give me disco lights

traverse of the grand sort

2009-03-01T22:38:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time. I apologize. The bad news is that my laptop, a Toshiba Satellite A105 series, sadly met its maker last month, taking with it everything I had not yet backed up. Thankfully, that wasn't too much. The good news is that I was still under a service contract at Best Buy, Best Buy honoured the $1000 that I spent on Zorba almost three years ago, and gave me a credit. I used this towards a new MacBook, and I think we'll be very happy together. After two Toshibas with nearly identical demises (having to do with the power input), I am done with Toshiba. Since I was also done with HP, I narrowed my choices to either Sony or Mac, and I took the plunge and went Mac. It's really neat. I might write a whole blog about it on my other blog, but since this is about photos, let's pick up where I left off, shall we?

To refresh memories (yours and mine alike), when I last pblogged, I began pblogging my trip Up North--meaning to the northern half of Michigan. I covered Sleeping Bear Dunes, and now I'm on Traverse City and the surrounding area. Beautiful, beautiful places. See for yourself!

I thought this was a cool shot from downtown Traverse City. It's one of those obviously picturesque, old-fashioned downtown areas that I kind of love. I've been trying to develop a better eye for photographic patterns, and I like the lines in this shot. 1/80, f/11, ISO 200.

All over northern Michigan, the smell of Kilwin's fudge infiltrates said picturesque downtown areas. This is also something that I love. We stopped at Kilwin's more than once on that trip! I'm partial to the mint fudge, myself...such a delightful shade of sea foam green. 1/40, f/3.5, ISO 200. Shot through a glass display case with a circular polarizer.

I love a rich blue colour for the skies in my photographs, and I often underexpose a bit to get it. I didn't have to do a thing to this in Photoshop besides clone out a little dust speck and bring out the red in the chimney just a smidge. This is definitely one of my favourite shots from Day One of the trip. Oh right, the subject. It's Old Mission Lighthouse. We headed up the Old Mission Peninsula in late afternoon, with plans to photograph at the point and eat at the Peninsula Grill. We weren't sorry, because of shots like this, and also because of the potatoes at the Peninsula Grill. They were garlicky and buttery and full of potato goodness. I think they were the best potatoes I have ever had, and I've had a lot of potatoes. 1/80, f/11, ISO 200.

This might not be the best swimming water, but it makes for more interesting photo composition than your average sandy beach! Taken from just in front of the Old Mission Lighthouse, this is the northern end of the Grand Traverse Bay. 1/80, f/11, ISO 200.

Grand Traverse sunset...emphasis on grand! When we left the Peninsula Grill, we walked outside into one of the most beautiful sunsets I'd ever seen. So we got in my car and floored it back to the "scenic lookout" that we'd seen on the way up and managed to catch the tail end of the sunset. I don't often wish for a tripod, but I wish I'd had one for this shot so I could have used a lower ISO. The original is a bit noisy, but it reproduces well enough for web. 1/200, f/8, ISO 1600. Reds enhanced a bit in Photoshop to bring out the rays.

I hope it won't be too long before my next blog, but you never know, I guess. Next time: More from Up North, but from the Upper Peninsula.

apologies

2009-01-27T00:12:00.003-05:00

Just as I was starting to get back into photoblogging, I have to take another hiatus. My laptop is in for service again. This makes three times in four months for virtually the same problem--power issues. If Best Buy calls me within a week to tell me that my computer is back, then I'll cut them some slack, but if I have to leave for Vancouver next week without my computer, I definitely will not be kind.

In the meantime, I'm without a computer that has Photoshop. I'm borrowing a computer from my mom's work, but since I'm not an administrator, I can't install anything, including the free trial of Photoshop. I've already tried, just to be sure.

If all goes well, I'll be back with new blogs after my trip to Vancouver for the 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

up north

2009-01-16T14:57:00.005-05:00

Michiganders refer to anything north of Clare as "Up North." It's just an unwritten rule. It's always capitalized, to the point that it's even pronounced with capitalization. In fact, Clare, although it is located right in the middle of the "hand" and just about as far as possible from any state or international borders, is home to a large "Michigan Welcome Center," right off of Highway 127, the main artery that bisects Michigan vertically. Kind of amusing.

Anyway, in June 2008, I went on my third trip Up North. It was my last trip Up North as a Michigander, taken just a couple of weeks before I moved back to Chicago. I was with four of my favourite road tripping buddies, and it was our annual birthday celebration, since four of us have birthdays between mid-May and mid-June.

Our first stop was Sleeping Bear Dunes, a national lakeshore located near the pinkie finger of Michigan's mitten, just west of the Traverse City area. After paying a nominal admission fee to enter the park (good for the weekend, although we had too much to do to go back), we took the scenic drive through the park. We didn't stop at every point of interest, although I think we hit the most important ones. It probably took about 2 hours in total, just because we stopped for quite a while at one of the turnoffs.

Our first view of the dunes and a spectacular vista with Lake Michigan in the distance. I love the way that the sky turned out in this photo.

Okay. Noted. I did not attempt to scale the bluff.

However, I did take a photo of others trying to scale the aforementioned steep bluff. This photo is as-shot. I promise, I didn't tilt it or take it from an odd angle to make it appear even steeper!

This view was worth the drive already, and this was only the first stop on the trip.

Up next: more from Up North!

bound for olympic dreams

2008-08-28T21:41:00.003-04:00

Apologies for the lag in updates to this blog! I've been busy moving (twice) this summer, as well as doing quite a bit of traveling. This weekend, I'm moving to downtown Chicago, and I'm starting grad school at Roosevelt University next week. So while I have a bit of time tonight, here's the last entry on my East Coast trip from June.

I started watching the Olympics in 1992, and my first love was figure skating. If you read my blog, this shouldn't be a surprise. My second Olympics love came during the summer Olympics in 1992. My mom was in Mexico for a week, and I spent that week at my grandparents' house. They had cable. And it was the first week of the Olympics. I spent the entire week watching as much as I could, but especially the gymnastics. Shortly after that, I switched from dance classes to gymnastics lessons, but I wasn't very good. I did compete for a year in high school, but trust me...I really wasn't very good! I've always loved the sport though, and it's especially magical during the Olympics. So when I happened to be passing back through Philadelphia during the Olympic Trials, and the friend I was staying with just happened to be a former gymnast, things finally fell into place for me to attend my first elite gymnastics competition.

There was a "Fan Fest" outside the arena before the event started, and I confess, we went early so we could see Carly Patterson. I was expecting worse, but I'm not about to run out and buy the CD, either. It was pretty standard pop music. I did get some good shots of the 2004 Olympic All-Around Champion, though, and this is my favourite.

Photographing gymnastics is different from many other sports, since they move through the air so fast. This was my first great shot of the night, after messing with settings throughout the first rotation. It's Jana Bieger, and she ended up being an alternate to the 2008 Olympic team.

I was really rooting for Alicia Sacramone to have a great meet and eventually make the Olympic team, and she did both! In my opinion, floor exercise is in a really sad state now -- hardly anyone really dances or bothers relating to the music, and even fewer have choreography that appears to be thoughtful at all, but I did like Alicia's FX, as far as this year's routines went.

This should be a familiar face to many people now! It's, of course, Nastia Liukin, the 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion, just one of the 5 medals that she won there. I like her "Dark Eyes" FX as well, and this was my favourite shot from the night. Her left foot is a tad blurry in full resolution, but I think the rest of the shot makes up for it.

My friend and I were sitting in the corner where the vaults landed, so I have clear shots of this pose from most of the gymnasts. I picked Shawn Johnson to post, since she's so adorable, and also a four-time Olympic medalist now. Plus, I think she's my favourite gymnast in a long time. I hope she sticks around and continues competing.

More photos from the event available in my Flickr portfolio.

I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to post again, but the next few posts will feature some great landscapes and sweet sunsets from northern Michigan.

these little town blues are melting away

2008-07-28T00:09:00.004-04:00

Well, here I am with photos from the last day of my New York trip - only five weeks late, or something like that. Ah well - it's been a busy month! These photos are from Greenwich Village, where my mom and I spent most of our last day in the city. She'd hurt her legs from over-walking on Wednesday, so on Thursday, she needed to take it easy. We took the subway to the Village and wandered around, and then a college friend of mine met us for lunch and spent the afternoon with us. Definitely a much more laidback day than our other days in New York, but fun nonetheless.

The Washington Square Arch in Washington Square Park is, quite obviously, modeled after the Arc de Triomph in Paris. Mom and I have been to Paris together three times, so it was fun to find this homage. 1/80, f/10, ISO 100.

This is Judson Memorial Church, located on the south side of Washington Square Park at Thompson Street. I love this photo because I like the bright colour of the bricks and the even blue of the sky. The cloud and sky looks almost like a painted backdrop, but it was real -- it was just gorgeous that day. 1/60, f/10, ISO 100.

Here's Judson Memorial Church from a slightly different angle and with slightly different settings. I can't decide which one I like better. 1/50, f/13, ISO 100.

Here's another Greenwich Village church -- Our Lady of Pompeii Church. It's located at Bleecker and Carmine, on one of the corners of Father Demo Square. I like the clouds and sky in this one, too, and the colours of the buildings. 1/250, f/10, ISO 200.

Next time: Highlights from the 2008 U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials.

i want to wake up in a city that never sleeps

2008-07-17T15:13:00.003-04:00

Day Four in New York started early with a tour at the United Nations. I wasn't thrilled with the tour - there were so many people there, and so many groups roaming around simultaneously. The guidebook also promised us a Chagall mural, which we did not get to see. Our guide could only show a select number of things, since there were other groups wandering. I guess they did what they could with the volume of people there, though.

The headquarters of the United Nations. The assemblies are in a different, connected building, but this is where all of the offices are. In front of the grounds, flags of the member nations (in alphabetical order) line the east side of the street for five or six blocks. In case you're not up on your flags of the world, from left to right, the flags in this photo are: Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, and Israel. I loved looking at charts of the flags of the world when I was a kid, so this is one of my favourite photos from the day. 1/80, f/13, ISO 100.

After the UN, Mom and I had lunch at Prêt à Manger for the second time that week. I ate at Prêt so many times when I was in London last year, and so I was beyond excited to find it in New York. I had no idea that they had stores in the States at all. Sadly, they are only in New York on this side of the Atlantic. After lunch, we took the subway to SoHo. Mom sat on a shady bench and read for a little bit while I took some photos. 1/200, f/8, ISO 200.

Besides the fab shopping, SoHo is a great neighbourhood because of the interesting mixture of brick and iron in the architecture and the narrow cobblestone streets. It has a bit of European flair to it. Oh, and we also bought my Mom an iPod at the flagship Apple store, which was really exciting for me. I also looked longingly at the MacBook Pro, but that's way out of the budget right now. 1/125, f/8, ISO 200.

Mom isn't a shopper at all, so there was still time after our walk around SoHo before we needed to head back to the hotel to change for dinner and a show. We finally decided to go to Brooklyn for ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. It's just on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to get there on the subway without backtracking and having to change multiple times. I didn't feel like doing that, so we decided to just walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a classic New York experience, right? One problem: I am terrified of bridges. Especially when I can't cross them quickly! I stared at my feet and walked as fast as I could, but I made it all the way across and I even managed to pause a couple of times for some photos. I think this photo is worth it. 1/60, f/13, ISO 100.

This shot was taken on the bridge, looking northeast to Brooklyn. This shot also made the trip across the bridge worth it. Oh, and the ice cream didn't disappoint, either. 1/50, f/13, ISO 100.

Next: last day in New York, with shots from Greenwich Village.

top of the list, king of the hill

2008-07-10T15:56:00.003-04:00

Day Three in New York was a beautiful Tuesday. Mom and I had a fantastic, somewhat leisurely day, compared to the running around that we did on most of the other days. We began our morning with a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spent a few hours there. In a few hours, we still didn't even see half of the exhibits, but we did hit the kinds of art that we like the most and a few new things as well. Since the Met is located right on the edge of Central Park, we then spent the afternoon in the park. I took some photos and we had a fairly good Nutella crepe while we sat by the fountain and read for a while. Then we walked up to Lincoln Center, but they're doing construction on the fountain, so it wasn't very photogenic. Juilliard is right there, too, and I kind of wanted to get a Julliard pen to add to my collection of collegiate pens, but the bookstore wasn't obvious and the construction was loud and we were tired, so we headed back to the Times Square area. There, we met up with one of my mom's high school friends. Susan took us to McCormick & Schmick's for dinner, which may be a chain seafood restaurant, but it's classy and it's the best chain seafood I've ever had! I had the most delightful mahi mahi with pineapple and cashews, and Susan and I bonded over how fabulous Kristi Yamaguchi was on Dancing with the Stars. Good day overall. Now for the photos:

Façade of The Met facing 5th Avenue. It's so big that even with a 28mm and standing across the street, I had difficult getting the whole main part of the building in a single shot! 1/200, f/6.3, ISO 100.

This shot of some of the New York skyline (with Central Park in the foreground) was taken from the rooftop garden of The Met. There were some really interesting metal sculptures on display up there (like a giant yellow "balloon" dog - but made of metal, not balloon) and it was a nice place to sit and re-caffeinate before tackling more of the museum. In order to get this shot, I had to crouch down and tilt my camera way upwards, but I really wanted to get that little bit of blue sky and all of the pretty clouds in the shot! 1/320, f/11, ISO 100.

This is the main hall at the entrance of The Met, taken from the balcony on the second floor. I just love the arches, and how the big open space of the upper third of the room contrasts with the bustling floor. 1/80, f/4, ISO 1600.

The main fountain in Central Park. What a great day for being outside, and I'm normally not an outside-person. At all. This shot makes me want to watch Enchanted. 1/30, f/13, ISO 100.

My favourite shot from Tuesday. I didn't think I'd be able to get a shot like this in New York during the summer! There's hardly any people in it! This is the Literary Walk in Central Park. It's so quiet and peaceful, and the shade is just beautiful. I had to take about five shots before I got the exposure right, but I love how it turned out, and it's now my desktop wallpaper. 1/50, f/11, ISO 400.

All of these were taken with the Tamron 28-300, and it was after I had a chance to take it back to the hotel and dust it off! Also - I want to note that after my last post, someone from Adorama contacted me (and was quite persistent when I was worried that it was spam!) and wanted to look into what happened with my order. I was then offered a discount off my next order and free shipping. Since I want to get a new bag that's better for travel before my next trip, I will probably use that, so it's nice that they are so focused on customer service. Like I said in my last post, things are always going to happen, and I understand that (occasionally!!), but it's what you do after something happens that makes a difference with me.

Anyway, on the subject of bags - I currently use a Lowepro Slingshot, and I like it as a small bag to use on a day-to-day basis, but when I travel, especially by air, it's a huge pain because I have to use the Slingshot as a carry-on, and then I also have to lug around my laptop bag. I'd really like a camera bag that also has a laptop compartment. I'm considering the Lowepro Fastpack and one of the Kata backpacks. The Kata is less expensive and it comes in pink (always a selling point for me, I have to admit), but I'm concerned about the capacity. On my next trip, for example, I will have my Canon 200/2.8L, my Tamron 28-300, my Canon 50/1.8, and I may also rent a Canon 70-200/2.8L. I found a good review of the Kata backpack, but it wasn't from someone who travels with telephoto zooms. So it might be the Lowepro - which I can get in red. Not as great as pink, but marginally more professional.

