Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Double Your Money

Dad did a few trick shots in his day, these being two examples. I don't know exactly how he did this, I assume a double exposure. Dad had a little spot in the house where he could rig up a small shooting area with black cloth and a couple of lights, then he'd turn the bathroom into a darkroom. The subject of these photos is my maternal grandmother, my mother's mother. My mom's family lived in England, and this was taken in 1962 during Granny's only trip to Canada. The odd thing is that these are the only pictures I've found of her visit. 1962 Granny Willcox 1 1962 Granny Willcox 2

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Autumn in Cottage Country

Our family owned a cottage at Lake Wentworth, Quebec, for a few years in the 1960s. At the end of summer, the trees would change from green to a luscious panorama of reds and yellows. That's the family car; a 1962 Valiant. And yes, it has the latest in modern automotive technology; a push-button automatic transmission. That's a feature that really caught on, eh? 1968 Lake Wentworth (5)

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Fishbowl

Traditionally, the Victoria transit system makes changes to its service on Labour Day, and 1974 was no exception as the new 26 Crosstown route was introduced, and service to the Gordon Head area was revamped. While much adjusted since then, the basic routing on the Crosstown and Gordon Head service remains to this day. This shot was taken on Shelbourne Street at McKenzie Avenue in front of the University Heights Mall. The greenhouses you can see on the other side of the street through the buses windows are long gone now, replaced by condos. Serving the then-new 28 Majestic route in Gordon Head was venerable bus #794, a 1973 GM "New Look" diesel bus (also known as a GM Fishbowl). It only served Victoria streets 2 years before being transferred to the Vancouver fleet where it served out its days.

1974 28 Majestic