View of Downtown Vancouver from North Van

Downtown Vancouver’s buildings at sunset as photographed from the Burrard Dry Dock Pier (near Londsdale Quay) in North Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.

downtown vancouver at sunset photographed from North Vancouver

Sunset Behind Downtown Vancouver (Purchase)

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   While I consider myself a landscape and nature photographer I do enjoy photographing almost anything – including cityscapes. I have photographed several panoramas of downtown Vancouver in the past, though most of these have been from various vantage points in Stanley Park and some from Kits Beach. I have been wanting to do the same from North Vancouver’s perspective and had the opportunity to do so a few weeks ago.

   I had spent the day photographing around North Vancouver in areas such as Maple Flats, Cates Park, and Deep Cove. When the light was running out at Deep Cove I determined that this would be a good chance to shoot the sunset and downtown Vancouver from somewhere in North Van. I had previously tried this at the dog park near the automall, but there always seems to be a large amount of barges and boats blocking the view from there. I’d heard that near Londsdale Quay would be a better spot, so I headed there from Deep Cove. There has been a lot of changes in that area since I was last there, so I had to find my way to various viewpoints in new ways. I wound up on the Burrard Dry Dock Pier (just east of Londsdale Quay) which offers a great view of downtown Vancouver. I was able to make some good photographs here including the one above. While I had to dodge the Seabus and a few other boats moving through the foreground (and their wakes) this turned out to be a great location to view Vancouver.

For more photographs of downtown Vancouver visit my Cities and Buildings Gallery.

An Evening at Kits Beach in Vancouver

Wide panorama from Vancouver’s Kits Beach including Stanley Park, Crown and Grouse Mountains (left) and Mount Seymour (right), and the West End downtown towers.

panorama of vancouver english bay and kitsilano buildings and city

Vancouver Coast & Mountains: View of English Bay and City of Vancouver (Purchase)

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   Last week I posted a photograph of the M.V. Fortune and Crown Mountain that I pointed out was just one portion of a much larger panorama shot from Kits Beach. Above you’ll find my finished panorama a view of the anchored M.V. Fortune, Crown/Grouse Mountains and Stanley Park, and the West End of Vancouver and its apartment and condo towers. The two taller buildings on the right of downtown Vancouver are the new Trump Tower and Living Shangri-La. I made this photograph standing just outside the boundary of Kits Beach Park along the seawall path on the west side of the Kitsilano Yacht Club. I think this photo really exemplifies the name “Vancouver Coast & Mountains” which is the tourism region Vancouver is located in.

panorama of vancouver english bay and kitsilano buildings and city

Panorama of Vancouver’s West End and Kitsilano (Purchase)

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   I made a number of panoramas from the Kits Beach area. The one above is similar to the first, but shot from the eastern side of the Kitsilano Yacht Club. I tried to focus on Mount Seymour and the downtown area and included the Kits Beach Boathouse Restaurant in this one. This panorama was made about 15 minutes after the first one so you see many more of the lights on in the city buildings which I prefer over the look of the first panorama.

vancouver condo towers and mount seymour blue hour from kits beach

Vancouver’s West End and and Mount Seymour (Purchase)

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   On this evening I was out to photograph the city with snowy mountains in the background, so I made some single exposures that focused on just these subjects. This photograph shows Mount Seymour and the towers in the West End. The tallest of the buildings in this photo is the Empire Landmark Hotel. In the foreground we have the lights of vehicle traffic on Beach Avenue and the sandy shore of Sunset Beach.

kits beach and the boathouse restaurant at sunset

Kitsilano Beach and the Boathouse Restaurant in the evening (Purchase)

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   This is the Boathouse Restaurant on Kits Beach photographed after sunset. I like the reflections on English Bay in this scene and the rare opportunity to photograph without a crowd on the beach.

For more Cityscapes of Vancouver take a look at my Cities and Buildings Gallery in my Image Library.

My Top 10 Photos of 2014

   I tend to consider this list more of a top 10 favourite photographs of 2014 than the “best”. Choosing the images for my Nature Calendars always helps me narrow these things down a bit ahead of making my final list below. Once again, I am making this post so I can be a part of Jim Goldstein’s annual Your Best Photos project. Look for his post early in the new year with all the entries from a wide variety of photographers. Always a great place to find new photographers and their work.

   I hope you enjoy the following photographs and I am curious if you have a favourite. Clicking on each photograph takes you to my Image Archive but below you’ll also find links to corresponding blog posts. In no specific order here are my top 10 photographs of 2014:

trout lake creek moss and rocks
Trout Lake Creek flows through the rainforest in Sasquatch Provincial Park

(Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia)
Blog post: Sasquatch Provincial Park

lions gate bridge and downtown vancouver from ambleside beach
The Lions Gate Bridge and downtown Vancouver

(West Vancouver, British Columbia)
Blog post: Lions Gate Bridge from Ambleside Park

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