In case anyone has noticed my absence from this blog for the past month I have a good excuse; France, wine and food. Don’t feel sorry for me yet as the real work is about to begin. One month into this trip and I have shot approximately 7,000 photos of everything from cathedrals to French girls. I have managed to keep up on the cataloguing of images and backups but not much else. Lots of keywording still to do!

A few tantalizing tasters to make sure you come back for more.

I came across this classic 53 Chevy the other day while photographing totem poles in Duncan. Is it really a 53? I’m not sure, please let me know if I’m wrong. Anyway, this old truck sure looks great in front of The Duncan Garage. Just as I was ready to press the shutter release the red car turned up. I almost asked her to move but figure this must have been what really needed shooting. Most new cars are so boring.

I have lived near Victoria for the past twenty years and never spent over a few minutes wandering through the streets and alleys of Chinatown. Victoria, British Columbia’s Chinatown is the second oldest in North America, only preceded by the large Chinatown in San Francisco. What a feast for the eyes this place is. I only spent about 40 minutes there but came away with lots of interesting photographs and will have to make a return journey when I have a little more time.

A small gallery is at Victoria Chinatown Photos.

Keen observers of this site will have seen a change in the way the galleries and keywords are handled. It’s very minor but makes for a far superior viewing experience. Doesn’t that sound good? Aren’t you glad that you know your experience is better?

Well, even if you really haven’t noticed it has made the administration experience far better for me so good things will come from this. Version 2.2.1 is here.

Looks relaxing. I even saw a kid with a real fish the other day.

Water buffalo are pretty cool. I had the opportunity to photograph these gentle souls at Fairburn Farm in the Cowichan Valley this past week. This is a herd of approximately 45 animals, living a gentle life and providing milk for the cheese industry.

Darrel and Anthea Archer are the wonderful folks behind this operation, rising early every morning to make sure their beloved water buffalo are happy for the day.

I’ll be back for more photos, I can see a story coming out of this one.

Want to see more images? Visit the new gallery at Fairburn Farm Water Buffalo.

The city of Duncan has been adding totem poles to their already very impressive collection. I believe most of these are totems that have been moved from other locations or have been “restored”. Downtown sure is looking great.

I’m hoping to have an online guide running soon that will put the images to the totems location. I’ll likely use Google maps as this seems a very logical way to go.

The Duncan Totem Pole gallery has been updated, you may view it here. I have also started documenting the totem poles of Victoria of which there appear to be quite a few. A small Victoria Totem Pole gallery has now been started.

Last night I photographed the lunar eclipse along with countless other photographers. Starting at 8:42 p.m. ET, the eclipse lasted for three hours. Some of the photos include the planet Saturn and Regulus, a bright star. This made for a very photogenic composition.

The evening started out a little hazy but in many ways this added a little to the lunar eclipse spectacle.

Thanks to all of you that have purchased this book. It continues to do well for sales in BC (and elsewhere), the Gulf Islands must be a popular area.

BC BESTSELLER LIST

#4 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of February 10, 2008

#4 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of February 3, 2008

#5 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of January 27, 2008

#6 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of January 20, 2008

#6 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of January 12, 2008

#7 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of January 6, 2008

#6 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of December 16, 2007

#7 Adult Title BC Bestseller, week of December 10, 2007

I’ve always been fascinated by graffiti, whether it’s been painted on a train or the local police station. In some ways, it’s the ultimate expression of public art. Unfortunately many cities and municipalities don’t seem to hold this view. The town of Sidney on Vancouver Island has come up with an interesting way of dealing with this “problem”. At the new skateboard park it appears as though graffiti is accepted and becoming part of the young persons culture. What struck me is how talented many of these “graffiti artist” are. There’s money to be made. Is it art? I would say yes. Is it interesting to photograph? Again I would say yes. Take a look.