Inspired By Imagination

Hello friends,

hopefully everyone is doing well. I think it is time to do another update, however, this time what I want to share with you is a little different in that these pictures are not taken by me but rather of me and my wife Stefanie.  That’s right, we had a beautiful ranch wedding here In Horsefly, BC with people coming from as far as Austria and Germany on September 19.  Yes, I know what you are thinking…September 19?  That was almost a month ago?!….and I do apologize but things have been busy.  All of the following pictures were taken by Robyn Louise Photography, specializing in wedding photography.  Thank you Robyn!

Stefanie and I obviously happy.

Anyways, those of you that are married are probably well aware of all the planning involved in getting a wedding organized.  As Stefanie was still working in Austria and didn’t arrive until just 3 weeks before the big day, most of the planning was all done via email and telephone.  I must say that was an experience in itself.  Stefanie and I decided to skip the catering and do it all ourselves instead.  Well, little needs to be said but without the generous help of so many friends, neighbours and family members, the wedding would have never turned out as well as it did.  So a big Thank You again to all of you who didn’t hesitate to help out in whatever way you could.

The weather not really cooperating during the ceremony.

I think it’s safe to say that overall, everything turned out quite well, from the food to the happy smiles on everybody’s faces….except for one thing….the storm releasing buckets of water and hail like we hadn’t seen many of during the entire summer!  And the best part was, it only lasted for about an hour, right during the ceremony which took place out in the field a mile away from any shelter.  However, if the saying is right that rain on your wedding day will bring you good luck, we shouldn’t have to worry about anything for a while to come.  🙂  Afterwards, the sun came through for a short while and together with a fire helped to warm people up again.

Everyone anxiously awaits the arrival of the bride.

We had fabulous food from homemade woodfire-baked bread to a full size pig roast and beer from Crannog Ales, a microbrewery selling organic beer.  That was just the beginning and I don’t think that anyone went home hungry.  As we didn’t want to run out of food, we erred on the side of caution and ended up eating left over salads for the next week or so.

Exchanging the rings.

The bouquet.

The Horsefly Express.

A happy couple.

If life will treat us as well as it did on this day, the future promises to be bright, joyful and prosperous.  Thank you to all those who helped us celebrate this very special moment in our lives.

The bride and groom.

Until the next time.  Florian and Stefanie

Hello everyone,

I thought I should share some pictures with you from a forest fire in Redstone, west of Williams Lake, BC.  Last Wednesday, a small fire across from my work site started in the afternoon and before long, due to strong winds, it grew into a decent size forest fire.

Smoke hanging over the trees west of Alexis Creek, BC.

We had a pretty nice view of the hillside going up in flames from my job site.  I couldn’t believe how quickly the fire was spreading and growing in size.  We were the first ones to help battle the blaze, but with only one small pump we had little chance of succeeding to stop the blaze.  All it took was one more gust of wind and a few more trees would be going up in flames.

The sun is obscured by the heavy smoke.

Fire spreading from one tree to the next.

However, the fire fighters did a good job and within the hour, the sky looked like a hornet’s nest as several bombers, helicopters and spotters were battling the fire from above.  They continued to drop their loads until late in the evening, by which time they managed to get a pretty good handle on the fire.  Crews are still on site making sure that no new hot spots ignite with the dry and hot weather we are experiencing.

A ghostly image as burnt skeletons emerge through the smoke.

A bomber just above the treeline after dropping another load.

Apparently, so far this year in BC we have had 71 fires, of which 70 were caused by man-kind.  The cause of this fire is yet unknown but predicted to be unrelated to a natural cause as well.  Never having been this close to a forest fire before, I was amazed by the intensity, heat and speed at which the fire spread.

Let’s see what the remainder of this year will bring in terms of fires.  There sure is a lot of dead and dry wood out there due to all the beetle-infected timber.

I hope you enjoyed these news photos.

Cheers.  Florian

Hello again everyone,

now where does the time go?  I find it difficult to believe that we are into April already.  It is time for an update, telling you a little bit about what I have been up to.  After more than seven years, I felt that I was well overdue to make a trip back to Europe to visit family as well as friends and also to take the opportunity to take a few side trips here and there.

A lonely tree...

