Park and Tilford Gardens
Shining Brightly in the Night!

Park and Tilford Gardens isn't a large botanical garden by any means but it is hugely successful! I found out about this botanical garden from two of my North Vancouver friends this past summer. My first visit was in September with one of those friends... her husband volunteers there.

But the winter Festival of Lights showed me another side to this display garden. Take a few minutes for the video and a quick tour around.

Start the video, then take your mouse off the screen to make the control bar disappear! It comes back each time you put your mouse on the video. Please let the video load for about 30 seconds.

If you want more of Park and Tilford Gardens, you can go right here. I have another page of information and photos from my September visit.

Tour Park and Tilford Gardens Festival of Lights

To enter the garden, you walk through this white wooden arch. There are a few different paths to take, but keep going straight ahead. If you look to your left as you're walking along, that's the first theme garden - the Rock Pool.

You'll find a few deer all lit up in white lights, an elf casting his fishing pole - keep watching and you'll see him catch a fish!

The walkways are lit with strings of blue pearl lights...

And if you follow the pathway, jolly old Saint Nick is perched on an incline behind and to the right of the fountain. Rudolph's looking gung-ho tonight, ready to lead the other three reindeer on Christmas eve - check out his red nose!

The strings of blue lights along the paths lead your eyes across the picture. The same way they guide you on your walk through the garden. Couldn't possibly get a more perfect S-curve... remember the compositional rules?

And Santa isn't smack in the middle of the frame, he and his reindeer are above the center line.

Okay, say bye-bye to Santa and head out through the circular colonade. Several more deer along the path, hanging baskets and views across to the rose and perennial gardens. Keep going and when you see the snowman and a sign saying North Pole, you're at the Oriental Garden!

The Moon Gate looks inviting all lit up -- the pond on the other side reflects the white and blue lights from the walkways and the Japanese Maples. The branches eery-looking with the shadows and lights playing together.

This is a super garden to spend some time photographing. I just love the Harry Potter feel of this space! Creepy shadows and shapes!

Slip out the back gate of the Oriental Garden. There's a pair of pretty white swans settled in the Native Garden - just before the wooden footbridge. Made of lights, of course!

Follow the path to the right and there's the Park and Tilford Gardens office building. Stand in front and look all the way across the Rose Garden. The photo on the video above is the view you'd be looking at... the gazebo in the distance.

Walk to the end, past the gazebo and there's Santa in the herb garden, waving to everyone. On your right, this group of carolers. I didn't center them in the photo... Rule of Thirds. There's a curve on the left side of the photo and it leads your eyes to a small building.

You're standing beside the greenhouse now. Unless you want to make another round, you'll be right back at the main gate. The Park and Tilford Gardens is so well planned that it feels much larger than it's 3 acres. All the theme gardens flow into each other so smoothly.

I took my camera on my first trip around and got photos. Then I did the route again to catch it all on video. You'll get a better idea of Park and Tilford Gardens Festival of Lights if you give both the video and photos a viewing.

Playing with Light

Here's a bit of fun. My friend was playing around and moving her camera in circles to paint some light trails. We got into experimenting and changing our exposures to come up with something pretty.

Here, I set my zoom lens to 70 mm and my exposure is 6.0s at f/8.0. My camera is set to manual mode... then I press the shutter and move the camera in a circular motion until the shutter closes. Six seconds is enough time to record these lights and the light trails are well exposed.

By the way, you can also press the shutter and then quickly zoom your lens to get another weird effect. That takes a bit of practice but it's fun.

You can't get a true idea of the photo since your screen is just too small. So you won't be able to really study the results until you download your photos to your computer and see them on the big screen!

Ever seen the very long exposure photos of stars moving across the sky at night? In that case, the camera stays still and the stars move. After multiple exposures or leaving the shutter open for a very long time, you get to see the trails the stars and planets left on your image as they moved across the sky.

I like the colors!

Experiment a bit. My ISO is 400 for all shots. On manual setting - dial in your exposure. Choose an aperture of (f/16.0) - take several shots and change your shutter speed each time. For example 5 shots (f/16 at 2", f/16 at 4", f/16 at 5", f/16 at 6", f/16 at 8"). Then set your aperture to f/4.0 and take 5 shots - use the same shutter speeds as before. Still having fun? Try f/8.0 and the same five shutter speeds.

That's what's great about a digital camera... take as many shots as you want and it doesn't cost you $$$ like film would. Another plus is that digital is a super teaching aide - you get to see the results immediately. No waiting a day or two for the film to come back. We learn best when the feedback is immediate!

Look at all your shots carefully on your computer. What happens when you change -

• the size of the aperture (f/16.0), (f/8.0), (f/5.6)
• the shutter speed (2", 4", 5", 6", 8")

What does your aperture control? Do you know what your shutter speed controls? Can you tell from your pictures?

If you want more of Park and Tilford Gardens during the late summer you can go right here. I have another page of information and photos from my September visit.

The Park and Tilford Gardens put on an excellent Festival of Lights. Glad I made it there. And the Vancouver weather was fairly obliging that evening.

At least the rain held off - but it was damp and chilly. Then again, I'm a Manitoba gal and nippy means -30 degrees! Gratefully, there's a Starbucks across from the front gate... a steamy chai latte before hitting the road.

You might be interested in my visit to Allan Gardens Christmas Display. This conservatory is located close to downtown Toronto.... and that's where I was off to the very next day!

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