Don’t Take The Bus, Vancouver, Canada 2011

Posted on by

SONY DSCSONY NEX-5 (16mm, f/8, 1/40 sec, ISO200)

September 2011 we spent 3 weeks in British Colombia. It was our third time there. The same country, the same province(s), same RV and campgrounds style and we were the same ( well almost, just 10 years older this time ) but the trips were completely different.

  • 2001: it was all about wild life. We have seen black bears 5 times.
  • 2009: it was all about landscape, hiking and the sun. Not a single day of rain!
  • 2011: it was all about rain and how to hide! It was still a great trip but due to the poor weather it was more focussed on cities BUT we did a wild life safari and saw Grizzlies up close ( Bute Inlet )

The 3 trips were also totally different regarding the gear I used.

  • Canada 2001: Nikon F100 and F801, lots of fast glass, heavy tripod and about 50 rolls of Vevlia
  • Canada 2009: Canon 5D and 500D, 17-40L, 24-105L, 4/70-200L + 1.4TC, 35L
  • Canada 2011: above without 35L, Sony NEX 5, Fuji X100

In the cities I mainly used my new Fuji X100 till it broke down in Victoria ( sticky aperture blade problem ). That’s why I shot with my Sony NEX 5 in Vancouver ( except for the indoor shots at the Aquarium ( still X100 )). And it delivered big time! In cities I love to use the 16mm lens. Yes the very poor Sony pancake lens. I know that most people think that this is the worst lens ever built but I like it.

SONY DSCSONY NEX-5 (16mm, f/8, 1/30 sec, ISO200)
 SONY DSCSONY NEX-5 (16mm, f/8, 1/40 sec, ISO200)

Location: This is Granville Island, Vancouver, BC. I wonderful spot. There is a nice coffee house close by, a big market and lot’s of shops. It was a large factory once but now it is just beautiful and there are also some very nice floating homes nearby where people have their boats parked like cars – just outside their living room. It was the last evening. The weather was really bad most of the time but this evening was great. We took the water taxi. Not only is it the most attractive way to commute in this part of Vancouver it is also the most effective.

When I would live somewhere outside of Austria this would be the place. It is wonderful. You got it all. The sea, the mountains and a very attractive city. The perfect place to live.

SONY DSCSONY NEX-5 (16mm, f/4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO200)

Yes there is some post processing on the images. I think it is rather obvious. Most of it is on the first shot because it was taken just before the beautiful light but it was the best version regarding composition. So I decided to push the color temperature to match the other images I took later that evening. It is not perfect but I like it. I also used the ND grad filter in Lightroom for the images to give the clouds in the sky a more dramatic look.

SONY DSCSONY NEX-5 (16mm, f/4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO200)