Crappy Newbie Cell Phone Pictures

For a while back there I was stuck. Stuck out here on Vancouver Island, having recently moved here, all on my own, waiting for my family to get here, just started a new job, living in a rented place and generally being a stranger to everybody I happened upon here (hereupon?) on a daily basis. It was a pretty lonely period, but I thankfully was able to fill my days by indulging a few of my inner passions - exploration and documentation (ie: hiking and/or biking and photography). 

As often as possible, I had my SLR camera gear (Pentax k200d w/ Sigma 24-60 f2.8 and Sigma 70-200 f2.8 lenses) with me and available to shoot at a moment's notice... and as a side note: Pentax SLR System rocks BTW... but every photographer must admit that there are times when you just can't have your full gear with you, like when you go to a movie... or a nightclub... or walk to the bus stop before work.

When you're a newbie in a new land, you can't look like a total dork and carry your photo gear all the time. On the first (or maybe 3rd) day after arrival in British Columbia, I got a cellphone. Not a fancy-ass Smartphone like all you upstart kids got, but an actual walk on the bus and annoy everybody-type phone. I have never cared for cellphones and never saw a need for one until now. I can send and recieve text messasges with it (which I am very slow at - I tend to want to use proper grammar, full words and proper punctuation - sorry), and it has a built-in camera. It has a mind-boggling 1.2 megapixels.

That explains the amazing technical quality of these also otherwise amazing photographs presented here... Born out of necessity in order to illustrate what I think I was trying to say about being on my own in a strange and exciting new place... they are what they are. I guess they're not extremely exciting, but they will, perhaps in time, hold some memories for me... Does that make me a selfish blogger?

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This is the very first photo I took with this mostrosity of an imitation of a camera. I must admit, it has a pretty good High Iso Mode (low light/high sensitivity). Pixellamazation is pretty crappy, but you get what I was going for... In case you're wondering, this was taken in the bar in Victoria right after the Canucks won a hard fought series in round one against the Chicago Blackhawks... and yes, I was very drunk. 

This one was taken from the balcony of my brother's place, where he so kindly let me crash until noon to sleep off the hangover from the night before... Canucks game, bar, beer, etc...

This is a can of beer that I drank after feeling somewhat recovered from said hangover...

This is a bear with a santa hat that my daughter secretly put in my suitcase riding in a monster truck toy that I accquired from the Salvation Army store... It came to me under 'questionable' circumstances... let's leave it at that. 

Here's a really terrible shot of a really cool city - Victoria B.C.

Here's a photo of a really f'n great mexican restaurant here in Courtenay - Tita's Mexican on 6th Street. Just go there - you'll see. 1.2 megapixels could never do proper justice to the amazing lamb enchilada...

Here's a shot of a stump. It's in the middle of the bush just off the train track that runs through town. A cool 'deep woods' locale to relax at. Weirdly, there is only one train track in town and it never gets used - ever. Coming from a place like Transcona, this is just strange - and wrong.

This is a shot of the spot where the Courtenay River meets the Strait of Georgia... or Comox Bay... or is it the Puntledge River, and/or the Salish Sea... or the Tsolum River... or... whatever. Back in Winnipeg, there are exactly two rivers that meet each other, and there is no sea, ocean, strait or nuthin' anywhere around. This is probably a pretty mundane view for the people that live here, but I thought it was cool enough to warrant an emergency cellphone picture.

Driftwood. It seems to be pretty common here.

Another stump.

Not sure what's going on here... looks like a trail of some sort...

In the window of the coolest toy store in Courtenay, Whale's Tale Toys. (Forgive me if I spelled that wrong.)

A church covered in some sort of ivy or some other plant-based material.

The train station that services the train that never runs on a track that is never used...

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Wow. those really are some crappy photos. What's most crappy is that I can't even think of anything worthwhike to say about most of them. Thank goodness I actually have an SLR and can capture the beauty of my surroundings in the way that I can be proud of. But of course, you won't see that here this time 'round. These photos are just crap.

Thanks for putting up with my crap.

May the Force be with you...



Full-color Visual Dump

Obviously, it's time to kick this blog into full swing. I had a peek at the number of posts over the years (okay, so its been barely two), and I have far, far fewer posts this year than last... which was less than the previous year. This cannot stand!

Here we go - a quick and easy post - a few of the latest photos from the newest 'resident tourist' on Vancouver Island. What you see here is only perhaps a tenth of the images that I've shot, but I need to bleed some of the pressure of the backlog of pictures that I've shot here and want to share with you. A visual dump, if you will - in full color and in your face. I guess this sounds nasty, but it's actually quite nice to look at.

