Strictly visual, grey clouds, green turban. The view from a BC Ferries vessel.
BC Ferries, Green Turban, British Columbia 2016
All posts filed under History
Robin Hood Motel, Victoria British Columbia 2016
There’s something about old signage. The Robin Hood Motel on Gorge Road seems a throwback to the 60s anyhow but it’s obvious in both the retro style and content the sign has not been changed in a long time. Despite the changeable sign below advertising wifi, the main sign still touts that they offer COLOUR television. The motel is one of the last of its …
Broken Rodeo Cowboy Statue, Williams Lake, British Columbia 2016
A number of rodeo heritage related wooden statues decorate the streets of Williams Lake. This particular statue, which occupies a plot of grass at the main intersection had been vandalized, leaving the cowboy with no lower arms to grasp the horse’s reins.
Travellers Hotel and Swastikas, Ladysmith, British Columbia 2016
The first time I photographed the Travellers Hotel in Ladysmith on the town’s main street my attention was held by the dilapidated hotel sign over the main doors. I really didn’t look up at the higher stories and facade which at a quick glance seemed to be just fairly plain brick. A closer look on a more recent visit revealed a line of swastikas girdling …
Former Toyota Dealership, Victoria, British Columbia 2015
This style of building, an architectural homage to to the Japanese heritage of the car dealership’s home country, was not unique for this Victoria Toyota car lot. I’m not sure if at one point all Toyota dealerships looked like this but I remember another in Kamloops. It was remodelled years ago and is now a fast food restaurant box, all Asian influences removed. The Victoria …
Vancouver Public Library Steps, Central Branch, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016
I stopped by the Vancouver Public Library’s Central branch, the big one downtown bordered by West Georgia and Robson Streets. Designed by Moshe Safdie and DA Architects, that complex’s colonnaded walls give it a sort of Roman ruin look. I was there to check out some of the early Vancouver photography held by the Special Collections photo section up on the 7th floor. Had an interesting chat …
Cardero Grocery, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016
The Cardero Grocery tucked away in Vancouver’s West End is another one of those old corner grocery stores that appears to exist in a time warp. Old painted lettering and old 7-Up logos on the facade. It seems to me the key to the longevity of these old stores is their proximity to a school. It’s not the local residents shopping that pays all the …
Arbutus Cafe, Duncan, British Columbia 2016
While new architecture is as important as old, new, especially chain store architecture, is the same. A visual repetition that repeats across a province, a country and even the world, that makes everything appear to be the same, that in the interest of convenience takes away our regional uniqueness. The Arbutus Cafe in Duncan (above) is a one of a kind local establishment. It has …
Royal Bay Development, Colwood, British Columbia 2016
This will be an area I’ll be photographing over the next few years as this land gets built up. This view will change quickly, a massive housing development will cover a former gravel pit site. The very first houses in the Royal Bay development are going up in front of Royal Bay Secondary school. The school opened in 2015 and was the first building to …
Lowe Cost Auto Maintenance, Chemainus, British Columbia 2016
Came across this place after a random turn off the highway. I really like the way the vines, without their summer leaves, looked wrapped around the old garage. Judging by the shrubs around the awning pillars it’s been awhile since this shop was operational.
The Odeon, Brickyard and Efes, Yates Street, Victoria, British Columbia 2016
Unique local restaurants and movie theatre along Yates Street in downtown Victoria.
Boat Graveyard, Vancouver Island, British Columbia 2016
This was truly a west coast nautical scene, acreage filled with broken and decaying boats, mainly smaller pleasure or fishing craft. There were no indicators why the mossy rotting boats were there, the only sign visible from the side road I was on said No Trespassing, not really an encouragement to explore more. On my way out I spotted a house, which may be connected …
Rain storm approaching, Harbour Road, Victoria, British Columbia 2016
This is the kind of weather we’ve seen a lot of this year. The street, Harbour Road, is one of the more interesting roads in Victoria simply because the side shown is new residential with some commercial/retail thrown in. The other side of the road is on the harbour and is still marine industrial giving the area a nice feel, holding on to an …
Former Safeway gas station, Duncan, British Columbia 2016
This photograph shows not only the disappearance of a gas station but the signals the disappearance on an entire grocery store chain (Safeway) on Vancouver Island. Due to a takeover by eastern grocery giant Sobeys of the local chain Thriftys that resulted in the one company owning most of the major chains on the Island the competition bureau (some government organization anyhow) ruled that in …
Vernon Drive Grocery, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016
This small corner store is such a great example of the old school of the neighbourhood grocery in Vancouver. It’s served many generations of neighbours as well children attending Admiral Seymour Elementary School across the street. The Pepsi signs are quite unique too I think, a change from the usual Coke version. The high price of Vancouver real estate has been in the news a …
Renee’s Soup and Sandwich, Ladysmith, British Columbia 2016
Renee’s is a classic old school local cafe, with a painted sign which you don’t see very often anymore. The place was busy just before lunch on a recent Saturday with locals enjoying early lunches and the local newspaper. I had a muffin and several, really hot, good cups of coffee and caught up on my notes for the images I’d taken that day.
