Tag Archives: British Columbia

Floatplane Fest

I was in Vancouver for a few days for work and I managed to catch up with my buddy Mark when I arrived. He suggested to me a good opportunity for shooting the floatplanes is at the end of the day from Brockton Point in Stanley Park. I had only shot them from the shore near the convention center (other than an opportunist shot or two while walking in the park and that doesn’t count) so I was interested to see how this location worked out. I managed to get out of work at a good time one evening and the weather was looking very nice so it was off to the park for me.

This location is a lot of fun. In the evening, the light is well positioned and, at this time of year, the sun is lower and the light is nice and just gets better and better as the evening sets in. The aircraft were arriving from the east so they were very distant but it is the departures that we were after. The planes head along the shore from the base and then turn towards you and start their run. Often, they are pointing straight at you for a while.

Depending on the type and the pilot, they can climb steeply or can keep it nice and low as they come by. Sometimes, there might be a boat on their preferred take off run and, since they have to divert to one side which can result in a nice turn back towards you as they round the point and head to Lion’s Gate. The Otters are the most common type with the Beavers coming second. There are still some Twin Otters but they are a lot less common than they used to be so they end up being more interesting when they show up. How can it be that I get complacent about seeing Otters on floats? (The fact we have them in Seattle too probably doesn’t help!)

Mark certainly called this one correctly. Brockton Point is a nice place to hang out on a sunny fall evening in any circumstances but the addition of a steady stream of floatplanes to this makes for a wonderful combination is you are someone like me. What’s more, it is a reliable option. Until the winter light stops flying at the end of the afternoon, you have scheduled departures to rely on so this is not a case of turning up in the hope of seeing something. You will definitely get plenty of planes.

They Both Float, But…

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This is the cruise ship that our family had been traveling on when they arrived in Vancouver. It was heading back out the same day and we watched it leave port and head out. As it was turning to head back to the open sea, one of the local Otter floatplanes was making its approach to land (or whatever the correct word is when it is water rather than land). It passed in front of the ship. Both vessels are comfortable in the water but one is on a rather different scale than the other.

Walking Through the Treetops

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Aside from the suspension bridge at Capilano, there is a treetop walk. This is on the opposite side of the bridge and is an interesting attraction. They have built a number of walkways that run through the treetops. These are old growth trees that are really substantial. Without cutting in to the trees, they have mounted platforms around the trunks and strung walkways between them. You get to walk along these walkways from tree to tree.

You are up in the higher parts off the tree so you have a different perspective to that which you would normally get walking along the ground. Indeed, you can get so used to being up there that you forget you are off the ground. Every once in a while, it is a good idea to look down to see just how far you are from the base of some of the trees.

There are so many people up there with you that it is easy to become a bit fixated on keeping going. The walkways are one way so you are all moving along in the same direction. You can start following the person in front and lose perspective on where you are. However, at each tree there is space to step aside and let people pass. Then you can take a moment to look around and embrace your surroundings. I highly recommend you do this if you visit. Look up and look down and see exactly where you are – up with the squirrels in the treetops.

Cliffwalk – A Feat of Engineering

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One more post from our visit to Capilano. The deep valley that the river runs through and that the bridge crosses has some steep, rocky sides. These have provided another opportunity for the owners to add some interest. They have mounted a walkway along the cliff face. I don’t know what inspired this but if you have seen the walkway at the Grand Canyon or the glass boxes on the Sears Tower (watcha talking about Willis) then you see a similar them.

These paths run on structure built in to the cliff face. They are shaped so, while you have normal width handrails, the foot section is narrower so you have a more obvious view downwards. You have no doubt how high up you are. Meanwhile, you get to see the mounting points that have been driven into the cliff face to support all of this.

One section of the path is a semi-circle that is suspended by cables mounted on the cliff face. It is a dramatic part of the structure and everyone is fascinated by it when they get there. Don’t anticipate moving through this section too quickly because it does tend to back up a bit. A little later I walked above this section and found a spot where you can look directly down on the curve and it takes on a whole new perspective. I think it is quite beautiful. Winding your way along the face of the cliffs on these walkways is very cool and is definitely not to be overlooked if you visit.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

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The arrival of some family members in Vancouver as part of a vacation gave us a reason to make a day trip up to the city. It is a pretty easy run to get there so we were pleased to head up. Since the visitors were on vacation, they were keen to explore different things so we decided to head across the Lions Gate Bridge and visit the suspension bridge at Capilano. This was not something I had been aware of before we planned this.