Let me stop right here and say something. I like to think of myself as being seriously into photography, and I seriously think I am pretty good at it, but I don't think any single one of us out there should take ourselves too seriously. I know the above 'joke' about 'dump in your face' didn't go right above your heads. C'mon, I mean, you wanna be hip, right? You all saw Team America:World Police and South Park:Bigger, Longer and Uncut - right? Anyway, it's a joke - calm down.


Hope you like mountains, trees and water... cuz I do. So here's some more. If you've seen any of these before, good for you - I will not apologize for double-posting my own images, since people all around the world are probably stealing them anyway...

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Here's a few parting thoughts for the day -

-My hit counter for Alliance of One is currently 3333. Bitchin'. That's a cool number, and I still can't believe that so many people have looked at my s**t. I'm sure most of them were Google Image searchers who've never actually bothered to read the actual blog, but still...

-I haven't photographed an action figure in about three months. That's significant to me, and it shows that I'm recovering well and am showing fewer signs of withdrawal. (Seriously, though, there's more than enough outdoors to look at on Van Isle to make me not want to stay inside and hunch over the table posing a bunch of little plastic men indoors.) Rest assured however, my brain waves will be resonating on that frequency soon... (Stay Tuned!)

-I am a lucky, lucky man. I am living in the place where I've wanted to live for the last ten years - a place where I feel I belong. I also have an amazing family that I love very dearly, and great friends that have made me feel welcome here in my island paradise. Thanks everyone!

May the Force be with you...

Ahhhh.... Nature...

One thing, or rather three things that I find myself more willing and able to do since relocating to Vancouver Island is(are): hiking, biking and photographing. I think I've found myself in one of the best places in Canada to do any and all of those things. The scenery is breathtaking, and the trail networks are extensive and offer great hikes for everyone, from newcomers to the most experienced back country campers...

Sounds like a brochure, doesn't it? Well, the truth is that I feel like I'm living in one... and I've still only been reading the cover... There are so many recreational opportunities out here that I couldn't possibly find myself without a new place to explore. And there's so much damn nature everywhere!!

So... here's another glimpse of it...

 Puntledge River, Courtenay BC

Funky Undergrowth, Morrison Creek Park, Courtenay BC

Beaufort Mtn. Range, seen from Courtenay Airpark

 Morrison Creek

Bleeding Heart Tree...

 The Forest Moon of Endor!

 Endor meets Dagobah...

 Comox Lake

The Comox Glacier

I'm hoping that you're enjoying these little glimpses of the most beautiful place on earth... I know that I'll never get tired of shooting these photos, and anytime I can't think of anything to blog about... I'll have a million photos as backup filler material...

Once again,

May the Force be with you...

Vancouver Island Newbie

To anyone that actually keeps up with my blog, I'd like to say two things:
1) Thank you - it still amazes me that anyone reads this!
2) I am truly sorry for the delay in posts, and the somewhat random nature of the posts - you may be looking for web comics, or movie reviews, or photography, or comics, or whatever... I seem to jump around a lot in my subject material. Sorry it has been so long since my last post - again. Not like you care...

Anyway, in case I haven't bragged enough about moving, I may as well tell you one more time - my life has taken a major left turn. I accepted a job within my company that has taken me from my hometown of Winnipeg to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.

Vancouver Island!! The coolest island in Canada!! And I'm livin' there!! (Sorry Newfoundland... I'm sure it's cool there too, but I've never been there.) The scenery here is AMAZING (mountains, ocean, yadda, yadda) and the people are awesome!! I couldn't be happier!!

That doesn't mean that I was unhappy in Winnipeg. Far from it! I've only been here for a few weeks, and I find myself missing home just about every day. Part of me really misses the traffic... the cold... the attitude - c'mon Winnipeggers, you know what I mean, right?

Anyway, I wanted to post some photos from my new home. The following were taken in and around Victoria, Courtenay, Comox and Vancouver  Island in general. More will follow these, in time of course - give me a break, willya!?! I just got here!!

The Harbour (but not the Inner Harbour), Victoria

I know these grow all over Canada, but I just like this picture... and I thought my wife might like it too...

Buckley Bay

Tallest tree for miles around - Buckley Bay

Union Bay B.C. (I think - this was snapped out the window of a moving vehicle)

Puntledge Park, Courtenay B.C.

Courtenay B.C.



I told you it was beautiful here!! My sparse selection of photos taken at this point are not really representitive of the true beauty of Vancouver Island. Like I said, there are many more to follow. One thing that is definitely different about my life here is the amount of exercise that I get on a daily basis. There are so many hills!! Or at least way more than a prairie boy like me is used to...

Overall, I'd say I'm adjusting pretty well. I haven't fallen off a mountain, been attacked by a bear or been in an earthquake, so I'm good. I'm thinking of changing the name of this blog to "Prairie Boy in Mountain Town" or something like that..... but then what the hell would action figures and comics have to do with that?

Oh well. See you next time,

May the Force be with you...