Photography | Adventures On the Road

Love at First Sight

18 03 2012

I think I may be in love…..

Tall, dark and handsome – every girl’s dream! He may be a little young, a little overeager at times, but he’s got a face that makes your heart melt and the longest lower eyelashes I have ever seen. We saw each other from across the desert landscape and couldn’t help but walk closer to each other. It was if we knew we already had a connection. I admit, he did come on a little strong, and I shied away. But he was persistent and wouldn’t give up, and so I finally gave in, and leaned in…

"Dominic" the Donkey

…and rubbed his fuzzy white nose. It took a little while for him to warm up to me, and for me to warm up to him, but after a bag of carrots, I even pet those fuzzy ears! It didn’t really go over that well, but I had to at least try.

A close encounter

We always had our chaperones in the vicinity though. He was a bit of a momma’s boy, and she made sure to keep a close eye out. But I have to admit, I had a certain fondness for her as well.

Lop-Eared Momma

Trying to get on Momma's Good Side

And then there was Nathan. He didn’t want to be left out either.

Sussing out the competition

Sometimes I felt like he was getting in the way of my budding relationship. Or maybe, that they liked him better than me.

Making friends

It may have been the many people before me who stopped to give these guys a treat, it may have been the carrots, but I like to think we had something special.

Our Sweet Connection

Love at First Sight

Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: Animals, Nature, Photography, Sightseeing
Categories : Arizona

What do you think when you hear the rooster crow?

15 03 2012

When you hear the rooster crow in the morning, is that a sign that you should be up already or is it a sign that you’re up way too early?

I had to ask myself that question after flying from the east coast to the west coast and waking up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to tackle the day….at 4:30 in the morning.

A normal person would roll over and attempt to fall back to sleep. A sane person may get up and go downstairs and curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a book. Well, we never said we were normal or sane….so with a quick note left in the kitchen for our house guests:

‘It’s 5am and we’re going out to explore! Should be back soon, but if we’re not – help yourself to anything and everything! ‘

We were out the door and on our way to see what’s happening in West Seattle at 5am on a Sunday.

Twinkling cityscape lights, the first early morning ferries zigzagging across Elliot Bay, and the very noisy sea lions chattering up a storm.

Seattle Skyline from West Seattle

The Space Needle

After taking in the morning and realizing that the sun wasn’t really going to come out from behind the clouds, we still made it back before everyone woke up.

A few days later we decided to repeat our early morning photography expedition, except this time we had a specific location in mind. However, this time we were not fresh off the plane and still on the east coast time zone. This time the 5am wake up took a little more coordination – an alarm clock that I couldn’t seem to turn off due to my hand having fallen asleep (and not woken up yet), and a body that knows without a doubt that it was too early to be awake and did not want to be hustled out into the cold.

But, we made it to Kerry Park, and we weren’t alone. There were no less than 3 other photographers (and more who showed up later) who had kicked themselves out of bed and set up shop to capture photos and time lapsed video of the iconic Seattle skyline with the Space Needle in the forefront and Mount Rainier in the background.

Scenic View from Kerry Park

Seattle Sunrise

The Space Needle & Mt. Rainier

A Morning in Queen Anne

I have to admit, it was worth it.

Comments : 9 Comments »
Tags: Nature, Photography, Random Life, Sightseeing, Travel
Categories : Seattle

Ten Minutes of Philadelphia

21 02 2012

I don’t know much about Philadelphia. I’ve only been to Philadelphia four times. The first time, I saw only the outside of the Wachovia Stadium. The second time I have no idea where we were but we found ourselves driving along backstreets and did an event in a country club of sorts. The third time I actually got to walk the streets of downtown Philadelphia while doing a site check, and although a quick trip, I still managed to grab an ice cream at Reading Terminal and try out the lobster mac and cheese at The Continental.

The fourth, and most recent trip to Philadelphia was only a few hours long, and I didn’t really see anything except for the inside of our event walls. But let me show you what I did see the last 10 minutes of our trip.

So these images I was able to capture through the passenger window on the way out of town leads me to believe that Philadelphia has quite a story that I haven’t experienced yet.

Tell me what I’ve been missing and what I need to make sure I see the next time I’m in town!

Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: Photography, Sightseeing, Travel
Categories : Philadelphia

A Quiet Kind of ‘Hustle & Bustle’

17 02 2012

Just when you think that you may be succumbing to the winter doldrums that inevitably take place sometime in January or February once the holiday festivities have come and gone, and you realize that the Groundhog hasn’t started spring cleaning just quite yet, it just takes a little bit of the hustle and bustle to revive you from that grey feeling.

And how do you get more “Hustle and Bustle” than New York City?

