camping in Black and white

FTLComm - Vancouver - August 1, 1999

It was this time of the year in 1983 when my wife and I set out with our three boys on a camping expedition to the lower mainland of British Columbia. These pictures tell a bit of the story and since they are in black and white you can add the colour in your mind.

The picture above was taken near Dease Lake the first morning out. While the picture on the right was a couple of days later in a large campground twenty minutes East of Vancouver. The tall trees in this campground made it as dark as a mine at night.

Our camper of that era was a remarkable 73 Chevy with a customised cap. Fully lined with cupboards a seat for two fellows, a food cabinet and the camp gear went into compartments under the hood. The boys slept in a tent and the back of the truck made into my our bedroom. We used this camping vehicle from 1975 until it was finally retired in 1992.

No visit to Vancouver is possible without time spent in Stanley park and for Yukon boys and their prairie parents the boats were a fascination on this foggy Vancouver late afternoon.

These black and white images were captured on a simple Olympus fixed lens "Trip" camera using Ilford 400 film. Through the many years the Ilford films seems to lack the bunch and definition of Kodak's Tri-X. These images were scanned now from the original negatives that I had developed in my darkroom at the time.

From Stanley Park you can cruise up to the look out spot over the Lion's Gate bridge and view the vessels entering and leaving the harbour.

This picture looks North West with North Vancouver along the North shore of the strait.

The boys were engrossed with the sights. Sons two of three are in these pictures because number one son was at hockey camp in Penticton.

These pictures with the exception of the camping shots all took place on a single day of a trip that included a trip to the Island, an airshow and the worst sunburn of my life. But, that's another story. We had delayed out trip that summer because the most serious forest fires had broken out around our community with some seniors being evaculated.

Fifteen years have passed since these pictures were taken and in my mind it seems only a year or so ago yet for these grown men it is a lifetime. The man with the binoculars is entering his third year away from home as he works part time and attends the University of Regina.


*FTLComm - Vancouver - August 1, 1999*
It was this time of the year in 1983 when my wife and I set out with our three boys on a camping expedition to the lower mainland of British Columbia. These pictures tell a bit of the story and since they are in black and white you can add the colour in your mind. The picture above was taken near Dease Lake the first morning out. While the picture on the right was a couple of days later in a large campground twenty minutes East of Vancouver. The tall trees in this campground made it as dark as a mine at night.

Our camper of that era was a remarkable 73 Chevy with a customised cap. Fully lined with cupboards a seat for two fellows, a food cabinet and the camp gear went into compartments under the hood. The boys slept in a tent and the back of the truck made into my our bedroom. We used this camping vehicle from 1975 until it was finally retired in 1992.
No visit to Vancouver is possible without time spent in Stanley park and for Yukon boys and their prairie parents the boats were a fascination on this foggy Vancouver late afternoon. These black and white images were captured on a simple Olympus fixed lens "Trip" camera using Ilford 400 film. Through the many years the Ilford films seems to lack the bunch and definition of Kodak's Tri-X. These images were scanned now from the original negatives that I had developed in my darkroom at the time.

From Stanley Park you can cruise up to the look out spot over the Lion's Gate bridge and view the vessels entering and leaving the harbour. This picture looks North West with North Vancouver along the North shore of the strait. The boys were engrossed with the sights. Sons two of three are in these pictures because number one son was at hockey camp in Penticton. These pictures with the exception of the camping shots all took place on a single day of a trip that included a trip to the Island, an airshow and the worst sunburn of my life. But, that's another story. We had delayed out trip that summer because the most serious forest fires had broken out around our community with some seniors being evaculated.

Fifteen years have passed since these pictures were taken and in my mind it seems only a year or so ago yet for these grown men it is a lifetime. The man with the binoculars is entering his third year away from home as he works part time and attends the University of Regina.