Photography | Nadia Steede Mudge

An October day

I recently had a birthday, on a beautiful October day, with clear skies and sunshine

I’m a lucky girl, to have a wonderful husband who took the day off to spend with me, and we made the most of it!

We started with coffee and a walk in Steveston, then headed north to the ferry terminal to catch a ride across to Bowen Island.

Bowen is one of my favourite places, especially in the fall. The air is crisp, the main street is quaint, and there are so many places to walk outside and enjoy the views.

We took along a little picnic lunch with cheese, grape tomatoes, and hummus, and found some amazing baguettes in the general store up the hill. After refreshment, we strolled in the sun and paused to watch the cove from a park bench on the boardwalk.

The afternoon passed really quickly, and before long, the ferry was pulling into the terminal. We decided to get in line and catch this one home, instead of waiting another hour for the next boat, which would land us in the midst of rush hour traffic.

We weren’t ready to home, though, so we detoured to Granville Island. The place was crowded! Packs of private school kids roamed the allies, still dressed in their uniforms, and cars circled the island looking for the best parking spots.
Inside the market, people were buying ingredients for dinner, and it was tough to maneuver around everyone.

Heading back to the car was a slower walk than when we’d left it, as I was tuckered right out. We’d planned to go out for dinner, but now just going home to some comfy clothes and stripping off my shoes and socks seemed like a better idea.
Lucky for me, my husband is a chef, so he whipped up a fabulous dinner and we watched a funny movie.

By 10pm, we were both starting to doze off in front of the tv; a sure sign of a full and awesome day!

It was the perfect way to celebrate another year in the books, and start the new year off in a great way.

Click on the photo below for more pics.

Brazilian artists have transformed the cement silos at Granville Island’s Ocean Concrete.

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October 15, 2015

BC Okanagan 2015

It’s been a while since I had anything to post… it’s been a while since I even got out with my camera!

Life has been a bit crazy lately, and it hasn’t left a lot of time for shooting, but now that I’ve picked it up again, i’m itching to find more to photograph.

I finally got an opportunity this October when we headed back out to the BC Okanagan for our annual wine tasting trip.
This year was a little different for me… at 6.5 months pregnant, I wasn’t able to sample the wine, but my husband sipped for the both of us and brought home some bottles that I’ll look forward to trying after the baby arrives.

I also wasn’t planning on starting the trip off with the autumn cold that everyone’s passing around, but we can’t control these things… Everyone was very patient with me as I coughed and blew my nose through the Naramata Bench and down into Oliver.

But, i did bring my camera, and while I didn’t get as creative as I had hoped (foggy head), it was nice to re-aquaint myself with my Nikon.

Click on the photo below to see more pics.

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April 16, 2015

I need your help choosing a photo…

I need your help choosing a photo to be considered for an exhibition.

A good friend told me about a call for artists and encouraged me to “Go for it!”
So here I am, agonizing over which photo to submit, framed, for consideration.

I can’t decide! I need your help, pretty please 🙂

If you could take a look at what I’ve narrowed it down to, and then vote in the poll below them, I would really really appreciate it! You can click on the images to enlarge them.

Thank you so much!

Nadia

Surfing Tofino

Low Tide

Love

Sockeye Opening

Freighter in the Fog

Fogged in

Cox Bay Sunset

Under Way

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March 13, 2015

Tofino 2015

Ahhhh… Tofino. I love that little surfing town. It was a favourite escape for us years ago, and after a long time away, we went back again last year for our 15th wedding anniversary. This past week, we went again for our 16th.

Within a day, I feel the knots in my shoulders unwind, and the stress leak out through my bare toes as we walk the beach.

It’s a funny thing… I don’t normally like beaches; crowded, soft sand that is hard to walk in, the sent of sunscreen and music blasting with competing noise… But Tofino beaches in March are a different thing. They are mostly hard-packed sand, beat at and compressed by centuries of crashing waves. There are no beach blankets or sunbathers, just die-hard surfers dressed head to toe in neoprene, trying to catch the best waves. I love the sound of roaring ocean, and the gifts of shells and round stones each tide tosses up on the beach.

I also have no desire to surf, but found myself captivated by the surfers we watched. We watched for hours, as dozens of surfers bobbed in the waves or slid down the crests. I think you’ll see some of this fascination in my pictures.

So, another Tofino getaway is behind us, and we have fond memories to keep us going until we return, hopefully, next year.

Of course, we also have a few photos to keep those memories fresh 🙂

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October 16, 2014

October!

October is usually a busy month for us, but somehow we forget that in the year between Octobers, and when it comes around again we’re surprised by all the activities we have going on!