Next time I post (which might not be for a while - I'm moving this weekend/next week!): Day Four of the New York trip - United Nations, SoHo, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

i'll make a brand new start of it

2008-07-06T19:47:00.003-04:00

Monday, June 16 was Day Two of my New York trip. Mom and I began the day by taking the subway to Chelsea and walking over to Adorama Camera. I'd ordered a used lens from them over a week earlier and paid for express shipping to be sure it would arrive before I left for my trip early on the 13th. When it didn't come on the absolute last day I expected it to, I called customer service and found out that the order had never been shipped. They promised to fix it, but by then it was too late - I was getting ready to leave. So they were supposed to ship it to my friend's in Philly. They promised it would be there by Friday afternoon. It wasn't. I tried to call customer service again, but they close early on Fridays. Saturday was my friend's wedding. I finally found out from an email that the lens had not shipped until Friday afternoon and would be in Philly on Monday. Problem: I left for New York Sunday afternoon. So when I couldn't get an answer at customer service on Monday morning, we just showed up at the store and I told them my story and asked them to take care of me. The solution they offered was that I could buy the same lens, since they had another, and then return it before I left to return to Philly at the end of the week. They wouldn't charge me anything for restocking, obviously. I said okay. I worked in retail for a long time and I know that mix-ups happen. I appreciate good customer service when problems arise, and they were extremely nice and professional. I'd order from them again.

So. The exciting news about my photos from Day Two were taken with my new lens: the Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR. It's much cheaper and much lighter than something with a comparable range from Canon. Of course it's not quite the quality, but I've been extremely happy with it so far. It's a great buy for amateurs and especially for anyone who wants to be able to tote around just ONE lens without always switching or without having to lug around a bunch of extra weight. Perfect for sightseers, which is what I was. I have a huge purse (okay, it's a diaper bag) that I carry when I travel, and I was able to just put the camera with lens attached in the bag. No need to bring anything else, although I did have my Canon 50mm/1.8 in case I needed something for dim lighting.

The bad news about my photos from Day Two: since I just showed up and bought a used lens without warning from them, it had not yet been professionally cleaned. There was dust all over the thing, and since I'm a total amateur and didn't check it out carefully enough, I didn't realize it until I was back in the hotel that night. I had to do a lot of photoshopping on any photos that had sky in them. But I still ended up with some winners from the day. Here are my favourites:

For those that don't know the story of this sculpture, it was originally a sphere on a pedestal, located in the plaza at the World Trade Center. It was dedicated to world peace. This is what they pulled from the rubble after September 11. Even more so than walking past Ground Zero, seeing this was an emotional moment for me. It's now in Battery Park, at the southern tip of the island, where thousands of tourists catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island every day. 1/100, f/7.1, ISO 100.

This is the Registration Room in the main building at Ellis Island. Immigrants to the United States had to wait here for several hours upon their arrival, until they were checked in. From here, they went to a medical inspection. I'm honestly not sure if my relatives came through Ellis Island. Some of my maternal grandfather's family is pre-Revolutionary War and my grandmother's family immigrated very early to the southern states. I have no idea about my dad's side of the family, though, so it's possible. They also came from Western Europe. Anyway...I really like this shot with the flag in the middle, and all of the different people wandering the room. 1/100, f/4, ISO 400.

Trinity Church is located in lower Manhattan, squished between buildings as a remnant of what New York was before the skyscraper. It's a beautiful building. I guess there was concern after September 11 that its proximity to the World Trade Center would cause the church to experience damage, but as the buildings near it began to crumble, Trinity Church stood. 1/100, f/5, ISO 100.

We took the subway to Roosevelt Island because my guidebook said that it was a quiet island with great views of Manhattan. It's a narrow Island in the East River, between Manhattan and Queens, and it's now home to about 9000 people. For a long time, it was the site of prisons and mental institutions, but now, different types of housing have been built on it. It seems like a lot of different kinds of people live on the island, and yes, it is very quiet - only the occasional car, a subway stop, and a bus that travels up and down the length of the island. I'm kind of fascinated by it. Anyway, it was starting to rain when we got there, so we didn't stay long, but this is a shot of the Queensboro Bridge with some of the Manhattan skyline behind it.

Next: day three of my trip to New York includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park.

if i can make it there, i can make it anywhere

2008-07-03T16:18:00.002-04:00

I love cities. I grew up about 45 minutes away from Chicago, and even as a young girl, I adored going downtown. My favourite places that I have visited are all cities. I love the hustle and bustle, the abundance of things to do, the culture, the options, everything. So ever since I was young, I have wanted to visit New York. I finally went last month and had a wonderful time. From Philadelphia, I took a bus to New York, and met my mom in Times Square - she'd flown in from Chicago earlier. We walked to our hotel, I cleaned up and changed clothes, and we hit the town immediately for dinner at Patsy's (not that great...I guess Frank Sinatra wasn't a food critic) and then we walked around Midtown. Here are some of my best shots, taken with my Canon 50mm/1.8 lens.

I was excited to see Radio City Music Hall because it's a legendary place for music, and I happen to love music. I guess I was a little caught up in trying to get this shot, because I really didn't notice the barricades and people in formal gowns until we were trying to cross the street, but we were waved in another direction. Right. The Tony Awards. We weren't exactly dressed for those. So instead of fighting the crowds heading toward the front of the building, we went around and walked through Rockefeller Center. 1/30, f/5, ISO 100.

From Rockefeller Center, we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral. I wasn't expecting it to be so beautiful - it reminded me of many of the Gothic cathedrals I've seen in Europe. We didn't go in, since there was a Sunday evening service. 1/80, f/6.3, ISO 400.

St. Thomas Church, located at 5th and 53rd, was covered mostly by scaffolding, so we couldn't see much of the façade. I was able to snap this shot of the back of the church, though. 1/80, f/8, ISO 200.

My grandma used to say, "This _____ is just like Grand Central Station," to refer to something that was busy or crowded. She never visited New York, though, so my mom really wanted to go inside the building and see it. I like big train stations, so I enjoyed seeing it, too, although I think that Union Station in Chicago is prettier. Since it was a Sunday evening, it wasn't too busy, but the other times that we went through Grand Central on the subway, it was a madhouse. I was so glad to have my f/1.8 lens for this shot, although I still think I should have exposed it a bit more. 1/80, f/1.8, ISO 800.

I have to say that I really wasn't a fan of Times Square. We stayed there because of the central location and the proximity to subway lines, but I don't think I'd ever stay near it again. However, I do think that the Hershey's Store wins for the coolest obnoxious-lights-display. 1/60, f/7.1, ISO 400.

Next: day two of the trip - Statue of Liberty and more.

happily ever after

2008-07-02T16:58:00.003-04:00

During the two years that I spent at the University of Miami, Jenny was my best friend. During our first year, she lived on the floor above mine, and we met at an InterVarsity ice cream social during one of the first couple of weeks of school. We each thought the other was a little crazy, so we bonded quickly. She was also a music student, and with her perfect pitch and incredible talent, she helped me get through three semesters of honors sight singing and ear training. I helped her stay sane. During our second year, she decided to stay in the same room with the same roommate, so I moved upstairs to her floor and roomed with one of her friends. It was a classic college dorm experience - everything I wanted my first year to be - there were a bunch of us who became close over the year, and we were always running back and forth between rooms. When I decided to transfer schools and return to Chicago, saying goodbye to Jenny was the hardest part of leaving Miami. And the following year, when my fiancé broke up with me just a few days before my spring break, when I was scheduled to return to Miami for a visit, it was Jenny who talked me through the tough times.

We haven't kept in touch that well. I'm pretty terrible at staying close to people after I move, actually, which is too bad, since I've moved so many times in the past 7 years. But Jenny had the wonderful idea to fall in love with a boy from Wisconsin who went to undergrad in Chicago, so I get to see them about once a year or so. Even though the cumulative time that I've spent with Sam is better counted in hours, not even in days or weeks, it's easy to see how perfect they are for each other. He's a musician, too, and their wedding day was a celebration set to a soundtrack of their own compositions. I'm so glad that I was able to make the trip to Philadelphia so that I could attend. I just wish that I'd received the lens that I ordered on time, so I could have used it at the wedding! Still, though, I did get some nice shots, once I did some cropping. These are my favourites - all taken on a Canon 20D with a Canon 50mm/1.8 lens.

I took some photos during the ceremony, but I was several rows back, sitting behind tall people, and I only had a 50mm lens, so none of the ceremony photos were that wonderful. Unfortunately, I was a point-and-shooter for so long and so used to shooting long days of skating with constant light conditions that I often forget to change my settings when I change environments. Here, you can see what happens when you use settings appropriate for an indoor, naturally-lit church outside on a bright day. Oups. With Photoshop, I was able to tweak the colours a bit, adding some shadows and then removing the red that resulted in Sam's face. Much to my surprise, I like how it turned out. 1/80, f/2.5, ISO 400.

This "petal" of butter was at every place setting at the reception. I thought it was genius. 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.

Dancing to "Time Has Told Me" by Nick Drake, Jenny and Sam looked like they couldn't have been happier. This is my favourite shot from the entire wedding. I'd like to thank Jenny for seating me at a table next to the dance floor! 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.

I pulled this close-up from a full-length shot that had chairs in the way of their legs. I didn't want to detract from the expression on Jenny's face or the ring on her hand resting on his arm. 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.

I'd love to be a wedding photographer. I was so excited to get these photos edited and cropped and posted, even just on Facebook, so I could share them with Jenny & Sam and their friends. Jenny & Sam hired a fabulous photographer, and I can't wait to have some free time so I can look at his portfolio. Unfortunately, I don't have the scope of equipment needed to do what he does, but maybe I could scout around for some lower-budget weddings. ;-) Let me know if you know anyone who wants a good deal on a wedding or engagement photographer...especially if they're in the Chicago area!

Next: The wedding was my first stop on my trip East. The next few posts will feature my visit to New York City, and then I'll post some photos from the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials.

distillery

2008-06-26T11:09:00.003-04:00

On my last trip to Toronto, which was about a month ago, I discovered that the sensor on my 20D was in desperate need of a cleaning. Well, I kind of knew this, but it was even worse than I remembered, so instead of using it to take photos, I used my old backup, which is a Kodak DX6490. Yeah...not exactly the quality that I'm used to! So these photos aren't my best, but I did manage to get some shots that I like while hanging out one Sunday afternoon in the Distillery District. If I have my facts correct, this an area in Toronto that used to be a working distillery, but they've since taken the beautiful red brick buildings and turned it into a fun area for shopping, dining, arts, and entertainment. Distillerydistrict.com proclaims it "Toronto's Hippest Address" and a lot of movies were filmed here during the 90s.

View of the main plaza in the Distillery. I don't know if this is an everyday thing, or just a weekend or Sunday thing, but there were tents set-up, art-show style throughout the plaza. Classy tents, though, with cool stuff and beautiful jewelry - most well out of my price range. I like the angle that the "Gooderham & Worts" sign cuts across the photo at, and I really like the reflection of the clock in the window. I took photos of the clock itself, but this is more interesting.

My favourite part of this photo is definitely the sky. I like that it appears to be in motion, the colour of it, and the wispiness of the clouds. I also like the lampposts on the right. Please ignore the man on the left in the daisy dukes. I wanted to crop him out, but using 4x6 proportions, I would have had to sacrifice too much sky, so there he stays. I suppose he adds character.

I don't have any great close-ups of the buildings, but this is the best of the ones that I have. The green Victorian ironwork against the red brick is just fantastic. The sign in the lower righthand corner indicates the building's number. Since there are not streets here, just pedestrian walkways, all of the buildings are numbered.

Next: I really will start to highlight last week's trip. I had just forgotten that I had a few decent Toronto photos to share.

tulip time

2008-06-25T10:52:00.004-04:00

Every May, the town of Holland, Michigan has its Tulip Time Festival. There's a carnival, parades, traditional greasy-yet-delightful festival food, dancers, and all kinds of other things that I didn't get to see because I was only there for a couple of hours one afternoon. What I did see was the spectacular array of tulips that adorn the downtown area. Holland is home to Hope College (let's not go into how they were mean to me when I visited it during my junior of high school and ended up deciding not to apply), and it's a lovely college town, with several picturesque streets of interesting shops. I went with Jules, and we found a really cool fair trade import store, but we were both feeling a bit broke, so we just browsed.

Here are some of my favourite shots from our visit. These were all taken with my Canon 50mm/1.8 lens, which is my lens that I use for everyday things. I wish I had the 1.4, but the 1.8 is such a bargain!

8th Street downtown - one of the main streets for shopping and dining. Our visit to Holland was just before a storm blew in, so I really like how the sky is starting to take on a deeper blue colour. 1/1250, f/4, ISO 100.

I don't often see tulips in this maroon colour. I played around with a few different shots of these, but I ended up liking this one best. I used a small aperture so I could focus on the blooms and let the stems and leaves fade into the background. 1/100, f/4, ISO 100.

These were my favourite tulips! We found them at the intersection of 8th and one of the major streets. I love the happy pink colour, and I took quite a few shots of these. This was toward the end of our visit, and you can see that the wind is starting to pick up. 1/50, f/16, ISO 100.

Same plot of tulips, but from more of an aerial angle. I wish I could have these outside my house. Maybe it would motivate me to go outside once in a while! Not long after this, we started getting rained on, so that's it for Tulip Time. 1/50, f/20, ISO 100.

Up next: I'll start chronicling last week's trip to Philadelphia and New York. I did have internet while I was there, but by the time we got back to the hotel in the evenings, I was usually so tired that I just couldn't make myself edit photos and blog.

hometown pride

2008-06-13T01:45:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted recently because I've been dealing with a dirty sensor on my camera. When I say "dealing," I really mean "ignoring." I finally learned how to clean it and did that last night, so I'm all set for my trip to Philadelphia and New York tomorrow. Adorama kindly forgot to ship the lens I ordered last week, so it's supposed to show up tomorrow at my friend's house in Philly. Let's hope so - I'm anxious to try it out on my trip!

I'll have a lot of trip goodies when I get back, but for now, here are a few more Chicago shots from one of my trips home in May. Dirty sensor and all. I apologize. And this is just a quick post, since I have to leave my house in less than an hour to catch the bus to the airport.

Detail of a staircase banister in the Chicago Cultural Center on Michigan & Washington. When I was in high school, I was a member of a youth orchestra that had concerts in the beautiful ballroom on the third floor in this building.

Priztker Shell in Millenium Park on Michigan Avenue with tulips in the foreground. Please ignore the dust on my sensor. I hate to post it, but I also want to because this is supposed to be a learning, experience, right? And aside from the dust, I like the shot. No photoshopping whatsoever (besides cropping).

Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" in Millenium Park. It's "The Bean." Kind of a boring shot, but if you look closely, there's a row of pigeons sitting on top. And I really do love "The Bean."

Next time: I have some photos from the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, MI, and then I'll start posting trip things. Unfortunately, I don't expect to have much internet access during my trip next week, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to check in while I'm away. Maybe, though!

Close-up with the Stars

2008-05-22T17:02:00.002-04:00

Last Stars on Ice post, I promise. At least, the last one until next year, if there is one. I guess there's going to be. They're selling pre-sale tickets, but there are ugly rumours that it's merging with Champions on Ice and it's going to be more like COI. COI has more skaters, but each person only skates once and there aren't awesome group numbers like SOI. SOI is the real deal, in my opinion. So I guess we'll see what happens. Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon officially announced their retirement from competitive skating, so I hope this means they'll be back. If they're back, I will go to multiple shows again.