Even the skyline seems to vibrate with a certain energy. And when you look out at those iconic buildings from across the way in New Jersey, you can imagine all those people, going in all of those different directions, with different agendas and different lives from your own. And although you may not want to live any of those particular lives, you want to be part of that collective energy. Because once you step off the train onto that platform, once you reach the sidewalk in front of Madison Square Garden, or Times Square, or any of those iconic locations, you pause, take a deep breath and you look up, before you are immediately enveloped into the crush of people and start walking twice as fast as you normally do.

After visiting NYC for the equivalent of three months over the last three years, we finally stepped inside into a different type of hustle and bustle. A place where it’s okay to walk slowly, a place where you are encouraged to pause and get lost in the moment, and a place where it’s acceptable to take a break and rest a while (some go as far as taking a quick power nap, although I’m sure they say that they’re just resting their eyes).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET)

The MET

Sketch Classes in Greek and Roman Art

Artistic Pottery

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

A Whole Lota Silver

Gold Masks and Sculptures

Modern Art Sculptures

A Modern Art Cat

A Lone Silhouette

Four hours later I was about ready to sit down and take a nap. Sometimes you could feel the seriousness of the art like a physical weight on your shoulders. So after getting a brief second wind in taking in the quirkiness of the Modern and Contemporary Art galleries, we were museum’ed out and vowed that Asian Art, Egyptian Art, Islamic Art and Musical Instruments would have to wait until the next time.

Some Dizzying Contemporary Art

Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: Photography, Sightseeing, Travel
Categories : New York City

Looking for Winter

19 12 2011

It’s hard to get into the holiday/Christmasy mood when the sun is shining, the streets are lined with palm trees, the beach is filled with volleyball players, boogie boarders and paddle boarders, and you’re wearing flip flops. It just doesn’t scream ‘Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland’ or ‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…’ does it?

Well you can imagine how excited I was when we planned a trip away from the beach and into the mountains to Big Bear Lake, Southern California’s skiing destination. WINTER WONDERLAND here we come!! So for the trip I packed my Canadian snow boots (to mark my territory and leave Canadian maple leaf foot prints everywhere I went), a heavy poncho, my leather coat, my leather gloves, a wool wintercoat (just in case), and my cool winter hat that I wear about 1 week a year. You can imagine the looks we got as we left the hotel lobby, which was full of flip flop wearing families on their way to Disneyland. To give you a fair comparison, Nathan was wearing a sweatshirt.

We started the road trip with some Christmas music to get us in the holiday spirit. As we passed people with the top down on their convertible, it just seemed wrong to be listening to Silver Bells on the radio. So we decided that we wouldn’t turn on the Christmas music until we saw snow.

So I waited as we wound up the California mountains, and waited some more, and waited a little more. ‘Is that snow? No, wait, it’s just the way the sun is hitting those rocks…’ Finally! We found snow, but only in the areas that the sun couldn’t get to. One side of the street some snow and ice, and on the other side, dry grass and desert looking dirt.

Coming from Vancouver, Canada I think I expected a snow-covered winter village (like Whistler). As I was shedding layer after layer of clothing, I realized that perhaps my expectations were too high, but what can you expect 90 minutes from the beach?

We did finally find some snow and a lake with a layer of ice. I didn’t realize that ice could make so much noise, but it rivaled the quacking ducks.

Icy Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake Photo Op

Enjoying the View

And, although I didn’t get to trudge along snow covered trails, marking my territory with maple leaves, we did take advantage of a little lighthearted snow play (no snow angels though).

Snow Ball Fight...Kind Of

Taking Advantage of the Snow

A Little Fun in the Snow

Comments : 15 Comments »
Tags: Nature, Photography, Random Life, Sightseeing, Travel, Weather
Categories : California

A Little Sun & Surf

12 12 2011

No trip to California is complete without a trip to the beach. And, because it is December and the majority of people are bundled up in winter clothes and preparing for hibernation, we didn’t just stop at one beach. We went to five! Yes, maybe it is overkill, but can you really blame us? It’s December. And I got to break out the flip flops again (I thought I’d packed them away for the next 7 months).

A little trip along the Pacific Coast Highway started off our beach tour with a view of Malibu.

Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway

We took a little detour to Fred Segal in Santa Monica and got the ultimate LA experience. We got to watch the paparazzi in action! A photographer with a huge telephoto lens was sneaking amidst the cars in the Fred Segal parking lot. We followed the path of the camera and it led us to an odd scene of a guy, standing next to his maserati with a woman who had a box full of clothes in her trunk. She kept taking clothes out of the box and putting them up to him. Weird, getting fitted for clothes in a parking lot. Turns out it was the lead guy from Hung.

Up Close and Personal with the Santa Monica Pier

Newport Beach and Huntington Beach were a nice surprise. It seems it’s too cold for the locals to take a beach day, so we had the beach to ourselves.

Newport Beach

Well…that is except for the birds. This one was quick-stepping it away as if we were the paparazzi and he was saying, ‘no pictures please. Can’t a guy take a walk on the beach in peace!?’