This year we were particularly lucky to have fantastic weather, as summer had started for us a bit late and extended itself into autumn.

I was nervous about when the impending rain would finally come, as we had our trip to BC’s Okanagan coming up, where we planned to spend a few days wine touring. Dashing between wineries would be much more enjoyable in the sun, than in the rain, don’t you think?
As it turned out, we had nothing to worry about! There were a few rain sprinkles, but then the cloud would pass and out came the sun again.

Of course, I brought my camera with me — wine tasting is only half the fun — and took a few pics. Click on the photo here to see more.

Perseus Winery

We raced home on the Sunday, prepped and cleaned, then cooked all day Monday and hosted our family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Good thing I took a few days off to recover!
The next day we took a field trip out to Fort Langley, which I hadn’t been to since I was a kid. If you haven’t been, you should really check it out. They have interpreters dressed in period clothing who tell you a little about the place, and a lot about our Province’s history. You can almost imagine what it might have been like back in the early 1800’s.

Fort Langley through the glass

And then we finally ended the day in our favourite little town, Steveston. The businesses all have scarecrows out front, with their own themed spins on the classic, and it was an awesome evening to wander a little and check them all out.

Scarecrow outside of Pieces shop

We’re halfway through the month…. what else will it bring?

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May 18, 2014

Wisteria

My parents have a magnificent Wisteria vine growing around their carport and into the backyard. I’ve loved it since I was a little girl, and always looked forward to that time in late spring when the purple buds would finally form and drape from their vines, releasing their scent.

I’ve often wished that we had planted one when we moved to our townhouse, but now we’ll need to be here another 20 years before we can get the kind of show my parents have every year… and besides, where would we put it that the strata would approve of? Vines tend to take on a life of their own; They can be guided, but the strong, woody vine will ultimately decide where it wants to be. Kind of like people, I guess 😉

Click on the pic to see more!

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March 16, 2014

Tofino

My husband and I celebrated 15 years of marriage at the beginning of this March. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs, and have come out stronger than the way we went in.

To celebrate, we took a trip to Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC. Tofino was a spot we visited before we were dating, even, and still just friends… and then we visited again while we were dating, and yet again for our first anniversary. Many years have passed since then, and this was our first trip back. It was AMAZING!

We hiked, we walked, we drank wine, Phill surfed, we read on the deck over the breaking waves….. and despite the cold cold ocean, I shed the shoes and walked barefoot on the beach and in the water. We passed someone on the beach who was buttoned up with hiking boots, long pants, winter coat, scarf, and toque. “How’s the temperature?” he asked….. “Not warm, I’ll tell you that much!” I answered back. But it was awesome.

I took photo after photo… and you’ll have to forgive some of the repetition in the photos I’m about to share with you. I couldn’t stop taking shots of the two sunsets we had… and there are others that are similar, but I just couldn’t decide amongst them. So I’m putting them all up!

Phill, thank you for an amazing vacation. I love you more than the day we married, and I’m a lucky, lucky girl to be with you ♥

Click on the underlined link here for photos: Tofino pics

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November 19, 2013

Steveston in November

Well, Sunday unexpectedly turned out to be the better of the two days in the weekend, so I headed down to Steveston, grabbing my scarf on the way out the door — you know, just in case….

Turns out, I should have grabbed a toque (ski cap (?), for you Americans), gloves, a winter coat, and maybe a second scarf!

There was a little sun trying to make its way through the cloud, and certainly it wasn’t raining… but boy was it cold!

I kept my camera around my neck, with one hand on it to keep it from swinging too much, and within minutes, my fingers started going numb with the cold. What was I doing?? But I fought the urge to put the camera back in my bag, in case the moment happened that I could capture an image that might never occur again.

Maybe I didn’t capture any “never-again” moments, but I caught a couple of pics…… which I’ve added to my Steveston album.
No matter the day, no matter the mood…. Steveston always seems to be able to return me to myself.

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August 20, 2013

August in Steveston

Well, with only one day off to spend with my husband this weekend, we stayed close to home. We decided to take a walk down to Steveston, and while I haven’t been feeling terribly inspired lately, I still carried my camera with me.

Though it was cloudy, it stayed really really warm, and I should have thought twice about my choice in footwear, as my feet slid and sweated inside my slip-on sneakers. Too much info for you? Yah, probably. haha!

But I got a few pics I like… got to spend a great day with my husband… and got to stretch our legs. Not a bad day all in all 🙂

Steveston shots are here

And I took a few shots of our One-Eyed Susans (that’s a flower, not a girl) in the back garden. I love their rag-tag style and bright yellow colour… though I’ve noticed that other people’s Susans aren’t so rag-tag…. so… not sure what’s up in our yard.

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