But anyway, this is about this year's show. These photos are from the stop in Hamilton, ON at the end of April. Jules and I scored some sweet tickets right before the show at the box office - something like fourth row, on the opposite end from where the skaters enter. Fabulous seats, great photo ops, and although the people next to us were a little too enthusiastic, at least they didn't tell us to shut up, right?

Since I've done so many SOI posts, I'm making this one a theme-post. These are all close-ups that I took of the skaters. I had some great opportunities to play with some close shots, because of our seats, and these are some of the winners. All shots taken on 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

It's hilarious to watch old tapes of Joannie Rochette after watching her now. She's become such a pleasing skater to watch, she's a great entertainer, and she skates with so much emotion now, too. This is from her number in the first half to Fergie's "Finally."

World Champion Jeff Buttle got a hero's reception at this show before his second number, when Kurt Browning welcomed him into the "world champion club." It's not often that a skater gets a standing ovation before skating, but that's what the Hamilton crowd did for Jeff. Hamilton is the best skating crowd in the world. End of story. Anyway, this is actually from his first number, to "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. Sweet shot from a sweet program.

I strugged with the crop on this one, but I finally decided that although the crop is awkward, I had to have both of her hands in the shot. In the closer to act one, "Hard Steele is Back," Jennifer Robinson plays a reporter and here, she's attempting to keep the "fangirls" from storming the "stage." She is not successful. Sorry if I ruined it for you. It's a great number, though. Watch it on youtube from the Japanese tour.

I've been trying not to post two shots of the same skater, but I had to make an exception so I could include both of these shots of Jeff Buttle. Besides, he's in disguise here as a member of "Hard Steele." During the number, he came over and led the crowd right in front of where I was sitting, and he was just so into the part. Awesome.

Kurt Browning counts the number of show warm-ups he's done over the years, as part of the opener to the second act, which is a peek into SOI's warm-up.

Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon send the warm-up into chaos when they appear, doing a rhumba (for people more accustomed to ballroom: the rhumba is a quick dance in ice dance, for whatever reason). It's cheesy, but Dubreuil & Lauzon have the best rhumba in the world, in my opinion, so I love it.

Okay, this isn't a close-up, no, but this shot of Jamie Salé & David Pelletier's "Lovestoned" program is one of my favourites from the tour. I hate that I have to wait for the broadcast until I see this program again - I love it!

Up next: Not! Skating! I really don't know what's next. I might have to dig through my archives for something, or go out and actually take some interesting photos this weekend.

stars on ice, again, eh?

2008-05-13T15:29:00.002-04:00

I thought that this year's Stars on Ice tour was so incredible that I just had to see it multiple times, and in multiple countries. That, plus the Canadian tour features some different skaters, plus I love the reunion that tends to happen among my friends when Stars on Ice goes to southern Ontario.

These are from the Toronto stop of the tour, just a few weeks ago. I'd also like to proudly say that I managed to get the white balance, exposure, and everything right at the actual show - these photos have only had minor adjustments done after cropping for sharpness. Woot!

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir were asked to join the tour for a few of the stops as guest stars after they won a silver medal at the World Championships. It was only their second trip to Worlds. Yep, they really are that good. It was awesome to see them in southern Ontario, since they're both from the London area. For their show program, they did this ballet thing (they always do a ballet thing, it seems), and I was able to get this shot because Jules and I had terrible seats in a very awkward corner. Don't worry, though. We snagged some better ones for the second half. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Michelle, editor extraordinaire, thinks this photo is pretty hot. I guess I didn't realize it until she called it to my attention, but it is pretty sweet. It's verrry sharp, even in its original size, and there's a ton of obvious motion in it. Underneath the hair-band costumes are Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, and this was snapped at the end of the group number that is a hilarious tribute to 70s and 80s hair-band rock. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Here are M-F & Patch in more natural costuming, skating to "She's Always a Woman." Because I am such an ooshy-gooshy romantic type, and because they are always flaunting their seemingly perfect relationship around, I think this is one of my favourite photos that I have ever taken of them. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Keeping with the "favourite" theme, this is one of my favourite pictures that I've taken of Kurt Browning, from his program to "Papa was a Rolling Stone." It's a little soft in places, but I love his line, even with the big coat and being mid-leap. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

I do wish Sasha Cohen's arms were a bit more relaxed here, but besides that, I love this shot of her. She was sporting a new haircut that looked adorable at the reception later that night, but I think I like her look better on the ice with a bun. Just my two cents, though. You can barely see her hair here, though, so I guess it doesn't matter much! 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Jeff Buttle, fresh from becoming the WORLD CHAMPION, joined the Canadian tour, and with it, brought this incredible new program to "Ribbon in the Sky." It suits him perfectly, and I love it when guys rock Ina Bauers like this. Mad props, Jeff. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next: one more Canadian Stars on Ice. Last one, I promise.

south of the border

2008-05-08T12:10:00.003-04:00

Here's a fun fact for you: Windsor, Ontario is the only place along the U.S.-Canada border where Canada is actually south of the United States. There's a little plaque in downtown Windsor, which is right across the river from downtown Detroit, that informs interested tourists of this. I took a photo with it a couple of summers ago.

So, Windsor. I have such fond memories here. As the nearest interesting Canadian city to me (because the only thing that Sarnia has going for it is Coffee Lodge, and that one time when they had one of the greatest Canadian casts for a skating show ever), there was a time when I found myself in Windsor about once a month. That time has passed, but I still do enjoy it, especially the Med Bread at Moxie's. And the Chapters. Mmm, Canadian books. It's so difficult to find Will Ferguson's hilarious travelogues even just across the river.

So on a sunny Saturday in April, BFF Jules and I headed to Windsor for the afternoon. I was writing a travel article on it for my school's newspaper, and I wanted a fresh perspective and photos that weren't terrible. If you want to read the article, it's here, on page 9. Oh, and it's a PDF file. But if you just want the photos, here they are. Apologies for the dust...I shot the whole day with a dirty lens, and I had no idea. Oops.

Taken from the riverfront park in downtown Windsor, this is GM's Renaissance Centre in downtown Detroit. It was built a few decades ago to help revitalize downtown Detroit, and it's a living/working/entertainment/dining conglomeration of steel. The idea didn't really work, because it ended up being a self-sustaining bubble that didn't need the rest of the city, but it was a nice idea, and I guess the Ren Cen is kind of sweet. 1/1600, f/14, ISO 1600.

The rest of Detroit's skyline is much older, and I think the old style skyscrapers are just so pretty. Of course, I have the heart of a city girl, so I think that the steel-and-glass variety are gorgeous, too. 1/3200, f/14, ISO 1600.

Here's a pretty great photo of BFF Jules, gazing lovingly across the river at Detroit. She really does love Detroit more than anyone else that I know. (Nope, she's not from there.) 1/2500, f/14, ISO 1600. (Apparently, I had NO idea I was shooting on ISO 1600...)

One of the new additions to Windsor's riverfront - a sculpture imploring passers-by to "pray for peace." I like this shot, but I wish that the Radisson's sign wasn't right in the middle of it. 1/400, f/18, ISO 1600.

If you read the article, you know all about the Odette Sculpture Park. If not, well, the OSP is part of the riverfront in Windsor, and it features all kinds of random sculptures. I guess the really crazy stuff is further towards the bridge, but we were tired of walking, so we turned around. Next time. 1/1600, f/18, ISO 1600.

Kind of an interesting shot with one of the sculptures and part of the Detroit skyline. 1/1250, f/18, ISO 1600.

Next: Canadian Stars on Ice. Once I post those shows, I'll be all caught up!

more stars on ice

2008-05-05T23:58:00.003-04:00

One show on the U.S. tour just wasn't enough for this year's Stars on Ice, which in my opinion, is one of the best tours in the post-Kristi era. So when the tour came to Michigan in March, I went to the stop in Detroit. I didn't have great seats, but they were cheap, and I still got some decent shots anyway, so all was not lost. Here are some of my favourites:

Yuka Sato is like butter on the ice, and her program to "1000 Miles Away" by Jewel just suited her perfectly. I like the washed out quality of this shot. I'm usually big on colour, especially in skating photos, but something about the position I caught and all of the white makes me like this photo a lot. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

After the intermission, there's this cute number about a "typical" Stars on Ice pre-show warmup. In this shot, Yuka Sato, Jennifer Robinson, Michael Weiss, and Todd Eldredge are marveling at the discipline that world champions Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao have. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

From the same warmup number, Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon are absolutely rocking their warmup. These edges are insane. They are fantastic. I love everything about this photo, I'll say it. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

For a long time, Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao were, technically, among the best pairs in the world, but they struggled with their artistry. In the past 5 or 6 years, however, they've really unlocked an emotional side, as seen in this photo from their program to Lara Fabian's "Adagio." 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

When Jamie Salé & David Pelletier introduced this handstand lift (yes, she does an unassisted handstand on his forearm - while he's skating) in 2002, I so desperately wanted a photo of it, but my camera could only do so much. Now, I finally got my crisp handstand photo! 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

I'm always trying to get great shots of split jumps. Here's Todd Eldredge's Russian split jump in his program to "Nights in White Satin." (Yes, he's wearing white satin.) 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

This photo of Sasha Cohen, from her program to "Imagine," was one of my favourite shots of the season. It's a beautiful moment, but it doesn't look overly posed, her face looks lovely, but again, not overly posed...love the colours in the costume and the lighting, and I didn't have to do a thing to edit it besides a quick crop. I wish I could get this on every shot! 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Next up: touristy shots from a trip to Windsor that I took so I could write a better article for my travel feature in the school paper. I am so hardcore with my travel writing.

rinse and repeat

2008-04-29T05:55:00.002-04:00

I'm getting so repetitive. I did Chicago pictures, and then Stars on Ice, and now I have more Chicago pictures, and next I'll have more Stars on Ice. I'm completely predictable, and I apologize. Someday, when I get caught up, I'll work on being more original.

In the plaza at old the First National Bank building, Marc Chagall installed a mural in 1974 called "The Four Seasons." It's meant to be a whimsical representation of Chicago at all times of the year. This is the side that faces Dearborn, I believe. 1/125, f/2.5, ISO 400.

Reverse side of the mural. 1/125, f/2.5, ISO 400.

In the suburb where my mom works, there are all of these stop signs with "additions" to them. My favourite one says "in the naaaaame of love," but when I went back with my camera to find it, I got a little lost in the neighbourhood near her office. So I just settled for this one. 1/3200, f/3.2, ISO 200.

Next: yep, more Stars on Ice.

stars on the ice

2008-04-28T14:28:00.002-04:00

On February 23, I went to my first Stars on Ice show of this year's tour. It was also the first show I'd been to on the American tour since 2004. A friend of mine was in Chicago for the show, so Jules and I got our road trip on and went back to my hometown. I did pretty well with the coloured spotlights this time - it helps that Stars on Ice is such a well-rehearsed show and that the lighting is all very professional. The show was just fantastic, and I especially loved the addition to the cast of one of my favourite dance teams, 2006 & 2007 world silver medalists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.

Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman were the 2002 world bronze medalists, but in my opinion, the highlight of their career has been their contribution to pro skating. They've become the pairs team with the big tricks, and this is one of those tricks. Isabelle Brasseur & Lloyd Eisler invented it in the 90s, and it's called the "Fly High and Say Bye." John tosses Kyoko over his head backwards, then spins 180 degrees while she's flying over him to catch her, then pushes her back through his legs. It's hard to explain. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

2006 Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen's programs often highlight interesting positions and her flexibility. This is from her program to "Anytime, Anywhere," a song that I pretty much cannot stand. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

This photo of 2002 Olympic champions Jamie Salé & David Pelletier ended up being one of my favourite photos that I took all season. I love the purple effect with the spotlight just behind them, and their classic pairs spiral is just fantastic. This program is set to "Thankful" by Josh Groban, and it's a celebration of their relationship and a dedication to their son, born last fall. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

1994 World champion Yuka Sato is best known for her uber-fluid skating and soundless edges, so this fun program to "Swing with Me" was a bit unexpected. Shooting with a fixed 200mm lens means that I have to embrace the close-up, and it's worth it when I get shots like this one. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon definitely have some of the best lifts in ice dance. This one is from the finale, set to that song about making a memory by Bon Jovi. Patrice has such solid lifting skills, and Marie-France hits the most gorgeous positions. They're just fantastic, and provided another fabulous level for the SOI cast, which has not regularly featured ice dancers in recent years. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next up: Either some more Chicago or some more Stars on Ice...I can't remember which comes first chronologically.

that's chicago.

2008-04-23T18:12:00.004-04:00

I'm so excited for my first hometown post on this blog! I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but have been living in central Michigan for over 2 years now. I'm only a 3 and a half hour drive from my parents' house, so I go home every chance that I get - usually about once a month. This set of photos are from a day downtown with some friends while I played tour guide, one of my favourite pastimes.

The "Diamond Building," as it's commonly known, is actually the Smurfit-Stone Building, and the big metal blog is "The Bean," which is actually called "Cloud Gate." It was a new sculpture installed in Millenium Park, which opened in 2001, I believe. And no, I did not photoshop that beautiful blue sky. 1/2500, f/10, ISO 200.

This is Holy Name Cathedral, on North State Street. I think it's the "headquarters," for lack of the proper term, for the Chicago Archdiocese of the Catholic Church...but again, those might not be the right terms. At any rate, it is a beautiful building, tucked right into the city. 1/200, f/11, ISO 200.

Detail from the Chicago Tribune Building. I had a traumatic experience here in sixth grade, regarding the county spelling bee, almost qualifying for the state bee, and not having the right list of words that all the other kids have. You put the pieces together. It's still too painful for me to talk about. Pretty building, though. 1/320, f/5, ISO 400.

I admit, I almost deleted this photo in my camera when I was looking at my pictures from the day on the train out of the city. I forgot to reset my aperture after I went back into the sunlight, and this looked way too overexposed to be salvaged. I was upset, because the broken ice on the river was just gorgeous that day. I kept it, though, and I managed to tweak some settings on the image, and now look at it! Yay! 1/320, f/5, ISO 400.

Next up: same day in Chicago, but a different occasion - Stars on Ice!

a little bit of bball

2008-04-22T10:34:00.003-04:00

I like to think of myself as a good sports photographer, not just a good skating photographer, but I quickly learned at the women's Alma vs. Olivet game on February 23 that I'm not so hot at photographing basketball. The lens had a bit to do with it - the gymnasium isn't quite large enough to shoot comfortably with a fixed 200mm lens, but I never got the white balance or the other settings right, either. And then there's the problem of getting a lot of backs, because they would turn just before I clicked the shutter. Since I'm so familiar with skating, I can anticipate turns and changes of direction better. I guess that if I shot basketball all the time and suddenly tried skating, I might feel the same way. Finally, I was there to play in the pep band, so priority number one was playing whenever the clock stopped, and I wasn't completely focused on capturing great moments. Still, I did get a few shots that I like:

I kind of like this shot, with the Alma girl unfocused and the girl from my team about to go after her. 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Talking strategy and taking a rest on the bench. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Natalie, a friend from my major, shares a funny moment with her fellow cheerleaders. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Free throw! 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Air time! This is probably my favourite shot from the game. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Here's a back shot, but I took this one on purpose as she was throwing the ball back in bounds, and I kind of like it. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next up: Chicago in February.

off the ice

2008-04-21T12:22:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm finally at my last post from the 2008 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. It was quite a week, so I wanted to give it the blogging that it deserved...for my own memory's sake, if for nothing else. I hope some of you have enjoyed seeing the images and reading some of the stories that made the week, though! This last post is "off the ice," and I'm just posting some pictures that I like that I took away from the ice during the week. I tried to capture more of the off-ice dynamic as the week went on, but I still don't have much - that's the difficulty in covering a huge event like this by myself!

