During the 2015 fall season, Vancouver’s first fully immersive haunted house, Fearmongers, took us through the horrors and monsters of Greek Mythology. Located in Richmond, with 12,000 square feet of obstacle-course-meets-haunted-house, this haunt did not dissappoint.

The creators, Josh and Alice, have been avid haunt enthusiasts for years. They have been going from haunted house to haunted house all over the world indulging their love of everything scary. After being to so many, they finally got together and decided to make one of their own, and put their expertise to the test. Alice has worked in the monster effects industry for years and Josh is a haunt connoisseur, so they felt they had the right ingredients for an awesome haunt.

The ancient gods were finished with mankind so guests must travel through fourteen mythology themed rooms with traps, monsters, obstacles, and more than an hour of haunting in order to evade their wrath. This interactive haunt tested every limit by uncovering one's most visceral fears. But don’t worry, if things end up too intense for your liking, there is a safe word that will end your experience and get you escorted out to the real world. There was even a VIP lounge sponsored by Granville Island Brewing to enjoy refreshments afterwards.

I was asked to come in and take promotional photos while they were open and I even got to test it out myself. It was very well-designed with both physical and cerebral challenges and solid scares. I wasn't able to post photos earlier as we had to keep it all a secret for the guests but now that the haunt is over, and Fearmongers have given me the green light, I can now share the promo photos I took.

For the 2016 season, the theme will be based off of classic story books, for example: Hansel & Gretal. They had a preview room from the witch's gingerbread house available with the VIP tickets. 

Be sure to check them out next season!

The cast and crew of ABC's hit show, Once Upon A Time, is back in town filming their 100th episode!

​SPOILER ALERT!
Well, not really since it was out in public space and the peeps there said it was all good. I could not resist taking some pics of the chaos and new shops in Steveston/Storybrooke. 

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One of my favorite things to take photos of is the night's skydom. Stars like this are always hard to see in the lower mainland due to the light pollution. One will have to trek out in the darker areas to be able to get a view like this. A fast lens helps too. Here I used a 50mm lens to get these shots from Hope, BC. 

(The moon was added from another shot in post-production - just to give it that little something extra)

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Tonight I had the privilege of viewing the Supermoon Eclipse, and it won't happen again until 2033. Unfortunately, the haze (let's blame pollution) prevented me from taking decent pictures during the orange hue and peak, but when the skies cleared, I was able to get the end of the eclipse and the full moon itself at 300mm. Later I woke up early to check out the leftovers at 6:30am. Although times like these make me wish I had a faster and longer lens so I can get more detail. Even though I didn't get all the shots I was hoping for, I still enjoyed watching this rare celestial event.

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"Hey you! You've been around for a while..."

Sloan is a great Canadian rock/power pop band from the east and have been around since the early 90's. The band is known for their sharing of songwriting from each member of the group and their unaltered line-up throughout their career. It was a treat to see them perform at the PNE in Vancouver last week and they still sound just as good live as they do in the studio.

I included some video below, although I apologize for the shakes. I'm not a videographer. Plus, they made us stand up (and rightly so). :)

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The moon looked just as amazing tonight!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to shoot the full "blue moon" last night, but when I went outside about an hour ago, it looked like this and I immediately grabbed my camera and tripod. We had an amazing orange sunset earlier this evening and at midnight the moon was orange. Normally, I only see this shade during moonrise and moonset, but there was some serious refraction tonight.

No colour edits were made - what you see is what it looked like in the sky.

Richmond, BC
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Canon 70D
f/5.6 - 1/40s
ISO 400 75-300@300mm

While staying at the Iberostar Grand Hotel, located on Playa Paraiso (Quintana Roo/Cancun) in the heart of the Riviera Maya, we were treated to nightly live entertainment at their theatre. The amazing talent and energy that the performers had was incredible and they do it every evening. One of the nights we were there, we were given VIP seating up front so I was able to get some good views and angles for the camera. Each night they have a different theme (Rock, Beatles, Big Band, 80's, Las Vegas, etc.), and I promise you, they don't disappoint. They love what they do, and it shows in their performances. 

Personally, I love the challenge of taking photos in a low-lit theatre with no flash photography.  This is where a 50mm prime lens or something else with a wider apeture (f/1.4-1.8) can assist with that by bringing in more light into the lens. The stage lights will play with you and be annoying for some moments, but when timed right, they will work in your favor. Setting the camera at a higher ISO for your shutter speed helps as well. I also used a 75-300mm zoom lens (f/4-5.6) for some shots, but you can see the difference in quality a wider apeture can give.

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Got up early this morning to catch a rare celestial event; the shortest "Blood Moon" total lunar eclipse this century. The moon reached totality for only a couple minutes, and reappeared with a coppery glow. It was quite beautiful to watch.

Okay, back to bed.