New Vancouver Art Gallery site, West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016
As an exercise I sometimes try and photograph with an eye to preserving a view that will not exist in the future. The above is one such view. Shot from Cambie Street and looking across Georgia Street to the north. The parking lot seen at the lower right of the image is the future site of the Vancouver Art Gallery. That new building will most …
Olympia Pizza & Pasta, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016
I’ve been eating at Olympia Pizza for over 30 years. Sure, there was a 15-20 year gap in visits when I lived in Alberta but now that my son lives in the west end, my old neighbourhood, the family has resumed enjoying their house lasagna during visits. It’s wonderful when you can revisit an old favourite. The exterior could use some updating or at least …
Army & Navy Store, East Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016
The exterior of Army & Navy store, a long time fixture along East Hasting Street in Vancouver, is looking pretty shabby these days. When I was a kid, and the area was still a commercial hub, my parents would bring us in to the city from our home in the Fraser Valley and the Army & Navy was always a stop for new school clothes, …
Tent city for the homeless, Victoria, BC 2015
Homelessness continues to be an issue, mainly for urban areas and Victoria is no exception. Over the past decade a number of tent cities have sprung up, established by the homeless and transient street folk, usually in city parks. The city created a bylaw to address the issue, one that allows camping in parks overnight, but creates time boundaries, when tents can be pitched and …
Back alley in the snow, Kamloops, British Columbia 2015
A view of pedestrians making their way down a snowy back alley in north Kamloops, British Columbia. Downtown is visible in the background. A recent post by Austin, Texas photographer Kirk Tuck about the photographer as a visual anthropologist resonated with me. Here’s an excerpt below, with the link to the full article here. ‘Photographers rarely look to their own cultural or social peers as …
Shipwreck of the Pacific Sun King, Saanich, BC 2015
The wreckage of the ship Pacific Sun King lies on the beach in Gyro Park at Cadboro Bay. The 55 foot, 44-tonne live aboard ship washed ashore during a heavy windstorm on December 5. The wreckage has gotten more and more worn out as the owner saved what he could from the ship and subsequent storms have worn away the ship. A more complete story …
Old Water Tower and Boats, Sooke, BC 2013
The light was just right, highlighting the old water tower and the two beached boats that bookend the image during a brief road trip out to Sooke. This area has lots of overlooked and hidden corners for visual imagery that highlights local history and the British Columbia coastal and Vancouver Island lifestyle.
Dowler Grocery, Victoria, BC 2012
Dowler Grocery is yet another of those unique neighbourhood corner stores that has closed. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence that a 7-11 opened up across the street. I’m not sure when Dowler Grocery actually closed, I don’t actually remember it being open. The unusual thing is that even though this photo was taken in 2012 the storefront still looks the same. It hasn’t …
Grave Site of Albert “Ginger” Goodwin, Cumberland, British Columbia 2011
Even today, coal miner, union activist and conscientious objector during World War I, Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin remains a controversial figure in British Columbia history. The native of Yorkshire, England came to Canada to work in the coal mines and later became involved in union activities in response to terrible working conditions. He ended up becoming the vice-president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour as …
Salmon Spawning, Vancouver Island British Columbia 2015
Every fall since I returned to British Columbia twelve years ago I’ve photographed the spectacle and aftermath of the salmon returning to spawn in Vancouver Island rivers. When I started photographing the autumn event I was using black and white film. I shoot mainly digital now, although still shooting some B/W film when out on the rivers, but feel this particular project looks better in …
Architecture and Landscape Changes Vancouver Island 2015
Two photographs taken a week apart. In the first a heritage house, sporting some unique architectural detail, sits on supports and a trailer, in the second, the vacant lot after the house was removed and view of the previously hidden seascape. The third, yet to be taken, will show the new structure built on the lot. Change is inevitable and at least in this …
BC Almanac and Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver British Columbia
A while back I posted on a 1970’s publication featuring the work of a group of Vancouver photographers called the BC Almanac. That post is here. The publication was unique as it consisted of a series of mini-books/magazines, each one dedicated to one photographer’s work with the whole collection housed in a folder/cover. The one copy I was able to source and look over was …
Pink Pig Bank, Saanich, British Columbia 2015
An oversize, somewhat decrepit, pink pig piggy bank sits on the grounds of the Saanich fairgrounds. An image any visitor to the fairgrounds will remember. The grounds are host to the annual Saanich Fall Fair.
300 block West Hasting Street, Vancouver, British Columbia 2013
A street view in the 300 block of West Hastings Street on the edge of Vancouver’s downtown east side district.