We saw this place in Torbay last year and headed back twice this year before the payoff.

I think this is the winner.

We checked out the Jiffy Cab stand a few times – not up to their usual standards. The crazy squiggles on Carrick Drive were never really a contender – just wacky looking. We also popped out to Kelligrews a few times to find the Gingerbread House, and were led on a wild goose chase with a few others, so I stopped taking pictures if a house wasn’t at least as good as Canada Drive.

Anyway, these guys are directly across from Tapper’s Gas Bar in Torbay, right at the top of the hill. The neighbour actually gets right into it too – a very elaborate job in it’s own right, had they not been next to this place. Check them out – they don’t have as many inflatables as Canada Drive, but if you listen carefully, you may hear the Christmas music that they’re playing.

Tags: Christmas lights, night shots

I saw this house on Canada Drive in Cowan Heights yesterday. Now this is more like it…

Tags: Christmas lights, global warming, night shots

So I’ve been wanting to photograph some Christmas lights. I’m looking for over-the-top stuff – something that, when you see it, you’re taken by surprise – surprised that someone would expend that much time, that much money, and frankly, that much electricity.

That’s easy we thought – we’ll just pop over to the Jiffy Cab stand on the corner of Pennywell Road and Cashin Avenue. Anyone who lives in the area knows that the cabbies go all out – they don’t just put up a few lights, they plaster the whole bloody building, including the roof.

Unfortunately, they’re not up and running yet. So we decided to needlessly burn up some resources of our own – we headed to Tim’s and went for a drive. The crazy string light people on Carrick Drive are not setup yet. The wildlife and helicopter house in Torbay has just started working on it. It looks like the Kinsington Drive mansion is not even gonna try for over the top this time – just a few lights in the windows. And Inside Lights – pfft – that’s not Christmas spirit. If you don’t deface your siding with staples and nails, it doesn’t qualify.

Are people getting wise to the need to conserve energy? Are they realizing that resources are precious and should be consumed with care?

I hope not – I need pictures damn it! These guys had better get their acts together and get the frigging lights up this weekend!

Anyway, that’s one from Monkstown Road. It’s a modest job, but a lot of lights for such a tiny house.

Tags: Christmas lights, global warming, night shots

Nothing more than blog fodder of course.

Turns out the power outage was due to a lightning strike during the storm – the entire Avalon Peninsula was without power for a few hours. I actually saw some flashes of light outside the window earlier that night… so I knew it was coming. No one believed me.

As you can see, we had all the candles out and they were heating the room nicely. In fact, and surprisingly, they were doing a better job than the electric baseboard heaters normally do. It was even a little disappointing when the power came back on at around 10:30pm.

Here’s a shot from around Terra Nova National Park on the Trans Canada Highway during the storm. Some reports had estimated the snow fall in that area to about 40 centimeters. That shot is from my aunt – the drive to St. John’s from Lumsden took 12 hours – normally it takes just five!

Tags: December 2 2007, Newfoundland, night shots, power outage, snow storm

A few night shots that I got over the last few weeks.

St. John’s Harbour looks very different from this right now. I’m posting this by candlelight, timestamped for later this morning. The power is out in much of St. John’s and Mount Pearl as I type due to a winter storm (speculating). My laptop is running off the battery and our network gear is running off equipment that I’d normally use for the studio lights.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop this blogging streak that I’m on!

The candles are so purdy – a nice shot actually. I gotta go – I see blog fodder for tomorrow.

Tags: Cape Spear, Moonlight, night shots, night time, St. John's Harbour