Now for those of you that haven’t been to Europe before, it might be hard to imagine how small everything really is compared to North America.  Picture for a moment the province of British Columbia with a population of a little over 4 million.  Now imagine a country that could fit into the province of British Columbia almost three times.  This country is Germany, which by the way has a population of over 82 million!

While getting to know my girlfriend Steffi’s homeland of Austria, we explored lots of interesting areas between Salzburg and Vienna.  The weather had been fairly grey for a few days and when it finally cleared we took the opportunity to ride a gondola up to the top of Untersberg, just outside of Salzburg.

A restaurant in the mountains of Austria outside of Salzburg.

A frozen window serves as a reminder of the weather from the past few days.

Four.

After Austria, we hopped on a train and at speeds of over 200 km/h traveled right up to northern Germany.  The infrastructure of the public transportation system throughout Europe is quite remarkable.  Together with my sister and her boyfriend we toured a small town on Sylt, a little island in the North Sea.

Ocean surf on Sylt in the North Sea.

Gold and Silver.

Once Steffi departed back home for work, I spent a few weeks with my mom and friends in my hometown close to Hannover in northern Germany.

The core of Hannover built during the medieval times.

Modern architecture in Hannover.

An array of colours within an alley.

Using a little imagination while having a campfire BBQ with friends, I noticed this little butterfly.

The butterfly effect.

I also spent quite a bit of time in the Deister, a small forest where I grew up as a child.  With its beech and oak trees, it is a very different forest to what we can find here in western Canada.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the forest in its lush green colors and instead had to deal with the drizzle and grey overcast skies, which are so typical for northern Germany during January and February.  However, I was still able to get a few interesting shots from time to time.

The path less travelled...

Rays of light.

Together with a friend from Canada, I also went on a 24 hour power-trip to Berlin.  The time was insufficient to absorb it all in detail, however, we were able to get a brief glimpse of what the city has to offer in terms of its history.  All throughout the city one can find old sections of the Berlin Wall, which separated East from West Germany before it was opened in 1989.

Sections of the Berlin Wall.

Towards the end of my trip in Europe, Steffi and I hopped in the car and drove down to Venice for 3 days.  We toured the city, took a ton of photos and explored a little of the surrounding countryside of Italy.  It was a perfect time of the year to go and wander the alleys of Venice with the weather being warm already yet early enough to beat the tourist tsunami of the summer.

Traffic in Venice.

A black and white image I thought would best bring out the feeling this city offers.  There are no cars within the city limits and everything is done by boat.

Sleeping or not?

I like the way this fisherman’s companion was snoozing on the deck of the boat, soaking up the warmth of the sun.

The red vase.

All throughout Europe one can find countless numbers of old churches.  I find it astounding to see the architecture in these buildings, given the means the people had back then to erect these structures.  The lighting inside was perfect in the above image to make that red vase really stand out.

The inside of an old church.

The lighting was also very pleasing inside this old church, whose construction was completed in 579!  Think your house is old?

Still waters in the canals of Venice.

The many boats moored in the labyrinth of canals throughout Venice offer many good opportunities to a photographer.

Backlit wings.

I particularly like the way the light illuminated the wings from behind, creating a very calm setting within an image full of motion.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about and looking at these photos from my trip to Europe.

By the way, if you like icecream as much as I do, treat yourself to some real Italian icecream at least once in your life.  It is absolutely amazing!

Cheers.  Florian

During a short trip to Vancouver last week, I was able to get some new pictures that I would like to share with you in this post.  It’s always a bit of a shock for me going to the Lower Mainland since I am used to a somewhat more quiet and more remote environment. 🙂 However, there are lots of interesting subjects to focus on as well. I have always enjoyed city skylines at nighttime, especially with its reflection in a body of water close by.

Vancouver skyline from Stanley Park.

Stanley Park provided me with a few images, both at night and during the day.

A gentle curving walkway.

I felt a black and white image would best bring out these shapes and shadows.

Lions Gate Bridge from Stanley Park.

Playing around with my flashlight and tripod, I was able to get the following image.

I like the way the sign pops out of the dark.

The fall colours also proved to be worth looking at.

Fall colours in Stanley Park.

While driving down a side road, I noticed a semi which carried a load of construction material.  Who knew that sheetrock could be so interesting?

A load of sheetrock on a semi trailer.

