New Vintage Shop on Fort Street

No longer are there so many antique stores, now things are vintage. This new shop, Zeitgeist has just opened and we had a good time poking around in there. - Fern

Worth a Second Look 9

Here's a set of photos I originally posted in 2008, along with the original captions.

Wisteria
I keep trying to get a good picture of the beautiful purple wisteria flowers in the back yard...

...but something...

...keeps getting in the way.

Must be something to do with that new trampoline.

That charming little girl is my grand-daughter Rosie who, despite being all grown up now, remains as charming as she was 9 years ago.

Look Up

Lights, golden leaves and a lion. - Fern

Wet Weather

Lots of rain lately. Here's what the strait looked like this afternoon from Saxe Point.

Found Composition

As an artist one of the side effects is that where ever you go you see interesting things to look at it. Even in a parkade for example. - Fern

Winter

It was unseasonably cold here for several days - we even had a light dusting of snow - but it has warmed up a bit the last few days though still damp and cold. Here's what it looked like along the West Bay Walkway this morning.

Worth a Second Look - 8

Yesterday's photo reminded me of another photo I posted a year earlier, in 2010, entitled "Curiosity". This photo was taken at the Harbour Ferry stop in the Inner Harbour. The two boys were excitedly peering at the anemones and other undersea plants/animals that grow on the underwater parts of the dock while their parents were sitting placidly on the bench behind them. Here is the caption I attached to the photo at the time:

Though we never really lose our curiosity completely it does seem to be one of those characteristics that fades as we mature. I suspect it has to do with the growth of confidence and decisiveness. You can't act with confidence unless you feel sure that you have a firm grip on the nature of reality. There is no place for wonder in such a state of mind. Yet curiosity is what enables us to explore the world, meet new people and learn new things, a process that should never end.

Worth a Second Look 7

Here's another of my favorite photos, from August 2011. I think my original remarks on this photo are still the best caption:

As adults we often forget that "play" can be deeply serious and satisfying. It's not only running and jumping and giggling, important though those are. Play may involve deep concentration that is a kind of practice for the most important work we will do later in our lives. One of the most fascinating aspects of beach-watching is to see how often this environment induces this profound level of contemplation and purposeful activity in children.

Worth a Second Look 6

Here's a couple of photos from the summer 2011 when, in case you haven't noticed, I discovered HDR processing and, like many of its early practitioners, pushed it to the max. I still like these photos (the top one actually won a prize in a local photo contest) but I'm happy that I now have learned to use HDR with a little more restraint. The top photo is of a friend's vintage restored truck and the photo below was taken on a trip to the beautiful nearby city of Seattle, Washington, in the USA.

Worth a Second Look 5

This from Victoria's Victoria Day Parade in 2011. I photograph this parade every year and of all the dozens (or hundreds) of photos I've taken of the parade this is my favorite. I think it's pretty hard to go wrong with a bunch of bare legged teen girls leaping with such energy, but the black-suited marchers in front of them make a nice contrast and the low angle in this photo also contributes to the sensation of bursting upwards into the blue spring sky. I've tried a crop that cuts out a lot of the right side of this photo but I ended up not cropping it since I like the way the relatively empty space on the right makes the photo feel less crowded. Those little girls sitting on the pavement are also sharing this low point of view so I like to have them there too.