Last October I wrote, “For a photographer; Granville Island rain or shine was the prefect place to wander with a camera”.
“Buildings filled with expensive artwork, a food fair, farmer’s market, artist studios and, of course the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, are all exciting places to take pictures”.
The Camera Swap and Sale was a success and we tried to sleep in the next morning. But Jo was up with the seagulls, full of energy and rearing to go to Granville Island. I was lucky she even gave me the time to eat the hotel’s complimentary breakfast.
I had told her we would spend as much time as we could doing photography on Granville Island. We had stopped for a short time on Saturday night (before Sunday’s event) so Laurie could photograph buildings across False Creek in the setting sun with his big 4X5 sheet film camera.
That night the light was dropping fast when we got there and we spent most of our time setting Laure’s camera up in different locations. There wasn’t much time for Jo to wander so she was excited to go back when the island was packed with people in the bright sun.
It rained last two times Laurie and I were there.
Parking was tight on Sunday, and it was a chore for Laurie to squeeze his truck into a parking space meant for small compact cars. But after what seemed like a lifetime he finally did, and without hitting the cars parked tightly on both sides. Hey, Laurie’s a Canadian farm boy, I am sure he was driving a truck as soon as his feet could touch the gas pedal.
The place was packed with all kinds of people, and the colors were wild, inviting and perfect for photography. Seagulls posing on benches, street performers, fascinating buildings, an exotic and animated farmer’s market, the scenic Granville Street bridge with snow capped mountains in the distance behind it, a cityscape of Vancouver across a boat filled waterway, and, of course, the four of us laughing and posing for each other.
For those that didn’t read my last article, “Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is located across False Creek from downtown Vancouver. It was once an industrial manufacturing area. However, now it is mostly comprised of remodeled warehouses and has become a hot spot for tourism and entertainment. The area was named after Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville.
We wandered and lost the world as we discovered and photographed everything on that cool, clear, coastal spring day.
American photographer, Harold Feinstein, referred to as the “Unsung chronicler of Coney Island”, wrote what I think is in the thoughts of many photographers. “I love this life. I feel like I am always catching my breath and saying, ‘Oh! Will you look at that?’ Photography has been my way of bearing witness to the joy I find in seeing the extraordinary in ordinary life. You don’t look for pictures. Your pictures are looking for you.”
These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net. Stop by Enman’s Camera at 423 Tranquille Road in Kamloops. I sell an interesting selection of used photographic equipment. Don’t hesitate to call me at 250-371-3069.
