Vancouver

Quick trip out to Vancouver this week.  Quick but busy.  During short time there had little time to shoot.  It was a letdown fairly early as I realized during my early flight that I should have opted for a window seat.  The sunrise kissing the peaks of the Rocky Mountains below was beautiful.  Alas, all I could do was lean over my sleeping neighbour as much as I dared to illustrate the point...

Was muttering "sonuva" for a good period of time after that.  Return did have me in a window seat, but day's end and the light nowhere near as interesting.  Still had to take advantage of the position, though...

Other random shots in town, starting with a beautifully lit courtyard at the hotel.  Love touching down at Christmas time.  Very comforting to have the lights and decorations around.

Unfortunately, Vancouver = Rain this time of year (at least while we were there, was apparently sunny the days prior and forecasted following).  Wet was of course a familiar theme...

That was a tricky one as I cuddled The Best Cappuccino in Vancouver in one hand.  Puddle would have mixed with tears of pain had I dropped that.


On a brighter note, this big blank wall at the airport.  All graphic and such is sure to catch my eye.

Such a great city, despite the rain.  

The Bag

So this is how it happens. A piece of luggage falls off a tram at the airport in Vancouver. One of the workers kindly moves it off the road to the side.

And then several others, including another luggage tram as I write this - simply walk past it with looks of mild curiosity. Sorry, fellow passenger, no bag for you tonight.

Photo from iPhone - hence the poor quality.

PS. Somebody did eventually pick it up.

Urban Christmas

Not all warm and fuzzy, but looks cool. Hope Santa doesn't smash through the glass.

Drive By

In beautiful Vancouver. Always great to look out and see the mountains and the sky. Even if while stuck in traffic. Taken with my trusty iPhone.

Aeroporto

File under "It's About Freaking Time" (coincidentally also about me getting back to making photos and posting them).  Winnipeg is now host to the newest international airport in Canada: the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.  The old airport is now dark and hopefully soon a pile of rubble.  I've only known the old shack, and with the travel I've done over the years I became increasingly desperate for a facelift.  

The new building went live the beginning of this month but I only had my first flight out 3-weeks into it.  New, shiny, light, airy.  Of course some shots were in order, yet strangely they became dark and relatively foreboding.  Really about the geometry.  Shiny pictures are on their website.

Looking down the length of the departures terminal.  Blessedly empty this mid-morning.  Light streams in from all around.

And for those coming home, a nice open area bathed in natural light courtesy of the skylights above.

Windows abound, from the check-in terminals...

...to the gateways themselves.  It's really cool having an open view while heading to your flight.

Kudos to the good folks who put this whole thing together.  It will take getting used to but long overdue.  

Back at the Rink

Nothing says Remembrance Day like...

...a ringette tournament. Cold arena is my home for the day. Photo courtesy of my iPhone.

Bailout

Had a productive trip to The Dump today.  On a whim brought my camera hoping to see something of interest.  There are a series of haybails along a ridgeline adjacent to the road.  This was framed with a low horizon to emphasize the sky, and the haybail balanced against the sun poking through the late-fall clouds.  By necessity this was shot as an HDR image because of the extreme contrast.  Conversion to black and white served to emphasize the graphic nature of the single bail on the low horizon, and the texture of the clouds.

As I shot this I was also kicking myself that I didn't have my 10-stop ND filter with me.  Would make a striking image with those clouds transformed into streaks of motion across the sky. Maybe next time.