West Coast scenery is so photogenic that a lot of us get a bit ho-hum about the vistas that surround us, even as tourists from everywhere else are enthralled.Whats another full-colour tome featuring the ocean views, vineyards, wildlife, walkways, adventure and architecture we locals can experience any time we want?Saanich author Donna Lynch has a way of making us look at Greater Victoria and the Island in a new light with her new photo book, Vancouver Island Vs. The World. Its an easy browse that lets readers enjoy some uncanny comparisons from remarkable scenes from other continents.And Lynch certainly knows other continents. Two years ago, she published 50ish, A Journey to 50 Countries in 50 Weeks Interviewing Women in Their 50s, trotting the four corners from Namibia to Northern Ireland. A veteran of 79 countries who has taken 26,000 travel photos, Lynch thought her first book was her last.She cant remember whether she got the idea for the photo comparison while watching a waterfall in Bali that reminded her of one in Goldstream Provincial Park, or vice versa. But I think Ive always believed we live in paradise and have always seen the similarities in other countries when Ive travelled.The book pits more than 40 local scenes against their international equivalents, from the Malahat and Chilean fjords to Fishermans Wharf and houseboats in Amsterdam.There are about 90 photos in all, and she acknowledges getting four from other sources Norwegian whales and a Nova Scotia cougar to name two.Japan is the only country of more than 40 represented that she did not visit, but bought a photo to show how the pink cherry blossoms of Beacon Hill Park imported from Japan in 1930 measure up against the originals.Lynchs favourite photos are of surfers in the waters of Tofino and Costa Rica. And lavender fields whether in Provence or Cobble Hill.Golfers can see how the Victoria Golf Club, founded in 1893, compares with the Links at St. Andrews, the Scottish home of golf for about 600 years.Shoppers can see how Lower Johnson Street resembles Old San Juan, or Fan Tan Alley compares with passageways in Morocco and Croatia.And sightseers can see how the Great Sphinx outside Cairo stacks up against the half-scale replica built 45 centuries later at Galey Farms in Saanich: surprisingly well.Lynch initially thought the book would appeal primarily to tourists, but the feedback from patients in the dental office where she works indicates they, at least, are spurred to see more of the Island. Did she run around craning her neck to take local photos that resembled the angles from her world travels?Im not that good a photographer, she laughs, and is then interrupted by a phone call from Munros, which wants to stock the book. So will Ivys, Save-on-Foods in Saanich and other outlets. She paid to have 1,000 copies printed, available for $20 in stores or through her website. From Nanaimo Harbour vs. the U.S. Virgin Islands, to vineyards in Tuscany and the Cowichan Valley, its not that theyre perfect matches. But the similarities make for a satisfying browse that reassures us that, oh, yes, weve got it all.For readers who can think of lots of places she missed, Lynch says she knows. Oh yeah, therell be a second edition.[email protected]
For more information, go to: vancouverislandvstheworld.com
