https://photovancouver.com/ 2025-05-02T16:25:43-07:00 1.0 https://photovancouver.com/photos/foggy-night https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/foggy-night/alexis-birkill_foggy-night_srgb_1024px_682c2156.jpg Foggy Night This is the third and final panoramic photo from the recent fog inversion over Vancouver, complementing my previously posted sunset and dawn photos with a night time shot of Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge appearing to float in the fog.Capturing these three panoramas was an exhausting... 49.352892, -123.177747 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/jupiter-rising https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/jupiter-rising/alexis-birkill_jupiter-rising_srgb_1024px_dca95271.jpg Jupiter Rising Jupiter and the Milky Way visible over Mount Shuksan in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington.This was taken at Picture Lake in the National Forest, although there is no lake visible at this time of year. That fact came as a slight surprise to me, but not as much as the 8-9 foot... 48.865427, -121.677093 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/winter-beach-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/winter-beach-sunset/alexis-birkill_winter-beach-sunset_srgb_1024px_d2e93f74.jpg Winter Beach Sunset The sun sets on a cold winter afternoon at Birch Bay State Park in northern Washington, just across the border from BC. In the distance across the water can be seen the San Juan Islands in the US and the Gulf Islands in BC.The sun was just peeking out from behind some patchy clouds before it set... 48.908687, -122.755763 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-moon-over-mount-baker https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-moon-over-mount-baker/alexis-birkill_the-moon-over-mount-baker_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg The Moon over Mount Baker I could claim to have planned this shot weeks in advance, but that's not the case! A friend of mine sent me a message on Facebook earlier asking for moonrise times and rough position for her location, a little to the south of Vancouver, and then casually asked if it would line up with Mount Baker. 49.039600, -123.050900 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/ducks-in-a-row https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/ducks-in-a-row/alexis-birkill_ducks-in-a-row_srgb_1024px_c726f97d.jpg Ducks in a Row Exploring the Convention Centre complex last night, I found a lower walkway than I've not previously accessed, that leads to the new (and rather fancy) seaplane terminal check-in, with the seaplane dock beyond.By this time it was properly dark, and the thick, low cloud was reflecting the lights... 49.290525, -123.117636 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/gastown-steam-clock https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/gastown-steam-clock/alexis-birkill_gastown-steam-clock_srgb_1024px_f14f9caa.jpg Gastown Steam Clock In a deserted Gastown just after midnight on Sunday, I finally tracked down the source of the fog that's been hanging around Vancouver for the past couple of weeks. 49.284402, -123.108702 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/asleep-under-the-milky-way https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/asleep-under-the-milky-way/alexis-birkill_asleep-under-the-milky-way_srgb_1024px_387b9f8b.jpg Asleep under the Milky Way A few nights ago a friend got in touch and asked if I wanted to go and take some star shots at Porteau Cove. Although I've shot this location at night quite a lot, I didn't have any other plans, so I figured why not!The forecast looked a bit touch and go, but was good in Vancouver, which... 49.559140, -123.235466 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/foggy-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/foggy-sunset/alexis-birkill_foggy-sunset_srgb_1024px_6f65a1da.jpg Foggy Sunset Continuing in my series of photos of the temperature inversion in Vancouver, I was fortunate enough to be able to capture the downtown buildings and the Lions Gate Bridge both partially covered by fog, and partially lit by the setting sun.This is quite an unusual shot, as the fog frequently only... 49.352907, -123.177886 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/siwash-rock-silhouette https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/siwash-rock-silhouette/alexis-birkill_siwash-rock-silhouette_srgb_1024px_62e6d9ba.jpg Siwash Rock Silhouette Another day of steady rain in Vancouver again came to an end with some signs of clearer skies to the west. I was unusually organised, and had decided to head to Siwash Rock on the Stanley Park Seawall in surprisingly good time.According to legend, Siwash Rock is the transformed spirit of an... 49.308617, -123.155006 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/point-atkinson-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/point-atkinson-sunset/alexis-birkill_point-atkinson-sunset_srgb_1024px_d6b045ac.jpg Point Atkinson Sunset The rays of the sun peek out from behind the rocks of Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, as we were treated to another beautiful sunset on Sunday night.I left this trip a little to the last minute, and the trails in Lighthouse Park were rather busy with families enjoying the long weekend, so I... 49.330597, -123.262413 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/foggy-sunrise https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/foggy-sunrise/alexis-birkill_foggy-sunrise_srgb_1024px_5afcc503.jpg Foggy Sunrise As those living in Vancouver will already know, we've once again been subject to a relatively rare temperature inversion that has pushed cloud down over the heart of the city, leaving it shrouded in thick fog.I captured a beautiful shot of this when it last occurred in January, and I was eager... 49.352880, -123.177785 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/vancouver-from-cypress-mountain https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/vancouver-from-cypress-mountain/alexis-birkill_vancouver-from-cypress-mountain_srgb_1024px_b76df305.jpg Vancouver from Cypress Mountain This is always a popular spot. Usually on my photo trips, I'm the only person in the area taking photographs, but with this well-known and easily-accessible viewpoint overlooking the city, I knew I wouldn't be.Unfortunately the trees are starting to encroach on the view, so unless you have a 20... 49.352908, -123.177878 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/shuksan-star-trails https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/shuksan-star-trails/alexis-birkill_shuksan-star-trails_srgb_1024px_f55e00c8.jpg Shuksan Star Trails This is probably the last photo from my trip to Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington earlier this month.In the foreground is Mount Shuksan and the Mount Baker Ski Area -- if you look very closely you can see some of the ski lifts.The foreground light in this photograph came... 48.862817, -121.675935 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/perseverance https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/perseverance/alexis-birkill_perseverance_srgb_1024px_72d5632d.jpg Perseverance Vancouver has been subject to temperature inversions for some of this month, a relatively uncommon condition where low-laying fog shrouds the city and the Burrard Inlet.If you are really lucky, this low cloud is actually low enough that the top of the Lions Gate Bridge and the higher downtown... 49.352890, -123.177688 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/wreck-beach-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/wreck-beach-sunset/alexis-birkill_wreck-beach-sunset_srgb_1024px_4b9aec53.jpg Wreck Beach Sunset Wreck Beach in Vancouver, photographed at sunset. This was taken with the camera a few inches above the sand. I used a circular polarizer and a 3-stop graduated ND filter for this photo. 49.266512, -123.264830 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/reflections-of-a-gazebo https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/reflections-of-a-gazebo/alexis-birkill_reflections-of-a-gazebo_srgb_1024px_5ed345be.jpg Reflections of a Gazebo A very hot and completely cloudless day with highs of 28 degrees made for a fairly ordinary sunset, so (after checking for inconveniently-moored cargo ships), I headed to North Vancouver to get night shot of downtown Vancouver from across the water.The clear sky made for a very blue 'blue hour'... 49.311334, -123.084980 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-final-photograph https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-final-photograph/alexis-birkill_the-final-photograph_srgb_1024px_adf184eb.jpg The Final Photograph Last Saturday, with some wispy clouds in the evening sky promising a good sunset, I headed out along the Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver to photograph the Siwash Rock. This would be the last photograph my 5D Mark III took.Shortly after taking this photograph, I moved my tripod slightly to... 49.308656, -123.155574 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/granville-island-public-market https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/granville-island-public-market/alexis-birkill_granville-island-public-market_srgb_1024px_34c046fb.jpg Granville Island Public Market The Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver. Granville Island, actually a peninsula, was originally an industrial area, but is now a popular tourist and shopping destination on False Creek in Vancouver, just across the Granville Street Bridge from downtown. The market building contains many... 49.271375, -123.135052 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/tulip-fields https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/tulip-fields/alexis-birkill_tulip-fields_srgb_1024px_c32ca212.jpg Tulip Fields I took a trip over into Washington earlier this week to photograph the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. I was a bit late in the season, but there were still a few fields of tulips remaining, and plenty of people wandering about them.I used a three-stop graduated filter for this shot, just a few... 48.419234, -122.399570 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/science-world https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/science-world/alexis-birkill_science-world_srgb_1024px_8a5765b9.jpg Science World I met up with a friend yesterday evening to teach him a bit about how I photograph the city at night. We met at Olympic Village, as there's a lot of good areas to shoot around there. In the foreground is the ramp down to the watertaxi dock, with the geodesic dome of the Telus World of Science... 49.272238, -123.106012 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/canada-day-2013 https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/canada-day-2013/alexis-birkill_canada-day-2013_srgb_1024px_7bc17d34.jpg Canada Day 2013 Fireworks launched from a barge moored in the Burrard Inlet near Canada Place marked the end of the 2013 Canada Day celebrations in Vancouver.The buildings of downtown Vancouver can be seen to the right of the fireworks, as well as the five 'sails' on the roof of Canada Place. In the middle of... 49.352906, -123.177522 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/silver-plated-vancouver https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/silver-plated-vancouver/alexis-birkill_silver-plated-vancouver_srgb_1024px_87e8ccc7.jpg Silver-plated Vancouver Another photo from last week's Worldwide Photowalk, which in Vancouver took place around Science World and the Olympic Village.We had mildly overcast skies and a reasonably strong wind to start with, so while I was waiting for it to get dark enough for the city lights to come on, I took this... 49.272239, -123.103637 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/olympic-village-vancouver https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/olympic-village-vancouver/alexis-birkill_olympic-village-vancouver_srgb_1024px_2599b58b.jpg Olympic Village, Vancouver Saturday was Scott Kelby's annual worldwide photowalk, where almost 30,000 photographers around the world meet up in local groups to take photographs.A friend of mine organised the photowalk in Vancouver, located in Olympic Village in Vancouver. I've been tending to avoid organised photowalks... 