I just got back from a week in Victoria, B.C. It’s the first time I’ve been out there with my 5D Mark III, so (in between downpours) I spent a lot of time shooting the town. For the next 10 posts, I’ll be sharing the fruits of my labours (not that it was particularly laborious).
First, a few touristy shots, just to get them out of my system. The most obvious tourist shot is the provincial legislature at night. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia even though Vancouver is the economic centre for the west coast. The legislature sits on the south side of the inner harbour and, at night, the lights produce a beautiful reflection on the water.
Even with this one night shot, I found myself straying from the strictly tourist experience of Victoria. That evening, I took a lot of my shots from the point by Songhees Walkway while these two guys named Ira and Santana polished off the better part of two six-packs and told me stories. Ira told about how he used to be in the navy and, when he was on shore leave, would take a camera to the beach and ask beautiful women if he could take their photos. He said that 7 out of 10 times, the women volunteered to take off their tops. He had all these amazing rolls of film in a bag, then he got drunk and someone stole his bag. That was a theme that ran through their stories: “then I got drunk … ” And they’d crack open another can of beer while they moved on to the next story.
Fan Tan Alley is in Chinatown. In Victoria, Chinatown isn’t really a town; it’s a street. They should call it Chinastreet. Really, it’s Fisgard Street. Fan Tan Alley runs between Pandora and Fisgard and has the distinction of appearing in a Hollywood film (Bird on a Wire, starring Mel Gibson & Goldie Hawn).
Then there’s Fisherman’s Wharf a little to the west of the inner harbour. There, you can get good seafood (we got some amazing gluten-free fish & chips at Barb’s Fish & Chips) while the seals come in close to mooch for food.
Most of Fisherman’s Wharf isn’t on the wharf but on the colourful houseboats docked at the wharf. This yellow one is a Mexican restaurant.
