Trout Lake Autumn and Winter...

I don't often do this, and in honesty this happened by accident really. Two photographs taken from the south shore of Trout lake, looking north towards the North Shore Mountains. The first taken in mid Autumn with the trees showing off their glowing foliage. The second taken from approximately the same position a couple of months later when the lake was frozen over and the mountains shrouded in low cloud and snow...

Mid October

Mid December

Autumn Colour!

 

I love the colours that come out at this time of year here in Canada. Yesterday on a walk around my local streets I only had to go to the corner of my block and to find this wonderful tree. There are several others of the same species further along the street, But they are all well behind this one as far as the development of colour goes, so over the next week or two the whole block should light up like this!!

Last year I also captured a number of shots that really show the powerful colours that glow throughout Vancouver, whether in the parks, local streets, or right downtown.

Canada Place - Downtown

Yaletown

Green - Yellow - Orange - Red

Stanley Park

Canine Photography

Anyone who knows me well knows that  I love dogs. Sadly my lifestyle does not lean towards the responsible ownership of a canine companion at this stage, however I look forward to the day when I can bring a new one in to my life. Tara's friend Julie and her husband Mike recently took on a Labrador puppy named Jack and he is a delightful young fella! In August we met up North on the Island and went camping for a couple of nights. Jack came along and was a lot of fun to have around. I took a few shots of him playing and just hanging out at the campsite with us. Following are a few of the results. The campsite was right between the beach and the road so we had to keep the cheeky little fella on a lead so he didn't disappear on us!

Caution, if you are a sufferer of AAAAAWWWWWWWW syndrome, you may wish to look away now!

Shakin' hands

Come get me

Whats that beeping noise?

Pensive

New Place : Kitsilano, Vancouver!

Recently moved in to a great new place in Kitsilano. Minutes from the beach, Broadway, 4th, and 10 mins from downtown.... a few shots of it now that its reasonably furnished, just needs some images on the walls!!

 

The deck out the back is a nice bonus although we are headed in to winter. Next year it will be killer! Added bonus is that when the sunset is putting on a show the view from the deck is something like this.....

Thanksgiving Dinner

Last weekend was one spent in the kitchen! Don't do it heaps but just seemed to be on a mission to create some nice food! First up was Pumpkin soup which turned out to be Squash soup. After almost destroying the blender, the soup turned out thick and tasty, but lacked the orange look I was after, ending up a rather dull yellowish colour, similar to that of baby puke. Photo's were not a good option here, so just let the taste buds enjoy that one!

On Sunday we created two delicacies. Our favourite cake of all time is carrot cake. Moist, thick, rich in flavour and oh so nastily covered in cream cheese icing. It is simply devine! We baked it in the early afternoon and then allowed it to sit for icing later, while Tara began the roast. We picked up a delicious looking cut of beef from IGA just round the corner and roasted it for a couple of hours whilst preparing other dishes to go along side. The house smelt fabulous, that smell should be a fragrance you can buy for those glade plug-in things "roast dinner" and "Cake in the oven".

Tara's Roast Beef

The Carrot Cake with chopped walnuts and cream cheese icing!

We capped everything off with a delicious gravy produced from the roast drippings just as Tara's mother arrived in time for dinner. Roast beef with mash and gravy, carrots, broccoli, delicious italian bread rolls and then for desert, a big slice of class A carrot cake. I was stuffed! Not the most traditional Turkey thanksgiving dinner, but a smorgasbord none-the-less!!

Succulent and Juicy!

ohhhhhh yeeeaaaahhhh!

I had to cut myself another piece, but just a smaller bit this time!

Las Vegas

Just returned from a 4 day trip to Las Vegas for a wedding of a close friend of Tara's. The experience was very different from my first visit to Vegas and I left with a newly found appreciation for the place.

I didn't put a cent down in a casino and consumed a responsible amount of alcohol, but I really enjoyed attending a wedding set amongst the Garden of the Gods at Caesars Palace, explored the Casinos and Gambling halls of the strip, and really soaked up the atmosphere of this fabulous desert city of debauchery.

The grounds and Buildings of Caesars Palace take up an entire block on the Strip

The Garden of the Gods at the Heart of Caesars Palace. What a scene for a wedding!

The flight down included the highlights of flying over Mt Rainier and Mt Adams. Seeing them from above gives you a whole new perspective on just how massive these mountains are. Despite being taken through the window of the plane, the images of Mt Rainier are astounding. Then landing in Vegas in the dark really gives you that feeling of the "Disneyland for adults" that Vegas is.

Mt. Rainier from above on the flight down.

The Aquatic sound and light show at the Bellagio draws a large crowd.

The wedding was a great success and the setting was beautiful. I was also able to meet up with a great friend from home who happened to be in town while we were there, it was quite surreal to be sharing the experience together and great to hear a familiar voice. 