49.272084, -123.107880 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/west-broadway-and-cambie https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/west-broadway-and-cambie/alexis-birkill_west-broadway-and-cambie_srgb_1024px_83024b65.jpg West Broadway and Cambie The intersection of West Broadway and Cambie in Vancouver, BC, on a cold winter evening. In the distance the Cambie Bridge, some of the buildings of downtown Vancouver, and fresh snow on the North Shore mountains can be seen. The lights of the Grouse Mountain ski resort are visible at the top right... 49.263398, -123.114870 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/chasing-the-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/chasing-the-sunset/alexis-birkill_chasing-the-sunset_srgb_1024px_bd572e6e.jpg Chasing the Sunset With the weather for most of the day having been clear and sunny, I was looking forward to getting out and taking a sunset photo. However, a couple of hours before sunset, the clouds started to roll in over Vancouver. Unusually, instead of coming in from the west, as they usually do, they instead... 49.267700, -123.263860 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/gastown-steam-clock-in-the-snow https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/gastown-steam-clock-in-the-snow/alexis-birkill_gastown-steam-clock-in-the-snow_srgb_1024px_3884a616.jpg Gastown Steam Clock in the Snow The Steam Clock in Gastown, very early in the morning on a cold, snowy day. 49.284408, -123.108671 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/shore-pine-point https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/shore-pine-point/alexis-birkill_shore-pine-point_srgb_1024px_c7aa5b6b.jpg Shore Pine Point This afternoon I took a trip over to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver to catch the sunset. I've been struggling for inspiration (and time!) a little this month, and this always seems to be a good place to go to get it back!I first headed to a location down by the water which I'd scouted out on... 49.330835, -123.266760 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sunset-at-gulf-beach-park https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sunset-at-gulf-beach-park/alexis-birkill_sunset-at-gulf-beach-park_srgb_1024px_f7ec53e4.jpg Sunset at Gulf Beach Park Friday night's beautiful golden sunset, with the waves flowing over the rocks, in West Vancouver. I waited for a wave to wash over this flat section of rock and wash off, taking a 0.8 second exposure to capture the motion of the water along with the last rays of the sunset, lighting up the... 49.347207, -123.271381 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-olympic-cauldron-and-the-9-o-clock-gun https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-olympic-cauldron-and-the-9-o-clock-gun/alexis-birkill_the-olympic-cauldron-and-the-9-o-clock-gun_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg The Olympic Cauldron and the 9 O'Clock Gun The Olympic Cauldron shines across the Vancouver Harbour from Jack Poole Plaza to the 9 O'Clock Gun in Stanley Park, to celebrate Brian McKeever's gold medal in the 2014 Winter Paralympics.I'd been looking for some unusual vantage points to capture the Olympic Flame, and had tried to take this... 49.298200, -123.117600 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/iona-beach https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/iona-beach/alexis-birkill_iona-beach_srgb_1024px_e19c1c01.jpg Iona Beach Tonight's sunset at Iona Beach Regional Park, just next to the Vancouver International Airport, started off looking promising, but then a bank of heavier cloud came in a few minutes beforehand, standing out darkly on the horizon.I therefore looked for photos where I wouldn't be looking directly... 49.222359, -123.219422 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/skagit-valley-tulip-festival https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/skagit-valley-tulip-festival/alexis-birkill_skagit-valley-tulip-festival_srgb_1024px_bea1f6b4.jpg Skagit Valley Tulip Festival The weekend before last I took a trip over to Washington to visit the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which runs throughout April and is about an hour's drive from the border.It appeared that just about everyone else had a similar thought, as the queue at the border was nearly two hours long, and... 48.417035, -122.399472 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/lions-gate-reflections https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/lions-gate-reflections/alexis-birkill_lions-gate-reflections_srgb_1024px_39a6bf0d.jpg Lions Gate Reflections This shot of the Lions Gate Bridge is taken from the north side, a more unusual vantage point for this bridge. Getting here requires quite literally parking on the wrong side of the tracks!I've tried to take this photo a few times before, but it's really tricky to get the tide at just the right... 49.316619, -123.135300 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/st-marks-summit https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/st-marks-summit/alexis-birkill_st-marks-summit_srgb_1024px_ba0e7cf5.jpg St. Mark's Summit I'm back in British Columbia after spending a couple of months in the UK, and I can't get over how incredibly beautiful it is here! Although I'd never forgotten, it really does re-emphasise how incredible it is here after being away for a while. The mountains, the water, the city, wow!Here's a... 49.428435, -123.207142 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sailboat-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sailboat-sunset/alexis-birkill_sailboat-sunset_srgb_1024px_dba72383.jpg Sailboat Sunset This is a quick photo I took last Monday evening by the Siwash Rock in Stanley Park, Vancouver.I was out teaching a mini-workshop on how to take sunset seascapes, so most of my attention was helping with composition and technical aspects of that, but I had my camera resting on my bag with the... 49.310208, -123.152553 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/wont-you-join-me https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/wont-you-join-me/alexis-birkill_wont-you-join-me_srgb_1024px_19c8bbed.jpg Won't You Join Me After watching the sun set from the pier in North Vancouver, dusk falls, and across the water the downtown city lights shimmer and sparkle. Sit down and admire the view with me for a few minutes. 49.308443, -123.080072 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/under-the-bay-bridge https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/under-the-bay-bridge/alexis-birkill_under-the-bay-bridge_srgb_1024px_cc1feb25.jpg Under the Bay Bridge Downtown San Francisco glitters under a post-sunset sky while above it, the Bay Bridge crosses from Yerba Buena Island to the mainland. The Sutro Tower, Transamerica Pyramid, and Coit Tower are all clearly visible, along with many of the other downtown buildings.This location is probably the... 37.808333, -122.365994 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/milky-way-express https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/milky-way-express/alexis-birkill_milky-way-express_srgb_1024px_f62252c9.jpg Milky Way Express At Porteau Cove, at least in the summer months, there is a freight train that regularly goes through at about 11:45pm from Vancouver to Whistler. You get a little warning that it's coming, because about 15 minutes before it arrives, they send through a pickup truck converted to run on the rails,... 49.559652, -123.236941 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-9-o-clock-gun https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-9-o-clock-gun/alexis-birkill_the-9-o-clock-gun_srgb_1024px_2ecf43fe.jpg The 9 O'Clock Gun The 9 O'Clock Gun is a 12 pound muzzle-loaded naval cannon that is located in a pavilion in Stanley Park in Vancouver, and fires at 9:00pm every night.The cannon itself was cast in Woolwich, England in 1816, and was brought to Stanley Park in 1894. It is automatically fired, and in the summer... 49.298015, -123.117367 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-return-of-the-aurora-borealis https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-return-of-the-aurora-borealis/alexis-birkill_the-return-of-the-aurora-borealis_srgb_1024px_d17c3253.jpg The Return of the Aurora Borealis 2014 has been a pretty bad year for those wishing to see the northern lights from more southern latitudes, particularly on the west coast. There have been a number of promising storms forecast, but they have mostly either been weaker than forecast, or peaked when it is still light.Accordingly,... 49.559647, -123.236856 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sunset-over-point-atkinson-lighthouse https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sunset-over-point-atkinson-lighthouse/alexis-birkill_sunset-over-point-atkinson-lighthouse_srgb_1024px_19609dd2.jpg Sunset over Point Atkinson Lighthouse The golden-orange setting sun passes behind a thin bank of cloud as the Point Atkinson Lighthouse flashes its warning signal out from Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.I've been hoping to get this shot for most of the month, but the weather has been firmly against me, with the only days where... 49.338238, -123.220055 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/bridges https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/bridges/alexis-birkill_bridges_srgb_1024px_b860f228.jpg Bridges Apologies for my lack of posts for a couple of weeks -- I've been rather busy, and Vancouver has been in a fairly constant state of overcast and rainy weather (which unfortunately doesn't look like it's going anywhere for a while!)When we had a clear evening, I grabbed the chance to get out and... 49.272898, -123.136907 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/driftwood https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/driftwood/alexis-birkill_driftwood_srgb_1024px_f53ac0fb.jpg Driftwood This was taken from a beach looking north from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. Horseshoe Bay is a major ferry terminal, serving Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, as well as several smaller islands, so the view was frequently interrupted by large ferries passing by (and, a few minutes later,... 49.378381, -123.279454 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/gray-whale-cove https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/gray-whale-cove/alexis-birkill_gray-whale-cove_srgb_1024px_3d68a340.jpg Gray Whale Cove As well as taking some photos of San Francisco on my trip down to California, I also wanted to get some shots of the water. The protection that Vancouver Island offers us in Vancouver, while extremely beneficial from the point of view of things like tsunamis, does mean that it's very unusual to get... 37.564220, -122.513972 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/yaletown-from-cambie-bridge https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/yaletown-from-cambie-bridge/alexis-birkill_yaletown-from-cambie-bridge_srgb_1024px_27d57d3e.jpg Yaletown from Cambie Bridge This is a 30-shot panorama (three rows by ten columns) totalling 452 megapixels. Taken from about half-way along the west side of the Cambie Street bridge, this is the view of the Yaletown area of downtown Vancouver and False Creek. The Quayside Marina can be seen at the bottom of the photograph. 