I had the honour this past summer of being a part of a conspiracy to throw a surprise vacation for my photographer roommate Bryan Mollett as part of a TV show titled ‘Operation Vacation’ from a studio here in Vancouver. Everything went off without a hitch, and we sent Bryan off on the trip of a lifetime, with me in tow.

I owe a lot to his brother and best friend who were both at the center of the whole thing, I wish all four of us could have gone. I’ve spent the better part of the last month getting the pictures scanned and sorted into a small selection of my favorite images. In no sort of order, here they are.

I absolutely loved using the pillars of steel in the subway to break up a frame. If it wasn’t so warm down there (The beginning of October was still pretty warm)

Hundreds of these little dolls. I’ve seen a lot of little barbies in Canada, but none of these.

A very imaginitive set of photos. The John Lennon memorial was a must see on my to do list. I definitely plan to go back, but until I do, I had to get this, if anything scratched off my list.

In some ways, Central Park puts Vancouver’s Stanley Park to shame. I still appreciate our little nature corner, though.

Columbus Day parade. This young man was quite happy to be there with his dad.

Drop off and pick ups.

The TV show had asked me during planning stages if Bryan had any favorite New York photographers, and instantly Joel Meyerowitz came to mind. We got to meet Joel when he surprised Bryan at the Howard Greenburg gallery, which at the time was showing a retrospective of Gordon Parks amazing body of work. Mr Parks has since become a favorite of us both.

Empire State building and a quick nap. What better sight to wake up from a siesta to?

An amorous couple hiding in Union Square park.

Stars and stripes.

Easily one of my favorite frames from the entire trip. One of the last rolls as well. She seemed confident, yet slightly intimidated by the city.

I ended up taking 23 rolls of film, most of which I brought down with me, and for next time I plan on bringing about 10-15 more – as I didn’t get to explore Brooklyn to the extent I would have liked. Big thanks go to Clayton, Glen, Bryan, and everyone else involved. I was happy to be able to help present Bryan with this opportunity.

Copyright 2012 Scott Alexander.