These were the (mostly) unlit stairs leading to a hostel I stayed at in Serbia. It seemed that at one point in the distant past, they were a mark of wealth and pride but that time had long passed. Beyond the dubious lighting, several sections of the stairs have had their coverings ripped off, leaving the bare concrete exposed.

Stranger was the entrance to this building. You had to dislodge a bit of garbage and haul on a massive steel door, brown with rust, which consistently slammed shut with an ear shattering explosion of sound no matter how carefully you tried to close it.

The hostel itself was curiously nice, considering the dilapidated nature of the building surrounding it. A comfortable common room, complete with internet-enabled computers, overlooked a beautiful 4 storey view of downtown Belgrade. The hostel attendant was also particularly friendly and offered us all small glasses of homemade Rakija, the local plum brandy, upon my party’s arrival.

This weekend I spent skiing at Mt. Washington for a friend’s birthday. The conditions were excellent; champagne powder well over knee height was found all over the mountain. It made me miss living in a ski town, while also reminding me of a competition the UVic ski club put on in the middle of summer back in 2009. I looked around in my archives, and here’s a shot or two I enjoyed.

Monkeys. They are hilarious animals. I got to hang out with this little dude and his family for a while while staying in the Amazon. I highly recommend befriending these adorable creatures. They’re full of personality.

According to the metadata, I took this photo at 4:47 AM in Zurich, Switzerland. My memory coincides with this data; I had not yet slept that night and was extremely tired and cold. However, PHOTOS BEACONED so off I went.

I’ll never get tired of black and white film. I know it makes me sound pretentious but I don’t even care. It is the best.

This one time I got to paddle around a big ‘ol lake in the middle of an Amazonian national park. There were all sorts of creatures residing in, on, above and around this lake. This group of birds of an unknown species were doing just that, and having a time of it by the looks of things.

This is directly outside my bedroom window.

I feel that I’ve been quite remiss in my posting of landscapes, so here’s the beginning of the hike to Gorman Lake. Situated near my town of Golden BC, this was a favourite hiking spot  throughout my childhood. It had been years since I last gazed upon it’s craggy features but it hadn’t changed a bit.

Beards man. They’re the way to keep warm.

Ohhhh dang. I never in all my years thought I was going to be able to see one of these little fellas in person, but lo and behold! I live an awesome life.