49.272030, -123.114957 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/little-planet-vancouver https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/little-planet-vancouver/alexis-birkill_little-planet-vancouver_srgb_1024px_37e52ef3.jpg Little Planet, Vancouver This is a 54-shot HDR panorama covering a full 360x180 degrees, and displayed using a stereographic projection, commonly called a 'little planet'. The tall building at one o'clock is my apartment building, with its twin at two o'clock. The other apartment buildings overlooking the Coal Harbour... 49.289802, -123.125024 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-purple-elevator https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-purple-elevator/alexis-birkill_the-purple-elevator_srgb_1024px_fe873db3.jpg The Purple Elevator Looking across the water from Canada Place to the North Shore mountains and Stanley Park, with the new Vancouver seaplane terminal in the foreground.It's nice to see the new terminal is starting to get some use!This is a 184 megapixel HDR panorama consisting of 12 different shots at 105mm,... 49.290027, -123.116434 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-digital-orca https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-digital-orca/alexis-birkill_the-digital-orca_srgb_1024px_e64fe111.jpg The Digital Orca The Digital Orca, a sculpture by Douglas Coupland located outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. Douglas Coupland is, amongst many other things, famous for popularising the phrase 'Generation X', and lives in West Vancouver. The sculpture is made from a steel armature with an aluminium cladding,... 49.289819, -123.116781 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/horseshoe-bend-arizona https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/horseshoe-bend-arizona/alexis-birkill_horseshoe-bend-arizona_srgb_1024px_5ef5f337.jpg Horseshoe Bend, Arizona Horseshoe Bend is horseshoe-shaped turn in the Colorado River near the town of Page in Arizona. The river originates in the Rocky Mountains and feeds Lake Mead before crossing into Mexico and finally emptying into the Gulf of California.Over the millions of years that the river has been flowing,... 36.878677, -111.510423 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/ancient-civilisations https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/ancient-civilisations/alexis-birkill_ancient-civilisations_srgb_1024px_df072e3c.jpg Ancient Civilisations After getting my feet well and truly soaked photographing the sea at sunset, it seemed like a good idea to go and stand in near-freezing temperatures for a couple of hours, just up the coast at Porteau Cove Provincial Park.With a strong wind blowing it was extremely cold, but the first clear... 49.559550, -123.236226 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/gastown-snow https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/gastown-snow/alexis-birkill_gastown-snow_srgb_1024px_3dfe8124.jpg Gastown Snow Abbott Street in Gastown at 7:00am this morning. Keeping the front of the lens clear of snow in these conditions was driving me crazy! 49.283905, -123.106389 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/moonstone-beach-cambria https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/moonstone-beach-cambria/alexis-birkill_moonstone-beach-cambria_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg Moonstone Beach, Cambria Looking out across the Pacific ocean from Cambria on the Pacific Coast Highway, California. I was fortunate enough to capture this stunning sunset shot from Leffingwell Landing State Park, looking down on Moonstone Beach. 35.582100, -121.121300 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-eye-of-the-golden-gate-bridge https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-eye-of-the-golden-gate-bridge/alexis-birkill_the-eye-of-the-golden-gate-bridge_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg The Eye of the Golden Gate Bridge A steep hike up a narrow, muddy trail from Sausalito, on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, finally emerged onto an open plateau and revealed this unusual, but spectacular, head on view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Even though this was in May, the wind was still bitterly cold, and as I sat... 37.842100, -122.480900 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/juniper-point-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/juniper-point-sunset/alexis-birkill_juniper-point-sunset_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg Juniper Point Sunset Trying to be in the right place at the right time to get the best of the available light has to be one of the most frustrating, but most rewarding challenges for a landscape photographer, and this shot was one of those times when everything came together!I'd been watching the weather through the... 49.337300, -123.269700 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/iona-beach-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/iona-beach-sunset/alexis-birkill_iona-beach-sunset_srgb_1024px_c0b9883b.jpg Iona Beach Sunset Very few people could have missed the absolutely incredible sunset in Vancouver that happened this Friday night, one of the very best I've seen since I moved here!The late afternoon clouds promised that there might be an interesting sunset, but more often than not the promising conditions fade... 49.234600, -123.242300 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/canada-day-2015 https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/canada-day-2015/alexis-birkill_canada-day-2015_srgb_1024px_64c8bdf0.jpg Canada Day 2015 Happy Canada Day!Here's a panoramic photo of the amazing Canada Day fireworks display outside Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. This was probably the best Canada Day fireworks display I've seen since I moved out here!To get the shot I wanted I had to do the opposite of everyone else... 49.305694, -123.076325 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/emery-barnes-park https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/emery-barnes-park/alexis-birkill_emery-barnes-park_srgb_1024px_043b7e5d.jpg Emery Barnes Park Emery Barnes Park is a beautiful, compact park in the Yaletown district of downtown Vancouver, and is a great place to spend a couple of hours sitting in the sunshine and watching the world go by. On the right edge is Seymour Street, with Davie Street running across the photo. Even though it is... 49.277213, -123.124514 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/salthouse-dock-liverpool https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/salthouse-dock-liverpool/alexis-birkill_salthouse-dock-liverpool_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg Salthouse Dock, Liverpool A panoramic image of the Salthouse Dock in the Port of Liverpool, England. The dock opened in 1753 and was used as a terminal to for transporting salt. Today, this area is the at the heart of Liverpool's waterfront development, with restaurants, bars, and museums housed in the Grade I listed... 53.399800, -2.989400 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/crab-park-at-portside https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/crab-park-at-portside/alexis-birkill_crab-park-at-portside_srgb_1024px_5be99fc7.jpg CRAB Park at Portside October in Vancouver has been a month of rain, making for difficult photo opportunities, even with the autumnal colours which are now starting to go past their peak. Sunday was a rare exception, a day without rain, and mostly sunny, and I was eager to get out and take some photos.For this shot,... 49.286230, -123.103727 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/altamont-beach https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/altamont-beach/alexis-birkill_altamont-beach_srgb_1024px_eaaebc2c.jpg Altamont Beach For the past few days I've been chasing a shot that I can picture in my mind over in West Vancouver, and have been continually defeated by a combination of inconveniently-moored boats and inconveniently-positioned clouds.Sadly, this isn't that shot. Tonight I headed to Altamont Beach in West... 49.337309, -123.197576 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/lions-gateway https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/lions-gateway/alexis-birkill_lions-gateway_srgb_1024px_6627708a.jpg Lions Gateway The west coast had a disappointment last weekend when a strong aurora forecast gave those on the east coast a great display, but faded away to nothing just as darkness arrived over here.However, there have been other opportunities for night sky photography. This is a shot that I've been meaning... 49.309214, -123.136392 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sky-on-fire https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sky-on-fire/alexis-birkill_sky-on-fire_srgb_1024px_d1e6a085.jpg Sky on Fire This has been an incredible week for sunsets! After last Tuesday's amazing sunset, which was one of the best of the year, tonight's sunset may well be one of the best sunsets I've ever seen in Vancouver.Conditions were looking promising throughout the day, with some thin, wispy clouds that... 49.279388, -123.247395 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-end-of-summer https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-end-of-summer/alexis-birkill_the-end-of-summer_srgb_1024px_352bd3a4.jpg The End of Summer With the long weekend marking the end of summer in Vancouver, Tuesday saw a day of solid, continuous rain, and much cooler temperatures. However, as I watched the rain streaking down the window a little before sunset, I saw that a gap in the clouds was opening up in the distance, just where the sun... 49.279916, -123.139830 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/prepare-for-takeoff https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/prepare-for-takeoff/alexis-birkill_prepare-for-takeoff_srgb_1024px_f936cc23.jpg Prepare for Takeoff This is the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs.Built in 1962, it consists of seventeen spires. Gaps between the spires are filled with coloured glass, causing the entire chapel to be lit up with this incredible light on a sunny day. 39.008377, -104.890381 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/celebration-of-light-2014-day-3-japan https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/celebration-of-light-2014-day-3-japan/alexis-birkill_celebration-of-light-2014-day-3-japan_srgb_1024px_a0cfd84a.jpg Celebration of Light 2014, Day 3: Japan Saturday evening saw the third and final of the three fireworks displays that make up the Celebration of Light festival in Vancouver, this one by Team Japan. Continuing on my panoramic theme, for this final display I decided to give Burnaby Mountain a try, approximately 15 kilometres east of... 49.282494, -122.934187 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/celebration-of-light-2014-day-2-france https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/celebration-of-light-2014-day-2-france/alexis-birkill_celebration-of-light-2014-day-2-france_srgb_1024px_fa797359.jpg Celebration of Light 2014, Day 2: France Wednesday evening was the second display from the Celebration of Light fireworks festival, and was by the team from France. Again wanting to capture the fireworks in the context of the beautiful Vancouver skyline, I headed to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, which has a line of sight view of... 49.330941, -123.262114 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/celebration-of-light-2014-day-1-usa https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/celebration-of-light-2014-day-1-usa/alexis-birkill_celebration-of-light-2014-day-1-usa_srgb_1024px_dfaa3300.jpg Celebration of Light 2014, Day 1: USA Incredibly, another year has gone by already, and on Saturday it was once again the first of the three Celebration of Light fireworks displays here in Vancouver. This display was by the USA team.I like to show the fireworks in the context of the city, so rather than heading to the official... 