Vancouver, B.C. (August 2025)
A solo trip five years in the making.
I am, by nature, a night person. I love sunsets more than I love sunrises. But after staying up all night to make it to Phoenix Sky Harbor before the sun even had the chance to come up that morning, I was able to catch this shot of the sunrise tinting the sky a bright orange as a plane came in for a landing, with Four Peaks’ silhouette standing tall in the background.
I don’t remember getting this shot, if I’m totally honest. My travel day started at 5am, from Phoenix to LAX, and then from LAX to Vancouver International.
I had stayed up all night after working the previous day, hoping to sleep on the plane. I slept, but not much. I ended up passing out for several hours once I finally made it to my hotel in the city.
My first night in Vancouver, I had a fever. But I was determined to at least see some of the city.
For this photo, I set the shutter speed slow and twisted the camera in my hand to create the light trails. It took several attempts to get the lines this clean, but I’m thrilled with the result.
The color of Vancouver’s sunsets over the water blew me away, and the Harbour Air staff closing down the docks for the night made for an interesting foreground.
I ended up having a chat with one of them as they left and he convinced me to book one of their tour flights that takes you over the city and through the mountains to the north. I, of course, booked my flight as close to sunset as possible.
I think this is one of my favorite photos from the whole trip. There’s just something about the way Stanley Park takes up the bottom left corner of the frame, combined with the bridge over some of the bluest water I’ve seen. And the way the cars look so small is enchanting.
Another one of my favorites, this photo makes the entire downtown area feel like a model city. I’ve tried numerous times to find the hotel I was staying at in the midst of all the buildings, but to no avail.
I think it was at about this point in the flight that I realized just how much photography means to me.
Here’s another shot that makes the city feel like a tiny scale model. I think the imperfections from shooting through the plane’s window add to the effect, and I’m personally really fond of the way this photo turned out.
The public transit in Vancouver also amazed me - but maybe that’s because I was coming from a state with minimal public transit that was… let’s just say it wasn’t good.
The trains came on time, they were clean, and the stations made for some excellent photo opportunities, like this one.
On my birthday, it was a bit overcast. But I didn’t let that get me down - I decided to take a walk instead. I love the colors in this shot!
And those kids on OneWheels riding along the path made me miss my own, which I had sadly recycled in 2023.
Another one of my favorites, this one has remained the wallpaper on my iPad since I first edited it.
I hope I can go back to Vancouver sometime soon - it’s a beautiful city and I know I barely even scratched the surface of all the things to see and do there!