Keegan Murphy was 10th at the 2006 Canadian Championships, and then he decided to retire from competitive skating. This year, though, perhaps it was the draw of competing in his hometown, because he decided to make a comeback. He finished 16th overall, but the experience alone seemed like it was worth it to him. He represents the Sunset Figure Skating Club in Vancouver, and I think he coaches there, too. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 400.

At the press conference following the men's free skate, this was the face of the 17-year-old who beat an Olympic medalist to win his first Canadian title with a phenomenal performance. 1/60, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Lauren Senft is from Vancouver and had a lot of support in the crowd. Earlier, the signs were all right-side-up, and the "and Augie" part was held up, too. This time, though...oups? 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

When the dancers sat down for their press conference after the free dance, the woman running the conference announced Allie Hann-McCurdy & Michael Coreno by saying something like, "You listed one of your goals as making the podium at the Canadian Championships...you've done that now, so maybe you have to update your goals." This was that moment. 1/60, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, newly crowned Canadian dance champions, after the press conference. 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

In 2004, Cynthia Phaneuf came out of nowhere to become the Canadian champion. In 2005, she was 2nd to Joannie Rochette. In 2006, she was sidelined by injuries that kept her out of competition for over a year, and she even questioned coming back at all. In 2007, she fought back to a 4th place finish. And this year, she was on the podium again, winning the bronze medal. She's still not at her best yet, so I look forward to seeing what she can do next season. 1/100, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

That's a wrap on Canadians! I'm not sure what's up next...I think it will either be a basketball game, or a trip to Chicago.

smooches!

2008-04-20T23:54:00.003-04:00

Theme photo post again! While I was going through my thousands of photos of the 2008 Canadian Championships, I noticed a lot of smooching. So I started setting the smooching photos aside, and my conclusion is that ice dancers are far smoochier than pairs skaters. Anyway...these are just some fun smooching photos from the week. It's all just so adorable. Disclaimer for the rumour mill: most of the kissing is choreographed! I'm not saying that all of these teams are couples off the ice, too.

I didn't get a chance to say it in the junior OD post, but Catherine St-Onge & Alexander Browne had one of the most charming Italian folk original dances. I loved it! 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Here's another one from the junior OD. Sophie Knippel & Andrew Britten performed a Russian folk dance, and they went on to win the bronze medal in junior dance. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Mylène Lamoreux & Michael Mee opened their Yankee Polka CD with an air kiss. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Lauren Senft & Augie Hill had a charming folk dance to music from Cape Breton, which, true story, I am kind of fascinated with the idea of visiting someday. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Jessica Miller & Ian Moram congratulate each other after a great short program - my favourite short program of the pairs event, and good enough for fourth place. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 400.

I can sense the relief in this photo of Jessica Dubé & Bryce Davison. Jess & Bryce had to fight back from a 5th place, borderline disastrous short program. This was taken after they finished their free program, which vaulted them to the silver medal. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Claire Tannett & Wendell McGrath after their free dance. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Jamie Salé & David Pelletier, while being inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame, took a moment to thank each other. 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next: just a few more photos from the Canadian Championships to wrap things up!

good things must come to an end

2008-04-16T11:05:00.003-04:00

Sunday. The final day of the Canadian Championships. It's always bittersweet, especially because Skate Canada generally schedules one free skate for Sunday. For as long as I can remember, it's been the free dance, but this year, it was the ladies' free. So after staying up way too late on Saturday night with the girls, I arrived at the arena at about 8.40 on Sunday morning, just in time for the first ladies' free. After the free skate, there was a bit of a break, and then the ice was reset for the hall of fame induction and the medal ceremonies. Finally, the last event of the competition was the gala, known at Canadian events as the "Parade of Champions," which I think is a pretty terrible name, but I guess no one asked me. The lighting was terrible for the medals and the gala - kind of half-dimmed, with a spotlight that wasn't always where it was supposed to be. The photos are very grey, and I'm not a big fan of most of them, so I'm cramming all of Sunday into one post.

When I'm behind the camera, I'm not as emotionally invested in the performances as I am when I'm just watching. That being said, my level of emotional investment in figure skating is kind of sky-high to begin with. So even when I'm working, a great performance can still make me cry. Not many get me crying after the first jump, though, which is what Lesley Hawker's free skate did for me. Skating last in the penultimate group, she needed a big comeback, and the performance that she gave was probably her best skate ever. As soon as the first jump was landed, she just settled into the music and skated with such freedom and passion. This photo was snapped during her footwork near the end of her program, and I just love the expression on her face, even if it looks like her arm has been amputated at the elbow. Someone in seventh place after the short program does not often get a standing ovation, but by the time Lesley's music finished, the audience was already on its feet. Although it wasn't quite enough for the podium, it's definitely among my top five moments of the week. 2nd in the free, 4th overall. 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 800.

It's only taken me three years, but I finally got a photo of Joannie Rochette doing a split jump! This performance wasn't quite as incredible as Lesley's, but she has more difficulty in her program, so she defended her title well. This win gave her four consecutive victories at these championships. 1st in the free, 1st overall. 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Seven years ago, Jamie Salé & David Pelletier were crowned world champions in Vancouver, not here at the PNE, but at GM Place. This year, they were finally inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame with a touching ceremony and a lot of tears. Being able to share this moment with my friends was so meaningful, since many of us originally met because of our shared fandom for Salé & Pelletier, back in the day. Another one of my top five moments of the week...even though Dave is wearing brown shoes with a grayish suit. You can't see them in this photo, but I think he's also wearing black socks. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

I could have picked any one of about five photos of Shawn Sawyer from the gala to post. He always has such great line and dramatic positions. Bronze medal winner. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Jessica Dubé & Bryce Davison had a new show program to Barry White music that was just hilarious. It kept repeating the line, "So...what do you wanna do?" and I may have gone through a phase when I tried to turn that into my catchphrase. Don't worry, the phase was short-lived. Love this photo. Silver medal winners. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Here's a funny story about this program. Jeff Buttle began the season using this, "I Pagliacci," as his short program, and I loved it. But before Canadians, he announced that he would be returning to using last year's program. When I saw him later on Sunday night, I told him that I loved his short program, but then I felt like I had to clarify which one, so I said, "But not the one you skated this week...the other one." Jeff, always a class act, ignored the fact that I kind of dissed the program that he decided to use, just grinned and exclaimed, "Thank you!! I skated that one in the gala today!" My very eloquent response: "I know!! But...it's not the same." Props to him for not acting like I was a power tool. It's not that I don't like the other program, really, I just thought this one was fantastic, and I have a weakness for operas. Silver medal winner. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Anabelle Langlois & Cody Hay's win this week was definitely a surprise - even to them! I was sitting next to my friend Chele during the pairs free, and I can say with a fair amount of certainty that she is their biggest fan. It was awesome to be able to share that moment with her, so I wanted to post this photo - it's my favourite that I took of them all week. 2008 Canadian pairs champions. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Jamie & Dave were asked to skate in the gala after their induction, and it was the first time I'd seen them skate since their son was born a few months earlier. I couldn't believe what incredible shape Jamie was already in! It was such a treat to be able to photograph the team that got me back into skating after I let my fandom lapse in what I call the "Nagano Aftermath" between 1998 and 2001. I love their classic pairs spiral, and that they held it with such control that I literally have about six photos of it that are almost identical. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz, 2003 world champions and 10-time Canadian champions, were the honourary chairs of the event and they emceed the gala together. They stopped skating together in fall 2003, and for a couple of years, rumours have been flying about a reunion. I'm not sure I'd call this a complete reunion, since it wasn't a full program, but they surprised the audience by skating together for a few moments, doing some of their old trademark moves. As someone who became a fan of theirs in 1996, it was fantastic to be in the audience for this. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 800.

And that wraps up the highlights from the week! I still have two more posts on the week in the works - one of photos from "around the rink" and one "theme" post, kind of like the one I did for the senior compulsory dance with all of the kicks.

footloose and fancy free

2008-04-15T07:47:00.003-04:00

Saturday, January 19, at the 2008 Canadian Championships. Part two of a highly emotional day. 15 senior dance teams skated their senior free dances. On the line: 1 title...but everyone knew who was going to get that, anyway. What was really on the line were two additional berths on the team going to the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships and four additional berths on the 2008-2009 senior national team, and the top group of teams certainly put up a great fight. There were some unexpected results, and there were some great efforts. And since I'm feeling generous, and obviously everyone loves ice dance as much as I do, here are photos of the top ten teams, besides Mylène Lamoreux & Michael Mee, who placed 7th. I had a brain fart during Mylène and Mike, and I shot their whole dance on the wrong settings. I did the same thing with Siobhan Karam & Kevin O'Keefe, who skated right after that, but because Mylène & Mike had white costumes, I wasn't able to salvage any good shots of their dance.

It's difficult to get good shots of the side-by-side footwork in ice dance. I was shooting from the 10th row, but with the aperture set to 2.8, it's tough to get both skaters in focus when everything is moving so quickly. However, in Bethany Puttkemery & Kevin Gallagher's dance, I flipped my camera to horizontal and got this shot while they were at the far end of the ice from me. I probably won't be able to print this photo any larger than 5x7, but I shoot primarily for web, so that's fine. Love Bethany's skirt action and the bright colours in this dance to music from Swing Kids. 10th in this dance, 10th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Andrea Chong is so expressive, but she skates with her eyes closed most of the time, if my photos are any indication. It doesn't matter in this shot, though. She & partner Guillaume Gfeller had a bluesy free dance to "It's a Man's World" with a very mature presentation, despite their ages and the fact that this was their first season together. Their coach and choreographer, Julie Marcotte, is, in my opinion, one of the best choreographers in Canada, especially for ice dance. 8th in this dance, 9th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

After all that babble about how difficult it is to take a good photo of side-by-side footwork, here's another. The straightline footwork isn't usually one of the highlights of a dance for me, but this element from Lauren Senft & Augie Hill really accents their free dance to music from Chicago, since they stay in the character of the dance, even though the steps are difficult. Very close 9th in this dance, 8th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Here's one of the dances I shot on the wrong settings, so I apologize for their glowing quality. However, I do love the motion in this shot. Siobhan Karam & Kevin O'Keefe had a great dance to music from Notre Dame de Paris. They're in their first season together, but they are so well-suited for each other. Unfortunately, they had to skate in the penultimate group, and I felt like the scores skyrocketed when the last group began. So although some aspects of Siobhan & Kevin's dance were much better than the dances that followed them, they didn't have the same standard of inflation on their scores, and they were unable to make a move into the top five. But what a great moment, though. I was at their first competition together last August, and the progress that they made in four months was astounding. 6th in this dance, 6th overall. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 400.

I have really high standards for tangos, okay? They're so lame if you don't do it right, and no one likes a lame free dance - not when there are so many other styles that could have been picked. So I'm usually very opposed to first-year senior teams choosing a tango. However, Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier proved that there are exceptions to this rule. Their tango free dance was simply fabulous. It was so well-skated, so well-choreographed, and even though the scoring system has made a cookie-cutter approach to ice dance possible, this young team pushed the limits of the system and didn't earn their points in the same way that most of the other teams do. The judges ranked this free dance 2nd of the night, which was so well-deserved, and they finished in 4th overall, less than a point from the podium. Vanessa & Paul were awarded a spot on the 2008 Junior World team, where they won the silver medal. Watch out for them next year! 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Mylène Girard & Liam Dougherty had a bit of a rough start to their season (and their new partnership), with a disappointing placement at an international competition, but instead of being discouraged, they trained harder. With this free dance to music from The Mission, they presented a side of their skating much softer than what was seen in their flamenco original dance, and they really won me over with it in December at the 2008 Senior Challenge, the qualifying event for Canadians. I didn't think this performance was quite as wonderful as Challenge, but it was still excellent, and they earned a place on the 2008-2009 national team. Very close 3rd place in this dance, 5th place overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Allie Hann-McCurdy & Michael Coreno train in Burnaby, BC, practically just down the road from the arena in Vancouver, so they had a lot of support from the audience. They looked like they had a blast skating their free dance to "Rhapsody in Blue," and it is a style that works well for them, but I thought that the dance lacked the choreographic complexity of the other teams in the top five. I actually thought that Siobhan & Kevin, who placed sixth, even had a better dance, and more flow across the ice. Still, Allie & Mike skated this very well, and although it was a close fight, they managed to hang onto 3rd place. After placing 8th last year and considering quitting, their first podium finish was a huge accomplishment, and they were also awarded the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2008 World Championships in Sweden last month. They finished a respectable 19th there. 5th in this dance, 3rd overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje were last year's big surprise, when they finished 3rd in their first season together. This year, they had a lot to prove, so they chose a very mature free dance to "Blues for Klook." On a personal note, I kind of hate that music, but I thought that the style worked well for them. The first half of this dance was great, but unfortunately, Andrew fell in the middle section of the dance. Since it was not on a specific element, their deductions for the fall weren't huge, and they managed to hang onto the silver medal and a return trip to the World Championships, where they placed 17th. This shot is from the first few seconds of the dance. Verrry close 4th in this dance, 2nd overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Since the skaters at these championships skated in reverse order of the standings, the audience was given the wonderful treat of watching Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir close the event when the rest of the competition had already been decided. Watching them without worrying about anyone else made me enjoy this program to music from Les Parapluies de Cherbourg even more. I'll be honest - this shot is a little too blurry in its original resolution, but I was able to sharpen it to post here. Tessa & Scott skate so fast and with constant changes of position that it makes my job as a photographer quite a challenge. I so desperately wanted to get a great shot of this lift - it's pretty much the high point of the whole dance, timed perfectly with the music, but my shots started to blur as Scott came around the curve and Tessa's face came into better view. Ah well. I get better at photographing them every time I see them, so I'm hoping for some good results next week. Anyway, back to this event...although Tessa & Scott skated this program without any mistakes and put on a mesmerizing performance, I don't think they peaked here, which was good. In my opinion, their best performance of this free dance came in March at the World Championships, where they won a silver medal - in only their second trip to the event. These kids are amazing. 1st in this dance, 1st overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

The overall quality of dance this year was just incredible. I thought the same thing two years ago, when the race for the 2nd Olympic team spot gave me an ulcer, and the rest of the competition was enjoyable, too, but this year surpassed 2006. It's definitely a huge rebound after last year, which was quite disappointing for dance. For example, this year, Mylène Lamoreux & Michael Mee scored 160.91 points overall and placed seventh - a perfectly respectable finish and two places higher than they finished last year. However, last year, 160.91 points would have been enough for third place and a trip to the World Championships. Of last year's top ten teams, only six returned, so many were expecting that 2008 would be a rebuilding year. Perhaps it was, but if this was only a rebuilding year, then I can't wait to see what next year holds.

