Vancouver photos • week in Vancouver
Last month, during the week of June 21st, I had the joy of spending my 40th birthday in Vancouver — a trip that felt long overdue and deeply needed. Hitting a milestone birthday already makes you reflective, but pairing it with travel after years of staying close to home added an extra layer of meaning. It felt symbolic somehow, like stepping into a new decade with a fresh landscape around me.
After so much limited travel, finally being able to board a plane again felt almost surreal. I didn’t realize how much I missed the feeling of stepping into a new place until I was doing it again: the hum of the airport, the shuffle of people moving with purpose, the little rituals of travel that I had almost forgotten. Even the simple act of watching the world shrink beneath the plane as we took off felt strangely emotional. There’s a quiet thrill in knowing that for the next few days, my only job was to explore, wander, and soak it all in — no deadlines, no routines, just presence.
Traveling within Canada made the logistics fairly simple, though I’ll admit: wearing a mask for the entire flight was… an experience. It was definitely not the most comfortable part of the journey. Still, the moment we descended through the clouds and the mountains came into view — those dramatic, layered silhouettes rising above the water — I knew it would all be worth it. Vancouver has a way of greeting you with a kind of calm grandeur, and I felt it immediately.
A Birthday to Remember
The trip turned out beautifully — better than I could have hoped for. My amazing husband planned a whole lineup of birthday surprises, each one more thoughtful than the last. It started with breakfast in bed, the kind of slow, cozy morning that feels like a luxury in itself. Then came multiple spa treatments — massages, pedicures, the works — the kind of pampering I rarely make time for but always appreciate when it happens.
The day ended with dinner on one of Vancouver’s best rooftop patios, complete with a bottle of champagne and a warm summer breeze. The city lights sparkled below us, the mountains framed the horizon, and for a moment, everything felt perfectly aligned. It was one of those birthdays that didn’t need anything else — just good food, good company, and a beautiful place to celebrate another year of life.
Exploring Vancouver’s Best Spots
The rest of the week was a mix of sightseeing, relaxing, and eating some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. Vancouver really knows how to do food — especially seafood — and we took full advantage of that. Every meal felt like a treat, from tiny sushi bars to bustling markets to cozy cafés tucked into side streets. I swear, I had the best tasting sushi I’ve ever experienced in this city. So fresh!
Some of the highlights from the trip included:
Grouse Mountain
We took the gondola up to Grouse Mountain, and the views were absolutely breathtaking. There’s something magical about being so close to the city yet surrounded by such dramatic nature. The air felt different up there — crisp, cool, and refreshing. I found myself taking photo after photo, trying to capture the scale of it all.
Granville Island
Granville Island was a feast for the senses. Colourful stalls, handmade goods, fresh produce, street performers, and the constant hum of creativity. It reminded me a little of my Colours of Mississauga project — except here, the colours were louder, brighter, and everywhere. I could have spent hours photographing the textures alone.
Stanley Park
We rented electric bikes and cruised around Stanley Park, which was one of my favourite parts of the trip. The seawall, the trees, the ocean views — it all felt peaceful and energizing at the same time. Vancouver has this incredible ability to blend city life with nature so seamlessly, and Stanley Park is the perfect example of that.
Gastown
We wandered through Gastown, visited the famous steam clock, and explored the cobblestone streets. It’s such a charming neighbourhood, full of character and history. I loved the mix of old and new — heritage buildings next to modern shops, vintage details alongside contemporary design.
A Day Trip to Victoria
We also took the ferry to Victoria for a day, which was such a lovely change of pace. The ferry ride itself was beautiful — calm water, soft light, and endless views of the islands. Victoria has a quieter, more European feel to it, and I instantly fell in love with its charm.
The highlight, without question, was finally visiting Butchart Gardens — a place that has been on my travel list for years. It was even more beautiful than I imagined. Every corner felt like stepping into a painting: lush, colourful, peaceful, and meticulously designed. I wandered slowly, taking in every detail, from the delicate petals to the sweeping landscapes. It was the kind of place that fills you up creatively without even trying.
How This Trip Connects to My Other Photo Projects
If you’ve been following my work, you know that personal photography projects are a huge part of my creative life. They’re where I experiment, play, and reconnect with the joy of taking photos just for myself. This week in Vancouver felt like a natural extension of that.
A thread connecting all my travel stories
This trip also made me think back to my Paris Photography collection — another city that shaped me creatively. Paris taught me how to photograph atmosphere, mood, and the poetry of everyday scenes. Vancouver, in its own way, brought me back to that mindset: noticing the softness of morning light, the rhythm of the streets, and the small, cinematic moments that make a place unforgettable.
A continuation of my colour‑focused work
My Colours of Mississauga project taught me to look for colour in unexpected places. Vancouver, with its vibrant markets, lush greens, and coastal blues, felt like a playground for that kind of seeing. I found myself noticing tiny details — a bright doorframe, a cluster of flowers, the way the light hit a building — the same way I did back home.
A reminder of my love for travel photography
My Mediterranean photobook was born from the same impulse: to capture the feeling of a place through light, colour, and quiet moments. Vancouver reminded me how much I love that kind of slow, observational travel photography — the kind that isn’t rushed or staged, but simply unfolds as you wander.
Fuel for future creative projects
Trips like this always spark new ideas. Maybe another colour‑themed series. Maybe a West Coast photo zine. Maybe a collection of Canadian landscapes. I don’t know yet — but I left Vancouver feeling inspired, and that’s always the best sign.
See the Full Vancouver & Victoria Photo Collection
I keep a separate portfolio for personal photography projects — a space where I share travel images, creative experiments, and anything that doesn’t fit into my brand photography work. You can view all of my Vancouver and Victoria photos here.
Looking Back on the Week
This birthday trip reminded me how much I love exploring new places and how deeply travel fuels my creativity. There’s something about stepping into a different environment that shifts your perspective — the colours, the textures, the landscapes, the energy. Vancouver gave me all of that and more. It felt like the kind of place that quietly invites you to slow down, breathe differently, and pay attention to the world with fresh eyes. Every corner offered something new: a different shade of blue in the water, a different softness in the light, a different rhythm in the streets.
Being somewhere unfamiliar always wakes up a part of me that sometimes goes quiet in day‑to‑day life. I notice more. I feel more. I photograph differently. I think that’s why travel has always been such a powerful creative reset for me — it pulls me out of routine and places me somewhere where everything feels worth capturing again. Vancouver reminded me of that spark, the one that first made me fall in love with photography years ago.
It was a week of beauty, rest, adventure, and inspiration. A week of reconnecting with travel, with photography, and with myself. I came home feeling lighter, more grounded, and more excited about the creative projects I want to pursue next. And as always, I’m grateful I get to capture pieces of these experiences through my lens — tiny fragments of memory that I can return to whenever I need a reminder of what fills me up.
Here’s to more adventures, more colour, and more moments worth photographing — wherever they may be.
This trip also reminded me how much I love turning my travels and personal projects into something tangible. Over the past year, I’ve started creating my own photobooks — little visual stories that capture the places, colours, and moments that inspire me. If you’d like to see the collections I’ve created so far, you can explore them here: Photography Books by Marta Raptis.
