SHADOWS AND TEXTURE

I took some photos on my lunch break the other day. The gallery where I work captures the feel of a hidden desert, or more so a little oasis, locked in time in a much different climate than Southern California. Everything in this small white room is brought down in scale to suit the houses and the offices of the Vancouver elite. It's the scale of all these plants that is now so interesting; each plant is family sized so to speak, but in the safety of the gallery, behind glass and doors, bathed in the warmth of the south-facing sun, one is able to quietly admire and inspect these organisms in a way otherwise quite unattainable in the wild. When you are this close, these species are no longer just unique, or beautiful, they are alive, they are threatening, majestic, unpredictable, and resistant, but ultimately fragile because they have been taken from where they belong and now they must live within these walls where it is clean and boring and safe. A much different silence than the desert.

READY TO FALL

The leaves are finally starting to change colour here, although you have to look closely at times. The beauties in the maple family are an exception however, they are stunning. The remarkably elegant trees line my street, completely covered in solid glowing red leaves, ready to all drop any minute. With endless rain in the forecast, I plan to enjoy the leaves while I can.

RED GIANTS

Looking beyond the usual inspiration from design and architecture magazines, I found unlikely artistic stimulation from the October issue of National Geographic. The magazine that shaped my future interests in history, nature, and far-away lands was once again able to captivate my attention. The 35 page feature on Redwoods touches on everything one would ever want to know about the majestic trees and I highly recommend it, should you need a little awe-inspiring beauty added to your day. I especially suggest viewing their pullout mosaic of a 1500 year old giant.

Personally I could not resist taking advantage of a warm fall day to capture Vancouver's own giants, our ancient cedars within Stanley Park.