View Towers
View Towers is one of those buildings that once built caused city planners and the public to rethink what they wanted in Victoria. It was built in the late 60’s or early 70’s. If I recall correclty, another one was planned next door but was not approved. It is a dominant building as it is at a scale much different than anything else nearby, especially the older buildings that tend to be one or two stories. It is a pretty ugly monster of a slab and will never be considered a heritage building, even if it does have some important associated history to do with planning decisions and the current paucity of tall buildings in Victoria. My office is very near and we joke (half seriously) about it toppling in an earthquake and squashing us like bugs beneath the boot of a bad boy.
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Well Lit Royal
The Royal Theatre is one of two old and quite large theatres in Victoria. The Royal is home to the symphony and opera and hosts many of the touring shows. It has an interesting façade that was recently renovated, but I am showing just a small part of its east wall, from behind a neighbouring building. I really liked the light and the way it was reflecting to give a glow to the side of the theatre. This image works so much better in black and white that I hesitate to even include a colour version. Sometime I will take some pictures of the front of the building, but as it faces north, finding really nice light probably means waiting to the middle of June near sunrise or sunset. Or maybe just getting lucky at some other time.
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The Demitasse
The Demitasse Bakery Store is in the middle of south Oak Bay at the corner of McNeill Avenue and Roslyn Road. It is very much a part of my surroundings, not just because the store is a place we shop frequently but because the owners were our neighbours, and at one time they had a café (of the same name) downtown next to my office where I went for coffee every day for a few years. The store has very good coffee, wonderful baked goodies and bread, a small but high quality choice of other foods and around the outside a small garden center that also provides shade and atmosphere for a few tables and benches.
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Succulent Frost
More pictures from the patio. On the weekend there was a heavy frost on the succulents. Frost seems to be a wordpress photo theme – hardly surprising since so many of us in the northern hemisphere are blogging about our surroundings as they start to freeze. A nice simple post today. Not too many words. Hey Jaunita – do you think these would make a good side dish for your oak leaf, perhaps followed by a trip to the dentist?
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200 King George Terrace
This house is located in Oak Bay along the marine scenic drive near the lookout at the upper edge of Trafalgar Park. Quite a few photos in this blog have been taken at the lookout, or in Trafalgar Park just below it. It is easy to be attracted to the view over the Strait of Juan de Fuca and not turn to look at the rest of the surroundings. This is a shame because this house, which is right across the road from the lookout, is quite special. It, and the one next door (#230 which is not visible from most of the lookout), are heritage houses from the 1940’s; this one was built in 1940-1941.
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Stucco Sunset
Yesterday afternoon the setting sun shone through my car port like a beacon. It lit the light yellow stucco in the most spectacular way. I had the polarizing filter on the camera and here is the result. No colour or contrast adjustments here – only a bit of a crop and a 180 rotation of the top image. I am pretty stunned by this outcome, it’s as if the wall were layered with gold leaf.
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Red Crow Toes
Today, my wife and I decided to go out for milk, and ended up, after getting cold while I stopped to take some pictures, at Ottavios on Oak Bay Avenue. Ottavio Italian Bakery and Delicatesen has a terrific selection of cheeses, baked goods, coffee and red umbrellas. I am a frequent customer, but never before with my camera. I managed to publish today’s post yesterday, for about the 4th time in the past month [note to self – never press publish when feeling rushed], so I was looking around for a simple subject without the need for a lot of writing to fill today’s gap. Red umbrellas and crow toes seem well suited to that purpose.
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