Lauterbrunnental

Another destination during my 1972 summer trip to Europe was the Berner Oberland in central Switzerland. In this photo you see the village of Lauterbrunnen and the Staubbach falls cascading down the high cliff along the west side of the valley (Lauterbrunnental). There'll be more photos when I've scanned and edited them. This is the time when my interest in mountains started. Check out my photo blog for a detailed post soon. Meantime, enjoy this photo! - V

Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park - January 1979

Here's another photo I took from Queen Elizabeth Park, this one in January 1979 during my first visit here. It rained on the first day I was here and then cleared up. It was cold but the skies were mostly clear, except for the low hanging mist. The view you see has been obscured but the growth of the trees since the 1970s. I'll find that out soon enough when I return there during the summer. The children loved the ponds because they were frozen over because of the temperature. Believe it or not, I walked all the way up to the park from Vancouver's West End where I was staying at the YMCA, which has since been renovated. Then I walked all the way back stopping to get a bite to eat on the way. - V

kitchen

This photo was scanned earlier today. It was taken in the late 1970s when I was in my mid-20s. That's me on the left and a friend of a friend beside me. I had invited a co-worker and her boyfriend to a gathering. She brought along a friend to enjoy the festivities with us. The scene is my parent's kitchen. My how the years have flown! - V

being serious and less so...

Above is a photo of some of my classmates from grade 12 class in 1973. The venue is the school cafeteria and Harold is centre with my friend John to his right (our left). And below is Harold in a less serious mood! The photographer is myself trying to work with a camera (a Voigtlaender single lens reflex) that has no flash. Now I'm off to bed. Have an awesome week, guys! - V

mothers

We all had mothers that brought us into this world. Well, the photo above, my second scanning attempt, is of my own mother about age 20. I was her fourth child, the first in her third marriage. Mixed marriages have their own complications as those of you who experienced them would know. This photo was taken in Germany and is probably about 70 or so years old to give you a time reference. There are more photos coming! - V

Christmas 2010 nears

After work today I went into downtown Vancouver via SkyTrain to get the remaining grocery shopping out of the way. On the way I stopped in the Chapters store to get a few magazines, one of which was on the iPhone and its many applications (apps). That magazine alone set me back about 30 dollars. The reason why I bought that one is because I am leaning toward getting an iPhone4 in January. I love the features, so its on the top of my list. There was a bit of a line up at the cash but it seemed to move fairly well.

After that, I was off to the Marketplace IGA a couple of city blocks away. The line ups were not too bad there either. It should be a madhouse during the daytime tomorrow as people try to get the last minute shopping done. I'm working, so that's not an option for me. After work I'll be heading straight home to sort things away and rest my feet.

Have an awesome Christmas, guys! More coming soon, hopefully some scanned photos too! - V

halfway through the month

Its hard to believe that we're halfway through the month of November and in little more than a month it'll be Christmas and then the end of another year. Where has all the time gone you might ask? Well, it seems to speed up as we get older and being busy in our day to day stuff helps it more along even quicker. I still remember those days in elementary school when it seemed that time dragged on and then when summer vacation came along, it was over before you knew it. I guess the perspective changes as we get older.

Now the new week starts with me looking into why I have a surplus with my cellphone provider. I checked my account at with my financial institution and also checked my credit card statements but there's nothing any where to account for it. Either someone has made an error and assigned funds to the wrong account or someone that owes me money has used funds and directed them to this cellphone account. I'll have to go back and check the statements back to when the surplus began and then call the provider to find out where the funds are coming from. Its a nuisance not knowing where its coming from and why!

In other news, I'm taking time to organize my files on my computer and then do a defragmentation of the files before I install the new software that comes with the photo scanner I purchased on my way home Friday. Its taking a bit longer than anticipated. Once that has been done and the test scans have been completed, I'll have some photos to share with you all.

I hope your week goes well. Come back soon! There'll be more!!! - V

photos for calendar

I'm in the midst of choosing photos for a calendar or two (2011). There are over 10,000 images to choose from. There can be too much of a good thing! I guess that would apply in this case. The photo above was taken last autumn from the western end of Burnaby Mountain and overlooks Capital Hill in the foreground, followed by Stanley Park in Vancouver and then the Coastal Mountains in the background. - V

hot muscles

Hey guys, if you've got some hot muscles you'd like to show off for others to admire and perhaps even give you some tips for fine-tuning them, send them on in. Use the email at the bottom of this page to send the pics to and you're guaranteed to get a response from me, and perhaps Brad as well. And if you're interested in modeling for us, we're certainly interested! Meantime, I hope this pic will provide you with some inspiration, guys! Hope you've all had an awesome weekend where ever you are and what ever you've decided to do!!! - V

ramblings

The weather here on the west coast of British Columbia (certainly the lower mainland) has taken a drastic turn since the weekend. Cool temperatures and even cooler nights have replaced the warm, and sometimes very hot, summer temperatures. It's been rainy since Monday, though yesterday (Tuesday) saw a break in the overcast weather and some sunshine graced our skies that day. It was rainy again today but this is normal for this time of year once summer is behind us. The weekend coming has sun in the forecast but let's see what comes!