Running from the paparazzi

Nathan's Shot of the Day

And of course, there were also the dolphins…

A pod of frolicking dolphins

The last beach that we had a chance to visit lived up to its glamorous reputation. Laguna Beach sure knows how to take a good photo.

Laguna Beach

Pelican Sunset

Laguna Beach Sunset

Comments : 18 Comments »
Tags: Life, Nature, Photography, Sightseeing, Travel
Categories : California, Los Angeles

Lights, Camera, Action!

28 11 2011

At the corner of La Brea and Sunset you can find a cute English-Style village; definitely not something that you would expect in the middle of Hollywood. But, when you see Kermit the Frog looking down at you, you realize where you are. The birthplace of moving pictures – Charlie Chaplin’s original sound stage, Home of The Muppets, otherwise known as the Jim Henson Company.

Jim Hensen's Studio

It wasn’t until we had the opportunity to help out at an event designed and produced by our friends at rock and rain, that we realized how cool it was to be in this space. The moment that made me pause during a very busy set up day was when I saw the “Recording” light and I thought about how many times that light had been turned on, and how many films had taken place in the same room that I was standing in.

"Recording"

You saw the “Before” above. Now, take a look at the “After”. I wish I would have attended a party that was this cool when I was a kid. Ice cream sundae bar, candy goodie bags, a mirror surrounded in lights for facepainting and hairstyling, a colouring wall, a workshop to customize your own clothes, asian-style photo booths, tons of food, and a runway show. What more could a kid want in a party?

The "After"

Best Facepaint Ever

The "Workshop"

Photo Op

The Runway

The Designer Walk

Just a Few Photographers

Comments : 12 Comments »
Tags: Celebrity Sightings, Marketing, Photography
Categories : California, Los Angeles

The Joy of a Good Road Trip

20 11 2011

Flying may be the fastest way to travel, a great way to see crop circles, look down on the Rocky Mountains, and offer a few hours of much needed solace from phone calls, text messages and emails (unless of course you’re on a wifi enabled flight), but there’s just something fun and personal about being on a road trip. The joy of packing a snack bag full of treats that you probably shouldn’t be eating (because how much energy are you really expelling sitting in a car). But who doesn’t need a block of Tiger Butter fudge for the road?

Hopefully you build in enough time to your road trip that you have the flexibility to make a few unscheduled stops. Because, isn’t that the best part of road trips?

On a trip from Lake Havasu, AZ to Seattle and Seattle, WA back down to Las Vegas, NV we took a few necessary detours.

Aside from a stop in Berkley, CA to visit friends and pick up some wine, we made a stop at Casa de Fruta, which had a complete Fall set up that can’t help but put you in the Fall mood.

Fall Scenes at Casa de Fruta

We were in a pretty big rush to get up to Seattle and take in the sights there, but on our 2 day, 20 hour road trip back down to the desert, we made sure to stretch our legs in only the most scenic spots….

Wahkeena Falls at the Columbia River Gorge

Catching the Flowing Water

Multnomah Falls

Horsetail Falls Close Up

And…..when you travel with boys, you have to stop and see some fish, so we made a trip out to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery as well. I admit that even I was fascinated with all of these salmon trying to jump over the wood boards to get back to where they started.

Jumping Salmon

Despite the urgency to take a flight to hurry up and arrive to start your trip, there’s no better way to turn your travel time into a trip itself than with a road trip.

Comments : 10 Comments »
Tags: Nature, Photography, Sightseeing, Travel
Categories : California, Oregon

Seattle….Rain?

16 11 2011

When you discover something new and shiny, you just want to share it with everyone. Although, most cases, it’s probably more of a ‘look but don’t touch‘ kind of sharing. You always want to keep some of the razzle dazzle for yourself.

In this case, I definitely want to share how sparkly and new Seattle seems to be, since it brought out its best sun shiney and sparkly days during our recent visit. Not only do I want to share Seattle with you, I want to encourage you to go check it out and experience it for yourself, because there’s nothing quite like the Pacific Northwest (all you Vancouverites know I mean Vancouver most of all!).

View of Mt. Rainier from the West Seattle Bridge

Seattle Skyline from Hamilton Viewpoint Park

I’ve often heard that people think that the people of Vancouver, BC/Seattle, WA have a conspiracy to keep people away from the Westcoast with rumours of all those dreary rainy days. Everyone always says that it rains…..but when visitors come and it always seems to be beautiful, sunny and clear…..it makes people suspicious that we’re trying to keep the masses at bay.

And I am here to tell you the Conspiracy Theory is right!! This is the weather all the time!

Dyes Inlet at Chico Beach

What Rain?

Kidding…..kidding. It definitely does rain. But, with days like these, you kind of suffer short term (sometimes long term) memory loss and you forget all about those rainy dreary days.