November 30, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
This week’s video I am titling ‘Richmond in Motion.’ This is an idea I’ve had for a while; the concept behind it capturing the bustle and activity (aka motion) of Richmond through time-lapse photography.
I’ve done a little tiny bit of time-lapse photography in the past, namely my star gazing video earlier this year, however this was my first project dedicated solely to it. I think time-lapse photography is really underrated—the amount of time it takes to get those shots can be staggering. Suffice to say, this project’s given me a newfound respect for it. Those tiny little five-second shots you see certainly have a price! In my case, each shot you see is anywhere from 10 minutes on the low end, to 35 minutes on the high end, per clip!
I spent about four separate days out shooting these time-lapses, the first batch of which were ruined due to poor weather. It also didn’t help that daylight in the last few weeks has been diminishing at an alarming rate. The sunsets this week have been happening at 4:00PM! With my current schedule, I generally work late into the night and sleep in during mornings, so as you can imagine it gives me a limited window! “Wake up early Chris!” Shhhh!
That being said, I’m very happy with the result. Please enjoy Richmond In Motion!
November 24, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Bird Watching
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What is that noise!? Chances are if you live in Richmond or have been visiting Richmond in the last few weeks you’ve heard the insane amount of squawking going on. Yes, it is none other than the fabled snow geese horde that has taken over the city. (Yes, I call them ‘the horde!’)
Each fall, tens of thousands of snow geese touch down in the Fraser Delta, a huge portion of them landing specifically in Richmond. They breed way up in the Northern tundra’s of Canada and Alaska and migrate South every winter to the warmer climates of the lower mainland. They travel almost 5,000km on their journey to get here and it is quite a sight to see!
For me personally, I welcome the sight of them. I think it’s amazing to walk into a field covered in beautiful white snow geese. It represents the changing of the seasons and is a nature photographers dream! It’s an incredible sight to look up to the sky and see hundreds upon hundreds of white birds flying in formation over the city. I love it!
For others, namely the Vancouver International Airport, the snow geese are a major concern. With the massive amounts of geese flying in they have to be very careful to avoid bird strikes with their jets. To combat this, the airport uses lasers, lights, pyrotechnics, and trained dogs to chase and scare them out of the away from the runways. YVR actually employs three ‘bird officers’ whose sole job is keep the runways clear!
If you’re in Richmond and you can actually find the horde, (It’s difficult! They move around A LOT!) I highly recommend you grab a camera and check them out! Seeing 5,000 white birds dominate a school field is quite a sight! Even better news, if you’re superstitious, you have about 10,000 chances to get pooped on this winter! Think of all the good luck! ;)
November 08, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Arts, Culture & History Tours
If I asked you what Richmond’s biggest export was, could you tell me? A few weeks ago I didn’t know myself! I probably would have guessed seafood—it is in fact, cranberries!
This week on The Richmond Reel I headed out to Richmond’s vast agricultural lands to take a peek into the lives of our local cranberry farmers. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with a woman named Charl May, a local farmer from Richmond’s May family. The May family? This family has made quite a name for themselves and owns a huge amount of agricultural land in Richmond. Several brothers in the family spearhead the cranberry harvest each year. Who better to show me around than a family that’s been farming in Richmond for 100 years?
The cranberry harvest begins in October and lasts till about November each year. Assuming you already have a crop planted and growing, the first phase to the harvest is flooding the fields. Using an elaborate canal system dug around all of the fields, the farmers funnel river water into the bog and begin the process of flooding. Depending on the size of the field, it takes about one day of flooding to fill one field.
The next step is the beating phase. This is when a series of machines called ‘beaters’ come in and thrash the field, knocking the cranberries off their vines so they float to the surface. The beating phase takes about one day to two days per field depending on the size. At this point, the sea of red that the cranberries are so famous for begins to materialize. It is a beautiful sight to see.
So now we have a huge field full of floating berries. It’s at this point that the berries are ‘boomed’ and siphoned off. The fields are absolutely enormous so the farmers utilize wind direction to their advantage in cordoning off the berries… and there are A LOT of berries. Depending on the year, a single field may produce anywhere from four to ten truckloads of cranberries. Charl’s family has eight fields in Richmond, as well as a number of others in Fort Langely.
The next step is extracting the berries from the field. During my time in the bog I saw several different methods employed to do this—it seems that each family has their own way of doing it. Charl’s family used a combination of water pressure to funnel the berries up a conveyor belt into the waiting trucks. Another nearby May farm used pressure and hoses to pump the berries out of the bog. It’s a pretty cool process to see, and it’s amazing the amount of berries being extracted.
The final step is taking the now collected berries to the co-op—in this case the giant Ocean Spray factory located on Richmond’s No. 6 Road. The berries are then cleaned and processed into the various cranberry products you know and love.
That’s the entire process to the harvest! It’s a lot of work in very cold and wet conditions! That being said, every farmer I met during my several trips out to the bog was in great spirits and always gave me a smile and wave. Thanks again to Charl and the May family for allowing me to come out to their cranberry farm and film them during the harvest! The only shot I seemed to have missed was Charl tripping in the bog and going face first into the cranberries. Next year!
November 01, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Outdoor Activity Tours
Find more information about Richmond - Outdoor Activity Tours
So as you know, I just recently did ‘Richmond By Air’ with Helijet…. Since then I’ve been meaning to do a ‘Richmond by Water’, but I was having a difficult time finding someone with a boat willing to take me around. Well, I was recently hooked up with a company named ‘Steveston Eco Tours’, specifically a man by the named of Bruce Livingston. Bruce was kind enough to take me out on his six-man boat and sail around Richmond, offering a different perspective than you may be used to from the land. (or air!)
Bruce is the owner and operator of a small, new company named Eco Tours, based out of Steveston. He gets people out on the water to see Steveston, the Fraser River Estuary, the Gulf Islands, and shows them what this part of the world really has to offer. You would be amazed at the amount of history and sight seeing there is around Richmond accessible by water. I’ve lived here my whole life and was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful experience and new sights Bruce showed me.
Our entire trip was a relaxed two and a half hours. Bruce was a fantastic guide who was incredibly knowledgeable about the region and gave us insight into the history and workings of the mouth of the Fraser. We got a close and personal waterside look at the Steveston Harbour, Britannia Heritage Shipyards, Shady Island, Gulf of Georgia Cannery, down and around Garry Point, Scotch Pond, way out to the jetty to see a sea lion, Finn Slough, the BC Ferry wet dock, went overtop of the Massey Tunnel, and finally back to Paramount Pond, where we began. There was wildlife, fishing boats, freighters, tugs, pilot boats, the massive Fraser River dredgers, and just a ton to see on the water the whole time. Steveston is a very, very busy port, though you may not realize it from the land!
I really enjoyed seeing all the wildlife on the trip. My personal highlight was a 900 pound sea lion we saw on some rocks sun bathing by the Steveston jetty. We were able to get within twenty feet of him! Make sure you watch the video to get a close and personal look at him! Beyond that, we saw a couple seals, eagles, herons, snow geese, and many other local birds. Richmond really is a great setting to explore by water!
If you’re looking for a first class, friendly, personable guide, Bruce Livingston of Eco Tours is your man. We had a fabulous day on the water and I would recommend it to anyone. Thanks again Bruce for having me out!
Have fun and check out Richmond by water!
Tell him VideoChris sent you!