Landscapes and moving things

After nearly 50 years with my camera-toting partner John, I have a pretty good sense of what will catch his eye. Two for-certains are anything transport-related, and particular types of landscapes. But he still surprises me sometimes by seeing things I miss completely. Here are some John-photos from recent walks:

Here's a scene I didn't notice: We stepped out of our car at Iona Beach Regional Park in Richmond on Thursday, and John hoisted his camera immediately. It was only when I saw the result that I understood what his photographer's eye had caught -- vast fields and clouds bisected midway by trees and mountains. All photos by John Denniston.

John was thinking of "greenways" as opposed to the city of Vancouver's "paveways" when he took this photo of me on a tree-lined path at the Iona park. 

A woman and her very large dog on the riverbank are part of this scene, but look what's also there -- a tugboat and a pleasure craft. Anything with an engine/motor/ wheels gets a second look from John. 

There's something about this stark row of piles stretching into the distance, intersecting with the mountains and skyline behind that to me is a trademark "John" photograph. He's taken the shot before when the tide was in, with the piles just poking out of the water -- equally arresting and haunting.

To me, just a guy and a bike. To John, an interesting new version of an e-bike and a chance to chat up the owner. Turns out this is a prototype of a foldable electric bike that the very affable helmeted young man is developing. He was at Iona to test how it behaves in the sand. 

Still with transport, the evening before in our Dunbar neighbourhood, we saw a boy whizzing along the sidewalk on what appeared to be a ball with a platform on each side. John may be retired, but his news photographer's instincts are intact, and he caught the kid mid-ride. We found out the  contraption is a Onewheel, a motorized kind of skateboard. With a white light in front and a red light behind, it's a strange sight coming at you in the twilight.

A row of Nissan Figaros, a Japanese right-hand-drive vehicle, is a common sight outside this particular house in Dunbar. They're used in the owner's restaurant business, according to one chat we had with him. The shape and colours of the cars turn them into a kind of street-side ornament. 

Another kind of beauty: Wildflowers and weeds. John would have walked right past this little display at Iona if I hadn't drawn his attention to it. Sometimes he misses things, too.