Time in the Vapour: Capturing the Soul of Vancouver’s Gastown Steam Clock

There’s a moment, if you’re lucky, when time feels suspended — when the world hushes around you, and the ordinary turns magical. For me, that moment happened on a grey Vancouver afternoon in Gastown. I had walked this street many times before, past the legendary Gastown Steam Clock, with its antique chimes and gentle plumes of steam rising every quarter hour. But this time, something was different.

Maybe it was the soft drizzle that had just ended, or the quiet hum of the street as tourists thinned out and locals moved with purpose. Or maybe it was the way the light bent through my lens that made everything seem dreamlike — as though I wasn’t just taking a photograph, but capturing time itself mid-exhale.

The image you see here is more than just a cityscape. It’s an echo. A visual whisper of history and wonder, seen through the eye of someone who understands that moments like these don’t last long.

A Clock With a Pulse

The Gastown Steam Clock isn’t just a novelty. Built in 1977 by Canadian horologist Raymond Saunders, it’s one of the few functioning steam-powered clocks in the world. It draws people in with its charm — the kind of whimsy that stands in proud defiance of modern speed and efficiency. It’s slow, noisy, and gloriously out of step with everything around it — and that’s exactly why I love it.

I wanted to photograph it in a way that reflected its mythic presence. Not just as a landmark, but as something you might stumble upon in a dream — mysterious and slightly surreal.

The Technique Behind the Photo

To achieve the vortex-like effect, I used a combination of intentional lens distortion and post-production circular blur to create that spiralling motion. It’s a subtle nod to the idea of time as a loop, not a line. The steam becomes a veil, softening the edges of reality. The barren trees reach upward like skeletal hands, grounding the image in winter’s grasp, while the warm glow of the streetlamps offers a comforting contrast.

Everything in the frame works to evoke one feeling: that you’ve stumbled into another era, or perhaps an alternate version of your own.

Why This Photo Matters to Me

As a Canadian photographer, I’m constantly inspired by the beauty and history tucked into everyday places. Gastown is full of textures — brick buildings, cobblestone alleys, iron lampposts — but the Steam Clock is its beating heart. It reminds us that time doesn’t just pass. It performs.

This photo is part of a larger project exploring nostalgia, liminality, and the small moments where magic still exists in modern cities. It’s about looking twice, seeing differently, and allowing yourself to be moved by the ordinary.

Final Thoughts

Photography isn’t just about documenting what’s in front of you. It’s about capturing what it feels like to stand in a place, at a certain hour, breathing in the cold air while the past and present blur together in the mist.

If you ever find yourself in Vancouver, go visit the clock. Wait until it chimes. Let the steam wrap around you. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll feel time slow down too.