Next time: highlights from Sunday that will probably include the ladies' free and the hall of fame induction. Maybe I'll post the Parade of Champions with those, too, depending on how many photos I want to put up.

emotions running high

2008-04-13T17:13:00.002-04:00

On Saturday at the 2008 Canadian Championships, four titles were at stake. The senior pairs, senior men, senior dancers, and junior men all skated their free programs. The day was exciting, emotional, and definitely quite long. I didn't even stay for all of the junior men - I conducted some interviews during their free skate, but I was just too tired to stay for the rest of the competition, especially since I knew I had to be at the arena before 9 the next morning. Still, even just seeing three events wore me out! Here are highlights from the senior pairs and senior men, the first session of the day.

I don't remember much about Becky Cosford & Brian Shales' program, except that I think it was pretty decent, but I do love this shot. They moved from 12th up to 8th with this. 8th in this program, 8th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Jessica Dubé & Bryce Davison were supposed to win this title easily - they were the defending champions, and the only Canadian pair team to have made the Grand Prix Final this season. They'd already beaten one of the top teams in the world at an early international competition. But mistakes in the short program left them in 5th heading into the free, a particularly difficult position, since that meant they weren't even in the final group of skaters. But Jess & Bryce are certainly fighters, and they skated a beautiful program that brought the audience to its feet. Although they finished second overall, it was only by a fraction of a point, and they went on to win the bronze medal at the World Championships in March. 1st in this program, 2nd overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Jessica Miller & Ian Moram are one of only three teams in the world that consistently try a quad throw, plus they have great lifts. This is their double twist, which got great marks, since she gets a lot of height and has a nice, tight position in the air. 6th in this program, 6th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

I just love a good reaction photo! Here, Meagan Duhamel & Craig Buntin are absolutely thrilled at the end of their program. As a new team, they had a lot to prove at these championships, and they really lived up to the hype, earning a spot on the World Championship team. 3rd in this program, 3rd overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Joey Russell won the junior title two years ago, and has had a pretty decent transition to seniors. I love the position he gets here. 8th in this program, 9th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Ken Rose had an awesome skate here - no major mistakes, and he skated with a lot of energy. This was snapped just as he finished his program. 4th in this program, 7th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

I have such a soft spot for Shawn Sawyer, since he's a nice guy and always stops for a chat. I think I told the socks story a few blogs back. He definitely earned his "you rock my socks" socks with this program, which vaulted him back to the podium. He was 3rd in 2006 (and went to the Olympics), but had finished 4th last year, and when he was 6th in the short program this year, he knew he needed a big free program. I think this was the landing of his final jump. The best part about this picture is that he skated first in the final group, so at this point in time, he had no idea how the others would skate, and whether his effort was enough for the podium or not. He was just thrilled with the skate itself. 3rd in this program, 3rd overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Fedor Andreev, arguably one of skating's most attractive men, had taken time off from the ice for a few years to model and race cars and be in movies, and who knows what else. He'd only been training for a few months when he arrived at the Canadians in Vancouver, and no one expected much from him. This program wasn't as solid as his short program, but it was enjoyable - and he sure does know how to make skating look great. I hope he'll be back again next year. 11th in this program, 8th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Unfortunately, Chris Mabee didn't have the best free program, and couldn't match his silver-medal-winning performance from last year. He's such an entertaining skater, though, and a classy guy - he skates at countless club shows throughout the spring every year, and also does speaking engagements. 7th in this program, 5th overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

There were so many wonderful moments in Vancouver that week, but this was probably the most incredible of them all. Patrick Chan, a 17-year-old from Toronto, has been talked about for a few years, but in his prior two performances at Nationals at the senior level, he's been inconsistent. This year, though, he was flying high off a great fall season, and he brought a clean triple Axel with him. This program is impeccably choreographed to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," and although he's young, Patrick is such a musically mature skater. With every jump he landed, the crowd got a little louder, and by the time he got to his final elements - his straightline footwork and final spin, the audience was louder the music, and people started standing before he even finished. This is a championship skate that's going to be remembered for years, and I don't think it will be Patrick's last, either. 1st in this program, 1st overall. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

And because I love reactions:

In an interview the next day, Patrick said that one of the best parts of his program was getting to fist-pump when it was over. He'd never had the chance to fist-pump before.

Next time: The rest of Saturday's action - the senior free dance.

the third day

2008-04-12T21:06:00.003-04:00

Day 3 at the 2008 Canadian Championships featured short programs from the senior men, senior pairs, and senior ladies. I think that the junior ladies skated their free programs first, in the morning, but my friends and I opted to walk around downtown that morning, where we took a copious amount of photos with the Olympic countdown clock.

Still trying to get the settings right on my camera, three days into the competition! I like very white ice in my photos, but this was making the skaters practically glow-in-the-dark, so I had to settle for grey ice on the raw images, and then a bit of photoshopping to get the colours balanced the way that I like them. I have quite a few photos to share from this day and I'm putting them all in one post, so I'll quit the chit-chat and get to the pictures.

One of the things I love about Canadians is discovering the lesser-known competitors that don't usually get shown on TV. Ian Martinez was a great discovery this year - he skated with such energy and was obviously having a great time on the ice. He was also a big hit with the schoolkids in the upper bowl. 9th place. 1/160, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Last year's junior champion, Jeremy Ten, is a hometown kid and had a lot of pressure on him, since he was involved in a very competitive fight to make the World Junior team. Unfortunately, he didn't skate as well as he was expected to, but he is a very musical skater with a good spread eagle, as pictured here. 14th place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

This is officially one of my favourite photos from the entire season. I've always wanted to get a great split jump photo, and this moment from Shawn Sawyer's short program was my first. I wish his eyes were open, but I guess I can't be faulted for that! 6th place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

I was so excited to get two split jumps in a row - this is Chris Mabee in a Russian split jump, but unfortunately, you can see that the camera crew from CBC was given priority over the photographers, as they were on a platform above the judges, and therefore, in our sight lines looking towards the opposite end of the rink. It was so frustrating! 3rd place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Jeff Buttle (who became a World Champion this year, two months after these championships!) is not the most photogenic skater - lots of open-mouthed, eyes-closed, occasional snot-flying moments in his programs. However, he does have an extremely photogenic entrance to his triple Axel. 1st place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Here's a neat double-image of Meagan Duhamel & Craig Buntin's double twist from their short program. It's a lateral one, which is very difficult and fairly rare, even among the best teams in the world. The most impressive part is that Duhamel & Buntin have only been skating together since last June, and before that, Duhamel had not skated pairs at all since January 2006. Look at how clean their catch is, and how high it is above Craig's head. Many teams collide on the catch, in a stomach-to-nose kind of thing. Not very photogenic, and not correct, either. Meagan's arms above her head gets them extra points, too. Great element for them. 2nd place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Jessica Miller & Ian Moram are one of the smoothest pairs teams in the world, in my opinion, and this bluesy short program really highlighted their strengths. I love this entrance into their throw, and since I was sitting on the opposite of the rink for this event, I got a great photo of it. 4th place. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Unfortunately, sitting in the opposite corner with my friends, and being fairly high up, meant that I didn't get as many good shots of the pairs or ladies this evening. I do like this one of Jessica Dubé & Bryce Davison, though, coming around the corner in their flamenco short program. Jess & Bryce were expected to win the event easily, but they had an unusually rough short program. 5th place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

I love reaction shots! Kristen Walker wasn't seeded very high, and had to skate quite early in the ladies' short program. This was taken as she pumped her fist at the end of her clean program. 6th place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Lesley Hawker is just one of my favourite people in skating. She's so friendly and a little hilarious, and my friends and I love cheering for her. She didn't land her first triple jump until she was something like 18 years old, so she's older than most of her competitors. Her skating stands out because of her maturity and because of the way she just beams whenever she's on the ice. Unfortunately, she got nailed for several smaller mistakes in this program. 7th place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

And what's a photoblog of a ladies' event without a spiral photo? Joannie Rochette is unquestionably the best skater in Canada right now, and she certainly has one of the best spirals, if not the best. This short program to Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto is probably my favourite of all her short programs, and it was wonderful to see it live. 1st place. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Next: Day 4! Probably free programs for the senior pairs and senior men.

dance originally

2008-04-07T20:42:00.003-04:00

Still on Day Two of competition from the 2008 Canadian Championships. This is Thursday, if you're keeping track, and the senior original dance was the last event of the day. It's great when dance gets top billing - it doesn't happen often, but Canada has a tradition of great dance teams, so every once in a while, dancers get some respect. But enough with that, and on to the pictures, and more of the saga in Mel's battle against the blinding arena lights.

Lisa Johnson & Joseph Scott had a successful jig-themed free dance in 2007, so they brought the idea back for their original dance this season. I like this photo because I froze a frame with great unison. 12th place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Christina Bourgeois & Jonathan Pelletier's flamenco dance demonstrates one of my rules of skating photography: flying fringe always makes a better picture. And if you're wondering if this is Megan's dress from 2002, you're right; I asked her. 11th place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Andrea Chong & Guillaume Gfeller skated a soft country dance to music by that band that Norah Jones is in that I can never remember the name of. I love this photo, with the way that I just barely got Guillaume's eyes in the shot. 9th place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Lauren Senft & Augie Hill dropped a spot, to 8th, with their Cape Breton folk dance, but the experience of skating well at home meant that they scored big with the audience - and even bigger when Lauren modeled the Vancouver hockey jersey that someone threw her before she left the ice. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier's Romanian folk dance was among my favourites of the season, and they skated it sooo well here. And this picture is so much fun! 4th place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Siobhan Karam & Kevin O'Keefe's Irish folk dance was another favourite of mine this season. I don't always love lift photos, because it's hard to get two faces that look good, but I just love Siobhan's expression here. 6th place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Wow, this event was kind of like a hit parade, wasn't it? I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but Allie Hann-McCurdy & Michael Coreno had another one of my favourite original dances of the season. Theirs was a charming Canadian waltz & jig, and this photo is obviously from the jig portion. 3rd place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

I still think that Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir could have picked a better rhythm for them than Russian folk, but this dance definitely is more enjoyable live than on television. They're the class of the field, no question, and they bring the drama. 1st place. 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next time: Day 3!

more junior highlights

2008-04-03T18:04:00.003-04:00

Day Two of competition at the 2008 Canadian Championships, Part One. Another long day, and an exciting one. However, it was a little sad, too, as it marked the end of the junior dance competition. As I wrote for my blog at ice-dance.com, junior dance has become one of my favourite events over the course of the season. I got to see some of these teams perform as many as three times during the year, and watching them show what they've learned this season at Canadians was so much fun. As always, some teams will move on to other partners or other endeavours, so I knew that I was seeing some of these teams for the last time, although I didn't know which ones at the time.

Alissa Pettinicchi & Derek Green hadn't even been skating together for a full year when they showed up at Canadians. Alissa, at 14, was one of the youngest girls in the competition, but she really lit up the rink. I just loved this lift of theirs, and I was glad that I was able to get a good shot of it during the free dance. 18th in this dance, 18th overall. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

As a journalist, I aim to be fair and I try not to appear more supportive of one team than another, but it's tough when a team impresses me as much as Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon did this year. I saw them for the first time two years ago, but they did not make an impression on me then, so when they showed up at Lake Placid last August with beautiful, polished programs, I felt like I was seeing a brand new team. They're not new, though - they've been skating together for 10 years. And in both 2006 & 2007, they finished 13th at Canadians on the junior level. After finishing 13th twice in a row, a lot of teams would have called it quits, but Tarrah & Keith wanted to skate at Nationals in their hometown, Keith told me in an interview, so they kept going. And when they heard that Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe were moving back to Vancouver to coach, they decided that they were going to give this season all they had. So they switched coaches, changed their training regiment completely, and ended up improving by 9 places. Their free dance was just this fantastic moment, in the middle of the morning, thanks to a Nationals schedule that is never kind to junior dancers. But there were all of these schoolkids on field trips in the arena, and the noise of the crowd just kept growing as Tarrah & Keith literally skated the best dance of their lives. Absolutely among my favourite moments of the whole week. 3rd in this dance; 4th overall. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

This is from Anna Stanislavska & Dylan Fieldhouse's free dance, which was skated well and had a lot of character. I wasn't quite ready for this gem of a moment, so I was zoomed in too far, but I think I still managed a decent shot. 5th in this dance; 5th overall. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

The next event on the schedule was the junior men's short program. I spent a lot of the event editing photos and working on some writing, but there was one skater in particular I wanted to see, so I managed to catch the last group. I also decided to change the settings on my camera after this, since some of my junior free dance photos were obnoxiously bright. Trying to achieve the right balance of settings for the lights was a challenge for the rest of the week, but at least it meant that I always had something to chat about with the other photographers.

Everything about Paul Poirier's short program says, "I am an actually an ice dancer, but I do this free skating thing, too." This photo actually screams, "I am an ice dancer!!!" Check out that edge. Awesome. 6th in the short program, ended up winning the silver medal later in the week. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

The opening ceremony was between the junior men's short program and the junior pairs' free program. People were arriving and actually wanting to sit in their seats, so my friends couldn't sit near me any more, and since I wasn't shooting the junior pairs for any reason except for some fun, I ended up sitting with them fairly high in one of the corners. I didn't get a lot of great shots, but I was able to shoot lifts and twists better than I could in the photo row, which was nice.

Of course, I'm not actually picking a lift or a twist photo to show. Oh well. This is part of Monica Pisotta & Michael Stewart's spiral sequence. Although they were 2nd in this program, they managed to hang on to the gold medal overall, which also earned them a spot on the team for the Junior World Championships. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

After the junior pairs were done, my friends and I ran into Shawn Sawyer, one of the competitors in the senior men's event. We've known him for a few years, so we chatted with him for a bit, and he made us promise to throw him socks. At the 2005 Canadian Championships, we were kind of into the phrase, "you rock my socks," so one of our friends, Erin, wrote "you rock my socks" on a bunch of pairs of dollar-store socks, and threw them to some of the skaters. Shawn thought that his socks were the greatest thing ever, so he always asks for more. Anyway, there were these bunches of balloons decorating the "BMO Fan Centre," so Shawn grabbed a couple and pretended to run off with them while I snapped his picture - all under the suspicious eye of a volunteer that, I suspect, may have been on the decorating committee. 1/60, f/4, ISO 400.

Next time: senior original dance & the conclusion of day two.

let's polka!

2008-04-01T14:12:00.002-04:00

The Yankee Polka is one of the hallmarks of the senior compulsory dances, in my opinion. Most people have a love-hate relationship with it, and by "love-hate," I mean that most people either love it or hate it. I fall into the "love it" category. Really love it. The music is irritatingly perky, including one track that is an instrumental version of "O Susanna." The costumes are so random. Braids, pigtails, and Heidi-buns! Whee! It was the first compulsory dance I saw live, at the 2004 Four Continents Championships in Hamilton. I was sitting with a group of 10 enthusiastic skating fans, and we clapped all the way through it. So when the Yankee Polka was drawn for 2008 Canadians, I was ecstatic. Christina, Jen, & Michele arranged their flights to arrive in time for it on Wednesday night, so that we could all watch it together.

In compulsory dances, I like identifying a particular part of the dance to photograph, and challenging myself to get a good shot of every couple at the same moment. I was sitting in a great place to get the fun kick toward the end of the pattern, so I made that my mission for the CD. I missed the kicks of quite a few of the earlier skaters, but once I got to the second half of the teams, I managed to get a good kicking photo of almost all of them.