When the weather co-operates, I get out to take as many interesting photos as I can. There are quite a few to edit yet but more will be posted once they're available. Then the photos to the second part of Hollyburn Peak need to be posted as well. Soon!

Toward the end of August I was honoured to learn that my dear friend Brad had decided to take a course in modern photography. I'm so proud of him and hope he learned a lot plus enjoyed the time taking the course! For now that's about all I'll say about him. I'd prefer he tell his story in his own words and in his own way and time! He'll have his own contributions to make in due time!!!

Now, I'm off to bed. I'm up early at 5 am to have a shower, a leisurely breakfast and otherwise get ready for work. It's after 9 pm now and closing in on 10. Have a great night and keep viewing this blog for more! - V.

Burnaby Mountain - photos

These are the photos from last Saturday's hike on Burnaby Mountain with commentary to follow. - V.

Philip Fusco – Marcel shoots photos

Here photographer Marcel shoots photos of model Philip Fusco for Score underwear. Have a look for yourself. - V.

Apartment Pics

Things are shaping up well in the apartment as the unpacking continues. Its great to be able to sleep in a comfortable bed (double) once again, though this one needs to be made. I leave the sheets as you see them during the day so they can air out and then make the bed later.

The living room looks a lot less like a storage room now that many of the items nolonger needed have been taken to auction. That still leaves books and such to sort through. What's not needed there has its own destination.

Above is a view of the kitchen from the dining area. Once the dining cabinet is fixed up, the counter space will free up considerably. Below is a view of the cabinet (leftside & rightside) before these repairs begin. Its very sturdy, and very heavy! Now its off to the kitchen to make potato pancakes ("Kartoffelpuffer") once again with the left overs going into work tomorrow and Tuesday. Hope you're having a great Sunday!

View

This was the view outside my bedroom window this afternoon, minus the robin, of course! I didn't manage to get a shot of the bird in this photo. Perhaps another time. But all this reminds me, I should take some birdfeed with me to feed the birds at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park. They must be starving! And I intend to take a special someone along to help, and he knows who he is!!! More to come!

Thoughts

Well, I've decided to post a few photos of myself (and family members perhaps). This photos was taken when I was about ten years old, about the time I started getting into photography, stamp collecting and other stuff. That is me on the far left, my mother beside me, her sister (aunt), my aunt's sister-in-law (cousin's wife) and my brother. All have passed on except my cousin's wife, and myself of course! I believe it was my cousin that took this photo. He had scanned a few photos and sent me them since it included myself and other family members. I'll have more as soon as I can scan what I have currently and that will come when I get my stuff out of storage.

Getting everything out and into my apartment will be happening very soon, December 20th to be exact. Using a new credit card and some cash in the form of a cheque/money order, I was able to pay the amount owing to allow for this development. After everything is here, I plan to sort through everything and have an auctioneer sell what I nolonger need (I have far too much as it is). The proceeds from the sale will go towards paying off the credit card. The auction will happen in January; that is the plan anyway!

So, I have heard from Brad in a manner of speaking (the email came from his email account, so I must assume it is him), so I hope he is well and able to post very soon. There are not a lot of details I can give you right now. I'll leave that up to Brad, so that you can hear of his adventures firsthand! Suffice to say, I still think of him as a friend and have nothing but love and respect for him! It's important for me to say that, as much for those of you who are reading this blog as well as Brad. Love each other and treat each other with kindness and respect. Everything in the world goes much better with this in mind!

Meantime, I am cleaning up my computer files to make for storage space plus allow the computer to run better and more smoothly. Its overcast and rainy anyway, and now its dark. Darkness comes so early this time of year, here at any rate since we're north of the 49th parallel. I hope you're all having a great weekend and doing what you love best! - Volker

The game

This week I learned that I had won a company wide raffle for tickets to last night's BC Lions game at BC Place. Well it was all worth it. I invited a friend of mine from the West End in Vancouver to come along. He had not been to a football game in perhaps ten years or so and it was my first live game. I had seen a number of them on tv over the years but not in a live venue. My last live game was in high school and that one doesn't even compare to last night's game. The BC Lions played the Montreal Alouettes. The Lions weren't doing well in the first half of the game but improved quite nicely to win 36-34 at the end of the game. It was loud and the fans were lively! It was certainly worth going.

The most unusual thing that happened this week at work was when two middled-aged mennonite couples, Amish all of them, walked into the lobby of the building I work at to ask for directions to the SkyTrain. Even more interesting was that they were from St. Jacobs just north of Waterloo, Ontario. Of course, I lived in Ontario until February 2006 and have been to Waterloo, where a cousin lives, many times, including St. Jacobs. So what are the odds of seeing Amish in Vancouver a long way from southwestern Ontario rather than say Hutterites from the Prairies? Come to think of it, I've never seen them though I've read about them but seen plenty of Amish in the London and Waterloo areas back east.

Well, today being Saturday I'm off to do some shopping to stock up on groceries and perhaps pay another visit to the local Ikea store in Coquitlam. Then there is plenty to do at the computer such as downloading a new program and then photos from my camera. Perhaps I'll go some where on Sunday depending upon the weather. The sky is overcast this morning with occasional sunshine. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Have a great weekend regardless what your plans! - Volker