Tag Archives: Stanley Park

Gull’s Crab Lunch Under Threat

As we walked along the shore trail in Stanley Park, we came up on a gull that had just caught a crab.  The gull was intent on eating the crab, as well you might imagine.  However, its lunch had also caught the attention of a bunch of crows (could hardly call them a murder).  Consequently, the gull was trying to find a way to avoid the crows and eat its food.  It was not going to escape them, of course.  Instead, it had to do the best it could and accept that they were going to get a few scraps.

 

Getting a Little Closer to Helijet S-76s

The Helinet S-76s are something I am always looking out for.  I have seen them many times although the shots have sometimes left me wanting something better.  While I was last in Stanley Park, I got to see a lot of their movements.  The best bit was that, on some occasions, they flew pretty close overhead me.  I was able to get some shots I was pretty happy with.

I could watch them descend to the heliport on the other side of the harbor but that was a long way off.  The climb outs sometimes came close but the arrivals were the best.  I was quite surprised by the gear lowering sequence with the mains seeming to pop out like they were on springs.  No slow and steady deployment for these guys.

How Could I Avoid Stanley Park?

I had a work day up in Vancouver.  I finished up in the office at the end of the day just when rush hour traffic would be at its worst.  The sun was out and the temperature was still nice so I figured I might delay my drive home for an hour or so and head to Stanley Park.  It is a nice place to hang out, there is always plenty going on in the harbor and the floatplane departures might have factored in to my decision making.

There is a bit of an evening rush of departures but, with the days getting shorter and floatplane operations being a very visual thing, I figured they wouldn’t be going out too late if they were to be back before dark.  I was actually pretty lucky as there was a wave of departures shortly after I got there and then, when I thought it had all wrapped up, another burst of flights headed out.  Meanwhile, there were arrivals coming overhead for landing.  It killed a bit of time and made for an easier drive home when I headed back south again.

Vancouver Police RIB

The floatplanes may have been my main focus when I was at Brockton Point in Stanley Park but they certainly weren’t the only activity in the harbor.  Plenty of boat traffic was on the move.  The Vancouver Police were also on patrol.  They had a RIB that they were zipping about on.  I watched them head out towards Lion’s Gate Bridge without getting a shot but, when they returned, I figured they deserved my attention.  A speeding RIB is a cool way to travel and this one looked like it had enough power for plenty of speed!

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.

Stanley Park Totem Poles

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

AE7I0734.jpgWe 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.

AE7I0742.jpgMeanwhile, 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?

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Lion’s Gate

B11I8691-Pano.jpgStanley Park may be a great place to explore but it is also bisected by a major road.  It cuts up through the park before getting on to a bridge to head across to North Vancouver.  This is called Lions Gate.  We stopped to check out the bridge as we were making our way around the park.  There is a viewing area just west of the bridge which we took a look at.  There were several viewing levels down the side of the hill.  It was amazing how many people never bothered to go down the steps from the top level to check out the different views.

B11I8699.jpgWe also wandered back along the road to the bridge that passes over the main highway.  Not only was there a view along the bridge but there were also some little sculptures of lions.  These seemed to mirror the larger ones down near the entrance to the suspension bridge but I kind of liked the little versions.  I met a couple of photographers at this location.  I had some thoughts about experimenting with a shot here but that will be another post.

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