queen elizabeth park

Random Photos Volume I

I thought I’d begin sharing more of my photos here that don’t have enough of a story to warrant a blog post all their own.

Fallen Leaves at Fortune Creek in Gatineau Park

When I stopped to photograph a roadside scene of some fall foliage along Dunlop Road in Québec’s Gatineau Park last fall I heard a small creek nearby. I walked down and made the photograph below of some fallen leaves and Fortune Creek. Still one of my favourite “small scenes” I photographed on that trip. You can see the rest of my photos from the park in the Gatineau Park Gallery.

fall fall leaves along fortune creek in gatineau park

Fallen Leaves along Fortune Creek in Gatineau Park (Purchase)

Love in the Rain

Love in the Rain is a sculpture created by Bruce Voyce and is currently located at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The sculpture is for the attachment of “love locks” which couples can attach and then dispose of the keys in a nearby receptacle. Previously the locks were becoming a problem on fences and other structures in the city. When I first set up to photograph this composition there was someone sitting along on the bench, which I liked in contrast to the two “lovers” in the foreground. Then they got up and left. I wasn’t willing to sit on the bench myself for this as being 20 feet away with my back to my equipment was a bit risky in a reasonably busy park, so I didn’t. Maybe having the bench empty is a happier photograph anyway? More of my Vancouver photographs can be found in the Vancouver gallery.

love in the rain sculpture in Queen Elizabeth Park

Love in the Rain Sculpture in Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

Mount Blanshard – “The Golden Ears”

At this point I have a lot of photographs of the Golden Ears (Mount Blanshard) from various locations. This is one I made from the banks of the Pitt River (in the Pitt Addington/Smohk’wa Marsh) during a cool stretch of weather in February.

golden ears from pitt meadows

The Golden Ears from Pitt Meadows (Purchase)

Grass Seed Head in the Snow.

There are occasions in winter where I am essentially snowed in – more than a foot of snow or so on the road can make it tough for me to get my car out of the driveway. This year with balding all season tires and that much snow, I didn’t even attempt this. So what to do? I went in the backyard and instead of photographing my usual Chickadee photos from the rose bushes, I went for this grass seed head poking up through the snow. A bit more minimal than subjects I usually photograph.

grass seed stalk poking up through snow

Grass Seed Head in the Snow (Purchase)

More photos like these can be found within the New Images Gallery in my Image Library.

Fall Foliage at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park

The fall foliage of a Star Magnolia Tree (Magnolia stellata) at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

fall magnolia tree leaves at queen elizabeth park in vancouver

Star Magnolia Tree (Magnolia stellata) at Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

During many trips to the “big city” I make a stop at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. QE Park is located not far outside the downtown core and is a great spot for fall leaves in the gardens. On this stop I was particularly interested in some of the Japanese Maples, the Gingko tree (Gingko biloba), and a specific Star Magnolia Tree. Queen Elizabeth Park is one of many locations where I had decreased how frequently I make a photograph while visiting as I’ve photographed many of the scenes before here. Now that I have a higher resolution camera, however, I do find myself re-shooting some of my favourite scenes just so I’ll have a few extra pixels should a print or licensing order need them. Plus, there is always room for improvement or slight changes to a composition.

The Star Magnolia tree above is one of my favourite things to photograph in Queen Elizabeth Park, and I was not disappointed with the fall foliage I found here in October. I’ve previously photographed the same tree, with similar compositions in early spring (flowering) and in the early fall. I’ve a few alternate compositions of the first photo in my Garden Plants gallery as well. Getting a winter photo with snow on the branches is going to be the tough one!

yellow gingko leaves at queen elizabeth park in vancouver

Fall leaves of a Gingko tree (Gingko biloba) at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver (Purchase)

The Star Magnolia was great but the Gingko tree was spectacular with the dark yellow leaves in the sunshine. There were very few people around the Magnolia as it isn’t quite in the main area of the quarry gardens, but the Gingko is well known, next to a waterfall, and is in the main loop around the gardens. This means some patience was required to photograph the waterfall below, and to a certain extent the photos of Bloedel Conservatory as well. As I was waiting for around 10 people to move on from underneath the Ginkgo, I backed up and made this composition looking up at the leaves. It kind of reminds me of the paintings people do by dabbing sponges into a canvas.

fall magnolia foliage at queen elizabeth park in vancouver

Fall foliage of a Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver (Purchase)

This photograph of the Bloedel Conservatory is a “iconic” view from one of the viewpoints at the west side of the quarry garden. I’ve photographed this scene on many occasions. My most popular photo of it is actually on a typical Vancouver day – grey and dreary. It was nice to finally photograph this location with blue skies and sunshine lighting up the fall leaves. Only the Maple trees denied me their full cooperation. Maybe next year!

bloedel conservatory at queen elizabeth park

The Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver (Purchase)

I’ve photographed this “waterfall” before (water is circulated by a pump) but it always looks best with some fall foliage around it. The Gingko provided some colour for this composition.

