Before Sunrise in Ft. Lauderdale

Before Sunrise in Ft. Lauderdale
Before Sunrise in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida                                          Buy a framed print

Earlier this month I captured this before sunrise in Ft. Lauderdale, which is on Florida’s Atlantic coast. I was hoping to catch the colors at dawn but there was too much of a marine layer and it wasn’t to be. Nonetheless the city lights cast a glow on the low clouds in this long exposure. I kept the shutter open for about eight-seconds which makes the ocean appear smooth.

This was taken from in front of the Marriott hotel where I stayed. I had never been there before and had to follow the GPS to find it the night before. I didn’t really know where I was or which way it was to the city. My room was set back from the beach so I could only see the beach, not up and down the coast. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when I walked down here early in the morning to find that the main city was just a short walk north. I’m glad I woke up or I would have missed this scene, it’s not easy to take a picture of a deserted beach in Ft Lauderdale.

I walked up and down the beach taking all kinds of pictures, several I’ve recently published on the blog. It was a fun experience in the predawn hours with just my camera. Due to the soft sand it took a lot of effort to walk, but that’s how a beach is, sandy. When I walk on the beach I normally just pick a direction and start a slow plod, stopping to take pictures, slowly making my way until its time to turn around. And so that pretty much sums up this morning, a slow Sunday plod.

Skytrain Station

Skytrain Station
Skytrain Station in Vancouver                                  Obtain a print

I took this at a Skytrain station in Vancouver. It’s called the Skytrain because most of it is above ground. I’m not from around here so I still call it a subway, but when I do I get glances. The kind of glance that says you’re not from around here are you? Maybe one day I’ll get it right, but its kind of low on the priority list.

That aside it’s the best run transit system I’ve seen outside of Disney World. There are no drivers and everything is automated, a little like Tomorrowland. However as a programmer it gives me just a slight amount of concern, like that glance I get when I say the word subway. It’s subtle but there is a difference. I know what happens when there’s a bug in the code and if my program controls a train, well that opens up all kinds of scenarios. Even so I ignore the thought because the train seems to have been running very well for years, so perhaps the code is bug free. I wipe the consideration from my mind, just as quickly as it enters. I’m getting a little off track.

Skytrain just added something new called a Compass pass. Long story short it’s a convenient way to buy a fare, transfer to a bus or ferry and possibly save money at the same time. Without going into all the details it seems to work pretty well, just as well as the trains run without drivers. Did I mention that? One thing seems certain to me; someone is writing a lot of  good code and as a result the whole system seems to run quite well. Now if I could just reprogram my brain to not call it a subway.

Coast of British Columbia

Coast of British Columbia
Coast of British Columbia from the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver                              Purchase a fine art print

The coast of British Columbia is made up of islands, one after another, as far as the eye can see. I imagine this scene must have remained the same for the nine thousand years that the first nations inhabited this area. These were solely inhabited by indigenous tribes up until a couple centuries ago. I know this because when I took this picture I was standing on the grounds of the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. The MoA is largely dedicated to preserving remnants from those people.

The MoA contains artifacts, writings and art from these cultures and I left there with a new sense respect. A good museum does that, takes us outside of ourselves and provides different perspectives we can use to understand the world. I think that whether I descend from these people or not, we inhabit the same space and share the same planet and based on that we are more alike than different. I know that’s a little bit cliche, but it helps me understand their story just a little bit, starting from what we have in common. It’s a stretch, but it’s a start. Regardless, I left feeling a little bit conflicted about the current state of things. A problem for another day perhaps.

The next day I was walking through a crowded park in the city. Along a trail by a pond was a young lady holding her right hand out. I thought that was a little odd so I continued looking as I approached. In fact she was holding out bird seed and feeding some small finches as they landed on her hand. She did not look at me as she remained perfectly still, hand outstretched. I smiled and walked on, not wanting to disturb her communion, but I did think that was an odd sight, not something I see everyday. Is it possible that centuries ago this might not have appeared so unusual, that it might have been as common as, say, sending a text message? I have no way of knowing, but it made me think that we moderns and those ancients are probably closer at the things that matter than we might know.

There is my thought for the day.

Koerner Library

Koerner Library
The Koerner Library at the University of British Columbia                       Buy a mounted print

This is the Koerner Library building at the University of British Columbia. I walked through UBC on my way back from taking pictures along the shoreline. I was amazed at how big the UBC campus is. To me, coming from a small town, it seemed enormous and I suppose this is just one of many libraries scattered throughout. The sun was setting behind the building so it added a dramatic flare, at least to my eyes which never saw this building before.

I think that faculty and students don’t even bat an eye, and the thought of taking a picture of this might seem trite. That’s the value of having fresh eyes. This happens to me all the time back in Florida. I can walk somewhere and not see a thing I’d consider remarkable, but someone from out of town would. We all become blind to things we consider commonplace. In fact, I almost didn’t stop to take this picture because I noticed it was a library, what could be interesting about a library? I’m glad I did.

