...and the rain

Coldest, rainiest, wettest April in Vancouver on record. Ah well.

Easter 2011

We had an Easter Egg hunt at Clinton Park on Good Friday. Lots of families came out.

My daughter, niece and nephew all playing with the ipad. I was amazed at how well they took to it.

Turtle in Hawaii

One of the many turtles we saw on various beaches. Amazing animal.

Legs in the water

My younger daughter, enjoying the surf in Hawaii at Christmas. I didn't manage to get these up until just recently. More to come.

Old Bottle Collection

Old Bottle Collection, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Bottles on the windowsill of an antique store in Hawaii. With a little Alien Skin Exposure love.

Blue Whale at UBC

9072010B-10_BluWhl, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Blue Whale skeleton at UBC - an amazing thing to see. It's huge.

Macbeth and touque

Macbeth and touque, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Testing, testing.

Elise in the wind

Elise in the wind, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

In the wind at Point Roberts. First grey day in a while, but it was nice to have a bit of a break from all that sun and heat. Well, not really...

Kids Wedding 01

Kids Wedding 01, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

I think Natalie got the short end of the stick on this one. All she could do was wear the tux. Elise got the dress, the veil, the flowers...

Kids in the wagon

Kids in the Shrubs03, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Last summer - amazing how time flies. Some of the neighbourhood kids in a wagon. I wonder if they would all fit in there this year...

Margot Lying on Grass

Margot Lying on Grass, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Margot, flopped on the grass. I think she was trying to make me worried she had just sort of dropped there and was in distress, but she just couldn't wipe the smile off her face in time...

Drumheller May 30 09 0082

Drumheller May 30 09 0082, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Kind of a mishmash of files and some serious grain/black and white treatment, courtesy of Alien Skin Exposure2.

Elise on Log 05.jpg

Elise on Log 05.jpg, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Leafing through some old photos to post - This is Elise last summer. 4x5 Linhof with the Xenotar and some sort of filter from Alien Skin.

Drumheller May 30 09 0009

Drumheller May 30 09 0009, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Photo from a recent trip to Calgary to visit my in-laws. We spent a couple of days spinning around the fields. I didn't know that red barns even existed any more... This one was pretty run down but extremely cool... I added a bit of Alien Skin Exposure love to get it to look this way.

Margot at Wedding 2

Margot at Wedding 2, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Margot, posing for me at a friend's wedding in Vancouver recently. She (and her sister) were flower girls. I have another shot around here that I like more than this one, though...

Garibaldi Open House03

Garibaldi Open House03, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Elise, unsure how to pose. Actually, I think she was eyeing the playground and was just humoring her father. It'll happen again, I'm sure.

Palm_Springs

Palm_Springs_10, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

During the wind storm in Palm Springs the pool filled up pretty quickly. They tried to keep it clean but gave up after a short while.

Palm_Springs

Palm_Springs_06, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Another shot from the Salton Sea - shot on film with my Hasselblad 203. and the 110f2 lens. I have no idea why the colour went the way it did, but I do like the look...

Palm_Springs_02

Palm_Springs_02, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

...sort of the quintessential view of Palm Springs - palm trees and the hills behind.

Korakia_02

Korakia_02, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

...another shot from Palm Springs - just a quick grab, as you can see by the horizon...

Palm_Springs_03

Palm_Springs_03, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

I studied Art History in University - and one thing I spent a lot of time working on was modern architecture - you know, Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Johnson, etc. We looked at all kinds of houses and buildings and I was always taken at how beautiful they looked, especially the ones from Southern California.

Palm Springs, if you can look between the Mesa and the stucco-look buildings, has all kinds of amazing mid-century architecture. This is the facade of one of the (unfortunately, but hardly surprisingly) empty bank buildings on Palm Canyon Drive.

Palm Springs Trees

Palm Trees_02, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

When we were in Palm Springs there was this EPIC wind storm - it must have been blowing 50 or 60 knots - high winds - The palm trees took it surprisingly well, with the exception of the old fronds that blew off - otherwise I don't think I saw a single palm tree blow over. Saw lots of other things blow over, though - trees, awnings, nose cones off of windmills...

Korakia Fountain

Korakia Fountain, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

The fountain at the front of the Korakia Hotel in Palm Springs. It was pretty bright, and I love how the water drops are frozen in time - 1/2000 of a second, I think - pretty amazing from my old Hasselblad 203fe...

Windmills 0029

PS - Windmills 0029, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

...another few windmills.