One of my stops included the Ethical Kitchen restaurant, where I have some of my framed images on display. The restaurant, which is located on 1600 McKay Road in North Vancouver, serves excellent organic food from local producers and is a great place to stop at for a healthy meal.

Ethical Kitchen in North Vancouver.

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Enjoy your fall season.  Until the next time.  Florian

I liked the contrast between the yellow paddle and the blue water.

I recently completed my first trip around the world famous Bowron Lakes canoe circuit close to Wells in central British Columbia.  What a fabulous trip!  The entire circuit consists of roughly 116 km of lakes, rivers, marshland and portage trails and takes you through a variety of ecosystems and diverse landscapes. After getting a little wet during the first two days, the sky opened right up and nothing but sunshine was the recipe for the rest of the 8 day journey.      

First afternoon at Kibbee Lake.

The only bear encountered was a grizzly right at the lodge before the trip had even begun. A few moose also appeared like ghostly shadows through the early morning fog.  Besides a good number of mice at some of the old trapper cabins, other wildlife included beavers, otters, herons, bald eagles, kingfishers, squirrels and a large variety of waterfowl among others.  We also had the joy of listening to some wolves howling at Sandy Lake.

A heron giving me a weird look.

Those people we did encounter on the circuit were all easy going, fun and enjoyable to be around.  On more than one occasion did we meet up again to share some good laughs and stories around the campfire. The Chute, a narrowing waterway as Isaac Lake empties into the Isaac River, also added some excitement and offered me the chance to take some pictures of the others paddlers.  None of us followed the unlucky fate of other canoeists who capsized along the Isaac and Cariboo River portions, judging by numerous pieces of torn canoe wrecks.

Preparing dinner over the campfire.

Canoeists tackling some rough water.

Old stump in morning fog at Isaac Lake.

Canoe at dusk at Lanezi Lake.

Each lake, river and stream offers something remarkable in its own way, making it very difficult to name only one favorite spot.  Whether it was the glaciers towering above Isaac and Lanezi Lake or the calm waters of Babcock Lake, each was sure to give you a feeling of awe and appreciation for this wonderful wilderness area.  As soon as you leave the lodges behind to start your journey, you begin to feel the stress of our busy lifestyles disappear and instead look forward to what lies ahead…

Isaac Lake

Morning mist over Babcock Lake.

Bowron River marsh in the early morning hours.

If you like the outdoors, don’t mind to feel your muscles work a little and are up to an adventure, I highly recommend that you paddle the Bowron Lakes at least once in your lifetime.  It is a trip you will never forget.  I know I’ll be back….

Florian

Hello everyone, after a long time without internet service, I am finally online again.  I am long overdue to post some pictures from a recent one-day hiking trip into the alpine with a local Naturalist group led by Juergen and Sue Hemphill from Horsefly, BC. It was a fabulous trip with the alpine flowers in full bloom.  There were 23 participants and even though we got rained on a little bit, it was still a very entertaining and enjoyable hike.  We left Horsefly at about 8:30 on Saturday, August 9, 2008 and got to the trail head leading up to Eureka Peak just before 10 am.   After a  few hours of hiking, we got up into the alpine meadows and enjoyed a nice lunch on a carpet of alpine flowers ranging in all different colors.  After lunch, everybody was free to explore the ridge heading off to the east for themselves.  We just made it back to the vehicles in time before thunderstorms rolled in, which lasted most of the night.   Below are just a few pictures of this spectacular day.  So long.  Florian

Finally I have had a chance to get out and take some more pictures.  It has been fairly busy the last few weeks and I haven’t been out nearly as much I as I would have liked.

An early morning fog created a wonderful mood and I especially liked how the hay bales in the field gently disappeared in the mist.  The weather turned about a week ago and we got the last hay baled up about an hour before the rain came.  Perfect timing!

I will add more pictures to the blog soon so be sure to check back from time to time.

Florian

What a great way to celebrate the annual “Arts on the Fly” festival in Horsefly, BC. It was another huge success, drawing in people from close and far away. Over the course of two days, different musical performers kept the crowd entertained and artists showcased their work from clothing items, jewelry, and paintings to anything else imaginable. I displayed some of my prints and cards and have to say that it was a successful day. Thanks for all the great support and wonderful comments I received.

I am also proud to announce M. Ranger from Williams Lake, BC as the winner of the draw for one of my prints. Congratulations!