Rich Vernon Documents His First Year in Lions Bay
Rich Vernon moved his family to their home on Panorama Place last year, and he has spent his first year documenting the views in and around the village. Vernon tells The Watershed that his wife visited Lions Bay and Brunswick Beach when growing up in Vancouver, and when the chance came to move here, they jumped at it. "It's the perfect mix of a quieter environment with outstanding views, but the amenities of the city close at hand," he says.
He says the biggest surprise is that he hasn't yet been bored with all the driving along the Sea to Sky. He also notes how much the feel of the place changes throughout the year and how our bad weather can often be even more beautiful than the good. "On top of this I'm really impressed at just how much people in the village help each other out," he adds.
Vernon says he covered the cost of his university studies by working as a portrait and fashion photographer, but as a youthful introvert, his first love has always been landscapes. But in working out what it took to get the best out of photographing people, he got past his shyness, and the art form became his passion. "When I later reverted to a more traditional career I was able to afford to fund my landscape photography trips and returned mostly to that form."
Vernon's photography has taken him all over the world, from Iceland to New Zealand and beyond. He's shot pictures in the French and Swiss Alps and in the Highlands of Scotland. During a roadtrip from Seattle to Las Vegas his subjects included a wide variety of trees (including beautiful bristlecone pines) along the route. He's photographed sea turtles in Malaysia, pagodas in Japan and even had a close encounter with a wild Bengal tiger in Nepal.
As for Lions Bay, Vernon says that this is the first time he's lived somewhere with a sea view that offers such a variety of different vistas. In addition, he says the mountains present their own moods. "The light, direction, clouds, sunrises and sunsets add texture and drama."
He's equally knocked out by seeing pods of orcas from the window of his home, as well as jumping humpbacks. "I also love the big trees on the trails when out hiking, plus the eagle nests, hummingbirds, and the gorgeous Arbutus," which he notes are nearly impossible to propagate elsewhere.
Vernon says that he feels "a profound delight and contentment at being able to live in this amazing village with my family." And we at The Watershed want to thank him, in turn, for sharing these beautiful images of life in the village with us.
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