49.373400, -122.970552 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/don-burnett-pedestrian-and-bicycle-bridge https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/don-burnett-pedestrian-and-bicycle-bridge/alexis-birkill_don-burnett-pedestrian-and-bicycle-bridge_srgb_1024px_de678226.jpg Don Burnett Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge The day after my conference in California, I was looking for a photo excursion that was close to home (or at least, to my hotel). Searching in the local area, I found the Don Burnett Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge crossing the I-280 in Cupertino.Of course, being me, I had... 37.333267, -122.050638 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/rooftop-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/rooftop-sunset/alexis-birkill_rooftop-sunset_srgb_1024px_b2986e4c.jpg Rooftop Sunset I have been meaning to process some of the photos I took during my trip to San Francisco this month, but I've had a lot of non-photography work to catch up on, and have also been building and configuring a new computer to speed up my photography workflow. Having finally got most of the tools I... 49.289392, -123.125660 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sparkling-seattle https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sparkling-seattle/alexis-birkill_sparkling-seattle_srgb_1024px_bb1c25ad.jpg Sparkling Seattle The sparkling downtown Seattle skyline, photographed from across the water at Alki Beach. This stunningly clear and calm summer evening allowed for some great high-detail photography. 47.588583, -122.379312 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/marin-county-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/marin-county-sunset/alexis-birkill_marin-county-sunset_srgb_1024px_f6b77bd8.jpg Marin County Sunset One of my San Francisco photo excursions was to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge.I was planning on shooting the city at dusk, and wanted to try a viewpoint that I hadn't used before, so I decided to hike up... 37.836632, -122.491552 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-bay-bridges https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-bay-bridges/alexis-birkill_the-bay-bridges_srgb_1024px_998eb88b.jpg The Bay Bridges During my trip to California earlier this year, on the way back to the hotel after shooting in Oakland and travelling across the Bay Bridge, I made a snap decision to try a shot I've wanted to take before, even though it was getting late and blue hour was long over. This meant once again heading... 37.809953, -122.365258 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/cirque-du-soleil-firework-display https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/cirque-du-soleil-firework-display/alexis-birkill_cirque-du-soleil-firework-display_srgb_1024px_83e21f6c.jpg Cirque du Soleil Firework Display For the 30th birthday of the Cirque du Soleil, a firework display was put on outside the Plaza of Nations, next to BC Place in Vancouver. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were no moored boats in the foreground from the Olympic Village side, an unusual occurrence, which allowed me to get... 49.272227, -123.104977 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/false-creek https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/false-creek/alexis-birkill_false-creek_srgb_1024px_f0e5df2b.jpg False Creek After taking relatively few photos last month, and posting even fewer, I've been feeling very guilty, so I'm going to try to both take and process more photos this month!I've also been neglecting one of my favourite genres of photography, blue hour photography, so with clear skies in Vancouver... 49.273144, -123.135796 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/camelopardalids https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/camelopardalids/alexis-birkill_camelopardalids_srgb_1024px_d75a1797.jpg Camelopardalids A new meteor shower, named the Camelopardalids, reached a peak last Friday night. The shower, so named because the meteors would appear to originate from the direction of the constellation Camelopardalis, are a result of the Earth passing through the trail of comet 209P/LINEAR, discovered in 2004. 48.416546, -122.663567 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/acadia-beach https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/acadia-beach/alexis-birkill_acadia-beach_srgb_1024px_bb2936ce.jpg Acadia Beach The weather conditions have looked promising for a great sunset for the past three nights, but on Monday and Tuesday, a bank of thick cloud came in from the west about an hour before sunset and resulted in disappointment. Tonight, however, was certainly no disappointment!As the sun sets... 49.279770, -123.241581 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/seaweed-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/seaweed-sunset/alexis-birkill_seaweed-sunset_srgb_1024px_529b06f2.jpg Seaweed Sunset With the rain beating against the windows as I got this image off the card, it seemed hard to believe that this was only taken two nights earlier, but as is often the case, the rain was preceded by a stunning sunset.Once again I found myself in West Vancouver, looking towards the sunset,... 49.396954, -123.251523 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/coal-harbour-surprise-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/coal-harbour-surprise-sunset/alexis-birkill_coal-harbour-surprise-sunset_srgb_1024px_e04365fc.jpg Coal Harbour Surprise Sunset This sunset photo was taken a couple of weeks ago and was one of those sunsets that is the bane of photographers, coming as a complete surprise!About an hour before the sunset, a lot of cloud formed and appeared to remove any chance of a good show, so instead of heading out, I stayed at home. 49.289431, -123.125940 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/vancouver-from-above https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/vancouver-from-above/alexis-birkill_vancouver-from-above_srgb_1024px_6086ae85.jpg Vancouver from Above Vancouver sparkles just after sunset in this panoramic photo taken from Dog Mountain in Mount Seymour Provincial Park.The view from Dog Mountain is really quite breathtaking, as you see the whole city spread out below you, with views to Vancouver Island and Washington. I was fortunate to get... 49.373400, -122.970552 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/skies-painted-with-unnumbered-sparks-1 https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/skies-painted-with-unnumbered-sparks-1/alexis-birkill_skies-painted-with-unnumbered-sparks-1_srgb_1024px_14cac1b3.jpg Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks (1) 'Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks' is a sculpture by Janet Echelman that has been installed outside the Vancouver Convention Centre for the duration of TED2014.The 745 foot long net is suspended above the area between the Convention Centre and Canada Place, and in a collaboration with... 49.289158, -123.114343 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/skies-painted-with-unnumbered-sparks-2 https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/skies-painted-with-unnumbered-sparks-2/alexis-birkill_skies-painted-with-unnumbered-sparks-2_srgb_1024px_7dcfdae5.jpg Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks (2) Another photograph of 'Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks', a 745-foot interactive sculpture by Janet Echelman that has been suspended between the Convention Centre and Canada Place for the duration of the 2014 TED conference.Getting this panoramic shot required some tricky contortions with my... 49.288057, -123.114388 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/dundarave-park https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/dundarave-park/alexis-birkill_dundarave-park_srgb_1024px_35f9227a.jpg Dundarave Park As a distraction from the near-constant rain in Vancouver at the moment, here's a photograph of a stunning sunset at the end of last month. This was one of those days that had been overcast for almost the entire day, with the clouds starting to clear just before sunset.For this photo I headed to... 49.333304, -123.183955 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-olympic-cauldron-vancouver https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-olympic-cauldron-vancouver/alexis-birkill_the-olympic-cauldron-vancouver_srgb_1024px_f2562570.jpg The Olympic Cauldron, Vancouver The Olympic Cauldron in Jack Poole Plaza, looking south towards downtown. 49.289611, -123.117425 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-olympic-cauldron-jack-poole-plaza https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-olympic-cauldron-jack-poole-plaza/alexis-birkill_the-olympic-cauldron-jack-poole-plaza_srgb_1024px_1163366b.jpg The Olympic Cauldron, Jack Poole Plaza The Olympic Cauldron in Vancouver was lit at 6:00pm last night to celebrate the Canadian athletes Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse, who won the gold medal in the two-women bobsleigh event earlier in the day.It will be lit again tonight from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, to celebrate Canada's double gold... 49.289603, -123.118496 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/coal-harbour-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/coal-harbour-sunset/alexis-birkill_coal-harbour-sunset_srgb_1024px_e6186113.jpg Coal Harbour Sunset Very occasionally, Vancouver sees some especially stunning sunsets, where the last rays of the setting sun light up the clouds from underneath, causing the sky to light up with **colour**.These conditions are rare, hard to predict, and last only for a couple of minutes, so catching one is... 49.290368, -123.117769 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/red-bull-illume-exhibition https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/red-bull-illume-exhibition/alexis-birkill_red-bull-illume-exhibition_srgb_1024px_615d6f08.jpg Red Bull Illume Exhibition The top fifty photos from the Red Bull Illume action and adventure sports photography contest were exhibited at Jack Poole Plaza outside the Vancouver Convention Centre during the first week of February, one of only three stops across the world for this year's exhibition. The exhibit was only... 49.289653, -123.118435 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/coal-harbour-fog-inversion https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/coal-harbour-fog-inversion/alexis-birkill_coal-harbour-fog-inversion_srgb_1024px_216c8dd1.jpg Coal Harbour Fog Inversion Vancouver woke up in January to a thin (or thick, in some places) layer of mist over the water and some of the city. About an hour before sunrise, I headed up to the roof of my apartment building to capture the view. This is taken looking east from Coal Harbour, with the streets still quiet. A... 49.289471, -123.125767 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/powell-and-carrall-street-in-gastown https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/powell-and-carrall-street-in-gastown/alexis-birkill_powell-and-carrall-street-in-gastown_srgb_1024px_dba86b37.jpg Powell and Carrall Street in Gastown This was taken in Gastown during a rare fall of snow in downtown Vancouver in December 2013. I photographed this at about 7:15am, capturing the intersection of Powell and Carrall Street. A black and white conversion on this shot emphasised the contrast in the scene and seemed to work well with the... 49.283341, -123.104167 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/snow-in-coal-harbour https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/snow-in-coal-harbour/alexis-birkill_snow-in-coal-harbour_srgb_1024px_033a1d58.jpg Snow in Coal Harbour Vancouver in the snow, from the roof of my apartment building at 5:45am on December 20th. Snow in downtown Vancouver was a relatively rare occurrence, and there was very little traffic on the streets at this time. 49.289445, -123.125776 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/christmas-at-jack-poole-plaza https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/christmas-at-jack-poole-plaza/alexis-birkill_christmas-at-jack-poole-plaza_srgb_1024px_41f9c9f8.jpg Christmas at Jack Poole Plaza Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver at Christmas. The mostly-overcast sky was lit up briefly by the setting sun, with the warm glow on the horizon and the light on the bottom of the clouds visible. I had to get down on my knees to frame the four Christmas trees underneath the Olympic Cauldron, drawing... 