sunset at kitsilano beach, vancouver

There is nothing like watching the sun goes down and sitting beside my loved one while sipping a cuppa of Starbucks coffee on summer nights. I don’t know why I like watching the last few minutes of sunset while the trailing edge of the sun’s disk disappears below the horizon. It's just a beautiful feeling ...

What I like most in sunset is the intense and brilliant colors of red and orange hues of the sky and its afterglows….then comes the twilight…that’s when the surface of the earth is neither completely lit nor dark because the sun itself is not actually visible due to the horizon…I find twilight moments – very romantic moments due to the unusual romantic quality of the ambient light at this time.

celebration of lights

This year, we had the chance to watch the most popular annual event that defines Vancouver's summer - the Celebration of Lights. It's an international prestigious fireworks competition and festival - four nights of the BEST fireworks displays you've ever seen. The night becomes a day as the skies over the English Bay light up in a choreographed and synchronized symphony. Each country has one night to wow the judges and the audience. This year, we watched UK's performance.

Spectators and crowds normally gather around 8 something so we got there as early as 7 something to ensure a good spot. We found a perfect parking spot and a viewing spot in Kitsilano Beach. I watched the sunset and took lots of photos while waiting for the show to start. Ashley was playing her DS game, Andrew was reading a Harry Potter's book he brought while Noel was studying his JAVA something course in a 3 x 5 index cards....We waited for a good couple of hours before the show starts at exactly 10 pm. We brought along our camping chairs, mat, sandwiches, fruits, cold drinks, chips and of course, my Nikon. I wouldn't miss it for the world! I am learning how to take a better night shot photos with SLR and oh boy! I tell you, it's not that simple and taking fireworks photos is another story, it is harder than I thought. I am not pleased of the result, it could have been better if I brought a tripod...but I must admit, I did enjoy the show, and was very impressed.

white rock, surrey

squamish-whistler summer vacation