Tinkerblue

Twilight Photography Class

Back last year I purchased two Groupons for a twilight photography class at Granville Island. The idea was that DQ and I would take the class together.  Maybe go for dinner and a drink afterwards. Well we know how that turned out. I debated not going at all.  But I needed to get out of the house.  So I went.

 

I haven't done a lot of night photography. Well I have, but with my little point and shoot that does everything automatically for me. This was really the first time I had used the DSLR and the tripod.

 

 The class was through Amanda Kerr Photography, Amanda was our instructor for the evening. Amanda was very patient with my lack of manual photography skills.

 

With only 6 people in the class there was a lot of one on one attention and hopefully what I learnt will sink in.  I have information about aperture, ISO and shutter speed swirling in my head.  

 

 

Increase or decrease the shutter speed, made much more sense when it was phrased as turn the dial left or right! I know, I'm so technical.

 

 

And once I didn't have to worry about adjusting the ISO and just left it was 100 I was good. Night photography for dummies. Works for me.

 

It was a lot of fun.  I'm glad I talked myself into going on my own.  

 

 

I took a lot of photos last night. Some good, some not so good.  It's a work in progress.

 

I'd consider doing another class with Amanda.  I know I could probably work it out by reading the manual and using Google and You Tube.  But sometimes it's just worth it to take a class, and get the practical instruction.

 

 

Killer Whale by Cody Mathias

This makes me smile. Is it not beautiful? It's a killer whale carved by Cody Mathias of the Coast Salish First Nation.

I bought it last summer from the Spirit Gallery in Horseshoe Bay. I originally bought it to give as a gift, but then selfishly decided to keep it for myself.

The killer whale is a symbol of strength and family. I can use all the strength and family I can get right now.

Next Race - St Patricks 5k

I just signed up for another 5km race. The St Patricks Day 5k in Stanley Park.

It comes with its own incentive to finish...The Granville Island Brewery After Party. Beer, Irish stew and cupcakes.

Winter is Finally Here

Poor Morag. She was here for 3 weeks and desperately wanted it to snow. It did not.

Hmm it snowed last Friday night, Sunday night, Wednesday morning, Wednesday night, and now it's snowing again.

I'll be running in the snow again.

Sorry Morag!

Salt Tasting Room

A friend of mine told me I need to set goals for myself. Small goals. Baby steps. One step at a time. My goal for this year is to spend more time with friends.

For years now Michelle has been trying to talk us into going to Salt in Gas Town. Dave and I never made it. Finally I did.

On Friday night I went with Michelle, Katie, Rose and Thierry. Michelle, Katie and I started with a beer (Innes and Gunn for me) at the Irish Heather.

We met up with Rose and Thierry at Salt. Cheese and wine. This place is my idea of heaven.

There are various options but I went with the 2 cheese and 1 meat platter. I like my cheeses strong. Like blue cheese, Stilton... Rather than me picking, I just told the waiter what I liked an he brought his best recommendation.

On my plate....

Corned beef with Guinness mustard. Bet you didn't know I like mustard? The grainier and stronger, the better. I ate the whole bowl of mustard and a second. Michelle was horrified and/or embarrassed when I licked the spoon and yes, the bowl.

St Paulin cheese and hazelnuts. This is a soft creamy cheese and mild. It was good, especially with the hazelnuts. I' have like something a little stronger but I'd have it again.

Shropshire cheese and honey. This was my favourite. The Shropshire was suitably sharp and tasty. Add the honey, and it was oh so good. I need to have this in my fridge at home.

I also ordered a wine flight, and again left it to our waiter to match the wine to my cheeses...

Las Perdiers Pinot Noir with the corned beef.
Tellus IGT Marche with the St Paulins.
Kettle Valley Viognier with the Shropshire.

I enjoyed them all. I'd buy a bottle of either one of them.

It wasn't a cheap night. $15 for the cheese/meat platter and $15 for the wine flight. But it was a fun night. I really enjoyed it. And I can't wait to do it again.

Thanks Michelle for the suggestion and for driving (in the snow).

Advent Calendar Day #21 - Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens

Happy Winter Solstice. Happy shortest day of the year (or longest, if you're on the southern hemisphere). Happy first day of winter.

Tonight after work Morag and I went to see the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens. I've not been before. It was with going to. Word of warning... The queue to get in was huge. About an hour. Buy your tickets in advance. Don't wait to buy them at the door.

We were there about half an hour. We might have stayed longer but we were so bloody cold. The lake had started to freeze over.

The display uses over a million LED lights. Good thing they're LED, could you imagine the electricity bill?