Claire Tannett & Wendell McGrath execute a sharp kick with good unison, but it's not as high as some of the teams that came later. This was their first year in seniors, and it could have been their first time competing the Yankee. They were 14th in this dance. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Mylène Lamoreux & Michael Mee have great expression in this dance, but freezing a frame in this kick can be very revealing - you can see that they're not quite in unison. Nice, sharp arms, though. 8th place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Lauren Senft & Augie Hill are a first-year, international team. She's a hometown girl from Vancouver; he's from Chicago and also Texas. They train in Michigan. They represent British Columbia. Sometimes I call them Laugie. And their kick is adorable, but again, not perfect unison. That's understandable, though - it often takes years to develop that. 7th place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Siobhan Karam & Kevin O'Keefe are another first-year, international team. Siobhan was born in Ottawa; Kevin was born in Maine. They also train in Michigan, and they represent Eastern Ontario. And they had a surprisingly good Yankee, especially for a new team. Unison is close, and look at how close together their hips are - skating closer together is always more difficult. 4th place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier were last year's junior champions, and they competed junior internationally this year, so Canadians were their first senior competition. This was their first Yankee Polka, and they did well. Beautiful unison on the kick, and great expression from Vanessa. 6th place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Allie Hann-McCurdy & Michael Coreno train in Vancouver, so it was great for them to do so well in front of a home crowd. I love the energy in this picture, although you can see that the kick wasn't the strongest part of their dance. 2nd place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje are a second-year team, and another Canadian/American pairing, only Kaitlyn is the American - originally from Texas. Andrew is from Kitchener, Ontario, and they represent Northern Ontario, even though neither of them is from there and they do not train there. Love Kaitlyn in this photo, though - nice extension, expression, and dress ruffle. 3rd place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir are one of the top teams in the world, as I think I mentioned a couple of entries ago, and easy favourites to win this. They came out and skated confidently, although their smooth style isn't that well-suited to the perky Yankee. Their pattern was bigger than the other teams, so even though I was sitting in exactly the same seat, I didn't have the same angle for their kick. It still shows off their beautiful unison, though (they've been skating together for over 10 years), and crisp lines. It's also hard to tell in this photo, but Tessa is rocking some Heidi-buns in her hair. 1st place. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

And one final gem. I love candid shots of skaters with their coaches at the boards. Some are all business before they skate, and some laugh and joke around to keep relaxed. Here are Lisa Johnson & Joseph Scott with coach Rebecca Babb (I think?) just before their 12th-place Yankee Polka. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next time: Day two of competition.

juniors take the ice

2008-03-30T03:44:00.005-04:00

These updates from Vancouver are taking a few days each to put together, since I'm literally wading through over 1,000 images from each day. These are from Wednesday, the first day of competition at the Canadian Championships, and on this day in particular, I took over 2500 photos! Racing to the press room between events to dump memory cards, 2 GB Extreme III memory cards that only last about half an hour, constantly adjusting for the most intense arena lighting I've ever seen - plus that giant reflective white surface I love so dearly -- it's just a typical day in the life of a skating photographer.

I had a chance on Tuesday night to review my photos from practice, and I couldn't believe how overexposed they were - this usually isn't my problem when I'm shooting skating! So while Lori-Anne, host extraordinaire, chauffeured Jules & me to the arena by way of the longest drive-thru line at Starbucks that I have ever seen, I was texting the amazing and talented Michelle, who has taught me everything I know about skating photography, and most of the things I know about journalism, too. Thanks to the three-hour time difference between Vancouver and the East Coast, Michelle was around, and even though I was in the car and couldn't send her sample photos, she gave me an idea of some settings to try, and I promised I'd try to keep her updated.

The first event was the Junior Compulsory Dance. Internationally, junior ice dancers can be as old as 19 (girls) and 21 (guys), so although there's not an age limit at the national level in Canada, most of the juniors are in their teens. In the compulsory dance, all teams (19 of them, in this case) perform the same dance - they skate exactly the same steps, and the music usually rotates between three or four really cheesy tunes. For this event, the Junior CD was the Cha Cha Congelado, one of my favourite compulsories. It's sharp, the dancers wear bright colours that photograph well, and there are a lot of opportunities to get both faces in a shot. Some of the other compulsories are very difficult to photograph. Two of my favourite shots from the CCC:

Anna Stanislavska & Dylan Fieldhouse were a first-year team, but they gave one of the best performances of the CCC at Canadians. Some people even thought they were undermarked, since they ended up in fourth place. I was a skating fan first, and then I became a photographer, so when I look for my best shots, I like showcasing photos where the skaters look good. There's not a thing wrong with Anna & Dylan here - toes pointed, lines matching, heads up, looking sharp. Anna's flowing orange skirt is just icing on the cake. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon were fifth after the CD, just behind Anna & Dylan. They'd struggled with the CD all season, but not here in their hometown! They were sharp and confident, and earned a great score. This ended up being one of my favourite pictures from the entire week. 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Same picture, but a close-up, since Tarrah & Keith have such great expression. Every time they stepped on the ice during the week, they just looked so thrilled to be there.

The next event was the junior pairs short program. Junior pairs has the same age stipulations as junior dance, although I'd say that the girls tend to be quite young in junior pairs. Because it's difficult for guys to acquire the upper body strength needed for pairs when they are young, there's often quite an age gap between the two partners. Pairs is difficult for me to shoot, because it's faster and more trick-based than dance. The partners are usually less focused on looking photogenic, too, so along with some difficult focusing issues, there are often some pretty tragic facial expressions! So here's just one, my favourite from the junior pairs SP:

Olivia Jones & Donald Jackson trained in Montréal at one of the world's most renowned training facilities for pairs. One thing I love about the pairs from St-Léonard (the town where the rink is, just outside of Montréal) is that they tend to have excellent short programs that are fun and sassy. Olivia & Don were no exception! 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

The junior dancers had to skate again on Wednesday, not that long after their compulsory dance. Dancers often get the short end of the stick, scheduling-wise. It's not uncommon for them to compete twice in a day, but that's quite rare for the other disciplines, and for whatever reasons, more often than not, it's the dancers who have to be up at 5 for official practices. Anyway, the second event of the competition for dancers is the original dance. The rhythm(s) changes each year, and this year, it was a folk/country dance. Dancers could choose the country or region that they wanted to bring to the ice, so there was a lot of variety. Three highlights:

The "safe" approach to folk is some sort of Russian/gypsy/EasternEuropean folk dance, since this is a common rhythm for free dances. All ice dancers have at least seen it performed on the ice, and many of them have done a program to it already. I thought that Sophie Knippel & Andrew Britten had one of the strongest overall Russian folk programs in the junior event, and the judges agreed - they were 3rd in this portion of the competition. I just really like this photo, for some reason. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill were the 2007 Novice Canadian champions, and this year, they won the junior event - this is not typical, especially in dance, but they're really that good. They chose a South African folk dance, which was an original choice, and extremely effective. They got a great response from the crowd and huge marks from the judges, placing them solidly in first. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

This is another Russian folk dance, but I just love capturing big facial expressions like this. Maja Vermeulen & Andrew Doleman didn't have their best performance and were 9th with this dance, but you couldn't tell from this photo! 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

The fourth event of the day was the junior ladies short program. I didn't watch all of this, since I was trying to stay caught up with sending in photos (I always have great intentions on the first day!). Then, about halfway through the event, Jen & Christina arrived from Toronto, so once I got a text message saying that they were in the building, Jules & I bolted up the stairs to meet them in the concourse, and photographing junior ladies was no longer my first priority. But I did watch long enough to capture this gem:

Now THAT is a facial expression! Rebecca Addison skated a clean short program and led the standings at the end of the first event. This photograph was snapped when she landed her final jump. 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next up: an in-depth look at the Yankee Polka, the senior compulsory dance.

dance practice

2008-03-20T22:38:00.004-04:00

My first official day of photography at the 2008 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships (henceforth referred to as "Canadians") was Tuesday, a day for official practices. Since my actual assignment was for dance and I was using a rented lens, I made sure that Jules and I hit some dance practices. We were going to take a bus to Chinatown from the PNE in the middle of the afternoon, but I had to dress nicely for my assignment, so I was wearing some snazzy new brown dress shoes. Unfortunately, said snazzy new brown dress shoes could barely make it a block to Starbucks, much less to a bus stop and then around Chinatown. We ended up going back to the arena (Jules walked, I hobbled), and watched more practices until L-A got out of class and came by to get us.

The practice rink was dark, dark, dark. I never did figure out settings that would work for skating that meant photos that didn't have to be Photoshopped, but the good news is that they turned out decently after some 'shopping. Here are several of my favourite moments:

Clara Gosselin & Sébastien Lapointe weren't among the top junior teams, but they really lit up the practice rink when their free dance music started - the disco version of "Knock on Wood." I love that song. Really love that song. 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon are one of the most improved junior teams in Canada this year. More on them some other time - I'm actually working on an article about them for ice-dance.com. I love this photo, because they're both much taller than the average junior dancers, so they have beautiful, long lines. 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

The rest of the photos are from senior-level practices. This is Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier. After winning the junior title last year, it was their first year on the senior level, and they showed up ready to impress. More on them some other time, too - I'm doing a phone interview with them this weekend in preparation for an IDC article on them, too. This photo just makes me laugh - a very intense moment in their tango free dance. 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Siobhan Karam & Kevin O'Keefe are just so expressive. This is from their free dance, music from Notre Dame de Paris. I love how she beams, all the way up to the rafters. We were in a practice rink, so there were only about 15 rows, but you just get the impression that if they'd been in a massive arena, they'd still be able to reach someone in the top row. 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Here's where the ill-fated trip to Starbucks and aborted attempt at seeing Chinatown occurred. When we got back to the arenas, we headed over to the main arena, where the lights were on. They were the brightest I'd ever experienced, so this set is a tad overexposed. I'm glad I ran into this on a practice day, instead of at 9am the next morning for the first event!

Mylène Girard & Liam Dougherty are a new team that had a late start this year, but they picked up momentum heading into these championships. I don't think I sent this photo into IDC because of the blur on her skirt and hand, but I've decided that I kind of like it - it adds to their flamenco flavour. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 400.

In a class of their own at Canadians, Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir are one of the best teams in the world this year. I saw them for the first time four years ago. Then, they weren't even able to crack the top ten at the Junior World Championships. Their rise has been meteoric, and well-deserved. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 400.

Next up: first day of competition at Canadians!

west coast dream

2008-03-14T22:33:00.003-04:00

I was so relieved that Vancouver didn't disappoint me. You know how, sometimes, when you're so excited to see something, and the excitement just builds and builds to the point that a let-down is inevitable? Titanic was like that for me. So was Miami. But Vancouver...well, I basically fell in love with it. It's too bad that UBC doesn't want me this year, because I was ready to pack up my life and drive it across the continent without looking back. Ah well. Maybe someday. At any rate, I do hope to be back next year, if not sooner.

So here are some photographic gems from my sightseeing day in Vancouver. Meg played tour guide for us again on Monday, which ended up being one of the only days we had to enjoy the city. Tuesday-Sunday were spent at the arenas, so the rest of the highlights from my trip will be of the event. We didn't get as beautiful of a day as we did in Seattle, and there were some rainy moments, but at least the weather was tolerable, and it was still quite a bit warmer than what Michigan was getting.

Canada Place! It looked important, and I am a sucker for provincial flags, so I took a picture. It's at the north end of downtown, right on the water, and it's a hotel and convention centre, I believe. 1/200, f/2.8, ISO 100.

This is a rear view of the main train station in Vancouver. I love the architecture of the building, and the contrast of the trees against it, but I do wish the sky had been blue that day. 1/100, f/5.6, ISO 400.

In keeping with our theme of "First Starbucks" moments, this is the first Canadian Starbucks, located inside the Vancouver train station. No themed merchandise here - just a small plaque. It's not much more than a kiosk, actually, and I didn't even get a coffee here. Something about being on vacation makes me crave lemonade, and there was a yummy juice place competing with Starbucks inside the train station, so that won. Jules did support this Starbucks, though, so I didn't feel terrible about playing paparazzi with it. 1/100, f/2.5, ISO 400.

Google helped me decide that this is St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church. It's on Nelson St. in downtown Vancouver, across the street from the Sheraton Wall Centre, which was the official hotel for the 2008 Canadian Championships, and where I stayed later in the week. I had to go there on Monday to pick up my media credential, and we did some photoshooting in the space in front of it, when there were a few moments of sunshine. 1/100, f/14, ISO 400.

Oh, Robson Street. We spent quite a bit of time here - including several hours in Chapters, two separate meals at Tsunami Sushi, and half an hour in Meg's car while we waited for a tow truck to jump-start it after the battery died. Here, I managed to grab a shot of the street between cars that features Lush, one of my favourite stores. 1/100, f/5.6, ISO 400.

This is why Vancouver is incredible. Seriously. This picture doesn't do it justice, but just look at that. 1/100, f/5, ISO 200.

I'm not so great at night shots, but I thought that this one turned out okay. There was a windowpane dangling above Georgia Street downtown, so we were caught in traffic for almost an hour. By the time we made it to Stanley Park, it was completely dark, so this is the best shot that I took there, unfortunately. I guess I'll just have to go back. 1/125, f/1.8, ISO 800.

Next up: first day or two of my assignment in Vancouver, so...skating! Lots of skating.

original starbucks

2008-03-13T20:55:00.004-04:00

I was doing so well with posting every day, but then spring break happened. I've been a little busy doing some decompressing. Only a few weeks left in the semester, and I have a lot of work ahead of me, so I had to take some time to go back to Chicago, hang out with the mom, see a movie, go to the symphony, and do some shopping. I'm back in Michigan now, though, and the next couple of days are probably going to be fairly focused on schoolwork. Every second counts from now until the end of April.

When I was in elementary school, I often "compacted out" of subjects for a unite. This meant that, since I did well on the test before the material was taught, I spent a lot of time in the front hall and library of my school, doing fun research projects on topics of my choice. I don't think that was the most effective method for dealing with students who were ahead of their classmates, but I thought it was a sweet deal at the time. One of the projects that I did, in about fourth or fifth grade, was on the grand state of Washington. I've been wanting to visit ever since.

I finally had my chance in January. I spent a week in Vancouver as a writer & photographer at the 2008 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships, but since flying in and out of Seattle saved me about $300, I got to spend an afternoon in Seattle when I arrived. My best friend, Jules, went with me, and our friend Meg drove down to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to pick us up. We were there on a beautiful, sunny day - definitely a rarity, especially in January! Meg, a native Vancouverite, was a little chilly, but Jules and I are accustomed to the Michigan winter, so we walked around the city without anything heavier than a sweatshirt. Meg took us to the Pike Place Market, and we also drove by the Space Needle for a few quick photos, although we didn't go up it or anything. I try to avoid things that are taller than two stories.

Veggies! I loved walking through the market and seeing all of the bright colours. Coloured food is so fun. We ate inside the market, at one of the seafood places, and I had some pretty great fish while we watched the ferries cross Puget Sound. 1/60, f/4, ISO 400.

Almost good enough to eat - but I don't like peppers. They do photograph well, though. Outside of the market, there are still a lot of shops with fresh veggies out on the sidewalk. 1/400, f/2, ISO 100.