49.289712, -123.117530 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/vancouver-at-christmas https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/vancouver-at-christmas/alexis-birkill_vancouver-at-christmas_srgb_1024px_6ec37b07.jpg Vancouver at Christmas Another few days of damp and overcast weather showed signs of clearing this afternoon as some blue sky became visible. Looking to the south-west, the clouds were thinning, and it looked as though there was a chance of an interesting sunset, so I took a trip over to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver... 49.309582, -123.082522 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/golden-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/golden-sunset/alexis-birkill_golden-sunset_srgb_1024px_eaa96705.jpg Golden Sunset At this time of year, the sun sets so far to the south that it's difficult to get a clear view from downtown or Stanley Park, so I often find myself either going to West Vancouver or UBC for an uninterrupted view.I photographed this sunset on a beach in West Vancouver. Some clouds provided a... 49.338226, -123.238856 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/misty-harbour https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/misty-harbour/alexis-birkill_misty-harbour_srgb_1024px_22475314.jpg Misty Harbour Low mist enveloped downtown Vancouver, bringing with it an unusual stillness to the water in Vancouver Harbour. I took a trip out to capture the morning sun as it lit the seaplanes down near the Vancouver Convention Centre, with the mist visible over the hills of North Vancouver in the distance. 49.289874, -123.119072 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/spacecraft-in-orbit https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/spacecraft-in-orbit/alexis-birkill_spacecraft-in-orbit_srgb_1024px_997ab983.jpg Spacecraft in Orbit After photographing Point Atkinson Lighthouse on Sunday evening, I decided to stay out and do a little bit of star photography, despite the moon being quite bright.I subscribe to NASA's 'Spot the Station' service, which sends me an e-mail whenever a particularly bright pass of the International... 49.396460, -123.251076 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sunset-over-lighthouse-park https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sunset-over-lighthouse-park/alexis-birkill_sunset-over-lighthouse-park_srgb_1024px_581e2f0f.jpg Sunset over Lighthouse Park Vancouver was treated to a beautiful sunset this evening. I've been itching to get a starbursty sunset photo for a couple of weeks, but the weather has not been optimal for this type of shot, with too much cloud and haze on the horizon to let the sun shine clearly into the lens. However, this... 49.338322, -123.219717 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/northern-lights-at-horseshoe-bay https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/northern-lights-at-horseshoe-bay/alexis-birkill_northern-lights-at-horseshoe-bay_srgb_1024px_67306f6b.jpg Northern Lights at Horseshoe Bay After a summer with very little solar storm activity, some peaks have started to occur as we move into autumn. Last week saw a night with very strong aurora activity, visible across much of North America, even as far south as Ohio and Oregon. Unfortunately, Vancouver was under complete cloud cover... 49.378461, -123.279734 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/clouds-over-english-bay https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/clouds-over-english-bay/alexis-birkill_clouds-over-english-bay_srgb_1024px_69fd5574.jpg Clouds over English Bay It was another overcast and rainy day in Vancouver, and again some clear patches started to appear before sunset. For this shot, I walked over to English Bay, looking west.Unfortunately, it stayed predominantly overcast, at least in this direction, so there wasn't much sunset colour able to... 49.290028, -123.147004 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/stormy-sunset-at-klootchman-park https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/stormy-sunset-at-klootchman-park/alexis-birkill_stormy-sunset-at-klootchman-park_srgb_1024px_56f925bb.jpg Stormy Sunset at Klootchman Park After a few days of sunshine, the weekend brought the rain, with heavy rain and wind warnings issued in and around Vancouver. Steady rain throughout the day, with occasional downpours and heavy winds resulted in localised flooding and power outages in parts of the Lower Mainland.As Saturday... 49.340304, -123.269723 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/milky-way-over-mount-baker https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/milky-way-over-mount-baker/alexis-birkill_milky-way-over-mount-baker_srgb_1024px_32b2e73b.jpg Milky Way over Mount Baker I haven't done as much night sky photography as I'd have liked in the last few months, partly as clear skies seem to have been coinciding with a full moon. Hopefully I'll have both the chance and the weather to get out again soon, but in the meantime, here's one from the archives that I haven't... 48.846691, -121.695538 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/vancouver-apocalypse https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/vancouver-apocalypse/alexis-birkill_vancouver-apocalypse_srgb_1024px_afe98553.jpg Vancouver Apocalypse On Friday, the day after the thunderstorm, the clouds started to gather towards sunset, and looked promising, so I walked over to Canada Place to see what would happen.Most of the sunset was relatively unimpressive -- although the Lions Gate Bridge was beautifully lit up by the golden light, it... 49.289012, -123.111593 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/canada-place-parkade https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/canada-place-parkade/alexis-birkill_canada-place-parkade_srgb_1024px_64c7650d.jpg Canada Place Parkade Walking back from Canada Place past the convention centre, the entrance to this parking garage, with the sign reflected in the rain protection above, caught my eye.To get the perspective as I wanted I had to handhold the camera over my head. I used HDR to capture the tonal range of the scene,... 49.288538, -123.116833 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sunset-over-bowen-island https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sunset-over-bowen-island/alexis-birkill_sunset-over-bowen-island_srgb_1024px_bfdf4c93.jpg Sunset over Bowen Island We're in for a few days of cloud and rain in Vancouver, and the clouds were just starting to come in from the west on Thursday night, promising a good sunset.I headed out to a park I've never been to in West Vancouver for this shot. This is probably the smallest park I've visited around... 49.345760, -123.268767 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/lightshed https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/lightshed/alexis-birkill_lightshed_srgb_1024px_d5de8f77.jpg LightShed LightShed is a 2004 sculpture by Liz Magor, located on the seawall by the Coal Harbour Marina, in Vancouver.The design is based on the old boatsheds which used to line the shoreline, before the Coal Harbour area turned residential. Although it's designed to look like it's made from wood, the... 49.291333, -123.123415 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/milky-way-over-anvil-island https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/milky-way-over-anvil-island/alexis-birkill_milky-way-over-anvil-island_srgb_1024px_6e27d420.jpg Milky Way over Anvil Island On Wednesday night I took another trip out to Porteau Cove Provincial Park with a friend to teach him a bit about star photography. We were originally planning on going on Tuesday evening, but the clouds that came over at sunset did not bode well for good visibility.The forecast, while free of... 49.559585, -123.236558 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/coal-harbour-reflections https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/coal-harbour-reflections/alexis-birkill_coal-harbour-reflections_srgb_1024px_9fff7e3e.jpg Coal Harbour Reflections Even after living in Vancouver for coming up to two years, there still seems to be an endless number of photographic opportunities, even just within sight of my apartment building!It feels like a while since I've done a Vancouver 'city and water' blue hour photograph, so I figured I'd go out and... 49.291123, -123.123714 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/coal-harbour-vancouver https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/coal-harbour-vancouver/alexis-birkill_coal-harbour-vancouver_srgb_1024px_9b17a3df.jpg Coal Harbour, Vancouver It's once again the time of year when the window cleaners arrive, and in order to gain access to the sides of the building, they remove some of the glass from the rooftop observation deck. This seemed like an excellent chance to give my brand new 16-35mm lens a tryout, after the old one was... 49.289581, -123.125770 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/celebration-of-light-2013-day-3-thailand https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/celebration-of-light-2013-day-3-thailand/alexis-birkill_celebration-of-light-2013-day-3-thailand_srgb_1024px_b653a334.jpg Celebration of Light 2013, Day 3: Thailand Tonight was the third and final night of the Celebration of Light fireworks competition that took place in Vancouver over the last week. This display was by the team from Thailand.I decided to continue my theme of panoramic city skyline photographs that I have taken throughout the fireworks... 49.352906, -123.177805 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/lighthouse-park-at-golden-hour https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/lighthouse-park-at-golden-hour/alexis-birkill_lighthouse-park-at-golden-hour_srgb_1024px_47d33727.jpg Lighthouse Park at Golden Hour Point Atkinson Lighthouse at Lighthouse Park in Vancouver, taken during the interesting sunset on Wednesday. The hills of Vancouver Island are just barely visible in the distance, through the haze.The sun had actually set about 10 minutes before this photo was taken, but for a few brief minutes... 