After taking the shot I continued back to the bus stop to catch a ride back to town. It was Saturday night and sure enough it was full of students heading into town to hang out. It was still pretty early so the bus wasn’t that full, but I’m sure had I left a couple hours later this library would have been empty and all therein lined up at the bus stop for a night away from the library. Not that I know that to be a fact, I’m just sayin.

Urbex Rain Day

Urbex Rain Day
Urbex Rain Day in Vancouver on a Saturday Morning                                     Purchase a unique print

Saturday was an urbex rain day. Meaning that it was raining and I did a little urban exploration. I would say that pretty much every day is a rain day in Vancouver, but it’s that’s just how it is. For me it’s a perfect excuse to get out and shoot rainy scenes, totally awesome.

I live on the East Coast and I try to stay in that time zone when I travel west. The advantage is I wake up super early and that helps me get a good start on the day. When I come to Vancouver that means photography in the morning. So by the time the sun rises, which by the way it never does, I’ve already been out for a couple of hours. Bonus. The downside of course is I turn into a pumpkin at about seven in the evening. So as long as I do fun stuff in the morning or day, I’m good.

In this case the morning was rainy and as I said, totally awesome. Something about people with umbrellas makes for an interesting picture. I don’t really know what it is but I find it cool. We have umbrellas where I live, but people don’t walk where I live. They walk from the parking lot to the store, that’s most of it. So there are no busy streets with people dressed up carrying umbrellas. So anyway, I got a tonne of umbrella shots, maybe too many but I’ll worry about that later. For now, this is the first of my urbex umbrella shots.

Small Streets of Barcelona

Small Streets of Barcelona
Small streets of Barcelona at night                                    Purchase fine art print

Coming from America I just love the small streets of European cities. Of course they were built in the age of horses but they are now busy pedestrian thoroughfares with shops and cafes at every turn. This is in Barcelona near the main cathedral. People are walking around at all hours of the night, it feels quite safe. I could walk around all day and all night here and get delightfully lost. It was not problem at all. If I ever got worried I just looked at the map app on my Apple iPhone and it guided me back to my hotel. I wonder if horse riders ever got lost in these streets? They probably fed the apple to the horse and let it found the way out. Kind of ironic.

Walk on a Warm Beach

Walk on a Warm Beach
Lido Beach, Sarasota Florida                                                  Purchase fine art print

We are having a rather warm fall season here in Florida. I work in an air-conditioned room and so even I look forward to getting outside just to warm up. There are some beaches where you can just walk along at sunset with a drink in your had and the warm water at your feet. This one is at Lido beach which is just now gearing up for the winter season. As soon as American Thanksgiving is over waves of northerners will migrate south and end up doing something like this each evening. Now if I could just get out of my office, I might just join them.

Cloudy Beach at Dawn

Cloudy Beach at Dawn
The beach at Carnon France at dawn                                          buy print

Its safe to say the beach was quite deserted this morning at dawn when I showed up to get a few pictures. This is in Carnon along the Mediterranean in the south of France. But, just like back home in Florida, there are still people showing up to walk or run the shoreline. As well there were a few fishermen plying their trade. Some things, regardless of the location, seem to be universal. Beaches are places were people come to play or work along the shore.

La Grande-Motte

The town of La Grande-Motte sits along the Mediterranean. All of the buildings were designed by a single architect and convey harmony with the sea and mediterranean sensibilities. I walked around one morning just observing the architecture and sense of theme.
Architecture of La Grande-Motte                                          Buy print

The town of La Grande-Motte sits along the Mediterranean. All of the buildings were designed by a single architect and convey harmony with the sea and mediterranean sensibilities. I walked around one morning just observing the architecture and sense of theme.

Chapel in Collioure France

Yesterday we stopped in Collioure which is a French village on the Mediterranean just north of the border with Spain. It's a lovely little place with views of the sea and many cafes and shops. There is a cathedral right at the edge of the sea and then extending out is a smaller chapel. Perhaps a place to wait or pray for mariners, I'm not really sure. Nonetheless the clouds were dramatic so I captured this as I walked out from the church to the chapel. Once out there the wind was brisk and you would surely lose anything not held tight, yet back in the village there was only a breeze. A perfect place for an afternoon.
Chapel by the sea in Collioure along the Mediterranean                               Buy print

Yesterday we stopped in Collioure which is a French village on the Mediterranean just north of the border with Spain. It’s a lovely little place with views of the sea and many cafes and shops. There is a cathedral right at the edge of the sea and then extending out is a smaller chapel. Perhaps a place to wait or pray for mariners, I’m not really sure. Nonetheless the clouds were dramatic so I captured this as I walked out from the church to the chapel. Once out there the wind was brisk and you would surely lose anything not held tight, yet back in the village there was only a breeze. A perfect place for an afternoon.