Until now, I posted all of my photography on my personal LJ. But gathering it in one place makes more sense - it preserves the intent better, instead drowning it in the stream of life. This journal is meant for nothing but to archive and bring together instants stolen over months. I always steal when I photograph ; I like that people often don't know that I've taken pictures of them, because it makes their existence more genuine. I steal and capture, as quietly as possible.

I am just back from visiting a friend in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, and I figured for once I would work on the photos from the weekend right away so I could post them before 6 months has gone by, like has happened for way too much recently. Most of the photos are from the day we spent at Rathtrevor Beach, and the bright light didn't even make it too difficult to get good shots of people.

I tried to keep landscape photos to a minimum since I've taken a number of these last year when we were traveling around BC, but nature around here never ceases to amaze me. I just love all the green and blue that surrounds you pretty much everywhere you go.





( Click here for photos )

Last stop of my trip (my friends keep going). We took the bus to a pretty insignificant city called Pochutla that's near four well-known beaches, and so we spent a day in Mazunte, by the Pacific Ocean. The beach was absolutely gorgeous and reminded me of just how much I love the sea. I almost left my camera back at the hotel because I was afraid of it being stolen and boy, am I glad I kept it with me.





( Click here for photos )

Then we stop in Oaxaca, which is a city known for its chocolate and its nearby pre-columbian site, Monte Albán, which was the most powerful city in the region a long, long, long time ago. It's on top of a mountain and there's an amazing view on the valley of Oaxaca. Something I loved about the archeological sites that we visited is that none of them were similar, there was always something so specific about the site that it never became this attitude of 'oh, another ruin. GREAT.'

The city of Oaxaca itself charmed me more than any other place we went to. It has a lively city center and a whole section of that is reserved for pedestrians which is amazing. We strolled around and into little shops and through markets until we got to a plaza with the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, and then we watched the sun set from the rooftop of a bar. It was basically a charming place, full of colors like the rest of the country.





( Click here for photos )

( Click here for photos )

Un peu de couleur salée

One of the things that makes British Columbia such a wonderful place is the breathtaking sceneries that you can easily stumble across as you travel through the province. Some of those pictures are more impressive than others, but none can really express the real beauty of B.C.'s nature - partly because it's the size, the infinite mountains and endless stretches of water, that make it so stunning.



( Click here for photos )

Finally, I'm taking time to post pictures from the time that I spent with my family visiting Vancouver and British Columbia. We stopped by UBC and Granville Island, drove up to Seachelt along the Sunshine Coast, drove into the country to the Okanagan Valley, and finally spent a little time in the Southern Gulf Islands.

Posting by theme seems most appropriate but I'm going to start off with a series of shots that worked better in black & white.



( Click here for photos )

( Grey colors )

First weekend of december: it snowed. I believe this is the first time I've actually taken photos in the snow. This first series is in black and white, and I have more color shots to come.





( Snow falls in silence )

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?

I took those pictures back a couple of weeks apart, back in October, and I hadn't had a chance to post them yet. It's pretty straightforward: life on campus at UBC. I have another series coming up with pictures taken inside various building at university. This series is a testimony to how beautiful campus can be when it's sunny outside, because there's so much nature around.



( Comme les journées sont longues... )

We stand on guard for thee

A few shots I took on my way to Richmond a couple of weeks ago.





( around and about )

"I walked on with the sun in my eyes"

We've been having beautiful days, not too hot but bright sun shining all day long. The other day I was home and the sun was starting to set, and the light outside my windows was just begging me for me to go out and take pictures. We have beaches close by, and I haven't been to the beach in much too long. So I walked by the sea, tasted the water, and took photos of people doing exactly what I was doing - enjoying the last rays of the summer.



( long shadows on sand )

Miscellaneous pictures from my trip to Stanley Park. I have to change buses downtown to get there, so that's why there are a few city pictures mixed in. And the park is huge, I saw only a portion of it, especially since I spent most of my time there on a beach (the next series I will post). The reflections on the skyscrapers fascinates me - they redeem these huge buildings for me, because otherwise I'm not a huge fan of them. I have yet to manage to capture their height, too.



( from skyscrapers to centennial trees )

First weekend in British Columbia - I took the bus to Tsawwassen then the ferry all the way to Saturna Island. These are some of the pictures I took over the weekend. There was a sailboat race on Saturna the day I was there, and the Arbutus is a special tree that grows here - it peels and loses its bark. It's really strange! And the view was obviously absolutely gorgeous in the whole gulf, despite the cloudy weather we had.



( Offshore Vancouver )

"Nothing happens and everything is changed"

I think this was the first time I actually went out to take out pictures, and nothing else (well, I wanted to meet my fellow LJ photographer, too *g*). I was with moimoietmoi, which made it doubly interesting because she was taking pictures too, and it's strange to see the different shots that came out from that afternoon. Especially when we took pictures of small details, and you realize that's really what makes your vision different from someone else's - the things you notice or not, whether you see that particular angle or that reflection in the water.

This is the B&W batch, I have more pictures in color so I'll probably do two different entries.



( Flowing along the water )

"We will become silhouettes"

Birthday of a friend in Sarthes, North West of France. Friends and family, reunions are the best moments to capture happiness in its simplicity. We went for a walk during the afternoon, but people prevail - hands, postures, they always strike me. I find light easier to capture in black and white, but sometimes it works in color and then I find it almost more mesmerizing.




( An afternoon in the countryside... )

"Bienvenido a Barcelona, cuidad de los sueños"

Por la vieja sonora la marea va subiendo...
Por la vieja sonora caen gotas a montón...
Sopita de camarón se la lleva la corriente...
Sopita de camarón la marea va subiendo...



( Barcelona, chromatic city. )