The bridge has apparently been there for many years. It is suspended across a deep valley with a river running through the bottom. It is a very popular attraction and, while we headed there in the morning, we were certainly not alone. The people that own the bridge have expanded the facilities to include a number of other attractions and these will get their own posts in the coming days. However, this is just about the bridge. As it covers quite a distance, the bridge has quite a drop between the ends and the middle. This makes each end of it quite steep. Combine that with the number of people crossing, the desire everyone has to look around/get some pictures, and the amount it moves around which unsettles the first-time user and it takes a while to get across. It is interesting to see that the return journey is a bit quicker!

Being on the bridge gives you one perspective. Looking down into the valley below is a different point of view. At various other times, you get a chance to check the bridge out from a distance (when you see how long it is and how many people are on it at any one time) when it also seems rather dwarfed by the surroundings. You even get to walk underneath it at one point and then it has a very different feel. If you are spending any time in Vancouver, I do suggest you head to North Vancouver and check the bridge and its associated attractions out.

Can You Find Yourself in North Vancouver?

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Standing on the shore in Vancouver on a sunny Sunday afternoon provided a great view of North Vancouver. Plenty of boats were making their way across the bay including some large ones which proved a little problematic for this task. I figured I could use the long lens, shoot a large sequence and create a panorama when I got home. It turned out that Photoshop and Lightroom both struggled compiling this panorama so I ended up positioning everything manually. However, it all worked out pretty well. Here is the result. Feel free to navigate around to see what you can find.

Don’t Lose Control of Your Tug Please!

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This is a bit of an old event but I thought it was worth a post. A number of years ago we took a vacation to South Pender Island in British Columbia. We stayed in a hotel by a little harbor called Poet’s Cove and I spent a lot of time watching the comings and goings of the boats and the floatplanes. One afternoon, an old tug boat approached the harbor. It was a rugged looking old beast of a boat but it looked like it had been restored for use as a private boat. It came chugging in towards the harbor, apparently ready to moor up.

What happened next is not entirely clear to me. Whether the person in charge didn’t really know what they were doing or whether there was a technical failure of some sort I do not know. Whatever it was, the tug came in at a decent speed and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. It was heading for a rather nice little cruiser that was on the end of one of the jetties and, sure enough, they plowed right into it.

The whole thing seemed to be in slow motion because, since they are boats, things don’t happen very fast but they don’t stop fast either. The cruiser had a RIB mounted on the stern – at least it originally did – and this seemed to take a lot of the visible punishment. However, judging by the sounds that were made on impact, I am imagining that some of the cruiser on the opposite side from me sustained damage I never saw.

Eventually, the tug crew got things slightly under control and backed out of the harbor and dropped anchor a short way offshore. The people on the jetty seemed to be in shock (can’t say I blame them) and then a deputation motors out to the tug to “discuss” what had happened. I watched things for a while but, once everything seemed to be under control, I retreated to the hotel to tell Nancy all about it over a beer!

Helijet S-76s

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Our trip to Vancouver was not one for me to spend time photographing aviation. However, I did manage to sneak some shots in while I was there. Watching the floatplane operations was a lot of fun but it meant I didn’t get to go to the heliport further along the shoreline. This was fine by me but I did still see some of the Helijet S-76s as they departed and arrived since they came across the harbor albeit at a distance. I grabbed a few images for now. I guess I have multiple reasons for making a return trip to Vancouver before too long. I know Nancy won’t object to returning! Better not mention the helicopters just yet though.

Stanley Park Totem Poles

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The native heritage is strong in the Pacific Northwest. Stanley Park has an area at Brockton Point that displays a variety of totem poles. I am not sure of the age of these poles but they are kept in good condition and look great. I understand many are replicas as the originals have been sent for preservation but others are more recent additions to the park. Getting pictures of them is slightly tricky. Something tall and thin does not necessarily make for a dynamic picture. Instead, I focused on some of the details of the poles rather than the whole thing although getting a view of how many of them there were did seem to make sense.

Aside from the poles, there are portals to the park that welcome the visitors. These caught my eye quite a bit but seemed to get less attention from the other visitors. I guess the totem poles are iconic and so are likely to get the most interest. Supposedly this area is the most visited tourist attraction in British Columbia. I certainly have no reason to doubt that given how many people were there while we were.

Grand Caravan Go Around – Thank-you

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We spent a day in Stanley Park in Vancouver. This was not a day for photographing aircraft but there are so many operating in the area that it is hard to avoid. As we were walking along the shore, a Grand Caravan made an approach. I didn’t have the camera to hand so just watched it. Having made a dive at the final approach, it floated long (in the air, not on the water) and the pilot elected to go around. This gave me an opportunity to get the camera out.

Meanwhile, I could hear it coming around. It seemed rather loud for the approach path it had taken previously. Indeed, this time they took a path right across the bottom of the park. I got out from under a tree just in time to get some shots of it turning on to final. A far better angle than its first approach. Maybe the pilot deliberately went around because he knew what I wanted?