January Photo Walk!

On January 11th we had our first Beau Photo walk of 2025! I had lots of fun, despite the rain, which of course started as soon as we set out and then ended as we dispersed *insert eye roll emoji here* .

We met up for the walk at Coffee Central Roasting on Clark Drive, I usually have coffee there but tried the Hojicha Latte this time, it’s quickly becoming one of my favourite things to order at cafes ( I’m not really much of a matcha drink person…) and I am delighted to see Hojicha in more and more cafes!

https://www.instagram.com/coffeecentralroasting/

Both film and digital were welcome on the photowalk, I was shooting my Leica CL 40mm f2, it had betrayed my trust in the autumn and I’m still working out my trust issues with it, I’ve been dragging it around all winter just waiting for its advance to slip again. I started out my day shooting a roll of Ilford HP5 400 that I was pushing to 800, after that I popped in a roll of Ilford FP4 125.

We proceeded to wander north up Clark Drive until we got to the alley with the creepy bear, and wound our way to Raymur Ave, finding ourselves along the train tracks. Conveniently there was a train resting there, just waiting for us. After shooting the train we wandered south on Raymur until we hopped the pedestrian walkway east over to Glen Drive. We followed Glen Drive down to Parker Street Studios; its exterior is always adorned with the most wonderful graffiti. We then ended up walking south on Vernon Drive. I decided we should head toward Clark Drive Plaza, one of my favourite spots, though I don’t get there often enough (its pretty far out for me to casually walk to). The Plaza rests alongside the Skytrain track at the start of the industrial area, next to an empty Kal Tire building, a historical monument left behind. I once read somewhere that it was built in the mid 80s for Expo. I barely remember Expo but what I do remember of it I hold dear. Seeing the ruins of all these 1980’s plazas, small parks, and sculptures littered around Vancouver, left over from a time when the city still had the hope it might one day become a bustling metropolis, warms my heart. Of course we all know a bustling metropolis is not what happened, however one can dream.

Our next Photowalk is planned for March 22nd, so keep your eyes peeled for more info!