Empress Update

A striking addition to the Empress Hotel is the Porte-cochere they have built to shelter the new entrance to the hotel at the front of the north wing. I like it mostly for how it frames the Legislative Assembly Building (see below).

Carriage Trade

Despite sporadic protests from animal rights activists these horse and carriage tours of the city remain popular with tourists. Certainly one good effect they have is traffic-calming since they move at quite a leisurely pace. Their home base here is right beside the Legislative Assembly Buildings and they add a pleasantly pastoral air to the area while they wait for clients.

Queen Victoria

Last weekend was Victoria Day weekend. The original holiday was to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria on May 24th. To ensure a long weekend it is now celebrated on the last Monday before the 24th of May. I thought it might be nice to salute the holiday by posting a photo of the statue of the young queen that stands in front of the British Columbia Legislature overlooking Victoria's Inner Harbour. It's a larger than life statue and rests on a high pedestal so it is not easy to see her face. Probably most of us think of her in her widow's weeds as an elderly woman but when she came to the throne she was a beautiful young woman only 18 years old. I think this statue does her justice. The sculptor was Albert Bruce-Joy. The statue was installed at its present location in 1914. We'll have a look at Monday's Victoria Day Parade tomorrow.

Legislative Assembly Building

Earlier this week we had an election for the provincial government, the Legislative Assembly. The election was so close that it has yet to be definitively decided who will govern and I thought that this was a fitting time to take a look at the Legislative Assembly Building, pictured above. Generally the building is photographed from the front but it offers some interesting perspectives when viewed from the sides or the rear. I quite like these little decorative turrets and flourishes and we'll have a look at some other aspects of this building over the next few days.

The Postcard

As I was leaving the causeway yesterday I thought I might as well grab a postcard view of the Inner Harbour, something I have photographed many times. It's always different. Here's what it looked like on an overcast late afternoon in May, 2017.

February Flashback

I find as I age I am turning into a fair weather photographer. For me, photography requires a bit of a meditative state and when it's cold I no longer have the patience to stand around and get it right. So, until it warms up a bit more we'll have a look at some photos from the past. The dramatic shot above is from February 2009. It's already starting to have some historical significance - in the center of the photo you can see a blue Telus phone booth. There used to be a couple of these on the Causeway but once everyone started to have mobiles they were removed.

Cold Snap

While we've been looking at last year's photos Victoria has been having a cold snap - witness the fountain on the grounds of the Legislative Assembly Buildings. Fern and I drove around in the nicely heated vehicle last week to look at this and some of the other places we frequent in the summer.

May Choices!

As I wrote yesterday, "Every year I put together a calendar for friends and family, of photos I have published on this blog for the last year or so. However, it's always difficult to make decisions about which photos to use. I am hoping visitors to this blog will help out. Every day for the next few weeks I will publish two or three photos from a given month and hope that comments and choices made by visitors will help me make a final decision which photos to use in this year's calendar. As an incentive, I will offer an online downloadable/printable file of the calendar to anyone who helps me make a choice."

Thanks to everyone who has given me their opinions so far, and it really helps when you give reasons for your preference.

Below are my favorite May 2016 photos. There are four to choose from today - Three from the Victoria Day Parade - always an interesting event though it is now being eclipsed in popularity by the Pride Parade later in the year. Anyway, here's four photos of Victoria in May. Which one do you prefer?

Legislative Assembly Building

Falun Dafa Marchers - Victoria Day Parade (I really like the spirit and joie de vie that these women displayed in their marching, so full of life and energy.)

Penny Farthing Cyclists - Victoria Day Parade

Marching Band in Front of Victoria City Hall - Victoria Day Parade

The Everything Photo

I have a bad photography habit that I am trying to curb - I usually try to get everything into one shot, as in the photo above. Note the nifty period lamp and the hanging flower baskets, the Legislative Assembly Buildings, the Inner Harbour Lower Causeway, The Inner Harbour crowded with the boats of the currently running Classic Boat Show. And those are just the main items - there's other things there to distract your attention too. I suspect this habit harks back to the days of film when taking photos was an expensive activity and one naturally strove to get as much into each photo as possible. I've made rules for myself such as there should only be a single subject for each photo, and I try to follow them. But still when I come home from a day's photography I always find at least a few of the "everything" photo. It's a hard habit to break.

Night Market - The View

As well as music, the night market on Ship Point Pier has all sorts of crafts and arts for sale and services like massage too, but whether you buy anything or not, while you browse you can enjoy the view. It always looks pretty good but is especially magical just as the sun goes down and the lights on the legislature begin to twinkle.

Totems?

Here's another view of the Legislature with Queen Victoria's statue. This statue is on such a high plinth that you can't see it well from up close. This was shot with a telephoto lens from across the street. The statues Euro-Canadians erect are perhaps a little analogous to First Nations totem poles. In the background we have another totemic figure on top of the Legislature - Captain Vancouver.

Totems

Yesterday's totem stands peacefully among tall trees. Today's totem is in the heart of the city, directly opposite the Legislative Assembly Buildings.

A Little Later...

...in the evening after the photo posted yesterday.

BC Day

Today is BC Day and seeing as I took this nice postcardy view of the Inner Harbour and the BC Legislature a few days ago in the early evening this seems an appropriate day to share it.

Northwest Deuce Days

While Northwest Deuce Days is meant to display restored and customized 1932 Ford Deuce Coupes, it also includes other cars from that era. In all there were over a thousand cars on display on blocked off streets around the Inner Harbour. Over 500 of the cars were actual deuce coupes. There were so many cars on display that some were even accommodated in the Legislature entrance driveways (above). If you were anywhere in Victoria on the Friday or Saturdays you would have been treated to a drive past of many of the display vehicles as their owners explored the city.

Amazing Thailand 3

Here's a little more of the Amazing Thailand presentation on Tuesday evening. After the introductory dances by mythological creatures, five splendidly costumed dancers provided us with a sample of the grace and beauty of Thai culture. Every movement was stately and graceful, especially the intricate hand gestures. Their performance inspired one little girl to mimic them in the background.

Garuda

Here is a Thai dancer representing Garuda, an important figure in Buddhist and Hindu mythology. It was the opening performance of an evening's entertainment provided by the Thai Ministry of Culture called Amazing Thailand. It all took place on the steps of the Legislative Assembly Building on Tuesday. We'll a look at some of the other performers in the next few days. It was a wonderfully colorful and exotic spectacle.

Under Cloudy Skies

One of our regular visitors once asked if it was ever cloudy in Victoria - because of my penchant for photos with blue skies and cheerful weather. I admit that when it is gray and cloudy outside the camera tends to stay on the shelf and I hibernate with a good book or movie. But, after looking at the above photo I see that some subjects are better shot under ominous clouds. This is the war memorial that occupies one corner of the Legislative Assembly grounds.

Welcome to Victoria

If this view could be worn out by being photographed then it would be ready for the garbage bin. I took it last week for two reasons: 1) I liked the dramatic clouds, and 2) the lack of sailboats meant that the "Welcome to Victoria" sign in flowers was visible across the harbour. Usually it is obscured by the forest of masts. I've been thinking about this welcome sign lately because it has been there for a long time. It used to be very visible in the days when the Vancouver-Victoria Ferry docked near where I stood to take this photo, and thus could be seen clearly by arriving passengers. Now that we will soon have a direct Vancouver-Victoria service once again perhaps this sign will be more than a quaint historical artifact.

Zombies Visit the Legislature

Hard to tell whether this couple are legislators having a rest from a hard committee meeting or simply visitors taking a break on the Legislature steps. Below, these zombies ride such cool vehicles!