The Indecisive Moment (indecisive photography in Vancouver)

Last week I was in Vancouver visiting family - always a special time. 

Hiking, paddleboarding, swimming and childminding. I loved it all.

Being in the city is always a challenge photographically. I am conscious that I haven't made any new 'work' recently, after aborted trips to New Zealand and the USA, and am feeling a little pressure to come up with some new ideas.

I think the only idea that I came up with after a week of wandering was that of the 'Indecisive Moment'. Indecisive in that I couldn't really find anything new to say about the city or its beautiful parks and forest. Indecisive in what style of photography to go for. And indecisive over how to process what few images I did make.

Henri Cartier Bresson described the 'decisive moment' thus;

 “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.”

This is the absolute antithesis of how I work in most of my photography. A tree doesn't walk, or a flower run. Dead seaweed, the subject of my recent book 'findings' lies quietly on the sand, unmoving.

I don't usually wait for a special moment; I am not a street photographer, or a sports photographer, lying in wait for that moment when everything before the lens comes together to be captured as something unrepeatable. I am not a fan of seeking out sunsets and sunrises; waiting for moments of glorious light that may or may not arrive. 

I am a walking photographer, capturing what I find along my way.

I did try a few minutes of street photography on the waterfront at Coal Harbour, out of sheer desperation.

I achieved very little as I was shooting from the hip, being discreet, and mostly got photos of hips as a result.

 Later I tried being even more indecisive, by photographing the same scene over and over, waiting for something to happen.

 This was more fun, but the camera got confused and the people walking past were out of focus.

 

walkers, Stanley park, vancouver

So then I played with grids of multiple photos; each imperceptibly different ffrom the last.

This satisfied my desire to capture multiple indecisive moments, and also my love of the geometric.

But not that interesting really.

multiple moments grid

 

I tried indecisive birds.

They behaved beautifully unpredictably. I kept my camera still and waited for the ducks to move into the picture.

They did.

But they couldn't decide which way up to pose for the camera.

waiting for a duck

duck

ducks

 

I tried moody black and white images in the forest. Tangled dead trees and people walking along forest paths.

dead tree, beaver lake

walkers, stanley park, vancouver

walkers, stanley park

 At the botanical gardens I enjoyed the rhododendrons and hydrangeas.

I was indecisive about how to capture them. Multiple exposure, regular exposure or black and white. I tried them all.

multiple exposure mess

hydrangea flower

hydrangea flower

I think this last one is my preferred option; regular colour photography. No blurry bits. Just the sunlight filtering through the petals.

I tried night photography from my balcony.

night scene, Vancouver city

Not a great success. I won't show you any more of those.

My favourite image from the trip ( apart from family photos of course) is this one of kitchens.

As I spent a lot of my week cooking it seems entirely appropriate.

kitchens

I think the moral of this story is 'don't try so hard'.

Wait for the right moments to come along.

And if you are feeling indecisive, then it is probably because you are busy doing other things -  I was being a grandmother and mother for a week- something that gives me even more pleasure than photography.

And this week I am back being a photographer, preparing for my show at Rye Art Gallery.

It features some very decisive moments, as you would expect.

Conversations with Nature at Rye Art gallery

I hope to see you there!

Vancouver in the fall - an autumn leaf fest

autumn leaves © Caroline Fraser

I am visiting family in Vancouver at one of my favourite times of year; autumn ( or fall if you live over here).

The colours of the acres and poplars dotted between the tall pines fill me with wonder.

A richness of colours that I don't find back home.

In between rain showers I have crept out with my camera to collect leaves and wander the forest paths. Water dripping from green mosses; the sound of creeks running down the hillside towards the ocean.

I have been playing with fire trucks and reading toddlers' stories in a cosy home at the foot of the mountain. But outdoors is where I really wish to be.

autumn colours © Caroline Fraser

waiting for fall

autumn gold © Caroline Fraser

I started with some long exposures in the dark of the forest, but found myself drawn increasingly to individual leaves.

So many leaves. Not a single one the same.

This is the preoccupation that has been with me this week.

 I tried capturing them first against stones and wood in the landscape, but soon realised that I was looking for a more pure isolation of each leaf.

a single leaf

A portrait, set against a backdrop of some clean creamy paper felt more delicate.

Turn it over and a different beauty emerges.

 More subtle and sparse.

Each different from its neighbour.

Suddenly I am no longer interested in blurry images. I am drawn to the detail.

I keep collecting leaves of different shapes and sizes.

a leaf with no name

And will be carrying some home to work on if they survive the journey.

Finally I found a wonderful jumble of leaves amongst some hostas in Stanley Park.

They form a different scene; resembling a still life with rich dark hues.

Add caption

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

They remind me of currants and berries.

Organised chaos.

It will soon be all over, as we head towards winter.

All of these images different from the ones I made last year in the same places.

And that is what I love about photography; there is always a new way to find things, as our thoughts about what we see change and develop.

Here are some leaves waiting to fall.....

Vancouver in the fall

acer, English Bay, Vancouver

I am just returned from a trip to vancouver.

Visiting my family who choose to live somewhere that offers so mny opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.

I spent the week doing very ordinary things, which gave more pleasure than you can imagine. Family beats everything in my book.

It happened to be fall..... and now I feel that this is a much more appropriate name than autumn.

For fall it was.

acer leaves, Stanley park

leaves on Beaver lake

autumn colours at Beaver lake

fallen leaves, Stanley park

The advantage of visiting in autumn is that dawn is long after a jetlaggged person wakes up. Cool pinks and blues on offer.

Dawn, Vancouver

dawn, Vancouver sea wall

Gingko trees had almost finished shedding their leaves.

gingko fall

But it was the variations in shapes and colours that really interested me.

autumn leaves, Stanley park

As the week progressed, the weather turned colder, and snow arrived on the mountains.

A tiny bit landed in the city, and highlighted this spider's web.

Beaver Lake on a cold, grey day

lillies, Beaver lake

autumn colours, Beaver lake

I spent happy hour around Beaver lake in the cold, playing with multiple exposure and then some regular images of the bare and dead trees.

Stark contrast to the colours down below , photographed agaisnt a leaden grey sky.

treetops, Beaver lake

treetops

I made my way back through the forest and out into the city.

last leaves

autumn leaves, Stanley park

I am home now, and back to reality. OH ( my other half) has had a tooth out, so I am feeding him with vegetarian meals on the pretext that it is 'soft' food.

I'll probably get away with it for no more than a couple of days.....

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For more images from Beaver Lake see here