Banff River

Banff River                                     Banff, AB, Canada.  2009

Banff River.  The water in this river was amazing.  Kayakers and rafters seemed to have an amazing time on this river; we just didn't get time.

Sulfur Mountain Vistas

Banff from Sulfur Mountain                                                            Banff, AB, Canada. 2009

Feeling overly enthusiastic & energetic one day while travelling with one of my best mates, we hiked Sulfur Mountain at Banff.  It's a trail of switchbacks that regularly pass under the gondola that most (normal) people take up the mountain.  The sign at the bottom warns hikers that this hike takes between 2 and 5 hours depending on conditions.  We hiked for about 3 hours and finally reached the sumit (2451m), of which we'd climbed over 600m, and some amazing vistas.  The gondola ride down was a well deserved rest.

I took this shot from the top, overlooking the Fairmont hotel (Banff), Banff golf club and Banff river.  On a clear day you can see over 145km from the sumit.  The temperature drops by 3degrees with every 1000 foot rise in elevation.

Sulfur Mountain Gondola.  2009

Othello Tunnels

Othello Tunnels path                     Coquihalla Canyon, AB, Canada, 2009

Othello Tunnels are converted train tunnels running through mountains and winding along the pristine river.  The tunnels were a part of a line connecting Kootenay with the British Columbian coast.  The line was built across three mountain ranges.  The Coquihalla Gorge river was at the bottom of 300 feet of solid granite.  The engineer, Andrew McCullough, a straight line of tunnels crossing this gorge and named stations after Shakspearean characters as he was an avid reader of Shakespearean literature.

Fading Bloom

Fading Bloom                                                                       Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

Spring was a nice time to live in Canada.  Flowers blooming, long sunny days and relativelty clear weather.  I started to take more interest in photography around this time, and started to notice the little things in life.

Photography makes you stop and appreciate, and to me it makes you see things from a different perspective.

Kickinghorse River

Kickinghorse River                                                         Yoho National Park, AB, Canada, 2009 

This is the mighty Kickinghorse River in Yoho National Park (I think).  It's clarity and colour is amazing, the blue is entirely natural, created from suspended particles from glacial flow.  This region is surrounded by enormous peaks, roads cutting through them to form a path for tourists and Canadians alike.

Clarity

Clarity                                                                 Johnson Canyon, Banff, AB, Canada, 2009

Johnson Canyon was one spectacular place.  It was rainforesty, there was a stream running the entire length of the wooden boardwalk.  The boardwalk was at times 20m above the ground level, bolted precariously to the edge of a cliff, sometimes under a shelf so you had to duck as you passed.  It is somewhere that could not be properly explored in the time we spent there, I would say it would be an all day job, at the least.

Twilight in Vancouver

Twilight in Vancouver                                                                Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

Twilight in Vancouver was a magical time.  Whether you were walking through the city, strolling along False Creek, or taking a run over one of the many bridges in the Downtown area; it was magical.  Lights everywhere, making everything twinkle.

Burrard bridge was one of those things/places for me that sort of tied everything together.  After I got off work I would walk my sister to hers then run back after a coffee.  Burrard bridge was how you got to Granville Island.  Burrard Bridge was extremely photographic.

Coal Harbour Pier

Coal Harbour Pier                                                                   Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

Taken on a nightly walk at Coal Harbour while living in Vancouver.

Edith Cavill Stream

Edith Cavill Stream                 Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, 2009

The road back from Mount Edith Cavill & Angel Glacier, along the Athabasca river, was peppered with wildflowers.  When we found an area to pull over safely I decamped to grab some shots of them and noticed this stream.  The water was crystal clear and the rocks had amazing colour.

Mt Edith Cavill was named after Edith Cavill, an English nurse who was captured and executed by the Nazis for assisting allied soldiers in their escape from occupied Belgium.  There was a placard with information and details of her heroics.  While we were standing, awestruck, there was a massive rumble from the mountain, we for a second thought we were going to witness an avalanche on Angel Glacier.  Alas we did not.

Farmers market

Farmers Market                                                                Seattle, Washington, USA, 2009

We spent a weekend in Seattle, catching the 7.30 bus from Vancouver after I finished work at 7am.  We camped in the Green Tortoise hostel, spent loads of time in the Public and Farmers markets, dranks loads of coffee from the first ever Starbucks, investigated the city's underground past, visited a building that at 40 stories was once the tallest in the world and saw a baseball game. 

It was one busy weekend, but at the same time one of the best weekends away I think I've ever had.  I still want to spend more time there - it seems like a city full of culture, it has a relaxed and vibrant atmosphere and some awesome markets.

Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake                                Banff, Alberta, Canada, 2009

Peyto Lake is a glacial fed lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.  Access to the lake is from the Icefield Parkway which is a nature reserve dotted with glaciers, glacial lakes, massive mountains and wildlife.  One of my favourite places, and I'm glad I got to share this sight with my sister.

Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour from Canada Place                                                   Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

I spent 6 months in Vancouver, and took a lot of night shots.  This was taken after a night time stroll with my sister and her flatmate.

Granville Island Berries



Granville Island Berries                                                                              Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

 During my 6 month stay in Vancouver we visited Granville Island relatively frequently.  It has one of the most amazing public markets I've been to.  It has one hell of a choice of fresh fruit, vegies, meat, seafood, small goods and exotic foods like stuffed olives and cheeses.

I shot this photo on one of those trips and have loved since seeing it on the LCD screen of my new (at the time) DSLR.