Highway One

Not sure why I grabbed the camera to run outside and take a photo of an Allied Van Lines moving trailer parked across the street. It had been sitting there for a couple of hours while three guys unloaded the contents and moved them into a condo unit somewhere inside. Perhaps the brightness of the paint job finally excited my retinal processors. For whatever reason, we who live in the temperate zones surround ourselves in drab: beige, gray and other muddy colours. I know in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver, it definitely fits in with the winter rainy season - six months of mist and light fog. So any time bright pigments cross your view, they make their presence known almost immediately. This day instead of ignoring the truck and finding myself wishing I had snapped a photo later (I have a lot of those moments), I took a stroll outside and inconspicuously took one picture. I reasoned that I may never even look at the photo again, but there would always be an outside chance of using it to liven up a blog post or it might prove useful for an online photo challenge.

Couple of days went by and having a few minutes to spare, I figured why not clean up the photo and I uploaded it to one of my paint programs. Cropped out anything that wasn't the side panel and then went to work with the clone stamp. Took out all the join lines between panels and removed all the extraneous hardware from the side door until all that was left were the scuff marks to clean away. Now I have an abstract like photo with strongly coloured, radiating lines which also appears to be out of square but isn't. Saved my creation in a file designed to hold oddball pics. It may languish forever hidden from the world or the perfect may arrive to send it out into the ether.

Now I wait.

Photo a Day 55

Had to run around Langley to find some new neon, not easy with tailgaters everywhere. Finally parked and walked down Fraser Highway in the old shopping area. This was at least interesting but not a whole lot to choose from. Well. Done anyway. This will be the last post for the challenge, just turned into one more hassle.

Photo a Day 54

Every time I see a Western Union sign, it reminds me of the Pony Express. Don't know why. Spent a few minutes researching to discover Western Union was started in 1851 as a telegraph business - that part of the company shut down in 2006 when yearly telegraph volume dropped to 20,000 - and now survives mainly as a means of transferring money worldwide. They also invented the teletype machine, also confined to the dinosaur trash heap. Meanwhile Pony Express was formed in 1860 to provide speedy mail delivery from the eastern US to California and its 380,000 residents. By galloping across the plains and over the mountains, letters could travel from Atlantic to Pacific in only ten days. My confusion must result from watching too many cowboy movies with horse riders climbing up poles to intercept telegraph messages.

Photo a Day 53

Getting these shots at night helps, although I'd rather be elsewhere than furtively wandering the streets.
"Yes sir, we  really believe you are just out taking photos for your blog"
"Do you have ID on you sir?"
"No. Then could you tell us the care home you wandered away from?"
"Why don't you just sit in the back of the cruiser here. Take a moment to remember who you are."
Okay That's it. No more sneaking around with the camera. I can tell they're out to get me. Should have believed the man downstairs.

Photo a Day 52

During the day, this barely shows up. White neon does not catch the eyes. So I surreptitiously sneaked by and got this shot at twilight while no one was looking. After some hassles at Semiahmoo Mall and a tanning shop - what their problem was I don't know - a low profile was needed, just in case they assumed I was 'casing the joint'. How a photo of their signage could be considered an invasion of privacy or trademark theft seems incomprehensible but with all the patent wars going on in the big leagues - who knows? Now I'm home and feel secure. However, to be on the safe side, any knocks on the door will be ignored.  Wait, wait -  What's That Sound?

Photo a Day 51

Went out about ten to six to try and shoot some photos at dusk to get stronger colours and because some of these signs are not turned on during daylight hours. For a few moments, I thought I had left it too late as the sun melted away much faster than anticipated. However the pictures turned out okay, not even needing a bit of extra work. Usually I darken the background to bring out the neon, reduce reflections and remove people, but having customers at the table seemed appropriate in this case.
Quite a large neon sign since most have turned to back lights or leds to save money on operating costs. Not sure how much difference in manufacturing each type, it may be the deciding factor or maintenance. Single bulbs burning out are easily replaceable but neon bulbs I think are much more expensive. By quick calculation I'll have enough signs to complete the month, so I'd better come up with the next theme.

Photo a Day 50

For a while driving through Parts of Vancouver and Burnaby today, I thought I might strike out in town. Stopped on Hastings to get a supply of olive oil at Cioffi's; so I took a couple of shots of the 'Girl on a Swing'  and the historic marker plaque. Because of the light colours, it doesn't show well during the day but spending all day hunting for neon wasn't on the menu. As I walked back to the car, I spotted this one in a window on the other side of Hastings. Someone put artistry into constructing this sign. Really nifty with the flames and not just static letters. Reminds me of the knife at the tattoo shop a couple of weeks back. Now, what to do with the swing one. Hmm!