This was facing south from the market area, but I have no idea which mountain that is in the distance. Perhaps someone can help, since Wikipedia didn't do much for me. I don't know what that domed thing is, either...some sort of arena, maybe. I'm pretty useless, but I can tell you that part of the reason I like this photo so much is because I'm such a city girl and I think highways are pretty. 1/200, f/10, ISO 100.

This is just a random street near the market area in Seattle. We were taking pictures of Puget Sound and the mountains, and then when we turned around, I saw that, and thought it was pretty. 1/200, f/13, ISO 100.

This isn't much of a photo, but it represents quite a moment. Possibly the most exciting part of my day in Seattle was visiting the World's First Starbucks. Even the logo is different! I bought a special Pike Place Starbucks travel mug, and the whole experience was heartwarming. Starbucks may be just #4 on my list of favourite coffee establishments, but I still love it quite a bit. 1/800, f/2, ISO 100.

Next: the sights of Vancouver.

winter wonderland

2008-03-07T19:52:00.003-05:00

I love winter. I really do. It's the season of cold, and snow, and ice, and all of these things mean that skating season is in full force, which I love more than anything. I love photographing kids in the snow, but when it's the day after Christmas, and the windchill is -40, I learned that my limit for standing at the bottom of a sledding hill with my camera is 30 minutes. Then I have to leave, before I get really cranky, and before my fingers freeze, break off, and make me drop my precious camera.

These were taken at the aforementioned day-after-Christmas outing with my 20D and my 200mm lens. My mom stood next me and I helped her with the settings on her point-and-shoot. It was a good time, and I'm pretty happy with my pictures. I had the camera on manual mode, and I played with the settings for the first few minutes, landing on 1/400, f/10, ISO 400. I probably could have gone down an f-stop, since I had to brighten them a little, but it was a decent effort.

Bradley, the snowboard champ! Look at how pro he looks with his hands out for a bit of balance, but not so far out as to be uncool.

Kristin gets a push down the steep side of the hill from Daddy.

Kristin goes for a spin on the snow saucer, giggling as it turns to a stop at the bottom of the hill.

Danielle discovered that she preferred the sled with the brakes, but she was still quite brave for following the big kids down the hill!

Close-up of Bradley after a successful run. Note the super-cool transition shades!

Next up: Insanity begins as I try to condense my trip to Vancouver to cover the 2008 Canadian Figure Skating Championships into just a few posts. Eek!

and visions of sugar plums danced in their heads

2008-03-06T20:27:00.004-05:00

There are few things in the world that are as beautiful as children at Christmas. Always an important holiday for my family, Christmas holidays were responsible for some of the best memories of my childhood, and I treasure every year that I get to spend with my cousins, watching the magic unfold. In my family, we open all of our presents from each other on Christmas Eve, after dinner, and then on Christmas morning, Santa comes for the kids. I admit, I still got a stocking on Christmas morning until I graduated from high school. I guess my grandparents didn't want to let go, since I was their only grandchild for the first 13 years of my life. Now, my grandparents are gone, but the family traditions live on. For Christmas 2007, my mom and I drove through a blizzard to her brother's house in St. Paul, Minnesota. I was still feeling awkward with my camera indoors, but I did get some nice shots of the kids. I have no idea how to remove red-eye effectively, though, so until I have time to play around with that a little more, some of these photos have red-eye. Next Christmas, the kids are opening their presents in a well-lit room if I have to bring in the floodlights myself.

The camera settings when I took this photo were a huge mistake, but I love the expressions on their faces so much that I played with it until I salvaged something nearly decent. It could still use some editing, but I'm just glad I managed to get something out of the image at all. I don't even remember what was so funny, but that's my Aunt Vickie, one of my favourite people in the world, with her youngest daughter, Danielle (age 6). Originally - 1/160, f/1.8, ISO 800.

Bradley, age 10, is one of the most chillaxed kids I have ever known. My parents and I gave him this Devin Hester jersey, and all he said was, "Coooool." My mom was worried that she should have just gotten him a Vikings jersey, but he already has one of those, and she thought the Bears touch was neat, since it was coming from us - plus he really does think Hester is the bomb. Then he wore the jersey for two days straight, so I guess he kind of loved it after all. 1/160, f/1.8, ISO 800.

I have never before seen someone so excited about a set of cleaning supplies (toy supplies or not), but that's Danielle for you. And unlike her brother, she's always going to tell you exactly what she thinks about things. She's so silly. 1/160, f/1.8, ISO 800.

My mom and I gave Kristin, age 8, her third (third!) American Girl doll. If you're not up on your AGs, this is Addy. When I was 10, after saving my allowance for two solid years, I bought my first American Girl doll - Addy. So I was really excited that my li'l cuz wanted the same one. If she were here, little-miss-detail-oriented would want me to tell you that she made sure that Addy's eyes were looking at the camera, as well as hers. 1/100, f/1.8, ISO 800.

Next: kids! sledding!

not really home for the holidays yet

2008-03-05T14:03:00.003-05:00

On December 22, I went to a skating show in Plymouth, MI that Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto organized as a fundraiser. Belbin & Agosto are the 2006 Olympic silver medalists in ice dance, and since they train in Canton, MI, their Home for the Holidays show featured mainly Detroit-based skaters. I decided to go at the last minute, when an impending snowstorm in SW Michigan pushed my holiday travel plans back by one day. I was able to procure a media pass so I could photograph the show, but they didn't have time for me to get any interviews with the skaters - so they said.

I went with my best friend, Jules, and we a couple of people in the show - from being around skating events and such. We wanted to say hi to them, and since we saw some of the skaters dashing around the concourse (there was both an afternoon show and an evening show - we were at the afternoon show, so this anecdote takes place between shows), we tried to play it cool and hang around. Well, after about 10 mins, when there was no sign of anyone we knew well enough for chat, we decided to peace out. I saw an "exit" sign at one of the arena and realized that if this was, in fact, a door, then it would dump us out a lot closer to my car than the main door would. So we went through the door, around a corner, and right into the room where the skaters were having some dinner. Instant backstage access, and we weren't even trying. So we chatted, I got some quotes for my article, and then the real fun started when we decided to hit the mall, not factoring in the fact that it was the Saturday before Christmas until we started wondering why there weren't any parking spaces.

Home for the Holidays 2007 was my second endeavour into using my 20D in show lighting with coloured spotlights. I got mixed results. Plus, I wasn't too happy with the angle I had during the first half that featured the heads of the people in front of me, unless I wanted to stand the whole time, so I moved for the second half. I liked where I was sitting for the second half until I got the memory card home and looked at my shots. With teams, the best shots usually have both faces in them, but when you're sitting on the end, you don't get a lot of those. Oups. Lesson learned. On to the photos - only four this time.

This is one of my favourite photos from the show, and it was in one of the first numbers. I don't want to say everything went downhill from there, but maybe it did! Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates train in Ann Arbor, MI, and they were the 2007 U.S. dance champions on the junior level. About two months after this photo was taken, they became junior world champions. This program was sweet, and it featured a lot of innovative moves like this one. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

The show featured one Cirque du Soleil-esque number in each half. In the first half, two acrobats did crazy acrobatic things in a hoop suspended over the ice - with no mats, no pads. It was terrifying, but it made for some neat shots. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein were one of my favourite discoveries of the year. I saw them for the first time in August 2007. They have great charisma for a young team, especially one that has only been together for two seasons. A month after this show, they won the junior bronze medal in dance at the 2008 U.S. Championships. They train in Canton, at the same rink as Belbin & Agosto. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Another team from the rink in Canton, Meryl Davis & Charlie White are one of my favourite dance teams, and I was thrilled to have the chance to photograph them for the first time. Unfortunately, they skated in the second half, when I was sitting on the end of the rink, so I have a lot of photos where Meryl looks great or Charlie looks great, but very few where they both look great. In this photo, for example, Charlie does not necessarily look great, but I think his expression kind of adds to the shot. I like it, anyway. Once again, 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Read or view more of the show here.

Next time: Christmas and the return of those cute kids from my last post!

beginning to look a bit like christmas

2008-03-04T17:22:00.003-05:00

I was an only grandchild until I was 13. While I enjoyed the way my grandparents loved to spoil me, family gatherings were always a little lonely, so by the time my uncle's first child was born, I was thrilled about the new additions. My cousins are the closest things I have to siblings; my aunt & uncle are like second parents to me. The problem is that they're in Minnesota, and I'm in Michigan, so I don't get to see them more than a few times a year, if I'm lucky. 2007 was a lucky year - I saw them in September, and then I visited twice in December - once to see the girls in The Nutcracker (Kristin was an angel; Dani was the "clapping mouse") and once at Christmas. These photos are from the first trip, only a week before my mom and I returned for the holiday.

Bradley (age 10), Kristin (age 8), and a friend, Samuel (age circa 5), spent about half an hour one afternoon sledding down a gentle slope in the backyard. Estimated angle of slope: 10 degrees, tops. They didn't care, though. 1/200, f/14, ISO 200.

Sometimes, the best part of sledding is falling off the sled - on purpose. They kept hoping I would chuck my camera aside and join them, but I couldn't make them understand that when I get cold and wet, I turn into my evil twin. No one wants that. 1/200, f/14, ISO 200.

This is Hannah, younger sister of the aforementioned Samuel. My aunt was technically babysitting these kids for her friend, but for most of the time that Hannah was awake, I was helping my cousins pretend to babysit her. I also got some great photos of her, although I still haven't figured out how to work with the lighting (or lack thereof) in my aunt & uncle's house. 1/100, f/1.8, ISO 1600.

I was put in charge of supervising the annual creation of the gingerbread house. Please don't ever make me frost one of these again. But once I got the roof frosted without throwing the the house through the sliding glass door in the kitchen, and once the kids stopped telling me, "Melanie, you're not good at this; Mommy can do it better," they had a great time finishing the decorations. It even turned out kind of cute. This is my favourite photo from the gingerbread house shoot, because of the way that Dani (age 6) is holding her brother's arm - totally candid. 1/100, f/3.5, ISO 800.

So the kids don't usually listen to me when I tell them to ignore my camera. Most of the time, I get cheesy grins and bunny ears. But sometimes, I get gems like this, while we were frosting Christmas cookies. (My aunt bakes a lot. She's not related to my mom and I.) I have a bad habit of aiming my camera toward their patio door, so the lighting on this isn't what I'd like it to be, but I'm trying to embrace it. 1/100, f/3.5, ISO 400.

Next time: probably another skating show, actually. I'm getting so predictable. But at least I'm really on the ball with the updates, and soon I'll be caught up, and then I can start taking pictures of random things again.

challenge me this

2008-03-03T22:03:00.003-05:00

In December, I covered some of Skate Canada's Challenges for ice-dance.com, which are Canada's version of U.S. Figure Skating's sectionals, which I covered two entries before this one. Like the USFS sectionals, Challenge is the qualifying event for the national championships in Canada. There are all kinds of complicated formulas to decide who gets to go to nationals, so I won't bore you with that. The point is that I took some sweet photos, and at this event, I finally embraced the manual setting mode on my Canon 20D. I also figured out how to use it, which led to the embrace of it. Since Canada holds all of its Challenge events for the entire country in one place, over five days, the younger kids generally get tossed into these really tragically-lit rinks, and since I was covering all of the dance events that I could for IDC, I had to deal with some really tragic lighting. Some experiments worked out better than others.

I've got ten photos I want to share from this event, so grab a snack if you think you might need one and get comfortable. You know how I get when I start talking about skating.

I had a presentation at school in the afternoon in Michigan, so I left right from school for Mississauga, ON, where the event was being held. The goal: get to the arena in time for Siobhan & Kevin's original dance. This photo: Siobhan Karam & Kevin O'Keefe's original dance. Success! Their Irish folk dance to music from "Lord of the Dance" has been one of my favourite ODs of the season. This dress is also magical. Trust me. It's amazing. Siobhan & Kevin ended up winning the senior dance event, which obviously qualified them for the Canadian Championships. Oh, and this was when I was having serious issues with the settings on my camera and before I learned how to put it in manual mode, so...I almost don't want to write the numbers, but I will, with the disclaimer that this is not how you take good skating photos! 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 1600.

Alexandra Paul & Jason Cheperdak finished 1st in novice dance at Western Challenge, sending them to nationals. Their free dance was one of the big surprises of the weekend for me - I wasn't expecting a novice team to be that good! This photo, however, is from their Starlight Waltz compulsory dance. When shooting a bunch of compulsory dances in a row, when every team does the same steps, I like to challenge myself to get a specific shot that might happen quickly or be at an odd angle. For the Starlight Waltz, I kept trying to get this shot. Alexandra & Jason's turned out the best, despite being in a tragically-lit rink. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Pairs are difficult for me to shoot, since they're often not as close together as dancers, and since I have the most practice with dance. The only pairs event I caught at Challenge was the senior free program, and this is Meagan Duhamel & Craig Buntin, who finished first. They'd already been given a bye to nationals, but they chose to compete here as a test-run for nationals. Their strategy paid off - they finished 3rd at nationals and were named to the team heading to the World Championships this month. This photo is of their spiral sequence. Craig probably has the best spiral position of all the male pairs skaters in the world. 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 800.

I love playing around with close-ups when shooting skating. The traditional skating photo has all hands and all skates in it, but since I'm usually working with a fixed 200mm lens, this is not always possible, so I've learned to love my close-ups. This is from Myriane Samson's free program to Memoirs from a Geisha. I just love the fanning. Myriane finished sixth here, which gave her a chance to compete at nationals. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800. MANUAL MODE yessss!

Dylan Moscovitch's free program is a hoot and kind of brilliant. It spoofs a lot of well-known skaters, and he keeps the crowd laughing while managing to hit some triple jumps. He narrowly missed qualifying for nationals in singles, but he did get to go in the pairs event, where he skates with his younger sister. The standing ovation for this "Robin Hood" program began about 20 seconds before it was even over. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Fedor Andreev is a national medalist, but he retired from competitive skating in 2005 to concentrate on things like modeling and racing fast cars in Hong Kong, or something. When it was announced that he was making a comeback this year, very few took him seriously - we'd heard similar rumours before. But when he showed up at Challenge with clean triple Axels and passion in his performance, I was glad that the rumours turned out to be true. He won this event by 15 points. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Since I was covering this for IDC, I did a lot of running between rinks at the Hershey Centre. In fact, I only watched half of Fedor's program, and then I sprinted back to the smaller rinks at the opposite end of the building to continue photographing the pre-novice free dance. Pilar & Leonardo Maekawa skated pretty well, but the important thing is that she gets this fabulous swirl effect with her skirt when they hit their final pose. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 800. Heavily photoshopped, because I forgot to change the ISO for the small, tragically-lit rink when I sprinted back from the main arena.

Okay, this was the #1 surprise of the weekend. Michaela & Scott Botsford are a pre-novice dance team, and pre-novice free dances are not supposed to be this creative, or interesting, or set to music like "Ramalama" by Roisin Murphy. This was awesome. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

And one more photo from the pre-novice free dance! Sarah Aghai & Peter Ahluwalia jumped from fifth to second with this modern tango free dance. I just love their smiles here - it was obvious that they knew that they were skating their best. 1/320, f/2.8, ISO 1600.

The last event that I watched was the senior free dance, which was a lot of fun. Lauren Senft & Augie Hill's free dance to music from Chicago was fun and sassy, and it secured third place for them. I just really wanted to post a photo of them, because Lauren is always so sweet when we see her at events. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

And if you are dying for more photos or would like to read more technical analyses of the events, they're here.

