Welcome to part III of my city sights for Throwback Thursday.
1. Very Vancouver
I love this view. The line of towers that tapers off in the distance just looks so pleasing, Science World adds a contrasting shape and texture and on a clear, calm day the reflections are lovely. I’ve photographed this view many times but more often than not have found myself not liking the results so I’m especially pleased with this one. Some of those I’ve taken have had a foreground of perfectly calm water, which can look two-dimensional and kinda boring. This is where the Aquabus comes in: perhaps counter-intuitively, the fact that the Aquabus disturbs the water in the foreground actually improves the photo no end. The straight line of the wake interrupts the foreground in a way that I think attracts enough attention to be interesting but not too much to be distracting. However, it’s the lines and curves of the waves that really make the foreground, curving round to point right at the Aquabus and drawing the eye into the scene.
At least, that’s how I see it. Of course, everyone has a different idea of what constitutes a pleasing photograph!
2. City of glass
In contrast to the photo above, I think this one works just fine as a simple reflection shot due to the symmetry and the uniformity. There are no distracting lines leading into or out of the photo, but just enough of a ripple on the surface of the water to lend some depth. The towers all look roughly the same colour in the warm light, giving the photo a two-tone appearance against the blue of the sky, both colours reflected nicely in the water below.
3. Raining in the sunlight
A passing morning shower at sunrise catches the first rays of light. Often in winter there’s a small gap in the clouds to the south that allows the sun to shine through as it first rises, bathing everything in a glorious warm glow. Within a few minutes the sun has risen enough that the clouds now block its light and everything returns to grey. But for a few moments there is magical light, and sometimes it coincides with a rain shower. I really like how the visible portion of the rainbow mimics the streaks of rain.
4. The Lions peek through a gap in the high rises
I was walking (or biking?) along the False Creek seawall when I happened to look up and see the Lions through a gap in the high-rises, peeking out above the flank of Hollyburn. The little boat cruising into the frame is just perfect (and, purely by chance, it’s flying the Union flag). But even without that, it’s the asymmetry of this photo that I like: the tall, imposing tower dominating the left half of the frame, apparently dwarfing the mountain peaks beyond, adding a touch of irony to the scene. In contrast to the tidiness of the left side of the picture, the right hand side is a jumble of different buildings of varying heights, adding a further contrast. Again, that’s what I see…
5. Sunrise on snowfall
I see the sunrise most often in winter because it occurs at or just after the time I get up. Winter sunrises also produce the best pictures of the North Shore mountains because of the snow and the fact they are illuminated from the south-east. By contrast in the summer, the sun rises over the mountains (further east than these peaks) and shines right into our bedroom so there’s really nothing to photograph. I photographed the sunrise a lot when we first moved into our apartment; these days not so much but occasionally the sheer simplicity and calm associated with a view such as this prompts me to wield the camera.
Andy Gibb 