Vancouver Pre – Olympics, Vancouver British Columbia 2010

Main press centre in Vancouver. I picked up the last of my Olympic credentials on Saturday and so am officially official. Lots of Olympic workers and media, with special clothes and accreditation tags around their necks,  and police in the downtown core but hard to see ‘Olympic fever’ among regular folks. Most of the Olympic signage you’re seeing is commercial but there are a few …

Wet Coast Weather

Out looking for a weather feature on a recent wet and very windy day and was driving away from a view of the breakwater as nobody was walking on it and with good reason, the waves were breaking over the top of the wall. Just as I pulled away I saw a runner heading onto the breakwater so pulled a u-turn and drove back to …

Vancouver Visit

A brief visit to Vancouver a week ago to pick up my Olympic credentials. Snapped a couple of images while cruising the downtown streets, just fun stuff for a change. Liked the flag reflection in the one and just playing around with the image of the downtown library building.

Dave Bidini – Orion Lecture

The great Dave Bidini was in Victoria last night giving the annual Orion lecture. He talked about his travel for his books and TV documentaries and afterwards took questions from the audience. He’ll be around for a few more days talking to various writing classes at UVIC. I’m sure it’s not always so but Dave’s life seems so seamless, travel and music and writing and …

Worthy Causes – Shelter Box & Ancient Forest Alliance

I don’t usually hype groups or causes but two very different organizations came to my attention this week that deserve some attention and donations. The first,  Shelterbox, supplies a large box stuffed with tents, bedding, waterfilter, stove, pots etc, everything that a person or family in a disaster situation needs and needs quickly. It’s such a simple but effective idea. Shelterbox groups can be found …

Pete Rockwell Exhibition -Sacred Spaces

Pete Rockwell was hanging his images for his new exhibition at the Collective Works gallery in Victoria’s Fernwood district this afternoon as I drove by so popped in and took a few photos. The exhibition features Rockwell’s photographs of the Jordan River area focusing on the leftover traces of industry in the area including a hydro electric power plant. The exhibition also features sculptures by …

Poet P.K. Page dies at 93

Renowned Canadian poet, novelist, artist and librettist,  P. K. Page has died aged 93 at her home in Oak Bay, British Columbia. Just two days ago I’d stopped by the Cadboro Bay Book Store and asked Amber what was new in the store and she pointed out a new chapbook Cullen by P.K. Page, published by Outlaw Editions. I bought a copy and after heading …

Can’t ID Bands

Postimg for ID help -anyone know? First two pix, same band, no idea. Second band. Dimwit on bass but doesn’t look like Subhumans.

Jordan River Winter Surfing

Just another Vancouver Island winter day with the surf kicking up along the coast. Lots of surfers and kayakers out on the water. Weather ranged from pouring rain to a light mist although the sun came out on the drive home (typical). Word was spreading about the waves as more and more surfers were turning up throughout the morning. Surfers head out Beautiful BC wheel …

DOA Group Shot

Tom Harrison, then music editor of the Georgia Straight, and I drove out to the house Joe Keithley was renting in Burnaby off of Kingsway for a big interview for the entertainment weekly. Chuck was living with Joe at the time. This may have been the first big media shot DOA received. UPDATE: Ooops. Just found more negs , the ones that were from that …

And….more Vancouver punk photographs

Acclaimed documentary fimmaker Susanne Tabata is working on a film about the Vancouver punk rock world and I’m going through all my old negatives in order to send her some images for possible inclusion in the film. Here’s a few more possibilities from the early days. Hopefully Scott Beadle will chime in with some names and dates. Lots of faces here, drummer is ?, Randy …

Skulls – First performance -The future face of Vancouver punk

These images are from what was one of the first performances by a Vancouver area punk band at the Easter Be In at Semiamoo  (Sp?) Park. It was a pretty loose grouping of guys who would later go on to form some of the most important bands in Vancouver. The era’s long hair, other than on Joe Keithley who looks freshly shorn, and stubby beer …

The Pointed Sticks in Vancouver

On Saturday made the trip over to Vancouver too see a band that I’d seen many times before but not in 30 years. A lot of bands started in Vancouver  during the early punk rock years and only a few have survived. The Pointed Sticks were the one band that, at the time, seemed destined for stardom. Great music, stage presence etc etc. But it …

Ho Ho Horror

It hard to find Christmas images that are different but the skeleton that the owner has standing outside the Science Works store on Oak Bay Avenue is always dressed properly for the season and at this time of the year the contrast is a little shocking. Not quite a shocking as the year the late artist Jimmy Wright erected a crucified Santa (pic below) on …

Early Morning Moon

Out early at Cadboro Bay looking for a sunrise photo and on the way back to the car saw this tree and the waning moon. I like the graphic beauty of the bare winter trees. This was the sunrise photo,  a runner stretching on the beach.

Artist Portraits

I really enjoying taking portraits, especially of creative people. It’s always interesting to try and incorporate their environment into the image.With tighter papers, every section is squeezed for space so we’re not running as many entertainment stories and consequently not as many portraits of artists etc.  Here are a few, fairly recent, images. I really liked this image of Keith Hiscock at the Morris Gallery. …