Friday, July 31, 2009

Skywatch Friday #33


Shades up on the deck of the Surf Lodge.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

My Left Hand


I've been working on the Musician's Hands series for months and it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't photographed my own. So I grabbed my trusty 12-fret slothead, found some sweet light on the porch and here ya go.

A note to guitarists: I tried quite a few chords including Bmaj7 and several versions of a diminished but none of them looked good from this camera angle so I made one up. The notes from low to high are C F# G D# E. Ouch! Looks good, sounds awful.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

ABC Wednesday > B is for Bounty



The spaghetti squash, potatoes, zucchini, strawberries and basil are from my garden and the beans, onions and cucumber were gifts from neighbours. Gabriola provides.

The other ABC participants are here

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Flaming Arbutus


An arbutus tree illuminated by a particularly fiery sunset

Monday, July 27, 2009

Portrait of a Clown


She studied in France and performs with the New Old Time Chautauqua circus which was here last week. Onstage, she wore the typical clown's red rubber ball nose. This image was shot from the hip (24mm lens on a Canon 40D) after the show while the troupe was dancing with the audience.

Visit the Monochrome Maniacs here

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Sunday Signage > Your Message Here


Chautauqua's bass drum on the march

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Rock 'n' Roll


Cousin Harley is western Canada's go-to band for rockabilly/roots music and they tore down the house last night with a sweaty, high-octane performance that kept the dance floor full. The Community Hall gig was part of the Dancing Man Festival which continues through tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Friday, July 24, 2009

Dancing With The Circus Lady


Here's another picture from Tuesday's circus. After the last act was done, the band struck up Down By The Riverside and the whole troupe came out and danced with the audience. I had a 24mm lens on my DSLR but wasn't even putting the camera up to my eye because I was also singing and dancing at the same time I was snapping. Believe it or not, I got several keepers but this is my favourite as it really captures the spirit of the event.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Poppies

For the record, these are not being grown for medicinal purposes.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

ABC Wednesday > A is for Acrobats


The New Old-Time Chautauqua Circus played to a sold out house on the lawn at The Commons last night and it was the most fun I've had since...well, since last weekend's barn dance. I guess everybody has their heroes and mine are mostly entertainers. It's a hard life. I know. I've done it, traveling all the time, modest pay, dicey food. There were plenty of young people in the troupe but a lot of graybeards too and you've really got to love show business to keep doing it well into your middle years. Believe you me, the Chautauqua crew loves what they do. What they do is make people happy and thanks to them, a lot of Gabriolans went to sleep with smiles on their faces last night.

The trapeze artists, Shannon and Islando, were working with their backs to the remains of the day which made for a nice silhouette. I tweaked the image a bit in post to make it pop. More circus photos here

Click here to check out the other ABC Wednesday participants.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Circus!



The circus is in town and along with the clowns, acrobats and jugglers, they brought a full marching band. This guy plays all the high notes.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Iris


I have often made mention of vegetable gardeners here on Gabriola but there are plenty of ornamental gardens too.

For more B&W, visit the Monochrome Monday Maniacs

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday Signage > Dancing Man


The 11th annual Dancing Man Festival is this week. Five days of peace, love and music Gabriola-style.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Garlic


Lots of Gabriolans grow their own garlic. This particular patch is at The Commons.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Skywatch Friday #32


Either/Or: Scarecrow as art or art as scarecrow? Rick Cranston made it so I guess you'll have to ask him. It's in his allotment plot at The Commons.

Click here to see photos from all the SkyWatch participants

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Summer Scenic


Late afternoon light on the cliffs at Malaspina

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

ABC Wednesday > Z is for Zero Mile Diet


It seems like everyone on Gabriola is growing food this year. There have been sustainability workshops and there's a palpable spirit of self-sufficiency in the air. Today's photo was taken in the senior's garden at The Commons. Last spring it was mostly rock and bare dirt. But just 15 months later, it's a cornucopia of organic vegetables planted, tended and harvested by a group of senior citizens who call themselves The Dragons. The plants are mostly in raised beds that were built (by volunteers with donated timber) tall enough to be wheelchair accessible and the variety is astounding, from Italian broccoli to quinoa.

Find out more about the global ABC photos here

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Achtung!


This little 3-wheeled beauty definitely got my attention today at Folklife Village. It's a 1956 Messerschmitt KR200 and you can find out more about it here. The passenger rides behind the driver like a trainer aircraft and the cockpit and controls are more like a plane than a car too. You just don't see one of these every day, that's for sure.

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Haints


You've seen the dancers at Friday night's hoedown. This is the band that made the music: The Haints

The Monochrome Monday Maniacs are here

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sunday Signage > Vision Limited


I'm thinking maybe I need glasses...

Locals, the sign is on Taylor Bay Road. Does it look this fuzzy to you?

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Last Waltz


Last night was the kick-off event for the 11th annual Dancing Man Music Festival. It was an old-fashioned barn dance at the community hall featuring live music by BC's premier old-time stringband The Haints who brought a terrific dance caller all the way from California. There were a lot of smiles in the room and it was truly a family affair: The couple in the center of the frame have been married most of their adult lives and the blurry couple on the left are brother and sister. In typical Gabriola fashion, the whole shebang was organized and run by volunteers. I love this place.

Note: Be sure to click on this image and view it enlarged. It's much sharper and clearer than it appears on the blog. That's actually true of all the photos here but it's particularly true of this one.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Skywatch Friday #31


The lights of Nanaimo seen from Brickyard Beach

Click here to see the other Skywatch pictures from around the world

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Himalayan Festival 09


The annual Himalayan Festival was this evening at the Community Hall. I'm proud to say that Gabriola supports a medical clinic, Citta Hospital, in a remote and roadless area of Nepal. The Himalayan Festival is the annual fundraiser and it was very successful this year.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wooden Eye


Another piece of local artwork photographed TTV-style.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Food Porn


These raspberries are perhaps the most beautiful I've ever seen. They were hand-picked about an hour ago. The taste? Orgasmic.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sunday Signage > No Smoking


It's that time of year again...dry,dry,dry.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

97


It's been awhile since I posted a street number. This one's down at the end of Wild Cherry.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Flag Man


Ken Capon raising the flag over Folklife Village on Canada Day

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Visiting from Alberta


Looks like a 1959 Chevy but I don't think that's a factory colour. What a face!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Canada Day


Everyone's taking the day off. See y'all at Brickyard Beach for cake and potato cannons.

Socks by Cherryl Reed