All posts filed under Landscape

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 …

CTV Broadcast, Robson Street, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

Everybody has to work somewhere but it looked odd to see this television reporter, standing on a box on the Robson Street sidewalk waiting to respond to a remote (?) camera for a broadcast, not the traditional cameraman partner. Instead she was paired with a security guard, who was keeping an eye on the passing pedestrians.

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 …

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 …

Dog N Suds Diner, Williams Lake, British Columbia 2016

Williams Lake,  a small city in British Columbia’s Cariboo-Chilcotin  was in the news last week after  the city council voted to “inject’ repeat offenders with a GPS tracker (story here). The wacky story could have come right from the pages of Mark Leiren-Young‘s memoir of his days as a rookie reporter for the Williams Lake Tribune called Never Shoot A Stampede Queen. The shooting, by …

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 …

Property waiting for redevelopment, 1100 block West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

This property, looking pretty rundown at this point, has spectacular views of the Vancouver skyline. It has a unique mainly glass gazebo on the roof (at right). I’m guessing that the little house/entrance leads to either stairs or an elevator although elevators seems to be something only new small residences have. Redevelopment means that the space will hold more residences and they can all enjoy …

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 …

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 …