankers off B.C. coast (theprovince.com)
• Protesters take on English Bay oil tankers (globaltvbc.com)
• Protesters fight oil tanker traffic in Vancouver’s waters (globaltvbc.com)
• Protesters fight oil tanker traffic in Vancouver’s waters (canada.com)

 

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spring is officially here….

As I write this, its been pouring on and off non stop outside, but I defiantly refuse to believe winter is coming back. Spring has officially made its debut here in our great city. And if you have been living under your umbrella for the past few weeks, you wouldn’t have noticed the beautiful cherry blossoms emerging from their barren branches all around Vancouver. I can’t help but think about the simplistic beauty that nature has the offer, and the vibrancy of colors from nature that influence our culture, music, designs and our daily inventions.

In our sometimes grey and wet city, the color and smell of spring is something we all naturally yearn for. Spring can serve different meanings for everyone, for me personally, it represents a renewal of spirit. For the past few days I have been walking around capturing as many signs of spring emergence as possible; buds, seeds, sprouts, blossoms. For me, all those remind me of the disposition we have in ourselves, our ideas and our passions and our never ending pursuit to fulfill them into full blossom.

Spring is humbling, nothing is quite grown, or reached its full potential. But once the slightest glimpses of color emerges I can’t help but think maybe we all need a fresh start. To start anew, to re-inspire our path so we can continue to encourage the spark in our own hearts and minds, to remind ourselves to keep truckin’.