Night Archives - Go Places Eh

Stanley Park is one of Vancouver’s major tourist attraction… so what does it look like when all the hustling & bustling dies down?

There were lots of interest generated when I posted “False Creek After Dark” so I thought I would make it a series called “Vancouver after Dark”! This photography project required a little bit more work but it is awesome to undertake challenges outside my comfort zone once in a while. I focused my efforts around Stanley Park and its surroundings on this outing.

My wife + kids were visiting family on Vancouver Island for 3 days (and I was scheduled to work all 3 days) = perfect opportunity to progress my photography project. I packed my photography gears in the trunk and I went off to locations straight after my 12-hour work shifts. I didn’t get home until 1 AM on both nights which effectively meant I worked from 7AM-7PM + 7PM-1AM = 18 hours days… but I enjoyed every moment of it!

On the first evening I wanted to capture the entire Vancouver skyline and the Lion’s Gate Bridge at night so Stanley Park was the natural destination. Traffic congestion forced me to adjust my plans a little because I didn’t want to waste the beautiful sunset sitting inside my car… so I got out of my car slightly before Stanley Park and I photographed Coal Harbor instead. The Coal Harbor Marina during sunset allowed for some tremendous photo-op that I stumbled upon serendipitously! I spent the next 4 hours (blue hour to midnight) on the eastern seawall in Stanley Park and it reminded me why I love Vancouver so much… despite its traffic congestion, housing crisis, and a plethora of other issues. (P.S. Mosquitoes were vicious that night!!! I think I can literally say that I poured my blood and sweat into making these photographs haha…)

On the second evening I had significantly less energy compared to the first night so I decided to be less ambitious with my photography locations: False Creek during sunset and Canada Place/Convention Center late into the evening.

I had way more locations for night photography planned initially… I guess we’ll have to wait for part 3 sometime! If you like my photos feel free to share it with your friends and help my photo blog grow by clicking that Facebook like button 😛

Harbor Center and Conference Center at Night

Light Trails on Lion's Gate Bridge at Night

Science World Golden Hour at False Creek

False Creek remains one of the favorites amongst locals and visitors alike… so what does it look like when all the hustling & bustling dies down?

False Creek is widely considered one of the most picturesque locations in Vancouver and thus it is usually busy from dusk until well past dawn (especially on a non-rainy day)… So what does it look like after midnight when most people are asleep?

As I’ve said many times in the past I enjoy photography because I find it therapeutic to an otherwise fast-paced life (even more so now with two little munchkins). There is an indescribable sense of serenity when my mind is solely focused on creating beautiful compositions via combinations of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. I actually make it a priority to have an after-midnight photography session wherever I travel (and stay tuned to my photography project: “Cities after Dark”!) but for some reason I’ve never attempted it in the city I live in!

A golden opportunity presented itself yesterday: My wife and kids were out of town for two days + no work = Immediately made plans with my buddies (who happen to live around False Creek) to chill-lax over playoff hockey. I left their place shortly before midnight and basically photographed Science World & Granville Island to my heart’s content. On a side note I came across a couple interesting personalities during my photo shoot on the seawall… it was surprising how a few words of encouragement and compassion can impact someone who fell on hard times. In general the stretch of seawall between Granville Island to Science World is extremely safe after dark… but for the photographers out there I would think twice before going to the Stanley Park seawall after dark