49.330630, -123.262272 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/celebration-of-light-2013--day-2--canada https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/celebration-of-light-2013--day-2--canada/alexis-birkill_celebration-of-light-2013--day-2--canada_srgb_1024px_cdb55fc6.jpg Celebration of Light 2013, Day 2: Canada Last night was the second of the three fireworks displays in Vancouver taking place this week, during the Celebration of Light fireworks competition. This display was by the Canadian team, with Thailand's display on Saturday.I wanted another angle with the fireworks appearing in front of the... 49.330701, -123.261970 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/celebration-of-light-2013-day-1-united-kingdom https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/celebration-of-light-2013-day-1-united-kingdom/alexis-birkill_celebration-of-light-2013-day-1-united-kingdom_srgb_1024px_0f8469d0.jpg Celebration of Light 2013, Day 1: United Kingdom Last night was the first of three fireworks displays in Vancouver taking place over the next week, during the Celebration of Light fireworks competition. This display was by the United Kingdom team, with Canada and Thailand on Wednesday and next Saturday.To get the fireworks with a backdrop of... 49.272155, -123.179483 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/purple-aurora https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/purple-aurora/alexis-birkill_purple-aurora_srgb_1024px_36e05ece.jpg Purple Aurora A magnetic storm this weekend promised a good chance of an Aurora Borealis sighting. On Friday and Saturday the forecast was fairly steady but quite low, and being relatively far south in Vancouver, BC, the chances of a good show seemed unlikely.Last night, the forecast showed the possibility of... 49.559682, -123.237247 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sunset-at-acadia-beach https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sunset-at-acadia-beach/alexis-birkill_sunset-at-acadia-beach_srgb_1024px_683a76a6.jpg Sunset at Acadia Beach The sun sets behind a layer of cloud, lighting it up from below. In the foreground, the rocks of Acadia Beach are still wet as the tide recedes. On the horizon are the hills of Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast.Photographed with a 3-stop graduated ND filter and a circular polariser. 49.279541, -123.246527 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/acadia-beach-long-exposure https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/acadia-beach-long-exposure/alexis-birkill_acadia-beach-long-exposure_srgb_1024px_b9e6a94f.jpg Acadia Beach Long Exposure Some clouds broke up the perfectly clear blue skies we've had for the last few days, promising the possibility of a good sunset -- and it didn't disappoint.Continuing my current beach theme, I headed to Acadia Beach near UBC. I walked about a kilometre along to find this rock formation which... 49.279807, -123.242739 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/west-from-juniper-point https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/west-from-juniper-point/alexis-birkill_west-from-juniper-point_srgb_1024px_6a464138.jpg West from Juniper Point It was another hot day, but some clouds on the horizon gave promise to an interesting sunset, so I headed to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. The downside of Lighthouse Park is that the viewpoints, although not far, are quite a long way below the level of the car park, and the walk back on a hot... 49.337285, -123.269628 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/aurora-borealis-at-porteau-cove https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/aurora-borealis-at-porteau-cove/alexis-birkill_aurora-borealis-at-porteau-cove_srgb_1024px_9eadc806.jpg Aurora Borealis at Porteau Cove As some of you are no doubt aware, we are currently approaching a solar maximum, a peak in the activity of the Sun which results in, amongst other things, stronger solar winds. These peaks in the Sun's activity occur approximately every 11 years, and the geomagnetic storms that are usually only... 49.559568, -123.236510 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/wreck-beach-panorama https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/wreck-beach-panorama/alexis-birkill_wreck-beach-panorama_srgb_1024px_d88480f5.jpg Wreck Beach Panorama Another shot (and probably the last) from my trip to Wreck Beach last week. This is a 5 photo panorama taken just after the sun passed below the mountains in the distance. For this shot I used a 3-stop graduated ND filter and a circular polariser. 49.267156, -123.264227 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/wreck-beach https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/wreck-beach/alexis-birkill_wreck-beach_srgb_1024px_3342842c.jpg Wreck Beach Another photograph from Wreck Beach, near UBC in Vancouver. I really liked this shot taken just before the sun set behind the North Shore mountains, as it was just glancing off the tops of the wet rocks, and lighting them up very beautifully. This also shows the amount of cloud in the sky that... 49.266446, -123.264703 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/painted-ladies https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/painted-ladies/alexis-birkill_painted-ladies_srgb_1024px_b8df7ce4.jpg Painted Ladies The famous shot of the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square, with the San Francisco Skyline visible behind. 37.776016, -122.433039 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-bay-lights https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-bay-lights/alexis-birkill_the-bay-lights_srgb_1024px_8380adde.jpg The Bay Lights I took a trip down to San Francisco for the annual Google developer conference, but I also managed to find some time to take some photographs. As usual, it was hard for me to resist the draws of the bridges, and I especially wanted to check out the new art installation by Leo Villareal, The Bay... 37.791091, -122.389002 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/whyte-islet https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/whyte-islet/alexis-birkill_whyte-islet_srgb_1024px_ffc765df.jpg Whyte Islet With weather conditions that promised a good sunset, and a high tide, I figured a second trip over to Whytecliff Park might result in some interesting shots of the rocky path to Whyte Islet, which is partially submerged when the water level is high.I tried some very long exposures with my... 49.371197, -123.291216 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/stargazing https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/stargazing/alexis-birkill_stargazing_srgb_1024px_9c6d703b.jpg Stargazing A panoramic star photograph taken from the beach at Porteau Cove Provincial Park last week. This is a different view than I normally take from Porteau Cove, and looks more directly west.This panorama is comprised of a total of 6 photos for the ground and 31 for the sky. Sky shots were taken at... 49.553154, -123.236249 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/cosmos https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/cosmos/alexis-birkill_cosmos_srgb_1024px_a5bd4f0e.jpg Cosmos The light from a thousand stars, some of it travelling for more than 10,000 years, finally ends its journey in my camera.This photo was taken from my favourite star location, Porteau Cove Provincial Park, on a brightly moonlit night, and is a rework of a series of images I shot in January. 49.559629, -123.236651 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/ghostly-watchers https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/ghostly-watchers/alexis-birkill_ghostly-watchers_srgb_1024px_3440a49c.jpg Ghostly Watchers A pier in John Lawson Park in West Vancouver. This is a 50 second exposure using my 10-stop ND filter. The people standing on the end of the pier did not stay still for the entire duration of the photo, resulting in the ghostly shapes visible. You can even make out some ghostly fishing lines off... 49.326501, -123.159718 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-tree-stump https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-tree-stump/alexis-birkill_the-tree-stump_srgb_1024px_a500889c.jpg The Tree Stump The Pacific Northwest weather has been conspiring against my attempts to see the PANSTARRS comet that is visible in the evening sky at the moment, with rather too many days of complete cloud cover.Finally, we had a nice day, and although it wasn't totally clear, I headed off to a good location... 49.124987, -123.196981 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/aurora-hunting https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/aurora-hunting/alexis-birkill_aurora-hunting_srgb_1024px_d041d1b2.jpg Aurora Hunting Earlier this month there was a high level of geomagnetic activity which meant that there was a better-than-average chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis at relatively southern latitudes. Although the weather didn't look ideal, I figured I might as well take a look.Unfortunately, the weather took... 49.559628, -123.236750 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/wildcat-cove https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/wildcat-cove/alexis-birkill_wildcat-cove_srgb_1024px_0cb7b528.jpg Wildcat Cove This is a photo from earlier this year that I hadn't got around to processing, and was taken at Wildcat Cove in Larrabee State Park in Washington, about 45 minutes from the border.I used my 3-stop graduated ND filter for this shot, but the sun still overpowered the rest of the scene, so this... 48.653698, -122.493329 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/jupiter-over-wildcat-cove https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/jupiter-over-wildcat-cove/alexis-birkill_jupiter-over-wildcat-cove_srgb_1024px_f96362a8.jpg Jupiter over Wildcat Cove The beach at Wildcat Cove is part of Larrabee State Park in Washington, which closes at dusk, so I had to park outside and sneak back in to take this shot. It was low tide, so climbing over the slippery rocks to get to the waterline in the dark was an interesting experience!The bright object... 48.653784, -122.493457 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/tranquility https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/tranquility/alexis-birkill_tranquility_srgb_1024px_81dd05c4.jpg Tranquility A beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. This was taken just after the sun had set at Wildcat Cove in Larrabee State Park, Washington.I used a circular polariser, 10-stop ND filter and 3-stop graduated ND filter for this photo, giving an exposure time of seven and a half minutes. 48.652078, -122.492752 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/juniper-point https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/juniper-point/alexis-birkill_juniper-point_srgb_1024px_545e8ad8.jpg Juniper Point I took a trip out to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver yesterday evening, and headed to the Juniper Point viewpoint. This is the view looking south from Juniper Point. The foreground cliffs are often used by rock climbers (including some who appeared about two feet in front of me after I'd been... 49.337164, -123.269709 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/vancouver-from-spanish-banks-beach https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/vancouver-from-spanish-banks-beach/alexis-birkill_vancouver-from-spanish-banks-beach_srgb_1024px_1f98c468.jpg Vancouver from Spanish Banks Beach Downtown Vancouver, photographed at the blue hour from Spanish Banks Beach near Kitsilano. From this point, the city is approximately 4.5 miles away from the camera, so a telephoto lens was a necessity!The beach at Spanish Banks is very flat, so at low tide (which it pretty much was) there were... 49.277621, -123.216390 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/seattle-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/seattle-sunset/alexis-birkill_seattle-sunset_srgb_1024px_be054ad5.jpg Seattle Sunset The beautiful Seattle skyline sparkles in the foreground, while in the background, Mount Rainier is silhouetted against a beautiful sunset sky. Seattle's Space Needle dominates this composition, taken looking south east from Kerry Park. 47.629566, -122.359982 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/mount-shuksan-at-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/mount-shuksan-at-sunset/alexis-birkill_mount-shuksan-at-sunset_srgb_1024px_fbf12e57.jpg Mount Shuksan at Sunset Mount Shuksan at sunset, as seen from Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington. 