For more photographs of Queen Elizabeth Park and other garden scenes please visit my Garden gallery.

North Quarry Gardens in Queen Elizabeth Park

Magnolias and Rhododendrons blooming in the North Quarry Gardens in Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

magnolia flowers in queen elizabeth parks north quarry gardens

Queen Elizabeth Park’s North Quarry Gardens

-click to enlarge-

   Most people visiting the gardens at Queen Elizabeth Park head for the main quarry garden just beneath the Bloedel Conservatory. To the north, under the Seasons in the Park Restaurant is the North Quarry Gardens. This area has a lot of nice Magnolia and Rhododendron flowers, as well as more trails and routes through the park. Something to check out next time you are Queen Elizabeth Park!

For more photographs of Gardens, including Queen Elizabeth Park, visit my Garden Plants Gallery.

Akebono Cherry Blossoms at Queen Elizabeth Park

Tourists viewing the spring Akebono cherry blossoms in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

tourists looking at Akebono cherries in queen elizabeth park

Tourists viewing Akebono cherry tree blossoms in Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

This is one of the hotspots for Vancouver cherry blossoms – Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park. I have been here in previous years to photograph these trees and the QE Park gardens, but this time there were crowds well beyond what I had experienced in the past. Seems I had forgotten that this was during spring break week, and there were a lot more people out viewing the cherry blossoms. There are many popular spots to view cherry blossoms in Vancouver during the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival but this spot and Stanley Park remain my favourites. I decided to embrace the reality of the crowds and made this and a few other photographs of the people enjoying the cherry blossom. Surprisingly, the rest of the gardens had very few people in them despite the abundant daffodils, magnolias, tulips, and other flowers.

You can view more of my garden photos in my Garden Photography Gallery in my Image Library.

Star Magnolia Fall Foliage

Star Magnolia tree fall leaf colour at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

star magnolia tree in queen elizabeth park vancouver british columbia

Star Magnolia Fall Leaf Colours (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   I have photographed this Star Magnolia tree before – in spring when it was in full bloom. When I was in Queen Elizabeth Park earlier this fall I noticed I was standing in almost the same spot, and the tree had some nice fall foliage. I managed to make a photograph reminiscent of the first spring photo. I may try this again during winter when there are no leaves, or perhaps if I am lucky when there is snow on the branches, though that is probably rare in Vancouver.

Spring Tulips at Queen Elizabeth Park

sunshine backlight on a tulip flower at queen elizabeth park in vancouver

Tulip Flower

-click to enlarge-

   Last week I headed into Vancouver to photograph some of the spring flowers at Queen Elizabeth Park. The flowering Cherry Trees were out in full force, but they are so popular each of them had a crowd of tourists, locals, and photographers around them. I chose instead to concentrate on some of the other flowers in the park.

   Sometimes direct sunlight can be a tough condition to photograph wider landscape scenes. These tulip flowers, however, were nicely lit in the bright sunshine. I like how the cup like flowers appear to be lit from the inside when the sun shines on them from this angle.

Queen Elizabeth Park Waterfall

Fall Maple and Ginkgo foliage and the waterfall at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

waterfall in queen elizabeth park in vancouver british columbia

Waterfall at Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   Another one of the photographs I made in October at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I liked the look of this waterfall (enough water, but not too much) along with the fallen leaves and some fall foliage in the Japanese Maple and Ginkgo trees hanging over the pathway.

   More of my photography from Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park can be found in my Garden Photos Gallery.

Fall in Queen Elizabeth Park

Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

fall maple foliage in queen elizabeth park in vancouver british columbia

Fall Maple foliage and the Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   In October I made another trip into Vancouver to photograph Queen Elizabeth Park displaying some Fall foliage. Most of the colour was provided by various Japanese Maples (Acer Japonica) in the gardens there. I will probably return this Spring to photograph the Magnolia trees in bloom, as well as the tulips and other Spring bulbs.