Concentration

On Sunday while Dean Lewis was drawing my caricature (see previous post) I was also able to listen to some musical artistry from a little further up the causeway, the superb guitar stylings of Jean Bedard. He's another example of an artist whose performances you should plan to catch if you're visiting (or living) in Victoria. Jean's a quiet performer but if you slow down, stop, sit down, tune out the traffic noises and listen, you will be amply rewarded by his immaculate technique and sensitive interpretations. Buy one of his CDs to remind you of summer when next winter comes. Jean's not always on the Inner Harbour Causeway - often he plays at Fisherman's Wharf. To find out when and where he (or any other Causeway Artist) is playing, check the playlist schedule on the Causeway Artists website by clicking here. Below is a sample of Jean's playing and singing. "Lay Down by the Water" played by Jean Bedard

Youth and Age

On the left is me, last Sunday, as seen by caricature artist, Dean Lewis, on the Inner Harbour Causeway. On the right is me 52 years ago as seen by an unknown artist at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. Although I'm a photographer I don't like photographs of myself because I always seem to have a gloomy, even grim, expression on my face and I don't generally feel like that inside. I like Dean's caricature because for once I actually look a little bit more like I usually feel. Below is a shot of Dean at work on my physiognomy, always an interesting enough process to capture a few curious spectators. If you're down on the Inner Harbour in Victoria, stop and say Hello to Dean and if you want an interesting portrait, sit down and let him draw you. You won't regret it. Thanks, Dean.

Beauty and Beast?

I went to the Beacon Hill Park Children's Zoo yesterday to photograph the Running of the Goats, a daily event patterned after the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. I got sidetracked, however, by these two birds, both so strikingly shaped and colored yet calling forth such different human reactions. So far as I know there is no useful purpose to the decorative aspects of these birds beyond attracting mates and I am sure the turkey cock attracts female turkeys as ably as the peacock attracts peahens. Yet for most of us, the turkey is repulsive and the peacock is beautiful. Hmmm. As for the goats, they ran admirably but I misjudged the shutter speed/aperture combination required to capture the savage splendor of their morning stampede, so I'll be going back soon. It's no hardship since the Children's Zoo is one of my favorite places.

Last One In's a Rotten Egg

Richter Pass

Here's a view from my recent holiday that never fails to please my eyes, the Richter Pass. The Similkameen Valley runs mostly east and west, roughly parallel and not very distant from the international border with the USA. The nearby Okanagan Valley runs north and south. The Richter Pass connects the two valleys. It is not often this spectacular yellow shade nor are the hills usually so green, effects of an unusually wet spring. These pastures are part of a large cattle ranch, another important agricultural aspect of this area.