In June I was a trip leader on an Arizona Highways Photo Workshop that began in the beautiful city of Victoria, the capital of the Canadian Province of British Columbia. Poised on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and with a population of 85,792 residents, it is a city one can easily spend a week in and not run out of things to do and see. We officially began our workshop at 2 pm on a Sunday. Between that time and our departure for Port Renfrew on Tuesday morning we hit a lot of wonderful places and barely scratched the surface of beautiful places to shoot. This posting will highlight what caught my eye in Victoria’s famed Inner Harbor and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Being the capital of the province of British Columbia Victoria is blessed with housing this beautiful structure, the parliament building, which watches over the Inner Harbor. If you want to shoot it without hundreds of people in the frame I suggest you get up early. This image was taken at 6:30 in the morning. It faces east so the light is perfect, no annoying shadows

We passed this ole guy and his dog each morning on the way from our hotel to the Inner Harbor.

On our way to the harbor we walked past this totem just outside a store. Totems are everywhere and they are quite beautiful.

Here is a replica of a traditional longhouse and totem outside oneof Victoria’s many museums, just down the street from the parliament building.

On the weekends you can take a carriage ride around the harbor area. These guys were lined up ready for any takers.

I believe Victoria is known for their gardens and if they aren’t, they should be. Flowers were everywhere. I found this lovely rose (and hundreds more) on the grounds of The Empress Hotel, overlooking the harbor. It rained the first three days on us but it made for lovely shots with the diffused lighting and raindrops on the petals.

I found this lone guitar case as I was walking around by the boats. I’m assuming the owner was on a nearby bench. The harbor was full of people when I took this shot. I had to wait a few moments for just the right time to have this appear to be all by itself. When you shoot, be sure to notice distracting things in your frame. If you don’t want them there either move yourself or be patient and wait for the frame to clear on its own.

 

This is another example of having to be patient. The flags atop the yellow water taxis caught my eye but i wanted the flags to be open at the same time. I set my camera on multi-frame shooting, waited for the wind to blow and fired the shutter. After several attempts I managed to get this image. I was happy with it so I moved on.

Nope, I don’t know the guy who has this tattoo. He was talking to another person I also didn’t know so, from a distance, I fired off one shot of his lower leg. I thought the lizard was cool.

Again, flowers everywhere. We  found these on our way to Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner. It took us nearly three hours to do the twenty minute walk because we were shooting the whole way. On this one I focussed on the bent pink flower in the middle because it was different.

One thing I like about shooting on Arizona Highways photo trips is seeing everyone’s images, that are SO different, from the exact same locations. It is fun to hear people say “WOW! Where didi you see that!?!”  and…”Where was I?”  I have asked the same questions. It’s fun to capture details of things that most folks just walk right past. Here is an example, a spider web full of rain drops.

Again with the flowers. This one caught my eye because of the unique diagonal lines in the background and the splash of color from the flower. I could have made the lines the complete background had I moved a little to the left. Oh well, next time.

When we finally made it to Fisherman’s Wharf the weather was setting in. It was gray and threatening to drizzle and any moment. Our first sight of the Wharf was of these unique houseboats. Similar to ones I’ve seen in Sausalito, California.

These houses are fun to shoot.

Not sure this was a home but it was a floating building at the Wharf and I loved the colors.

The folks in one of these floating homes had a sense of humor. This dingy was moored between two homes.

This is a great shot of the boats at Fisherman’s Wharf with the weather settling in.

These fun, whimsical, critters were coming out of the side of a building as we entered Fisherman’s Wharf.

More details of houseboats.

 

Paddles on the side of a houseboat.

Two orcas made of plants riding a plant wave just outside the Empress Hotel.

So, when you travel, or just walk around your own town, look for details. Take the sweeping, all encompassing shots for reference but look for those details that most people miss. It’s pretty cool when folks ask, “Where was THAT?”

Next week we’ll explore some official gardens in Victoria so stay tuned!

Happy Shooting!