I Can’t Quite Decide

I like to take pictures. No, I mean it. I REALLY like to take pictures. On our hike to Crystal Falls in Vancouver, I took over 200 pictures on a 90 minute hike. I’ll let you do the math.

IMG_0085When I’m taking pictures, I don’t take anything for granted. I look at everything. I evaluate everything. I notice everything. And because I’m paying attention, I see so many things that I would have certainly missed otherwise. I very much try to see the world through a child’s eyes, where everything is new and interesting. Because no matter how many times you have seen something, if you look closely you will see details you never noticed before.

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But here is where I’m torn.If I examine every detail, analyze it, and photograph it, am I really “experiencing” it? Would it be better if I allowed my mind to unfocus? Would it be more authentic if I simply allowed the experience wash over me? I can’t quite decide.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Blur

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WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Blur

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Waterfalls

… come in all sizes.

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All pictures are from our hike up to Crystal Falls in Vancouver.

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Ephemeral

It all comes down to perspective. Viewed through the lens of quantum physics, pretty much everything we see, no matter how fleeting, persists for eternity. On the other hand, compared to the age of a star, or even a mountain range, all of our grand schemes are hopelessly ephemeral. It’s all a question of perspective.

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This picture comes from my ghost town trip a few years back. It’s interesting to imagine this as a thriving enterprise, not so long ago.

For other interpretations of ephemeral, check out The Daily Post.

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Vancouver Reflection

We were reflecting on our trip to Vancouver and couldn’t believe that we have only been back a little over a week. In recognition of a very bad pun, here is a reflection of the docks near Go Fish.

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We had such a wonderful time, and are looking forward to our next visit.

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Weathered Wood: Contrast

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Weathered Wood

I was intrigued by Cee’s latest Fun Foto Challenge. I decided to submit two very different photos exploring opposite ends of the spectrum, as it were. The first is from my “ghost town” trip to the prairies a few years back, and shows wood that has probably been weathering since the 1930’s.

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The second photo, from our recent hike to Crystal Falls in Vancouver, shows a log that has likely been weathering for less than a year.

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I like the contrast between wet and dry.

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T Minus 19 Days

In less than three weeks I will be in Jordan again. That will provide lots of interesting material for new blog posts. Hopefully I can do that material justice, but in any case, until then I will have to make do with a few of the more interesting photos from our recent trip to Vancouver. I’ll start with another photo from our hike to Crystal Falls. Simple,but somehow intriguing.

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All Good Things Must Come To An End…

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As we were packing for Vancouver the weather forecast showed rain for the full week. Compared to the snow in Ottawa, rain sounded pretty decent, so we were only a little disappointed. The light drizzle on our hike to Crystal Falls the first day turned to steady rain by evening, which was not a great sign. But by morning the forecast improved somewhat – “clear today but rain tomorrow”. And that was pretty much the story for the rest of the week. Clear today but rain tomorrow. Until our last day, when the rain finally arrived. Fortunately, the only thing on the agenda was a trip to the airport for our flight home, where we were greeted by this…

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A late March snowstorm may bring a smile to a snowman’s face, but it certainly didn’t bring one to mine. It’s hard to believe that only a few days ago we were sitting on the deck enjoying a glass of wine.

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Tech Support

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I work with technology in my day job, but it’s also a bit of a hobby. I enjoy helping people with their computer “challenges”, so it isn’t unusual to be asked for tech support. That was the case on our visit to Vancouver, where I was greeted with a number of misbehaving computers ready to be beaten into submission. As I say, I actually enjoy the challenge so I really didn’t expect anything in return. After all, we were already being treated to wonderful meals, free accommodation, and stunning scenery.

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One of my other hobbies is craft beer. I don’t brew it, but I enjoy sampling it. Vancouver has a very active brewing scene so our final afternoon was devoted to checking out a few local microbreweries. To thank me for the tech support, Ger offered to be the designated driver for the outing, and paid for our drinks. Unnecessary, but much appreciated. Joan and I decided on an area with a concentration of microbreweries and, as it happens, interesting architecture.IMG_0536

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To be completely honest, the interesting architecture was an unexpected bonus. Our real motivation was interesting beer, and we found plenty of that to sample while Ger and Jan went shopping. It was a win-win.

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Everything was within easy walking distance. In fact, it probably would have been better if we’d had to walk a little farther between stops. And in addition to an intriguing selection of locally brewed beer, the tasting rooms also had many interesting details.

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Then it was back for another meeting of The Other Champagne Club, followed by homemade pizza with an authentic wood-fired taste.

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