Last November my wife spent 10 days in Pennsylvania. We visited Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Hershey and Gettysburg. It was a great time, spent with some great people.
The day we visited Gettysburg was a typical cold, windy November's day. It was slightly overcast, and the wind cut through you like a knife. Most of the trees had lost their leaves, but a smattering of them hung on, with deep, decaying colours on full display. I love the stark, twisting gray of the trees in this image. I'll likely never visit Gettysburg again, but I'll always have this image, and the memories I made there.
Smuggler's Cove, Sunshine Coast, BC
I've always loved Smuggler's Cove. It's quiet, and the natural beauty of the place is just breathtaking, especially the azure waters of the cove itself. If you've never been, it's worth a stop if you're in the area.
The Sunshine Coast was my second home growing up - I spend a lot of my summers there as a kid. I miss those carefree days on the beach, throwing stones and catching crabs in the tidepools of Secret Beach. A bit of my soul has never left the place. I wish I could visit more often, unfortunately life seems hellbent on preventing me from going back as often as I'd like. Maybe one day I'll get to sit on this cliff again, watching the sun glinting off that shallow bay.
Noctis V, Calgary, AB
A few years ago I had the pleasure of visiting Calgary for what is now a defunct, but legendary metal festival, called Noctis. It ran for six years, then the organizer decided to hang her hat up and call it day. The year I was able to attend saw some truly incredible performances, including one by metal titans Venom, pictured above. I somehow managed to con security at the Mac Hall into letting me in with my camera, despite cameras only being allowed to members of the press, and came away from the three day festival with thousands of photos of some of my favourite bands.
Anvil Island, Howe Sound, BC
Anvil Island, is, as it's name would suggest, an island. It's not easy to get to, ordinarily, one would need to hire a water taxi to get to it. Or, if you're like me and a dozen other crazy men, you'd shuttle everyone to the island in a small boat that's not exactly seaworthy in the middle of storm, just to save a few bucks.
The hike itself is terrific, and the island beautiful. Apparently Anvil commands an incredible view of Howe Sound. But I wouldn't know, as the peak was enveloped in a thick cloud that you could almost chew on while trying see anything.
When The Levee Breaks
I took this six years, just outside of 100 Mile House, BC. This was just moments before the clouds opened up, and the deluge began. But then a short while later, the clouds cracked apart again, and I watched this scene unfold again in reverse, as the rain retreated, and the sun shone bright once again.
Mt. Seymour, Vancouver, BC
It's been feeling a bit more winter-like the last couple days, as temperatures have dipped back to normal 'round these parts. But the weather down here is a lot warmer than it was the winter of 2013 on top of Mount Seymour. I've been hearing that this ski season is vastly better than last years was, and I've been getting a serious craving to go skiing lately. But with a pregnant wife, it likely isn't in the cards this year. Alas. Perhaps next year.
For now, I'll have to stick to wistfully looking at old photographs and reminiscing.
Red Wood Park, Surrey, BC
This was taken in late September of 2008, on a beautiful autumn afternoon. I have another photograph of this particular tree mounted above my desk. I love trees. I wish they could talk, that we could hear the stories of the past they could tell us, with many of them living for centuries, and others, such as the Fortingall Yew in the UK having their lifespans measured in millenia which seems both awe inspiring and a little insane.
If this particular tree could talk, it would be able to tell you about a time not so long ago as it knows time, that a young man got down on one knee in front of it, in the cold and the rain, and asked a young woman to marry him. And it would tell you that she said yes. That young man is a little older now, but he still remembers that tree fondly.
Roberts Creek, Sunshine Coast, BC
I took this photo back in the summer of 2009, while I was camping with some friends at the Roberts Creek Provincial campground. This was taken at roughly an hour after sunset, with a long exposure of just over 2 minutes. It's a photo I often come back to, it reminds me of those carefree college days, and some friends I rarely get to see.