Fotoeins Fotografie

8 hours, New Year’s Day 2015 in Vancouver

By HL fotoeins on 10 Jan 2015

I’ve photographed the greater Vancouver area in separate 16-hour “marathons” on Canada Day (1 July) in the last couple of years. Similarly, one way to crack open a brand new year is a shorter photowalk on New Year’s Day, with the length of a winter day halved to 8 hours of daylight. Very good conditions were forecast for New Year’s Day 2015 in Vancouver with mostly clear skies and a high of +6C (42F). I made the following 10 photographs from sunrise to sunset.

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1.   817am, 1st light on the North Shore

Previous experience informed my knowledge of a winter sunrise occurring to the southeast, which meant first light on the North Shore mountains. As the first sun of the year poked its head and climbed higher into the sky, windows from houses and apartment towers in West Vancouver sparkled with yellow light.

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2.   801-900am, Marine Building

At 9am, the morning sun shines down the length of West Hastings Street in the downtown Vancouver peninsula. Where West Hastings meets Burrard Street is the Marine Building, fully illuminated in a warm golden glow by morning light. When construction on the Art Deco style skyscraper was completed in 1930, the Marine Building was then the tallest building in the British Empire.

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3.   901-1000am, North Boundary, Vancouver

When we were much younger and dad drove us all around Vancouver, I’ve always wanted to return to this section of Boundary Road, separating the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby. With the road ending on a cliff onto Burrard Inlet, the view here is over the Ironworkers’ Memorial Bridge (Second Narrows Bridge) and beyond to the North Shore mountains.

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4.   1001-1100am, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby

This is my alma mater, the campus of Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain, a 300-metre high mountain over the city of Burnaby. The “square” or Academic Quadrangle as well as the accompanying (frozen) reflecting pond remind me of a humble start as an engineering student and graduation with a physics degree.

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5.   1101-1200pm, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby

I lingered around the empty campus for another hour, walking past old haunting grounds, lecture halls, and concourses I’d covered and walked across many times. Coming around to the “front” southwest side of campus, this view highlights the “terraced” structure of the Student Services Centre.

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6.   1201-100pm, Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver

Shortly after arriving at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, I came across a scattering of people including residents, visitors, couples, families, and pets. A woman sat quietly on one of the benches, next to her bicycle. Her eyes closed, she faced the bright afternoon sun. This photo represents what many of us desire: restful contemplation and a fresh start to the new year.

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7.   101-200pm: Central Lonsdale, North Vancouver

A short trip on the bus up the hill towards Central Lonsdale revealed many people out and about in the holiday afternoon sun, outside for a brief walk in the neighbourhood, out for a coffee and a chat. More telling is how close the hills on the North Shore are: so close one can reach out and touch.

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8.   201-300pm: Burrard Dry Dock Pier, North Vancouver

Back at Lonsdale Quay, afternoon light provides front and direct illumination on the Public Market and the large Q sign for the hotel. Just visible in the background are the snow-capped peaks of The Lions (Twin Sisters).

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9.   301-400pm: Dundarave Park, West Vancouver

The skies remained mostly clear for the final hours of the first afternoon of the year. At Dundarave Park, the couple seated on a log are in animated conversation, bisected by the column of sunlight on the waters of the Salish Sea.

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10.   415pm, sunset over the Salish Sea

The first sunset of 2015 is highlighted by brilliant yellows and oranges, as the sun slips behind the mountains of the Gulf Islands and on Vancouver Island. A container ship in silhouette is parked on the waters of the Salish Sea, and over to the left is another container ship and the outline of Vancouver’s Point Grey.

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Every photo above is marked with its corresponding location pin in the map below.

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Previous photo marathons

•   Canada Day 2014: Vancouver, Canada
•   Canada Day 2013: Vancouver, Canada

I made all of the photos on New Year’s Day 2015 with a Canon 6D camera fitted with the EF 24-105 f/4L zoom-lens. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-6lw.