This past weekend I spent a day wandering Vancouver with my camera.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jo McAvany mentioned that she had a tattoo appointment in Vancouver and wondered if I’d mind sharing the drive with her. I said yes, of course, and suggested we make a weekend of it. Gosh, its a four plus hour drive so why not?
Saturday morning at 11 a.m. I dropped Jo off at her appointment, grabbed my camera, and started my walk down the street.
We were going to spend our evening photographing along the coast, but I thought I might spend the day doing city scapes and thought it might be fun to use my infrared converted camera. Infrared would give me an unusual perspective.
I started by walking along the street Jo had her appointment on. That took me about two hours. Once I start searching with a camera I forget about time. There is so much too photograph and I was looking for trees and interesting advertising along the street.
Fortunately, I had set my iPhone’s alarm to two hours so I wouldn’t get a parking ticket. Then I put my GPS in action and drove to a small park along the ocean. The city has made a small island, Habitat Island, that jetted out into an inlet called False Creek. I chose that place because I knew there would be trees and a small pond filled with reeds that would give me an unusual view of the large city and would add interest with infrared.
There were lots of people enjoying the cool coastal air on the hot British Columbia summer’s day. My practice when meeting people on the street or on a path in the park is the same as when stepping into a restaurant or hotel, step back and choose a wide route around them. Everything is so strange and unusual these days with the Covid-19 thing.
I stopped at a place known for it’s grand selection of beer called Craft Market. As I parked and crossed the street I saw a young woman with a black mask spraying the hand rail. I then took up my place on a circle marked 6’ at the top of the stairs. When it was my turn I was motioned in by another masked young woman who asked for my name and phone number. Then a third masked woman walked me to my place at the bar that had clear plexiglass on each side and was then waited on by a fourth masked woman. I guess that is what they call the “new norm”. Oh well the beer was good.
I walked out of the bar and down along a walkway and photographed buildings across the water until I got a text from my friend Jo saying she was finished. I don’t know how many miles I walked, but my legs were tired. I’m not sure if walking for hours on hard pavement is exercise or punishment. However, I got a lot of great pictures and saw interesting buildings and people. Vancouver is truly an international city with a healthy mixture of all types of architecture, men and women. It is always fun and inspiring to photograph different environments .
Stay safe and be creative.
John Enman can be reached at: emcam@telus.net
