Leslie Leighton:
CLASS OF 1976
Templeton High SchoolClass of 1976
Vancouver, BC
Leslie's Story
Photography has been a lifelong interest that has fueled my other interests in wildlife, natural history, scenic photography and underwater videography. I have a few of my photos posted on e-fauna bc.ca
The photo on my profile is of a nudibranch. Rough-mantled Doris - Onchidoris bilamellata.. I am involved with several Environmental groups including Stoney Creek Environment Committee , Hastings Park Conservancy , Wild Bird Trust and Nature Vancouver.
Underwater Photography, not scuba but usually leaning over the side of a dock or slogging through a tidepool or creek with my camera in underwater containment. I have been submitting videos to YouTube under the pseudonym 'wetvideocamera' - many of which were taken in the underwater boxes I have built. Lots of wildlife videos and a few silly or facetious or dull scientific videos may be found on my YouTube channel. I have added photos of other nudibranchs and marine invertebrates. Having aquired a USB Digital Magnifier I have been rounding up backyard spiders to photograph.
Lately I have been experimenting with a GoPro Hero2 Underwater Camera. I have built various makeshift innovations to take the camera deeper and deeper than I have ever sent a camera before. One of my contraptions is a BEM - a Benthic Excursion Module which I have been using to get the camera to the bottom off piers and wharves. I have had it down to about 18 meters thus far usually recording video of Pile Perch, Anemones and Sea Stars as well as the usual debris that accumulates down there. I do worry that one day some abandoned fishing tackle or rusty embedded bicycle on the seafloor will make the BEM a permanent resident in Davy Jones Locker.
March 2013 - Well, my worries were justified. My GoPro Hero2 is now a permanent resident in Davy Jones Locker, that is , unless some lucky diver finds it. I put the BEM down off of Amblesnide Pier in West Vancouver and it snagged on something. A few light tugs did not dislodge it. One heavier tug and the BEM came free. Unfortunately the payload was gone, the GoPro Hero2 camera was lost to the depths. I am now using a GoPro Hero3 camera. One recent submission was done on ( YouTube 'wetvideocamera' Seal with a kiss ) which involved a curious harbour seal kissing my Benthic Excursion Module.
May 2015 - Still putting GoPro cameras through their paces. Whether sinking them into the depths or swinging them about on a 15 foot long selfie pole.
September 2015 - Finding a cache of old negatives th...Expand for more
at my grand-father had saved I have been re-photographing them and reversing the "colors" to digital positives. Though there is no guide to who is who in the pictures I have been researching where and when the photos were taken. I know my grandfather worked at T. Eaton Co. prior to the first world war in the photographic department and that he embraced the hobby himself. With my father's help in identifying and roughly dating the photos we have been enjoying watching slide shows of images that are about a century old. Other photos of more recent events I have been photo-scanning such as my Kindergarten to Grade 7 class photos.
October 2016 - Looking forward to the Grad reunion on October 22 at the Waldorf. I am still experimenting with different makeshift prototypes for sending my GoPros into the depths. I am also enjoying adding submissions to various Facebook sites including the Templeton alumni sites and Nostalgic/Sentimental Vancouver where I can display a fund of archives which my parents and grandparents collected over the years of Vancouver history. I also submit to BC Underwater Photo and Video although most of my photos are rather shallow as I do not dive .
December 2021 - This year has been a year of changes for me. In January I submitted a letter to the Canpar Express management of my intention to retire from my position as Shipper/Receiver on April 16 , 2021. I worked on training my successors over the next three months. About two weeks before my retirement date one of the people I was training contracted COVID and a couple of days later it became obvious that I had it as well. My case was relatively mild as it felt like a head cold with aches in my shoulders, upper back , wrists and a light headache. COVID testing proved it was COVID. My time of self isolation overlapped my retirement date. I recovered from the head cold fairly quickly , the aches lasted a bit longer and I tired easily for about a month after. In May with my brother's help we sold the family home in Vancouver that I tenanted and I researched new lodgings on the Sunshine Coast. In August 2021 I moved to the townhome in Sechelt that I had purchased and I have been enjoying my new home in Sechelt BC as well as the wildlife viewing and photographing opportunities here. I have become involved with wildlife research surveys with PODS - the Pender Harbour Ocean Discovery Station which is planned for construction soon in Pender Harbour , an initiative of the Loon Foundation.
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Photos
Register for Free to view all photos!