Browsing “Wanderful Series”

Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

Like many other Vancouverites these days, I’ve been holing up indoors, away from the endless rain and patches of snowy weather we’ve all been subjected to recently. But I badly needed to admit something to myself: I was going absolutely stir crazy within the confines of my apartment, and although I had decided to go on a bit of a Wanderful winter hiatus for a few months, when the sun poked it’s head out on Thursday, I couldn’t resist — a spur-of-the-moment impromptu photo wandering adventure was far too long overdue.

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Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

Over the weeks that I have been wandering, I’ve stumbled upon countless examples of interesting and creative street art strewn around various parts of the city. Some places are more condensed than others — for example, the alleys in the Downtown core are filled with walls of beautifully executed graffiti, Commercial Drive has murals on every second building, Main Street has hidden paste-ups in all sorts of secret places. It seems that regardless of what neighbourhood you visit, you’ll find artists using tons of non-traditional surfaces to express themselves.  Telephone poles, newspaper boxes, backs of street signs, walls and windows of deserted buildings — everywhere you look, canvases.

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Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

The last few days of unexpected downpours and windstorms have brought the coldish weather in, but rather than hole up in our apartments sobbing we should celebrate the return of all things pumpkin: lattes, ale and pie, and enjoy opportunities for new scarf shopping, and the sound of leaves crunching underfoot (when they aren’t being drowned in puddles). These are the things we must do to console ourselves when the inevitability of change is upon us; that, and revel in the puffy clouds once the sky clears.

South Granville is my neighbourhood. I moved here almost 10 years ago to attend Emily Carr and just never left, despite changing apartments 3 times. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

Does Summer transitioning into Autumn signal insanely busy times for everyone, or is it just me? In recent weeks I’ve had a zillion things on the go, but I was glad I shook off my procrastination long enough to get out wandering Commercial Drive on one of what proved to be the last really sunny weekends we might have had (for awhile, at least). It was fully my insatiable craving for J.J. Bean oatmeal cranberry muffins that got me there, but ultimately I’m glad I went. In the next month Vancouver will turn rainy, which always makes for slightly less attractive adventuring afternoons. (But puddle jumping and umbrella juggling are never poorly developed skills to have in this city.) Until then, soak it up while we can get it! Even if only in 8 minute increments.

Commercial Drive has so many amazing murals. Words cannot properly convey them, but more neighbourhoods should follow their lead because it really does wonders to showcase the diversity of local talent (and helps to spruce up some otherwise pretty mundane wall spaces). The proof is in the pictures (which cannot do the walls justice, so go explore for yourself!) …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

I was immediately interested in this area the second I caught sight of the colourful gigantic bird mural painted on a wall high above two buildings, when meeting a friend at his job one afternoon. It seemed a bit like something you could walk by a bunch of times and never notice unless you had your head in the clouds (which I often do – accounting for a large part of my inherent clumsiness).  It’s one of those things that you might never notice it until you did, and then you’d wonder how you ever actually missed it.

When I headed back to the area during the week to more thoroughly explore, it definitely is a lot more of an industry-oriented neighbourhood, but there is also a ton of great little charming touches, once I stop and look a bit more closely.

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Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

Is there anyone who doesn’t love Granville Island? Tourists love it. Kids love it. Art students love it. Geese love it. Regardless of what time of year it is, there are always throngs of people milling about, buying fruit and cheeses, watching boats and birds. I went to school on this island, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a pang of nostalgic regret every September at the thought of not going back again. It’s just an inspiring place to be. Every nook and every cranny creatively considered, and made more colourful, more arty. Plus, if you’re ever in doubt for something to do, it makes a great place to waste away a sunny Saturday afternoon.

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Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

My initial first impressions of Dunbar are hampered somewhat by the sheer amount of construction everywhere. I imagine that businesses in the area have suffered from this, although on the two days that I went, Dunbar Village seemed like a pretty lively little community; a lot of people running errands with kids and dogs in tow, visiting the library and stores in the area, getting around despite the numerous traffic pylons. Everywhere you look signs remind you: Dunbar is open for business.

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Wanderful is an ongoing feature where each week I throw a hypothetical dart at the Vancouver map and travel there – by foot or by transit, and attempt to capture some of the cool and interesting small details that make that particular neighborhood unique and special. From sidewalks to back alleys, gardens to graffiti, I’ll become a wandering tourist in my own backyard. Armed with only a camera and very little natural sense of direction, it’s an journey of modest proportions, and an opportunity to see more of what makes this city AWESOME!

What do you do when you are feeling a lack of creative inspiration? Do you have a special spot that you head to, that helps clear your mind and sharpen your focus? For me, without a doubt, this is Main Street. Initially I wandered a different neighbourhood for this week’s feature. But I did it on a day where I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired – and it showed in both my pictures and my writing. So although I love to explore a lot of places I haven’t yet become acquainted with, for the purpose of this week, I needed to find creativity by familiarity. And over the course of 20 blocks and a few hours, I felt as though I had pressed the ‘reset’ button on my imagination.

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