panoramic

Mt. Erie Park Moonrise Over the North Cascades

The moon rises over North Cascades mountain peaks just after sunset. Photographed from the top of Mt. Erie Park in Anacortes, Washington State, USA.

panorama of moonrise over the north cascades range from mt erie park

Moonrise over the North Cascades from Mt. Erie Park (Purchase)

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   In September I went on a day trip across the border into Blaine, Washington and eventually ended up at Mt. Erie Park in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island. The plan had been to follow the coast and hit a lot of different spots on the way to Fidalgo Island and Anacortes with Mt. Erie Park being the last destination. It turned out this was a bit overly ambitions so when I arrived in Anacortes it was already early evening. I’ve learned from experience that when time gets short to have a plan for the final destination in place, and so after visiting Anacortes I drove up the narrow road to the top of Mt. Erie. This was a park that seemed like it had a decent chance at good views – and they turned out to be great views. This first panorama photograph here shows several peaks I photographed from the park – mainly (from L to R) Round Mountain, Mount Higgins, Glacier Peak, White Chuck Mountain, Whitehorse Mountain Three Fingers, and Liberty Mountain.

moonrise over the north cascades range from mt erie

Moonrise over the North Cascades and Similk Bay from Mt. Erie (Purchase)

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   I’d like to say I had planned my timing with this moon rise perfectly, but it was just a pleasant surprise. Many photographers determine sunrise and sunset paths before photographing an area but I don’t often do this – especially on a relatively unplanned day such as this one. There are plenty of great views from the top of Mount Erie – from Mount Baker and a number of other notable peaks in the North Cascades to the view south towards Whidbey Island, The Olympic Mountains and the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The three photos here show the view to the east and southeast of the North Cascades, and the farmland on the mainland.

moonrise over the north cascades range in black and white

Moonrise over the North Cascades in B&W (Purchase)

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   I thought I’d try this last photograph in Black and White, and I think it works (more so with the enlarged view compared to this thumbnail). You can view the colour version for comparison. The peaks in this photograph include (L to R) Round Mountain, Mount Higgins, Skadulgwas Peak, White Chuck Mountain, Glacier Peak, Disappointment Peak and Whitehorse Mountain.

For more photographs from the North Cascades visit my North Cascades Gallery.

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.

Fishing Boats on the Fraser River

Fishing boats tied up on a dock along Bedford Channel – on the Fraser River in Langley, British Columbia, Canada

fraser river fishing boats

Fishing Boats along the Fraser River (Purchase)

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   On my recent walk through Brae Island Regional Park in Fort Langley, British Columbia I stopped at one of the viewpoints on the Bedford Channel shoreline. Bedford Channel runs between Fort Langley and Brae Island and many may be familiar with it by crossing the bridge over it to the now defunct Albion Ferry. Earlier in the year I’d stopped at this view point but the spring freshet water levels were very high and I wasn’t about to get near the river. On this visit I was able to walk along the shore for a while and photographed these fishing boats docked along the channel. While not quite as nice as the scenery I found later at Tavistock Point further along the trail, it was a nice spot to pause for a while.

Vancouver’s Canada Place Downtown

Vancouver’s Canada Place and the Trade and Convention Center building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

vancouver downtown buildings canada place and convention center

Downtown Vancouver – Canada Place and the Trade and Convention Center

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   Last fall I was again in Vancouver and made this and a few other photographs of downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park. This panorama features the “Sails” of Canada Place, Harbour Center, the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center and other downtown buildings. I think my “Blue Hour” photographs of Vancouver are still my favourites, but these conditions are a close second.

You can see more photos in my image library gallery: Cities and Buildings.

Downtown Vancouver and Earth’s Shadow

Earth’s shadow (the Belt of Venus) behind downtown Vancouver’s Canada Place and the Trade and Convention Center building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

earths shadow belt of venus behind canada place in vancouver british columbia

Vancouver’s Canada Place and the Belt of Venus (Purchase)

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   A few weeks ago I was in Stanly Park again photographing downtown Vancouver near sunset. There wasn’t great light for sunset, and the blue hour photos I made that night were okay, but didn’t surpass my previous photos of downtown Vancouver in those conditions. I was able to photograph what I had only previously seen over mountains much further East – the Belt of Venus (aka the Earth’s Shadow) over downtown Vancouver. I enjoy this photograph because it is not quite like other photographs I’ve seen of Vancouver, and I like the soft colours in the sky.

   About an hour earlier I was watching the float planes land in Coal Harbour and decided to switch up from a wide angle lens to my 70-200 to try to catch one landing. As Canada Place seems to be well represented in a panoramic format, I stitched two exposures together to make the photograph below. This is a Whistler Air floatplane landing in Coal Harbour on its way to the Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base).

tatoosh range and wildflower sunset panorama in mount rainier national park

A Whistler Air floatplane lands in the water of Coal Harbour next to Canada Place in Vancouver (Purchase)

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Downtown Vancouver Fall Panorama

A Panorama of downtown Vancouver including the Trade and Convention Center, Canada Place, and HMCS Discovery on Deadman’s Island – as seen from Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

view of downtown vancouver and deadmans island after sunset from stanley park

Panorama of Downtown Vancouver and Deadman’s Island (Purchase)

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   Back in 2011 I was experimenting with various locations to find a good place to make panoramas of downtown Vancouver. This particular panorama was made from Stanley Park near the totem poles. My favourite panorama of Vancouver remains the blue hour photograph from a nearby location, however. I should try a blue hour photograph from this location but I normally try to avoid the floating gas station which bobs up and down and is troublesome during long exposures. The sky on this particular day had a bit too much grey in it for blue hour, however. I like the the nice maple fall colour foliage on Deadman’s Island and think it adds some interest beyond the city buildings.

If you enjoy panoramic images I have an entire gallery of panoramic images on my site. You can also click on the panorama or panoramic keywords at the bottom of this post to see the panorama blog posts.

 

Kalamalka Lake Evening Panorama

Panorama of Kalamalka, Vernon, and Coldstream in the evening from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

panorama of kalamalka lake, vernon, and coldstream in the evening from vernon british columbia canada

Kalamalka Lake Evening Panorama (Purchase)

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   After shooting some great sunset light near Vernon, British Columbia about a month ago I headed to this vantage point just off Hwy 97. The Monashee Mountains can be seen far in the distance behind the District of Coldstream. The houses and lights to the left are in Vernon, and the water in the foreground is of course, Kalamalka Lake.

For more photographs of this area visit my Thompson Okanagan Gallery.

Mount Cheam Panorama

Panorama of Mount Cheam in the evening from Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada.

panorama of mount cheam during blue your from agassiz british columbia canada

Panorama of Mount Cheam in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia (Purchase)

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This is a panorama of Mount Cheam, a familiar sight to anyone living or often traveling through the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. I made this photo by the banks of the Fraser River in Agassiz just after sunset in January. The time right after sunset is often referred to as “Blue hour” and you can see why. I often like to photograph buildings in downtown Vancouver at this time as you can still see the outlines of the buildings against the sky (unlike when the sky is darker). I find this is also a great time to photograph mountains – so it is worth hanging around after any potential sunset light or alpenglow has faded. Always wait until the light is completely gone!