Expo '86

A shot looking east from the middle of Cambie Bridge. In the foreground are some remnants of False Creek's industrial past. Mid-ground is the new Millenium Water and Hinge Park, which served as the Athlete's Village during the 2010 Winter Olympics, and in the background is the round buckyball of Science World, originally built to house the Expo Centre at Expo '86.

Post title from this song by Death Cab for Cutie.

Stripped Back Hinge

A couple of days ago I jumped on my bike and cycled along the seawall to South East False Creek, to the site of the Olympic Athlete's Village, (which real estate developers have renamed Millenium Water). The buildings and site have recently been turned over to the City of Vancouver from the Olympic 2010 Committee. The day before there had been an open house (the individual units are being sold as condos at market rates) that had drawn protesters, angry that original plans for affordable and social housing weren't being adhered to by the city. The day I was there was quiet; all was locked up. Just to the west of the Athlete's Village buildings is a little park I'd never seen before: Hinge Park. The landscaping is all man-made, and one of its purposes is to filter rain water from the street drains and create a small wetland area for local bird life. It also has a children's play area, which includes a fountain. The fountain's water flow can be controlled by weirs the children can move. The day I was there kids were grabbing handfuls of rocks and pebbles and building dams across the fountain's metal waterways (which you can see in the foreground of this picture). In the background, on the other side of False Creek, are the residential highrises of Yaletown and Vancouver's downtown core.

Post title from this song by Scorn.

Island in the Sun

This picture is essentially the reverse angle of this shot, (although taken a couple of weeks apart) complete with a False Creek Ferries boat making its way across False Creek. I stopped mid-span on the eastbound bicycle lane of the Burrard Street Bridge and pointed my lens at Granville Island, the Granville Street Bridge, and in the background the neighbourhood of False Creek South.


Post title from this Weezer song.

Theme Day - Red

I've just registered Vancouver Daily Photo with the City Daily Photo Portal, where there are over 1000 blogs listed of cities all over the world. Every month, the first of the month is a theme photo day. Today's is "red", and here is my entry for it!

This is another Vancouver Biennale piece. It's called The Stop and is by Michael Zheng. For a change I wasn't taking photos in the city centre - although you can see some of the downtown buildings in the background here. This is in Charleson Park, on the south bank of False Creek - which isn't a creek at all, but a narrow inlet of the ocean. This installation is along the seawall, about halfway between Granville Island and the Olympic Athlete's Village site.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants