Ross Bay Cemetery

On the eastern side of Clover Point is a large semicircular bay called Ross Bay. It's named after one of the early factors of the Hudson's Bay Company who had a farm on the shores of the bay. That farm became the Ross Bay Cemetery after the death of his widow and it contains the graves of many Victorians who were prominent in the early days of the city. Next week we'll look at what I saw when I recently spent an afternoon there.

After Dark in Old Town - Lower Johnson Street

The southern side of Market square is marked by lower Johnson Street, where many of the most colorful and interesting of the old town heritage buildings can be found.

All these night shots for the last week or so were taken with an SMC Takumar 28mm lens. This is another of these old Pentax lenses I rave about from time to time, this one made in 1971. These night shots offer good examples of some of the qualities I prize in these lenses. First, they are incredibly sharp. To illustrate this I have left the larger version of today's photo at full size (7360 pixels X 4912 pixels), although I have compressed it into a smaller file so it can be uploaded and viewed without waiting for five minutes. Click the photo and then click it again to see it full size. Scroll around and look at the details - the moldings on the building and the writing on the parking meter for examples. Secondly I love the way this lens renders color. It's accurate but just a little richer and more saturated than reality. I often find myself taking phtos of stuff around the house and marveling at how it looks better through this lens than it looks through my eyes.

---

For those of you who may be interested in the technical aspects, the lens is a fully manual lens - I have to choose the aperture (for these night shots I closed it down to f5.6 or f8) and then focus manually. The camera selects an appropriate shutter speed. I used a tripod for the night shots - shot them at low ISO (80-100) and long exposures. The lens was made originally for Pentax cameras. I use it by putting an adapter on my Sony A7r mirrorless camera.

After Dark in Old Town - Market Square

When Swans Hotel was built in 1913 it was as an extension of the grain business developed by the Peden Brothers and carried on in what is now Market Square. In the photo above you can see Swans Hotel on the far left. The photo is of the "front" of Market Square that faces the harbour. Market square is now home to many shops, boutiques and restaurants. The interior of the square (below) is used for many different kinds of events throughout the year though it is pretty quiet in the winter. Click HERE to visit the Market Square website.

After Dark in Old Victoria - Swans Hotel

Just around the corner from Chinatown is this landmark heritage building, Swans Hotel, at the bottom of Pandora Street. Originally erected as a feed store in 1913, it was completely re-purposed about thirty years ago by Michael Williams, the man responsible for a number of other heritage restorations in Victoria's old town. You can read more of the history of this building by clicking HERE.

After Dark - Chinatown Tea and Coffee Houses

And after a delicious meal what could be better than a cup of coffee (above) or tea (below)? Though it's only a couple of square blocks, Victoria's Chinatown is another world, one well worth exploring.