Walking around on Sunday you could feel the pre-Olympic fever that was beginning to crackle to life in the city. The downtown core was a buzz and the GE plaza was pretty jammed with skaters and spectators alike. I shot this looking down through the new glass domes that were part of the recent GE expansion and revitalization of the Robson Square rink.

• Camera: Canon EOS 10D
• Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
• Aperture: f/6.7
• Focal Length: 55 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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This was shot on the old set of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” in the Tabernas Desert, near Almeria Spain. The set has been turned into a pretty cheesy attraction but we stayed the night near by and felt compelled to pay homage to the western legend. This set and the surrounding desert was host to the plethora of spaghetti westerns produced in the 60’s and 70’s. I guess the attraction [Mini Hollywood]  is worth it if you are in the area but I would not necessarily go out of my way to visit the old western set unless you are a spaghetti western freak. My 4.5 year old son really thought this was a real cemetary and I could not convince him otherwise.

Here is a slide show from the rest of the day spent there:

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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I love this one for the rough grindhouse look and the overly saturated colours. Bigger than life just like a show girl. Shot in Seattle on 1st Avenue.

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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Lost in thought

This shot is from our trip to Oahu in 2007 on the east side of the island at the Kualoa Ranch jeep tours. They are not actually jeeps but rather ex Swiss Army six wheel drives that were actually pretty cool. The tour goes through the Ka’a'awa Valley where Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, You, Me & Dupree, 50 First Dates and Lost were filmed. It’s about two hours of six by six fun in the jungle. I would probably think about eating lunch elsewhere if you go in afternoon as the food there is pretty lame.

• Camera: Canon EOS 10D
• Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/180)
• Aperture: f/8.0
• Focal Length: 80 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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Last Memorial Day I took the family to Seattle on a bit of a whim. We hit the Woodlands Park zoo and then went downtown. When we were at the Pike Place Market this old guy in a uniform just walked up and grabbed a crab out of the tank and started waving it at everyone. Then he just stood there and posed for pictures. I don’t think he was really crazy at all. Crazy or not he takes a great picture.

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

Photo Credit © 2010 JP Holecka

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Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts

The city of Valencia has an opera house that rivals that of Sidney without a doubt. In fact it is the 3rd largest opera house in the world after Metropolitan Opera House in New York City and Chicago’s Civic Opera Theatre. The Valencia Opera House [Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts] is located on a dry river bed that rings the old part of the city. The river was diverted and turned into a giant public space after devastating flood in 1957. Today the river bed plays host to Europe’s largest aquarium, a massive science world, IMAX theatre, and the opera house designed by native architect Santiago Calatrava. The opera house stands very tall and resembles a giant Spartan war helmet and is covered in Calatrava’s often used white concrete with an outer layer of broken mosaic tile [trencadís]. In the setting sun the building captures the warm rays and radiates them right back out. This is juxtaposed with the massive blue reflecting pools that connect it with the rest of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències [City of Arts and Sciences].

If you are planning a trip to Spain I can’t recommend a stop over enough. The City of Arts and Sciences it simply amazing and will dazzle and delight all those of any age.

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Photo Credit © 2009 JP Holecka

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I shot this in between the massive days of rain why had this month. I like the slight blur that the Hipstamatic app added to the shot. For some reason I love the way leafless tree look on “film”.

• Camera – iPhone
• App – Hipstamatic

Photo Credit © 2004 JP Holecka

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It had been raining for days and the fear I was that it was going to dump down the wet stuff for Noah’s second ski lesson at the Grouse Mountain Ski Wee Camp. As luck would have it the skies opened up and the sun peaked out just in time for his day on the slopes.

This shot was taken as we ascended the mountain via the Skyride. I like this shot because of the sun off in the blurry distance and remnants of the rain on the window. If you look closely you can see English Bay, Stanley Park and Vancouver in the distance. In fact I could see the ferry that my wife was on when I spoke to her on the phone…

The rain held off and the little guy finished learning the snow plough [pizza wedge] and went for his first ride on the chair life. I set up the lap top and had the best office view you can imagine. It was a good day.

• Camera – iPhone 3Gs
• App – The Best Camera

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This was shot early morning in the Spanish town of Cadaques near the French border. The picturesque town is one where Dali used to vacation as a boy and then later on returned and painted many non-surreal paintings. This is where we spent our last days on our trek through Spain and can’t recommend it enough. It’s so quaint it almost hurts!

• Camera: Panasonic DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
• Aperture: f/3.3
• Focal Length: 5.2 mm
• ISO Speed: 125
• Exposure Bias: 0/100 EV

Photo Credit: © JP Holecka

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I was reading about tomorrow’s Polar Bear swim here in the frigid waters of Vancouver and that got me remembering this shot I took the other year in the Mediterranean. I like this shot because of the moment that was captured between this man and oblivious woman. Checking out the other gender in other countries is far less subtle that here in Canada I guess. Or maybe it’s not and I just happened to steal the moment.

Estepona, Spain

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