Recently, The Right Light Photography’s very own, Jason Kirby, took a trip to the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada. When thinking of vacations Vancouver is not always on the top of the list, but there is so much to do and many opportunities for some great photography. Vancouver is best known for the adventure, culture, being bike friendly, Eco friendly, entertainment, culinary, and shopping. According to Frommer’s guide, the best times to travel are December through February and April to October. Jason decided to go in the risky time of October and the best tip he could give for this is “pack for wet weather”.
Though not his first time, he always finds something new and interesting to do in Vancouver. Vancouver is ringed by snow-capped, forested mountains (great for skiing or snowboarding) leading down to miles of sandy beaches (perfect for tanning and relaxing). It is a playground for residents and visitors including assortments of activities, culture, and food. Against the stunning scenic backdrop of the city there are infinite varieties of sophisticated restaurants and vast and fertile parks. “Cosmopolitan Vancouver is “young”— just over 100 years old—and its outdoorsy energy complement its easygoing West Coast style.” (Frommer).
Jason has traveled all over the United States and the World, but there are some unique and beautiful parts of Vancouver that left a lasting memory. All of these places are key points of interest in Vancouver and their beauty is perfect for photography and capturing effortless and memorable photos. The places suggested by Jason included Stanley Park, Chinatown, BC place Stadium and the town of Victoria nearby.
Stanley Park is Vancouver’s first park and one of the city’s main tourist attractions. It is an evergreen oasis of 1,000 acres at the edge of the bay. This park is covered by fresh and majestic variety of trees including cedars, hemlock, and fir trees. This park is full of amazing trails and offers a tranquil piece of nature very near to downtown. The park is full of an array of wildlife and it features appeal to the naturalist, the plant lover or one who would do nothing more than relax in beautiful surroundings. Stanley Park also includes the famous Seawall! This seawall goes over 5.5 miles in Stanley park and stretches a total of 13.7 miles long around Vancouver’s waterfront, from the convention center on Burrard Inlet (Coal Harbour), around Stanley Park and False Creek, past Granville Island ending at Kitsilano Beach Park. This seawall has incredible views and is a great activity to do with family or friends. If you want to find a way to experience the full beauty of Vancouver, the Seawall captures the city at its best and is ideal for a walk or bike ride. Jason found a spot about ½ mile from Stanley park on the Seawall to rent bikes and bike rode the entire seawall and truly fell in love with the beauty of Vancouver. Also a part of Stanley Park is its divine restaurants, a train, an aquarium, swimming, and golfing. Overall, there are plenty of things to do in Stanley Park that bring family and friends together for exploration and photography of Vancouver.
A place many bypass is the Chinatown in Vancouver. Chinatown’s span all across North America including in San Francisco, New York, and many other places. However, Vancouver’s Chinatown tops the list as one of North America’s cleanest modern day Chinatowns. Founded in the late 1800’s, the popular Canton Alley was created in 1904 as a Chinese style courtyard. The Alleys were the convergence of vibrant nightlife, opera music, shopping, political and cultural activities. Today, Chinatown is an amazing place to find traditional food, shopping and cultural bonding. Jason walked through Chinatown admiring the beautiful art and decorations that filled the windows of the stores. It was also hard for him not to feel his stomach growl with the smell of amazing cuisine filling the street outside of each restaurant. With beautiful gardens and incredible little shops, the feel of Chinatown brings a truly unique experience.
Before its remodel, BC Place Stadium was an emblem for over 25 years. It was and still is the largest event facility of its kind in the province and has hosted over 26 million people since opening in 1983. The BC Place stadium was recently rebuilt to include a new retractable roof. This roof now reveals over 7500 square meters of clear blue sky and has become a new architectural signature for Vancouver. This new cable-supported roof is the biggest of its kind in the world, and creates the atmosphere for any event, from summer festivals to football, from indoor exhibitions to trade and consumer shows. The BC Place stadium is beautiful and brings you right down to the life of Vancouver, by the water and in the midst of downtown for some great memories. Jason walked through the BC Place Stadium, but could not get tickets to an actual game. While hearing about the depth of beauty of the venue and how the spirit of the fans creates a great atmosphere, he put it on his MUST do list when returning.
Nearby Vancouver just a drive and ferry ride away, Victoria sits as a quaint beautiful city with loads of colonial history and activities. While they have nice paths to hike and a variety of restaurants, Jason decided to take his activities to the next level. He chose to go zip lining with Adrenaline, Zip line Adventure Tours. This experience is a way to get your heart pounding and get deep into nature. This experience takes you through two draw bridges and 8 zip lines that take you 150 feet off the ground at speeds close to 38 miles per hours. These zip lines range in length from 150 feet to an incredible 1000 foot long zip line that sends you flying! Zip lining is a priceless experience that should be done at least once in your life.
(<- Jason Kirby Ziplining)
Overall, Vancouver is an amazing place to go for a weekend or two weeks with plenty of activities, food entertainment, nature, and with just overall serene atmosphere. Not only is it a great place to visit, but all of these features lend themselves to great opportunities for street and architectural photography to add to your scrapbook.
So, the next time you are trying to decide a new place to go on a single, couple, friends, or family trip, don’t forget about the beautiful city of Vancouver.
Something we promote in our photography community is being able to capture everything around you from all types of perspectives. This is carried over when you travel! We want to see your amazing travel photos and want to hear where you go. We have added a new photo album to our Facebook Fanpage called Show us where you go! And we want you to share a photo of new places you have visited and an activity or tip about the place. To include your picture and experience CLICK HERE.
