A Vancouver Photowalk

For some time now I have been getting out with my camera less than I would like, so when I saw that there was a “Valerie Jardin’s Hit The Streets Photowalk” taking place just across the Salish Sea, in Vancouver, I thought it would be a great photographic opportunity and a chance to meet some other photographers.  The photowalk lasted about two hours and went from Granville Plaza, near the waterfront, around the Vancouver Art Gallery, past the Vancouver Public Library (VPL), Central Branch, and back to Granville Plaza.

Canada Place, Seabus terminal, mountains, trains, partly cloudy
A Bit of Everything

After a week that briefly saw snow twice and a lot of rain, it turned out to be a beautiful, mostly sunny, 7°C (44°F) day for a photowalk.  Despite having grown up in the Vancouver area, it’s been a while since I have been back and walked around downtown, so it was good to see the old and new in the city.

downtown Vancouver skyscrapers and low rise buildings in black and white
A mix of old and new buildings line the streets

While many buildings have been built in this century or late in the last, some, like the Vancouver Art Gallery (designed by Francis Rattenbury, who also designed the BC Legislative Building, and built as a courthouse in Neoclassical style, in 1906) Commodore Ballroom (built in the Art Deco style, in 1929)  have been around for much longer.

BW Lion Reflections
Old lion guarding the art gallery entrance
historic, Art Deco, club in Vancouver
The Fabulous Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street

The design of the Central Branch of the VPL, with takes up an entire city block, reminds one of the Colosseum in Rome, but is also very modern and presents many opportunities for interesting photographs.

Library Curve and Tree
A tree stretches skyward from the top of the VPL Central Branch
BW Brooklyn sign reflection
VPL Central Branch reflecting in one of it’s own windows
a brass bull stands on the sidewalk near the Vancouver Public Library
Looking back towards the library near the conclusion of the photowalk

It seemed like almost before I knew it, the photowalk was coming to an end.  I look forward to coming back beautiful Vancouver a little more often.

Author: Sooke Photography Adventures

I'm Drake, the owner / photographer of Sooke Photography Adventures. I've been photographing and developing negatives and making prints since the days of film and currently focus on landscapes, seascapes and nature, although I've been known to shoot street, architectural and many other genres. While I really enjoy traveling with my cameras, my home base is Vancouver Island, where I offer photography workshops and spend most of my time.

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