Photo #352

Mexican Navy base...

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Photo # 310

This is my little model of the USS Missouri. No, I didn't build it. It's actually just a little die cast souvenir I bought when I visited Pearl Harbor in 2008. Now that I have a proper place to display the model, I finally removed it from it's packaging...

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Photo #295

I was stuck without a photo idea for today, and then I remembered these photos I took two days ago: The Homecoming statue in Victoria's Inner Harbour...

This was commissioned for the Canadian Navy's Centennial Celebration last year. Along the bottom are the names and crests of all of the current ships in the Pacific Fleet, based just outside of Victoria in Esquimalt.

I think the thing I like most about this statue is that the returning sailor has a teddy bear in his bag for his daughter. That's a nice touch by the artist...

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Photo #292

I started reading my first book of 2011 last night and continued reading for a little while this morning. When I set the book down to get a snack, a sunbeam just happened to be dancing across my coffee table and I ended up with this cool photo...

No editing here. I just turned the flash off before I took the picture. As for the book itself, I really like it so far. I've always been a bit of a history buff, and of course a ship buff, so this book quenches my thirst for knowledge on both subjects! I actually bought the book with a bunch of others about two years ago and for some reason I read all the others but forgot about this one. I just ended up getting more books and reading them. Has that ever happened to you?

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Photo #244

The flagship of Canada's Pacific Fleet, HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283) performing a rescue drill. She was actually pretty far out off the shore this morning, and the zoom on my camera wasn't getting a good enough look, so I thought to try pointing the lens through the eyepiece of my binoculars and this is what I got...

I like this shot because it's similar to what you'd see looking through the periscope of a submarine. "Destroyer on the horizon!"
Brightness and contrast were adjusted before posting.

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Photo #222

In honour of Remembrance Day this Thursday (or Veteran's Day for my American friends), all of my photos this week will have a military theme. Despite one's views on war itself, I think it's important to remember those who fought and or gave their lives for the freedoms we have today.

I'm currently reading about the Naval battles that took place during the Second World War. While the text is detailed and well written, it's the photos of burning ships and terrified, wounded young sailors that really drive home the point that war is no game.

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Photo #75

JDS Atago, a Japanese Escort Ship, heads out of Esquimalt. She's the last of the visiting Navy ships to leave following this past weekend's International Fleet Review.

The photo was pretty grainy because of my camera's digital zoom, so I've done my best to enhance it using the software that came with the camera.

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Photo # 70

In honour of the International Fleet Review and the Canadian Navy Centennial, I'm posting another photo of one of our ships. This is a Halifax Class Frigate heading out of her home port of Esquimalt. Sorry if the image is a little grainy, I used the camera's digital zoom.

I took this photo a few weeks ago and was waiting for this week to post it. I hope I can get down to the waterfront to see some of the visiting ships from other Navies including New Zealand, Japan, Australia and the USA. At the time I'm writing this, we have an American Aircraft Carrier anchored just off of our cruise ship pier! I may have photographed lots of ships in my lifetime, but I've never taken a photo of a carrier. Here's hoping I can find time in my busy schedule...

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Photo #34

In honor of Canada's Navy Day Centennial today, here is a photo I took in 2009 of a couple of our Pacific Fleet's ships in their home port of CFB Esquimalt just outside of Victoria, BC.

This view is from Fort Rodd Hill National Park. The Hazmat building I worked in can't be seen from this angle.

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Photo #14

A coworker and I were discussing old battleships today, and one in particular was the U.S.S. Missouri...

Photo taken by me on Nov. 25, 2008. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA.

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