48.865566, -121.675787 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/bc-place https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/bc-place/alexis-birkill_bc-place_srgb_1024px_303b07fe.jpg BC Place BC Place is a stadium located in downtown Vancouver, and was built as part of the preparations for Expo '86.Until 2010 it had the world's largest air-supported dome, with the stadium being pressurised inside to support the weight of the roof. It has since been converted to have a retractable... 49.272205, -123.105825 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/yaletown-and-the-cambie-bridge https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/yaletown-and-the-cambie-bridge/alexis-birkill_yaletown-and-the-cambie-bridge_srgb_1024px_00ed52c7.jpg Yaletown and the Cambie Bridge This is taken from just west of the Cambie Bridge, looking directly north across False Creek to the Yaletown district of downtown Vancouver. BC Place can be seen peeking through the gap between the pillars of the bridge. 49.271070, -123.115034 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sparkly-granville https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sparkly-granville/alexis-birkill_sparkly-granville_srgb_1024px_66af6564.jpg Sparkly Granville This was taken on a group photowalk along Granville Street. Despite the weather forecast predicting heavy rain, actually, the weather couldn't have been much better -- wonderful wet streets to reflect the lights and bring out the colours, not a drop of rain actually falling, and even some moody... 49.280492, -123.121338 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/painting-the-stars https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/painting-the-stars/alexis-birkill_painting-the-stars_srgb_1024px_47259603.jpg Painting the Stars Another shot from my trip to Porteau Cove. This was slightly tricky to time as the 10 second self-timer wasn't quite long enough for me to get in position, and my eBay intervalometer hasn't arrived yet. I ended up locking the remote shutter open with the camera doing continuous 30 second exposures. 49.559588, -123.236461 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/blue-steel https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/blue-steel/alexis-birkill_blue-steel_srgb_1024px_8b4bc880.jpg Blue Steel Downtown Vancouver as seen from the Stanley Park seawall, with the Vancouver Rowing Club marina in the foreground.Today was a mostly cold and wet day, with temperatures down as low as 5 degrees, and sleet falling in the morning. Late afternoon it started to clear a little, and while there wasn't... 49.296966, -123.132087 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/digital-orca https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/digital-orca/alexis-birkill_digital-orca_srgb_1024px_339727e3.jpg Digital Orca Another photo of Douglas Coupland's Digital Orca sculpture, outside the Vancouver Convention Centre.For this photograph, I wanted to be able to blur the lights of North Vancouver in the background. However, due to the size of the sculpture, it's very hard to do this, as you need a wide-angle... 49.289583, -123.116940 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/vancouver-postcard https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/vancouver-postcard/alexis-birkill_vancouver-postcard_srgb_1024px_8cf996d4.jpg Vancouver Postcard Looking along False Creek from near the Cambie Bridge towards the apartments on Quebec Street and Science World. Ripples can be seen on the water from the water taxis running their scheduled services. Out of shot to the right is the Olympic Village.Five shot vertical-orientation panorama cropped... 49.273050, -123.113346 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/water-city https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/water-city/alexis-birkill_water-city_srgb_1024px_cc0b2a60.jpg Water City Another trip to the roof of my apartment building. This is a photo I can't usually take -- the roof is open on the south side as there are balconies directly below, but on the north side there are windows, presumably due to the sheer drop below.However, at the moment a number of windows have... 49.289567, -123.125711 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/mount-shuksan-reflections https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/mount-shuksan-reflections/alexis-birkill_mount-shuksan-reflections_srgb_1024px_f56403e5.jpg Mount Shuksan Reflections Mount Shuksan, as seen from Picture Lake in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington. This was taken on a trip earlier this year.Mount Shuksan is one of the Cascade range of mountains which stretch from British Columbia all the way down to Northern California.A 10-stop ND filter... 48.866020, -121.677653 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/bridge-and-tunnel https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/bridge-and-tunnel/alexis-birkill_bridge-and-tunnel_srgb_1024px_ba9cc93e.jpg Bridge and Tunnel Traffic travels along the Stanley Park Causeway on its way to cross the Lions Gate Bridge to North Vancouver.When walking to this spot, every other vehicle that went past seemed to be a bus, but when I was kneeling down with my left ear three inches from the traffic, it felt like I had to wait... 49.311008, -123.142539 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/nooksack-falls https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/nooksack-falls/alexis-birkill_nooksack-falls_srgb_1024px_8891cb92.jpg Nooksack Falls Nooksack Falls in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in north Washington State. The Nooksack River drops 88 feet into a valley on its path to Bellingham Bay and eventually the Pacific.A hydroelectric power plant was built in 1906 and was in use until 1997. The powerhouse is now on the... 48.905443, -121.808861 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/perseid-meteor-shower https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/perseid-meteor-shower/alexis-birkill_perseid-meteor-shower_srgb_1024px_0ed42945.jpg Perseid Meteor Shower As it was a clear evening I decided to head up the Sea to Sky highway (which runs from Vancouver to Whistler) to Porteau Cove Provincial Park, a small park on the edge of the Howe Sound with a ferry terminal (only used if a landslide closes the road). This is probably the darkest sky within a thirty... 49.559637, -123.236953 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-orpheum-theatre https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-orpheum-theatre/alexis-birkill_the-orpheum-theatre_srgb_1024px_b9a702ad.jpg The Orpheum Theatre The Orpheum in Vancouver is a theatre and music venue on Granville Street, a major street running through the middle of downtown Vancouver.The Orpheum originally opened in 1927, and has undergone several ownership changes, but despite a threat in the 1970s to turn it into a multiplex movie... 49.280150, -123.120258 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-road https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-road/alexis-birkill_the-road_srgb_1024px_676032b8.jpg The Road East Diamond Lake Highway on the way to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, on another very hot and very hazy day in July. 43.081297, -121.841704 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/crater-lake-national-park https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/crater-lake-national-park/alexis-birkill_crater-lake-national-park_srgb_1024px_7fc7bb1c.jpg Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake National Park has, despite its relatively small size, got to be one of my favourite National Parks, despite only having visited it once, in winter.However, nobody told me that July is the mosquito season in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, and when they say mosquito season, they mean... 42.946914, -122.167829 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-north-rim-of-the-grand-canyon https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-north-rim-of-the-grand-canyon/alexis-birkill_the-north-rim-of-the-grand-canyon_srgb_1024px_9cb38e16.jpg The North Rim of the Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon, as seen at sunset from Bright Angel Point on the (less-visited) North Rim.The North Rim, and this viewpoint, is approximately 5,700 feet (just over a mile) above the floor of the canyon, which is also where the Colorado River flows. 36.193969, -112.049110 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-bay-bridge https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-bay-bridge/alexis-birkill_the-bay-bridge_srgb_1024px_e3e9b357.jpg The Bay Bridge It's a real achievement for me to go to San Francisco and not take a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge -- usually I end up with about three memory cards worth!Still, this seemed like an excellent opportunity for me to get a photograph of San Francisco's other major bridge, the Bay Bridge. 37.809204, -122.366040 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/shumway-fountain-stanford https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/shumway-fountain-stanford/alexis-birkill_shumway-fountain-stanford_srgb_1024px_df3adf63.jpg Shumway Fountain, Stanford The Shumway Fountain, a particularly beautiful and photogenic sculpture on the Stanford University campus in California. 37.426410, -122.167442 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/convention-centre-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/convention-centre-sunset/alexis-birkill_convention-centre-sunset_srgb_1024px_a24bba82.jpg Convention Centre Sunset After a week of pretty awful weather, this afternoon the skies finally cleared to make way for a great sunset. This was taken looking west from Canada Place. In the foreground to the left is the west building of the Vancouver Convention Centre, with the Shaw tower in the background. To the... 49.288764, -123.112313 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/science-world-and-bc-place https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/science-world-and-bc-place/alexis-birkill_science-world-and-bc-place_srgb_1024px_dd0f3090.jpg Science World and BC Place This is taken from the very end of False Creek. A lovely still evening made for fantastic reflections!Science World, on the right, is a science museum with a Buckminster Fuller-inspired geodesic dome. The structure in the centre of the photograph is BC Place, a multi-purpose stadium. Originally... 49.272373, -123.102880 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/reflections-in-coal-harbour https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/reflections-in-coal-harbour/alexis-birkill_reflections-in-coal-harbour_srgb_1024px_8e97f9c6.jpg Reflections in Coal Harbour Coal Harbour and Downtown Vancouver. Most of the buildings on this side of town are residential. The harbour itself is also home to residents -- people clearly live on some of the larger yachts, and you can even see a couple of houseboats on the left side of the photo. The path on the right hand... 49.292627, -123.127285 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/point-atkinson-lighthouse-at-dusk https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/point-atkinson-lighthouse-at-dusk/alexis-birkill_point-atkinson-lighthouse-at-dusk_srgb_1024px_91ac7557.jpg Point Atkinson Lighthouse at Dusk Point Atkinson Lighthouse in West Vancouver. This lighthouse is at the northern end of the Burrard Inlet. The current building was erected in 1912, although there has been a lighthouse on the site since 1875. The light in the lighthouse is very faint, so it was *very* dark when I took this -- I... 49.330702, -123.261963 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/sunset-at-whyte-islet https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/sunset-at-whyte-islet/alexis-birkill_sunset-at-whyte-islet_srgb_1024px_369f101f.jpg Sunset at Whyte Islet Looking south-west over the Howe Sound at sunset from Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver. Whyte Islet is in the foreground, and Passage Island can be seen in the distance. Despite (or because of) its tiny size and isolation, Passage Island's postal code is the wealthiest in Canada. 