This Close to Fame

One thing that I have noticed about Vancouver since moving here is the lack of street musicians. Yet everyone assures me that they are there, somewhere, sometime. I’ve spent hours walking downtown and Granville isle at different times and days and I have yet to stumble upon them. Vancouver has not proven the artistic environment it advertises itself as.
Doing a quick search online reveals that I’m not the only one asking about this. And some of these posts dating back to 2007. I unfortunately have nothing substantial to add. If anyone out there does, I would appreciate a comment.
I have been musing over the thought of busking myself every since arriving but am a little uneasy in the silence that has greeted me.

Shot from a ridiculously busy English Bay in Vancouver, July 24th. With the stock Canon T1i lens.
Great show Spain!
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99092496@N00/tags/colspain2010/
River of people down Davie Street leaving after lights fest: http://campl.us/drr

The USA fireworks show on July 21st 2010.
Parking was a pain in the rear. Ended up parked miles from English Bay, shooting from Jericho Beach.
Could have zoomed in a bit by using the kit lens but I settled for the faster response of my 50mm.
The chosen few shots are up on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99092496@N00/tags/colusa2010/

Tomorrow, July 24th, is Spain’s turn: http://www.celebration-of-light.com/

This photo was taken on July 20, 2010 using a Canon EOS REBEL T1i.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down played the Biltmore Cabaret Monday July 20th in Vancouver to a great and enthusiastic crowd.
It was a very darkly lit show and I had a hard time capturing it on my Canon T1i. Ended up deleting 90% of the photos off the bat. Best of what survived can be found on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99092496@N00/tags/thao/

Cary Pratt’s Prairie Cat, a local group, played an energetic opening set for Thao.
I really recommend checking out his music: www.myspace.com/prairiecat

Busy blueberry festival on a beautiful day with plenty of gorgeous vehicles.
Shooting
with the Canon T1i stock lens, and quick processing in Adobe Lightroom 2.
Delta, BC.

Caught the Vancouver Folk Festival for the first time. Highlights included a moving performance by Shane Koyczan and a vibrant set by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba. But the performance that topped everything was saved for last, the sole act that made me purchase my ticket, the brilliant Calexico of Tucson, Arizona. Thankfully people cleared by that 9:30pm and we were able to get closer to the stage. Calexico put out vibes like no other that evening and had the crowd dancing feverishly. Once they began to play we all forgot the increasingly chilly evening!
I was particularly delighted to hear Calexico cover Love’s Alone Again Or.

Photo’s of the evening: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99092496@N00/tags/vfmf2010/

Pinto Green – Sandy’s B-Day/Camping Gig from Klim Levene on Vimeo.

Twilight City from the 26th Floor, originally uploaded by Visions of Domino.

Was practicing the sax to a beautiful view of Vancouver in the evening. Here is the panorama.

Got around to uploading videos of the Dragonette live show. Sorry about the shaky footage. It was just too hard to not dance.

Canada Day: Vancouver Fireworks Shower, originally uploaded by Visions of Domino.

Thanks to Vancouver for putting on an excellent fireworks show at Canada Place. The place was packed and the weather kindly held back the rain. A good time for all!
Some select photos of the display: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99092496@N00/tags/canday2010/