Scans of slides from 1968 to 1978. Yikes!

In the Spring and Fall, when there is the greatest difference between air and water temperatures, fog can form. This is May, 2005.

In September, 2005, I decided to put together a folder of some of my favourite shots to use as desktop pictures. They were taken with my old Canon PowerShot Pro70, so they aren't as crisp as my current Nikon.

There are larger size images if you want a closer look, just click on "get the biggie."

From December 15, 2006 to January 8, 2007, I visited Thailand with my movie camera. These are stills I pulled from the video. What a wonderful place.

With a new camera and new software to make panoramas, I loaded up my tripod in January, 2008 and went out to Nanaimo Skytrain Station which has a great view of the North Shore Mountains. I then dug out another folder of a pano I shot in April 2004 and made an update.

Even the windy rains of Winter part from time to time and Sunday, March 2, 2008 was one of those days. So, with the rest of the country knee deep in snow, I set out to do the rounds of the West End and Coal Harbour.

Probably the most common shrub in Vancouver and just a block from where I live is the Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden in Stanley Park. There are thousands of plants, some varieties exclusive to the Greig's. Rhodo season peaks between the middle of April to the middle of May, corresponding with cherry trees, daffodils and tulips, the most glorious time in Vancouver, my favourite season.

The City of Richmond, South of Vancouver, is predominantly Asian. Not only are there many Sikh temples, but there are several Buddhist temples as well. This is the biggest and most impressive, with the largest Buddha image in North America.

Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and the Olympic Village is the largest housing construction project in North America. I discovered that the new seawall along the south shore of False Creek was completed, offering new views of Yaletown, so I did a tour on Saturday, August 9, 2008. Sunday was Hare Krishna parade day to Stanley Park with free food.

Acres of experimental plants, the largest University Botanical garden in North America. August 13, 2008.

A new town is being built on the south side of the UBC campus, adjacent to the Farm. It is going to have upscale condos, market housing, shops, restaurants and even a school. The land where the farm is located is zoned for academic / housing, so there is a real fear that it may be lost. There is work to be done to prevent that. August 30, 2008.

Where W 19th Ave ends at Pacific Spirit Park, lies the only bog remaining in Vancouver. Formed 10,000 years ago with the retreat of the last Ice Age, the bog is a special place and volunteers are constantly working to protect it, yet make it accessible. Sept. 7, 2008.

At the tip of Point Atkinson, the most westerly point of the City of West Vancouver there is a lighthouse, surrounded by the last remaining old growth forest in Metro Vancouver. September 13 & 28, 2008.

Nowhere near as dramatic as back east, it's still a nice time of year. There is a cooling in the air and the rains come back. October 18, 2008.

A strip has developed on Burrard street with some car dealerships; Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Lexus, Aston Martin and soon, Ferrari and Maserati. A few days later the mountains had their first dusting of snow. November 20, 2008.

The new VCEC was officially opened on Friday, April 4, 2009. There was a public open house on the Saturday and Sunday, so I went to see it. At one million square feet it is the biggest building in the city.

After several weeks of cool, coudy weather, the sun finally came out, so I took my camera for a walk around Stanley Park.

The cool spring put rhododendron season back 4 - 6 week in Vancouver this year, but they finally arrived and here is a quick walk through Stanley Park to get some of the best ones.

One of Vancouver's foremost architects passed away on May 20, the day before I was to take a tour of his house and garden and write a newsletter for my stamp store client. Because the foundation that managed the house and garden liked the newsletter I wrote, I was invited to his memorial service at Simon Fraser University, which he designed. The newsletter is listed below.

There is a fundraiser going on in town called "Eagles in the City" and I have been taking pictures of them. There are 2 of them close to Granville Island, so I took a side trip.

My stamp store client was behind in getting my work to me this week, so I moved my planned Friday trip to Port Moody to today to take pictures of their Eagle. I had never been on the Westcoast Express commuter train before, so I took some pictures on the way.

Continuing on my Eagle quest, there is one in Burnaby, the city just to the East of Vancouver. It is located in the largest hockey complex in Metro, where the Canucks used to practice.

For the past couple of months, I have been photographing the latest fundraiser of the Lions Club of BC. Fibreglass Eagles have been painted by local artists and set up all over the Province. I have shot all the ones in downtown and this is them.

Outlying Eagles coming in the Fall.

Every summer, Chinatown has a weekend night market, and on the second weekend of August, they add a street festival and run the night market all day.

On August 17, Vancouver became the first city in Canada to have a rapid transit connection between the airport and downtown. The line also connects to the city of Richmond and will greatly reduce transit and car traffic from the southern suburbs.

The North Vancouver waterfront is being transformed from derelict shipbuilding yards to upscale condos and shops. Some of the waterfront shipyards are being restored to house the Centre and the RCMP St Roch will be moved back to where it was built. Labour Day, September 7, 2009.

When the new Convention Centre opened in April, the old one was closed for renovation. It re-opened this week and it looks great. They have turned the connector between the two buildings into an art gallery, so I went to see it.

Usually spread out over weeks, if not months, Fall seems to be happening in a shorter time frame this year. While not as intense as the broad sweep of colour back East, we instead have dramatic punches of colour in the midst of the conifers.

With less that a month to go before the Olympics and after several weeks of rain, Saturday was forecast as a dry sunny day, so I took my camera for a walk to see the preparations.

With just over 2 weeks to the opening of the Games and with the Olympic torch back in BC, the finishing touches on downown venues continues, some of them look like it will be down to the wire.

Chinese New Year will happen just 2 days after the Games open. In anticipation, the Chinatown Business Association organized a cleanup of the area and is planning the biggest dragon parade ever.