49.371949, -123.290941 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/city-lights-from-coal-harbour https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/city-lights-from-coal-harbour/alexis-birkill_city-lights-from-coal-harbour_srgb_1024px_54824499.jpg City Lights from Coal Harbour As the sun sets behind Stanley Park in Vancouver, the city lights start to come on.Taken looking west from the Convention Centre. 49.290281, -123.118007 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/the-9-o-clock-gun-vancouver https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/the-9-o-clock-gun-vancouver/alexis-birkill_the-9-o-clock-gun-vancouver_srgb_1024px_c02acf2a.jpg The 9 O'Clock Gun, Vancouver The 9 O'Clock Gun, cast in Woolwich, England in 1816, fires from Stanley Park across the Vancouver Harbour. 49.298309, -123.117239 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/deserted-in-the-desert https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/deserted-in-the-desert/alexis-birkill_deserted-in-the-desert_srgb_1024px_1c5679b6.jpg Deserted in the Desert An abandoned car near the Wall Street Mill in Joshua Tree National Park. 34.037049, -116.133473 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/fort-rosecrans-national-cemetery https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/fort-rosecrans-national-cemetery/alexis-birkill_fort-rosecrans-national-cemetery_srgb_1024px_2d7af136.jpg Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery This was on a trip to visit Old Point Loma Lighthouse. I had hoped to get a nice sunset shot of the lighthouse, but unfortunately the park closes at 5.00pm, about half an hour before sunset at the time of my visit. (Obviously there are not enough photographers running these facilities!)The... 32.686183, -117.245448 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/through-the-letterbox https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/through-the-letterbox/alexis-birkill_through-the-letterbox_srgb_1024px_f1abfb21.jpg Through the Letterbox Here we are again!I first tried to take this photograph back in 2008, but discovered (as is so often the case) that the shot that had looked so good on the back of the camera did not live up to expectations on the computer. The main culprit was the wind, which had caused sufficient shake in the... 37.832150, -122.495011 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/ullswater-at-dawn https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/ullswater-at-dawn/alexis-birkill_ullswater-at-dawn_srgb_1024px_1d0fe62d.jpg Ullswater at Dawn Ullswater in the Lake District at dawn. On the right is the Duke of Portland Boathouse at Pooley Bridge. This is probably the most photographed boathouse in the world!The sun has just risen over the western fells and is hitting the boathouse with the warm dawn light. 54.610469, -2.834011 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/little-langdale-tarn https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/little-langdale-tarn/alexis-birkill_little-langdale-tarn_srgb_1024px_c9432b9b.jpg Little Langdale Tarn Looking down to Little Langdale Tarn from Wrynose Pass in the Lake District.I saw this view as I was driving along, but the rain was pelting down. Fortunately I was able to wait it out and through a brief gap in the rain, grab this. 54.414253, -3.115300 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/blea-tarn https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/blea-tarn/alexis-birkill_blea-tarn_srgb_1024px_2ddcbf9b.jpg Blea Tarn Blea Tarn (located between Great Langdale and Little Langdale) in the Lake District, with the sunlight playing on the distant fells.The morning had started out mostly overcast but with some promising patches of blue sky, and after a while the Sun started to break through, creating the patterns... 54.429379, -3.090363 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/looking-towards-helvellyn https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/looking-towards-helvellyn/alexis-birkill_looking-towards-helvellyn_srgb_1024px_d53a8514.jpg Looking towards Helvellyn Taken from Castlerigg Stone Circle in the Lake District and looking out across farmland towards Helvellyn, the top of which is lost in the cloud. 54.602464, -3.098318 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/flame-at-sunset https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/flame-at-sunset/alexis-birkill_flame-at-sunset_srgb_1024px_a2b863fa.jpg Flame at Sunset A falling water droplet collides with the column of water rising from a previous drop.Captured with a Canon 100mm macro lens with a remotely triggered flash. The flash was fired through a diffuser into the water, angled to reflect back into the camera. Two stacked CTO gels on the flash give... 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/san-diego-skyline https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/san-diego-skyline/alexis-birkill_san-diego-skyline_srgb_1024px_702582f9.jpg San Diego Skyline The San Diego Skyline, as seen across the water from La Playa at sunset. The warm glow of the sun lights up the downtown buildings, with the mountains visible behind. 32.720193, -117.235478 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/mcway-falls https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/mcway-falls/alexis-birkill_mcway-falls_srgb_1024px_17a3a849.jpg McWay Falls McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, near Big Sur in California. McWay Falls is an 80 foot tidefall that empties directly into the Pacific Ocean. 36.159651, -121.673022 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/reflections-of-international-orange https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/reflections-of-international-orange/alexis-birkill_reflections-of-international-orange_srgb_1024px_d70bfa0e.jpg Reflections of International Orange The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. This was photographed about 30 minutes after sunset, from Baker Beach, to the south-west of the bridge. For this shot, I wanted to capture the glow of the International Orange bridge in the post-sunset light, so I waited until the lights on... 37.797805, -122.481856 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/road-to-the-mountains https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/road-to-the-mountains/alexis-birkill_road-to-the-mountains_srgb_1024px_0fd01439.jpg Road to the Mountains On the way to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, I found myself on this long, straight, empty road. I love these dead straight roads with nobody on them -- they really epitomise the rural USA. As there was nobody around, I stopped the car in the middle of the road, and took a photo. I... 37.481985, -105.601714 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/spitfire-parade https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/spitfire-parade/alexis-birkill_spitfire-parade_srgb_1024px_7e7607e7.jpg Spitfire Parade A pair of spitfires take off at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. The aircraft closest to the camera is a trainer, hence the dual cockpits. 52.093081, 0.131296 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/skyelark-of-london https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/skyelark-of-london/alexis-birkill_skyelark-of-london_srgb_1024px_6555af5f.jpg Skyelark of London The Skye 51 yacht '[Skyelark of London](https://adventuresailing.com)' sails into the sunset on the Solent. 50.885820, -1.386907 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/oracle-database-towers https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/oracle-database-towers/alexis-birkill_oracle-database-towers_srgb_1024px_5b5faa15.jpg Oracle Database Towers The Oracle campus in Silicon Valley, California. Oracle are well known for designing database software, and these cylindrical buildings are designed to replicate the cylindrical shapes commonly used to represent databases when creating network diagrams. 37.528874, -122.263805 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/escheresque https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/escheresque/alexis-birkill_escheresque_srgb_1024px_80deee3a.jpg Escheresque A wonderful bit of architecture hidden at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. 37.794897, -122.397681 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/point-sur-lighthouse https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/point-sur-lighthouse/alexis-birkill_point-sur-lighthouse_srgb_1024px_12172ca8.jpg Point Sur Lighthouse Point Sur Lighthouse near Big Sur, on the Pacific Coast Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. 36.325154, -121.894191 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/photos/tunnel-view-in-yosemite https://storage.googleapis.com/akb-photostorage-web/tunnel-view-in-yosemite/alexis-birkill_tunnel-view-in-yosemite_srgb_1024px_d48d4309.jpg Tunnel View in Yosemite There are so many iconic photos of Yosemite, and it's such a rewarding location for photographers, but one of my personal favourites is the view from the appropriately-named Tunnel View viewpoint. After travelling for almost a mile in near-darkness along the Wawona Tunnel, the distant tunnel end... 37.715756, -119.676770 0.9 https://photovancouver.com/gallery 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/9-o-clock-gun 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/arizona 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/aurora-borealis 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/beach 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/black-and-white 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/blue-hour 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/bridges 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/california 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/coal-harbour 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/colorado 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/crater-lake 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/downtown 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/england 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/fireworks 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/golden-hour 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/howe-sound 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/lake-district 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/lighthouse 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/macro 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/moon 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/mount-baker 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/mountains 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/night-sky 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/olympic-cauldron 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/oregon 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/panorama 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/reflections 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/seaplanes 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/seascape 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/seattle 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/skyline 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/stanley-park 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/sunset 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/vancouver 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/washington 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/waterfront 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/gallery/west-vancouver 0.8 https://photovancouver.com/about 2025-05-02T16:25:43-07:00 0.7 https://photovancouver.com/contact 2025-05-02T16:25:43-07:00 0.7