As I get off my bus and connect to my train, I always walk past this beautiful old building at the corner of Hastings and Granville in Vancouver. I like this building specifically because it's on a corner, and I love the size...it's a baby building! So cute! With its majestic pillars and tall windows, you would think this building would encompass the entire block!
In theory, the design of this public notice board is very functional: it's 4 sided, and each side is double-sided. However, since it's outdoor and public, I assume nobody monitors or needs permission to post. You can see the results. Madness!! You can't really read or find anything in this chaos. In some spots, it looks like the bottom posting has 6 others postings overlapping and/or on top of it!! Standing in front of it, I was overwhelmed...nothing stood out... it's amusing to look at, and makes for a great photograph, but if I had something to post, I wouldn't post it here!!
As I was walking downtown last week, I saw a lonely BMW sitting in an empty parking lot between two buildings. It looked like a magazine or a billboard ad to me. I ran across the street and accidentally took a low rez shot at high iso (I was shooting some low light images previously and forgot to change the settings back). I hate when I do that.
My wife had some shopping to do on Granville Island, so I decided to come along for the ride. We took a quick break at a small coffee shop and sat in front of this blues playing busker. Stomping on his guitar case with his big, black boots helped with the visual and audio effects of his guitar playing. What didn't match quite as much was his Pantera t-shirt!! I thought he made it work for himself though. I asked him after why he had a Pantera t-shirt on, and he said "because they're the greatest!" There you go. Never judge a musician on their musical taste. To each their own... Rock on Blues Man!!
My buddy Josh and I thought we'd start a blog together a year ago. After much planning and discussion and debate, we launched a blog called Mode on the Street. As soon as we started the blog, I realized that we both had very strong visions for the blog and that a collaboration wouldn't work as smoothly as our good friendship.
As I walked past Beat Street Records in Vancouver, I noticed a quote, or a short poem, or something: All that was, will always have been, somehow never again. I wasn't sure what it meant, but it messed up my mind for a moment, just like when you watch Inception for the first time, trying to figure out the layers of the dreams. What was, might be, but won't? Where am I in this thought? After researching, I found out who the artist was behind this poem. His name is Raymond Boisjoly, and he's a visual and text based artist. If art is suppose to make us linger, to inspire, to imagine, or even to confuse, I guess Mr.Boisjoly has succeeded. I saw it, I thought about it, I researched it, and now I'm sharing it!
I decided to include a blurry bike rider just to add a dimension of movement and time.... all that is, will always be, but only for a moment, and then he's gone!!
A few months back I took some pictures of the Crow Highway Mural but I was unable to get a good clear shot due to cars parked right in front of it. This time, when I saw the lot empty, I jumped out of my bus excitedly to get a worthy image. Although the parking lot was empty, the gate was closed , so I took two images: one from the sidewalk and one through the fence straight on. It's a beautiful old building, and the history behind the mural and the building is quite interesting too (follow this link). Too bad it's so far back from the street view, and too bad there's a parking lot right in front of it...
As I walked through the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, I ran into many ATMs in the oddest places. Some were easy to miss, but none more than this one. The posters surrounding the ATM caught my eye at first, and only as I walked closer to investigate did I notice the ATM buried in the middle. Like any business, isn't the point of an ATM to be as visible as possible?
I was walking along the border of Chinatown, DTES and Gastown, and noticed this funny homage to Short Circuit's Number 5 robot. "Sup fu?". Funny. I think this is an entrance into a night club. I wonder if they play "Who's Johnny?" or "Come and Follow Me" for the closing number?
I was walking through Vancouver's Chinatown district and I noticed a faded sign on the side of a building. It reads: Pekin Chop Suey House. It sounds very 1950's American-Chinese, and so it should, as this was the old location of a Chinese restaurant many years ago. The lower half was rebuilt and the core was redone with concrete, leaving the top outer shell original. You can see in the distance the entrance-way into Chinatown from the West side on W.Pender, and the far left corner is just a part of the world's thinnest building. The sun was just going down behind the downtown buildings, and so the lighting was just right for a westward picture.......