Along the lines of Chinatown's street level contribution, there is also a street level participation by dowtown business, here's a preview.

Every day now, more and more businesses are coming up with innovative displays and the streets are getting very busy with people speaking all sorts of languages as the teams and their supporters arrive.

Part 1

Here are the few days bracketing the Opening Ceremonies, the city has changed forever, there has never been energy like this before.

Part 2

These are from week one, I hope you get a sense of the energy going on in town. Canada has already won it's first gold medal ever on home soil, we're giddy.

Part 3

Week 2 of what are now being called the best Winter Games ever. Canada not only wins gold on home soil, we win more gold than any country ever.

Part 4

After 2 weeks to reset the venues, the Paralympic Games begin and Canada wins it's most Gold ever, again.

Part 5

After the Games, a friend sent me a Power Point presentation of professioal photos taken during the Games. I emphasize that I did not take these and none of them were annotated, so I can't credit them, but they are all pretty spectacular, just the same.

It was a sunny Sunday, April 11, and I decided an adventure was in order. I had recently learned that Translink had allocated funds for art installations at Canada Line stations. I've seen two of them and wondered if there were more in Richmond. On the way home, I went up to the Vancouver Outlook on the top of Harbour Centre.

Sunday, June 6, five days before the FIFA South Africa kickoff and the Commercial Drive merchants decided to host an Italy Day, the first since 1982. Thousands turned out to celebrate and despite some rain, the day was a great success.

My niece Eva was in town on her way home to Winnipeg after 5 months in NZ and Oz, so we spent Saturday at the Dragon Boat Races, Olympic Village, Granville Island, Yaletown and Canada Place. Whew.

Canada Place and Granville Street were the focal ponts for Canada Day in Vancouver. The Olympic Cauldron was lit for the first time since the Games. We love that thing.

The first warm weather since the Olympics arrived in town with the feeling that it was actually going to stay. Cloudless and above average temperatures demanded that I head out with the camera.

The Rose Garden in Stanley Park was in full bloom, and the Aboriginal Tourism Association had created a demonstration village in the park for the first time. I had to go see.

After weeks of cold weather during June, we had almost a week of stifling heat last week that broke overnight Sunday and all day Monday with winds from the North West blowing straight up the Bay. The temperature dropped from 30º+ to below 20º and boats were beached, trees came down and power was out. July 11 - 12, 2010.

I took my scooter out to UBC and came home on North-West Marine drive to tour the south shore of English Bay and on to False Creek.

I had been out and about doing errands on the scooter that were taking me close to Queen Elizabeth Park, smack dab in the centre of Vancouver at the highest point in town. Because it is so high up, if you don't have transportation, it's quite the climb. At the summit is the Bloedel Conservatory, which the Park Board was threatening to close, but Van Dusen Garden rescued, so off I went.

November 2, 2010

There is an island in the middle of the mouth of the Fraser river with a 740 acre bird sanctuary. Winter migratory birds are starting to arrive, so I went with my Cloverdale cousins for the day, a wonderful place.

From time to time, my client at All Nations Stamp and Coin asks me to write a newsletter and to take pictures at events marking the release of new stamps and coins. Or other things.

The Colony of British Columbia was proclaimed 150 years ago and Canada Post came out with a new stamp to commemorate the event. The proclamation was read at Fort Langley on the Fraser River, so the stamp was unveiled at the restored Fort.

Vancouver's ultimate nursery, jammed with exotic plants from around the world. The owner believes Vancouver's climate allows us to push traditional rules of climate zones and we should experiment.

The MoA is closed for the winter for renovations, but there are lots of things to see on the grounds. There are many totem poles and reconstructed longhouses. There are ruins from when this location was a gun emplacement guarding the entrance to the harbour during WWII, and of course, there is the view.

Vancouver grew as individual towns and villages developed on the peninsula and merged over the years, leaving Vancouver with a scattered collection of town centres from years ago.

The University was founded in 1908, so Canada Post came out with a stamp to celebrate. UBC has put up signs outside of 15 notable buildings and memorials, each with a cell phone number to call to hear a recorded history.

The speed skating events at the Olympics will be held in Richmond, the city just South of Vancouver. Because there is a speed skating training centre in Calgary, this facility was designed to be converted to a multi-use sports centre after the games. December 12, 2008.

Women's Olympic hockey will be played in the Thunderbird Arena on the campus of the University of British Columbia. This is the latest addition to the Winter Sports Complex on the campus. The Canucks will practice here. February 18, 2009.

After 6 months of renovation and expansion, the MoA reopened. One of the best museums of anthropology in the world, this is one of Arthur Erickson's masterpieces. March 9, 2009.

On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, thousands of students, faculty, staff, friends and families gathered outside the student Union Building at UBC to march past the Board of Governors meeting and to Trek to UBC farm to draw attention to the fact that the Farm is still listed as zoned for future housing.

Designed and built in 1960, the garden has now matured to be a masterpiece of contrasting sights and tranquil beauty.

Architect to millionaires, Arthur lived in an 850 square foot converted garage on a double lot which he converted to a formal Japanese garden while a professor at UBC.

I recently discovered that there is a geological museum on campus at UBC, in the Earth and Ocean Sciences department. It's a fascinating place, with displays of minerals and a complete dinosaur skeleton.

September 2, 2009, ten days in advance of the Fair to help our neighbours promote their event. An interesting look at a "rural" Vancouver you may not recognize.

May 22, 2010, World Biodiversity Day was the appropriate time to open the new Beaty Museum of Biodiversity at UBC. The actual public display won't be ready until September, but the Atrium is open, with a complete adult blue whale skeleton.

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