Monthly Archives: February 2010

Vancouver Olympic Trek #2 | Olympic Cauldron at the IBC

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Raymond Chou

The sounds of cheering and whooping, shouts of “Go Canada Go!”, and the singing the O Lay song filled the Vancouver streets tonight as I headed down to the IBC Center (Vancouver Exhibition Convention Center) to visit the Olympic Cauldron. One woman remarked that she hasn’t seen Vancouver this riled up since the Vancouver Expo of 1986. I just beginning to learn how to walk around that time, let alone remember what that time was like.

As much as I hope that the energy we’re seeing now won’t simply fade away with the end of the Olympics, I have a sinking feeling it won’t be otherwise. But then again, just maybe, perhaps we’ll be able to hold onto some of that cheer and Canadian spirit, and with it make amazing things happen to Vancouver, and our lives, in the months to come.

In the meantime, here are some things to check out if you haven’t already!

The famous Olympic Cauldron. One of the perks of working for the Olympics is that you get to take pictures of this thing without that annoying fence in front of you.

Shot from another angle.

What on earth are these people doing??

Oh that’s what they’re doing.

A view from inside.

I randomly saw these guys walking down the street. Honestly, how can you NOT take a photo of these guys?

Paying it Forward

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Raymond Chou

I think I may have posted this image before but I quite like it so yea.

What really surprised me at first when I started out in photography was the willingness of experienced photographers to help out budding amateurs. When starting out in this field, I believed that all photographers regarded each other as competition much like political parties minus all the smear campaigns. Little did I know, this is not at all the case with most of the professionals I’ve come across, even ones who I am in direct competition with (Kevin Clark who is my current mentor specializes in Headshot Photography and that is precisely what I am into as well). Maybe it’s because photographers as established as Kevin still view me as a rookie who is not on the same level playing field. Although this is true, I don’t think that’s the reason.

I think one of the main reasons that so much goodwill exists from professionals is because seeing us reminds them that they were once in our shoes, that they were once amateurs driven by a passion to succeed and take themselves as far as they could in a craft which few prevail. Doing what you love and making it your living is a challenge few are willing to take, and who can blame them really. However, every now and then you will hear of someone who has pushed past those discouraging mental barriers and had taken that tremendous leap of faith. If you’ve been there yourself… well… imagine that Canada had just won Gold for hockey in the 2010 Winter Olympics (unless you’re from somewhere else) and you’ll better understand the joy behind the feeling when it’s happening to someone you know.

Professional photographers (or a professional from another field) recognize this, and it’s because they wish to nurture our passion as artists, lest we prematurely lose faith, that they’re so willing to pay it forward.

Posted in Food for Thought | Tagged Food for Thought, Influences | Leave a comment

Downtown Trekking on an OIympic Night

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Raymond Chou

Since I wasn’t able to keep up blogging for 7 days straight, it’s back to having a normal post schedule. This past Friday night a few friends and I set out to watch the Deadmau5 concert at Livecity Yaletown. We got there at approximately 5pm to wait in line, but little did we know that full capacity was reached at 4pm!

Instead we walked around downtown Vancouver. Highlights include waiting in line for more than 30 minutes for Japadogs and the Light Show at Robson Square at 9:30 which is taking place daily until the end of the Olympics as far as I know.

Pictures from our trek.

In front of Yaletown Skytrain station.

Security was quite tight in front of Livecity Yaletown.

Lineup for the Deadmau5 concert. This was shot at approximately 5:30 pm, two hours after it had already reached full capacity. We were a bit late to say the least.

The lineup for this place stretched for what seemed like a mile! We didn't end up going in.

Lineup for Japadogs. It may not seem that long, but we watied well over half an hour. The fact that people were willing to wait that long just goes to show how popular they are.