Lions at the MGM Grand

A more permanent large feline at the MGM

After enjoying 99c Margaritas, lazy rivers and some hard hitting Vegas heat, it was time to fly out, but we were well and truly ready for it. Leaving Las Vegas was again a visual delight as you fly out over the nearby ridges and out into the flat planes of the desert beyond. The alien landscapes that form in the dust and rocks below is intriguing to say the least.

The city of Las Vegas can just be made out behind the mountains and plains that reach out from this desert city.

This unique veiwpoint lends to stunning perspectives of the land formations below.

Despite being taken through the window, the images are still pleasing.

Whilst I did not spend a lot of time shooting, I did manage to capture some nice images from the trip. Until next time Vegas :)

Okanagan Strike

Okanagan Strike, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Spent another Canadian Summer exploring BC and Alberta hunting for great images to add to my folio. With lots of sorting and processing yet to go, this is one of my favourites so far. Witnessed a phenominal sunset and following thunderstorm from the jetty at a friends place in Summerland in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada.

Storm Victim

My third visit to the island was a lot of fun! recent wild weather and even some whilst I was there made for some interesting photographic opportunities. It was hard to believe the amount of downed trees there were from the heavy storms that had been battering the western coastline. Somewhere near Botany bay, Port Renfrew, we found this massive tree stump with what was left of the tree laying beside it. It was fresh, within a few days, based on the colour of the timber and the sawdust still remaining on the trail where the obstructing log had been cut away. Tara stands at the base to give some perspective on the immense size of the tree. She was a great local tour guide, taking me places I never would have otherwise seen. I owe the entire experience to her, so thanks :)

Whistler Blackcomb over Green Lake

Whistler Blackcomb over Green Lake, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

I haven't really had a lot of quiet time this last couple of months to write and post images from my experience living and working in Whistler for the 2010 winter Olympics. Just wanted to post up a couple of pics of just how stunning this place is, there is a lot to tell about what happened here, some very touching moments. Sappy? maybe, but seriously, 2010 is continuing to deliver at unprecedented standards, and it only promises to get better :)

Sunrise on Cougar Mountain from Rainbow Village

Sunrise on Cougar Mountain, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Whistler and Blackcomb from Rainbow Village

The Mighty Whistler Blackcomb, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Hidden Mountain

Hidden Mountain, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Couldn't see much of the mountain from the carpark but I was hoping to get something that looked cool. There was a small break in the clouds, for a minute, so I was able to at least snatch some of the mountain, kind of illustrates the day well i guess.

Ascending

Ascending, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Almost at the car park, heavy snow had us very excited...

The days fall

The days fall, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

6 hrs of snowfall accumulated on Keiths Subaru

Above the Clouds

Above the Clouds, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Above the clouds on Mt Seymour - xmas day

Border Bound

Border bound, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Headed for the States on the way to Mt Baker

Mt Baker

Made a little trip with Keith and Nick down to Black Mountain ranch, not far from Mount Baker, Washington state, USA. Headed down in the evening, crossed the border and got dragged in to the building cos I'm an alien. Made it to the cabin and chilled with beers and a long winded game of monopoly. Crashed at about 2 and looked forward to hitting the mountain in the morning.

When I woke at about 7, it had been snowing for some time, it was great to see white everywhere. We had a breakfast burrito at the local cafe and then headed up the mountain. It was snowing quite heavily and the road was quite well covered.

It was the busiest Keith had ever seen it, but lift lines were still just a minute or two. It snowed on the mountain all day, and at the top visibility was quite limited. Depth perception on the first couple of hundred metres was challenging, it was very tough to negotiate how steep the terrain was or how deep the snow was.

It was a totally new environment to me, and I loved every minute of it. My skills improved rapidly and by the end of the day I was zipping along nicely. I stopped up top a couple of times just to admire the view and all the snow. It was just so startling beautiful. I found a few fresh powder spots that hadn't been found in between a couple of runs, and for the first time I glided through "powder". The feeling was sensational, and left me wanting more. I cant wait to board at Whistler :)

we headed home again in the dark after a beer and managed to sneak our way around a 70 min wait at the border back into Canada. Wish we could have stayed longer, the next day on the mountain would have been even better, it was still snowing when we left.

Christmas

So after having a christmas eve party shut down just before midnight, I headed up to Mount Seymour on a beautifully sunny Christmas day. The snow was reasonable considering the conditions, but the highlight of the day was both my ability to stay upright after 3 years since last snowboarding, and the magnificent view of greater Vancouver from the top of the mountain. I layer of broken cloud added to the ambience of the mountain. It was pretty busy for a xmas day, i suspect due to the weather. I was so warm i ended up wearing my jacket open with just a tshirt underneath. Hot shower and beers capped off my first day boarding on the north shore well. Looking forward to Grouse and Cypress at some point soon too.

Snow shots from phone

Xmas Beers at the Alibi Room

Xmas Beers at the Alibi Room, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Christmas brews!