It was spectacular. We were there for two of the half hour dancing light shows. I could have watched the lights for hours. Jo, you would have absolutely hated it. Good thing you are not here.

We missed seeing Svend and Jens, the Christmas Elves. Next time.

(and I get to cross another item off my Christmas Stocking List)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/sandra-thomas/festival-of-lights-at-van_b_1158225.html

Advent Calendar Day #20 - Bright Nights at Stanley Park

Day 20 - See some Christmas lights. Morag and I had our choice today. Bright Nights at Stanley Park, Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge or Festival or Lights at Van Dusen Gardens.

We chose Bright Nights at Stanley Park. Same location as the Ghost Train Sharyn, Kath and I went to.

I live going and riding the little train and seeing all the lights. It's so pretty. It definitely feels like Christmas .

Cram It All Into One Day

My friends, Sharyn and Kath arrived from Australia on Wednesday morning. At 730am. I'm still mad at them, that I had to get up so early to pick them up. Only kidding.

It's the first overseas trip for both of them and I thought we should start the trip by jamming in as many iconic Canadian experiences as possible.

First stop, Tim Hortons to grab coffee for the drive home. Kath was not impressed, she said it tasted like cigarette water. Sacrilege!

When I asked Sharyn and Kath what they wanted to see in Vancouver they responded with Stanley Park, the aquarium, a black bear, John Fluvog shoes and a Mountie. Luckily I have a friend who is a Mountie and he was kind enough to don the red serge for a mini photo shoot. Kath squealed when he opened the door. She was an a high all day.

After a short nap, we headed downtown for a hockey game. The Canucks were playing St Louis. It was an awful game. Most unexciting. Neither team really showed up. The peewee teams at half time were more exciting. To top if off the Canucks lost. 2-0.

Canadian experiences in their first 12 hours in Vancouver:
Tim Hortons
Mountie
Canucks hockey game
Mikes hard lemonade (at the game)
Whitespot burger and fries (at the game)
Homeless panhandlers
Yelling at the Canucks to get their @&$)!?; act together.

Bonchaz

Nope, I am not swearing at you, or giving you a blessing in some strange language. Bonchaz is a coffee bun from the Bonchaz Bakery Cafe.

Up until about 18 months ago Bonchaz was a stall at Farmers Markets and a food cart in Vancouver, now it's a cafe on Hastings Street, not far from Waterfront Station. It smells so good when you walk by.

 

 

 

"The Bonchaz recipe and namesake were inspired by concha, a festive Mexican pastry best know for its soft dough and cookie-like crust."  Maybe that's why I like them so much. They do remind me of the sweet breads we used to eat a lot of in Mexico.

 

 

I had a French Truffle Bonchaz and a hot chocolate. Just what I needed to warm me up on a chilly Vancouver afternoon. I sat and read a gossipy magazine and watched the world go by, while waiting for the next Westcoast Express home.  

 

 Look at all that ooey gooey warm chocolatey goodness.

 

I had a SwamJam coupon for $12.00 that I had purchased for $6.00 sometime ago but hadn't used yet.

 

So I ordered a boxful to go - 2 each of the original (butter and sea salt), apple cinnamon, banana walnut and french truffle. They are best reheated in the oven. They are definitely better hot than cold.

 

 

But they are certainly at their best when eaten baked fresh at the bakey, with steam still circling off the top.

 

Tourism 2011 Challenge Completed

I collected the minimum 15 stamps before the end of May. 51 stamps to be exact.

The challenge was to visit as many of the listed attractions as possible and collect the stamps. Entry was for myself and one other person. So Hubby found himself being dragged along for some of them.

We checked out places I hadn't been before (hubby has been to most, although not all)- Power House at Stave Falls, Harbour Cruise, Hells Gate, Fort Langley, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Stanley Park Horse Drawn Carriage Ride...

We also went back to places we know and enjoy - the Aquarium, Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology, Science World, UBC Botanical Gardens...

And a couple of places that we don't need to return to any time soon- Museum of Vancouver, the Planetarium (it was a lot smaller/older than we remembered), the BioDiversity Museum...

So now what? Depending on how many stamps you collected your name was put in a draw for a variety of prizes. The levels were 15, 25 and 35 stamps. I didn't win any prizes. Oh well.

But... As long as you collected the minimum 15 stamps you received a 2011 Privilege Pass. What exactly us that? It gives me (and one other person) unlimited entry to the attractions for the remainder of the year.

Woohoo we get to be a tourist in our own backyard all year. Hubby will just love that!