Every year in Victoria there is the Victoria Camera Swap Meet and this was the first time I made it out.  In fact, several members of the Camera Club I am part of headed out there to check it out.  It was an interesting mix of mostly older 35 mm, medium and large format film cameras, as well as movie cameras, accessories and some dSLR’s.  I could easily have spent enough to put me into debt, but in the end common sense won out and I only picked up one filter.

After spending some time and money at the swap meet, we briefly stopped for tea and then made our way back towards our vehicle.  On the way we encountered all sorts of people on the streets and in the alleys.  Some people were sitting outside the pubs, enjoying a pint, while many were busy popping in and out of stores doing their Sunday shopping.  Others were just trying to scrape by and make a living.

From there we decided to make a stop at Hatley Park, the home of Royal Roads University.  Besides Hatley Castle, the grounds have numerous statues, flowers and birds.  In short, it’s fantastic place to visit with a camera.

As you approach the castle from the seaward side, there is a pond filled with water lilies.

Of the many statues and sculptures about the grounds, are a couple of lions.  A closer inspection of the face of one reveals some interesting details.

There was so much to see that we didn’t have time to walt through the garden area, but, on the way through the grounds there were many flowers, plants and trees to look at and photograph.  I liked the way the leaves on one were backlit and the photo I took had the hoped for bokeh look.  What surprised me, though, was in the upper right corner there was a spiderweb that was catching the sunlight.  Sometime in the not too distant future, I will have to return and check out the gardens.