Next time: cute kids!

san francisco times seven

2008-03-02T14:14:00.003-05:00

Thanks to the Global Deejays' remix of "Sounds of San Francisco," every time I say, "San Francisco," I say it like, "San! Fran! Cisco!" Listen to the song if you don't understand. Trust me - your life will never be the same.

For Thanksgiving, my mom and I went to San Francisco. She said it was because she'd wanted to take a vacation during the summer, but I was too busy, and she didn't want to go by herself. I think it was partially because she wanted to get out of making a Thanksgiving meal when there were only three of us. My stepdad decided to stay home, and had Thanksgiving dinner with his son & his family, so it was just Mom and I for the trip. I love travelling with Mom. I get all of my nerdy travelophile genes from her, so we generally want to see the same things, and she doesn't mind that I try to pack in as many things as possible.

This trip was a photographic learning experience for both of us. I helped my mom buy her first digital camera over the summer, a respectable model of the point & shoot variety, but she'd barely taken it out of the box by November. I ended up giving her a crash course on the Civic Center plaza in San Francisco on Thanksgiving morning. This was also a learning experience for me, because it was the first time I took my DSLR on vacation. The results were a bit disappointing, but I did learn some things, and I was able to touch up my shots with Photoshop, so I feel better about the experience now. The most important thing I learned is that I'm never visiting a photogenic city like San Francisco again without a shorter lens than my fixed 50mm. So for future vacations, I'll probably plunk down the cash to rent a wide-angle lens if I don't have one of my own. But for now, on to the photos!

We arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving. Our first order of business, after checking into our downtown hotel, was to buy a bus/streetcar/cable car pass. We decided to eat in North Beach, where there were supposed to be some great Italian restaurants, and we got there by way of taking the streetcar to Fisherman's Wharf, where I snapped this photo. I'm not sure if we just picked a mediocre restaurant, but I've had much better Italian food in Chicago. Thankfully, that was our only mediocre meal of the whole trip. 1/40, f/1.8, ISO 1600.

On Thanksgiving, we decided to do as much "outside" sightseeing as possible, since most places were not open. I read in our trusty AAA guidebook that the City Hall in SF is modeled after Les Invalides in Paris, and sure enough, it was! I'm not sure what's with the weird trees in front. I meant to research that when we got back to the hotel that evening, but we never got the internet working in our room. 1/400, f/8, ISO 100.

AAA Guidebook told us that the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park would be open on Thanksgiving, but AAA Guidebook lied. I'm glad this photo ended up being one of my favourites from the trip, or I would have been angry. 1/400, f/8, ISO 100.

The trip to Golden Gate Park wasn't a complete bust, however, since the Japanese Tea Garden was open. It's even open on Christmas, apparently. It was a bit smaller than I anticipated, but it was beautiful, and I got quite a few great photos. I also took some not-so-great photos, but that's all part of the learning process, right? 1/400, f/7.1, ISO 400.

I snapped this while we were walking around Chinatown. It was painted on the side of an elementary school, and I thought it was hilarious. That's all. 1/160, f/3.5, ISO 400.

My mom and I agreed that our favourite place in San Francisco was the old Mission. This is the carving(?) that is above the altar in the small chapel. We also loved our visit to the Mission district because of the lunch we had there. As we were leaving the Mission, my mom commented that there would probably be great Mexican food in the neighbourhood, but it was hard to know where to go. I suggested that we go back inside the Mission and ask where they like to eat. The woman at the desk recommended Pancho Villa Taqueria, and it was fantastic. It was just your simple taqueria. We had fish tacos, which we often get at Baja Fresh in Chicago, but this was obviously a touch more authentic. The ingredients here were so fresh, and it was ridiculously cheap. They also had fresh juices and top-notch horchata. 1/60, f/2, ISO 800.

What's a trip to San Francisco without 923842398 photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, or "GGB," as I started calling it. My mom doesn't share my propensity for abbreviating things, so she was a bit confused. I took this from Lincoln Park, outside of the art museum, not long after my mom sprained my ankle running for the bus. I admit that I left her sitting on a bench while I trotted down a path to look for this shot. Don't worry - I promised her a copy. You know, I am scared to death of boats, but I would love to be on one of those sailboats under the bridge. With a wide-angle lens. Definitely with a wide-angle lens. 1/250, f/14, ISO 200.

Up next: Another skating competition!

midwestern sectionals

2008-03-01T22:13:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything in here. I'm not sure if anyone will ever remember to check this again, but I suppose that's my own fault. As promised from the last entry, here are some photos from the U.S. Midwestern Sectional Championships. They're from last November. I'm a bit behind.

Explanation for non-skating fans: "Mids" is one of three sectional championships in the U.S. The top skaters from three different regions (Upper Great Lakes, Eastern Great Lakes, and Southwestern) compete at Mids, and then the top four in each event at Mids advance to the National Championships. As you can imagine, the stakes are high for some of the skaters. For some, a season's goal is just to make it to Mids, but for many others, the rest of the season depends on making it through this competition.

I'd never been to a sectional before, but I really enjoyed it. I covered the event for ice-dance.com, and you can read my reports and see some more of my photos here, if you're interested.

Piper Gilles & Tim McKernan were 2nd in junior dance, and went on to finish 2nd in junior dance at Nationals in January. This photo is from the first few seconds of their free dance to "Cinderella." I'm usually not a fan of white costumes against white ice, but these are perfect for "Cinderella." 1/400, f/3.2, ISO 800.

Maia & Alex Shibutani, had a fantastic competition at this event, finishing 3rd in junior dance. They were thrilled just to meet their goal of qualifying for Nationals, and ended up finishing 4th there. This photo is from their free dance to piano music by Jean-Marie Senia. It was a mature choice for such a young team, but they made it work beautifully. The interview that I did with them after their free dance was one of my best interviews of the event (which was my first event where I did interviews, so most of them were pretty bad). 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

You can't tell from this photo, but Mauri Gustafson & Joel Dear had a sweet hip-hop free dance. I thought that they skated really well in all portions of the competition, and they finished a strong 2nd in senior dance. While this photo doesn't capture the hip-hop flava of the dance, it is pretty sweet. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Rohene Ward, sometimes more well-known for his inconsistency than for his incredible ability, put down a solid free program to finish 2nd in senior men, qualifying for Nationals in his hometown. Sometimes, taking a great picture, for me, is about capturing a split second that summarizes an entire program. 1/400, f/3.2, ISO 800.

Juliana Bilowus finished 10th in senior ladies, but you wouldn't know it from this photo. She skated with attack and was obviously very happy with her efforts. Unfortunately, many of her jumps were downgraded, so she didn't get the points that she needed to qualify for Nationals. Sometimes, taking a great picture, is about capturing a unique moment, or creating a memory before the situation changes. 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Next up: highlights from San Francisco!

hills of the irish kind

2007-12-21T14:27:00.002-05:00

Goodness sakes. It's December 21st and this is my first post of the month. Things have been busy, to say the least. I finished my penultimate semester of my undergraduate degree, earning a 3.9 cumulatively in my 24 glorious credits. I'm never taking a legitimate double course-load again. What was I think when I signed up for that?!

Today's photoblog installment is from November 10. Jules, my best friend, and I went to the Irish Hills in southeastern Michigan. It's an area that was settled by many Irish immigrants, allegedly, because the rolling green hills reminded them of their home country. She's always wanted to go, and I'm always up for seeing something new, so we took a free Saturday and made the short trip. We were surprised at how kitschy-touristy it was. Most of the souvenir shops and "attractions" were closed, but I felt like we'd driven into a 1960s family vacation, complete with a giant statue of Paul Bunyan (not pictured) and wooden buildings labeled "saloon" and whatnot.

The area (as pictured) was beautiful. We first stopped at Wamplers Lake in Walter J. Hayes State Park, and then drove east on US-12 until we reached St. Joseph's Church, situated on the south bank of Iron Lake, and home to a memorial to the Irish Potato Famine. The experience marked an important step in my photographic experiments as I saw the advantage of using higher numbered f-stops for large subjects, like landscapes. It was cloudy, so I couldn't use the really high numbers without compromising ISO, but I was able to try shooting on 8 and 11. Since I'd mostly done sports photography with the camera up until this point, this was new and exciting for me.

Wamplers Lake in the State Park. 1/200, f/11, ISO 200.

Wamplers Lake. Jules and I had to laugh about the swan, because we had a hilarious experience with swans in Toronto in July. I'll share that story sometime. My short story about it is going to be published in my school's literary magazine this spring. 1/250, f/11, ISO 200.

Memorial to the Irish Potato Famine at St. Joseph's Church on US-12, east of Cambridge Junction, MI. 1/60, f/8, ISO 200.

Iron Lake behind St. Joseph's Church. I love the way that the sky was reflected in the lake. It was such a beautiful day. 1/80, f/8, ISO 200.

Iron Lake. I would love to live here, for about a weekend, and then I would start missing stoplights and convenience stores and highways. But it sure is pretty. 1/100, f/8, ISO 200.

Next up: probably another skating event, and then my trip to San Francisco.

michigan of the lake variety

2007-11-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

I am so behind in photoblogging. My best friend, Emilie, updates her blog more than I do, and she's in Lesotho, without any regular internet access. Of course, Emilie is also talking to actual people when she blogs, people she will not see again until early 2010 at best. I am talking to myself. Of course, since I drive over an hour every day to commute to school and back, I talk to myself quite a bit. This is nothing new; it's just with pictures.

A few weeks ago, on my way back to Lansing from Chicago, I decided that I wanted to take photos of Lake Michigan. I got off of I-94 in southwestern Michigan and drove towards the lake. I ended up in one of those private, rustic communities, but rustic in the sense that they have a lot of "TOP SECRET PRIVATE DRIVEWAY" type of signs and strategically-placed fences, so you can't glimpse the lake for anything. I thought about hopping a fence, since most of the houses looked empty, but decided to just drive a bit further north in search of a public lake viewing area. I stumbled upon Warren Dunes State Park, a favourite weekend destination of many a Chicago-based youth group, including mine. I think I only went on the trip once, though. I'm not a big beach person. I am, however, big on photographing big lakes.

Big lake with little waves, taken while crouching down so waves look bigger. A little bigger. Maybe.

This probably breaks some rule of basic photography, but I love taking pictures of water into the sun. I love the glare.

Not the best picture in the world of a dune, but probably not the worst either. The small dots in the middle are cute kids that kept climbing up them just so they could run down. I don't think I ever had that kind of energy.

I've been a busy bee lately. I have photos from the Irish Hills to post, as well as ones from my Thanksgiving-break trip to San Francisco. I might post a few more skating ones in the near future, too.

best friends for life

2007-11-08T22:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Emilie left for Lesotho. She just began service in the Peace Corps. She'll be back in spring 2010. Lesotho, for those not aware, is a landlocked country right in the middle of South Africa. Yep, it's surrounded completely by South Africa - like a little cut-out in the middle of the country. It's far. It's also not the easiest place to get to. I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I will only see Em once, at most, in the next two years and four months.

I vaguely remember meeting Em when I was young...maybe about 9 years old, or so. My stepdad was her parents' realtor. We knew them from church, but I knew her brother better, since he was in my grade. I was with my stepdad once when he needed to run by their house, and I think I played Barbies with Emilie. She was nice, but she was two grades younger than me, and that's a big deal when you're 9. Fast forward to summer 2000, after my junior year of high school.

Although I grew up in my church, I kind of missed the friends bus for a while. I had a couple of wonderful friends, but we kind of kept to ourselves, and I didn't feel like I fit in with a lot of the other kids in my youth group. In July 2000, a group of us went to a conference in Minnesota. Barbie, my best friend since 4th grade, was going, but there was a slight problem with the rooms - they were quadruples. My youth pastor and his wife were making the room assignment list, and they weren't sure what to do with Barbie and me. They ended up putting us with a couple of girls that they thought we'd get along with, even though they were two years behind us in school - Emilie and Trulie.

Em, Tru, Barbie, and I became a foursome that week. We clung to each other over the next year, until Barbie and I graduated and went away to school, but Em and Tru were two true friends and we kept in touch. Emilie was the first person to see my ring when I got engaged the next summer. She came to visit me in Miami during her senior year. I surprised her at her dorm twice - once in 2003, once in 2004.

I don't know exactly when, but sometime in there, I realized that she'd become one of my best friends. There's not anything that I can't say to her, nothing that she wouldn't understand. There have been some parallel events in our lives, giving us a shared perspective on our experiences and on faith. We're not all alike, though, and that is why she is suited for her Peace Corps placement in southern Africa, and I am not.

I'm going to have to kick it old school with the letter writing. She will probably have limited access to email, but she's not sure yet. And she might even be able to get a cell phone, so maybe I can explore this Skype thing that I hear about so often. I kind of dropped the ball when she did a study abroad semester in France, and I still feel terrible about my communication issues. I'm actually working on a Post-It note system to keep up with my letters to her, and I'm even thinking of patenting it if all goes well.

She left Chicago on November 5. I went home the last weekend of October, since it was her birthday weekend, and I had a day off for "fall break," which is really code for "Emilie's birthday, observed." We watched some of our favourite episodes of The Office, saw the latest Reese Witherspoon movie, went out for some of the best sushi I have ever had, and avoided saying goodbye at all costs. We tried, before I left to drive back to Michigan, but I kept laughing, and then I was crying, and it was too hard, so we said that we'd talk on the phone before she left. We talked a little on Monday night this week, but again, I couldn't let her say goodbye. It wasn't until she called yesterday, from the airport, that goodbye became necessary.

How do I get upset with someone for wanting to make the world a better place? How do I feel sorry for myself when my best friend is taking an extended leave of absence from the continent to join the Peace Corps? Is it acceptable to be upset that Gilmore Girls Season 7 is coming out next week, but I won't be able to watch it with her for over two years? How do I get upset over a television show when she's going to be teaching math to kids in Lesotho? How do I say goodbye to my best friend?

I just cry. That's all.

I'll get used to it, right? After a while? Of course I will.

Homecoming

2007-11-06T18:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I have this camera, right? And I have a lens that makes pretty figure skating photos. And...football is kind of like figure skating, right? I mean, they're both sports, and sometimes people were bright colours, but sometimes people wear white. And they...go fast. And a football field is big, like an ice rink. Okay, okay. I'm reaching. But I figured that I'd give football photography a shot, so I showed up at my school's Homecoming game a few weeks ago.

After a few shots, I quickly realized that football is not equal to figure skating. It's more difficult to shoot a sport that I don't know as well, but at least the years I spent at the University of Miami gave me a basic understanding of the game.

Shooting our game was fun. With the length of my lens, I knew I needed to be in the stands, so I spent most of the game perched on one of the stairs, getting jostled by people making nachos runs, which led to me craving my own nachos. Something about being in a crowd of people makes me go crazy for processed cheese. I can't explain it.

This was my favourite shot of the game. A return on an interception led to Olivet's first touchdown in the second quarter, and I was at a great angle to capture it.

People always tell me to remember that there are other people at a sporting event besides the athletes. I wasn't crazy about my crowd shots, but I did get some good ones of the cheerleaders. The one on the right is Natalie, a fellow English major, and a super sweet girl.

This guy was chosen as the MIAA's player of the week, or something like that. He rushed for a lot of yards, I think. This photo that I took of him, from late in the game, was featured prominently on the back page of the school paper.

I love this lens, seriously. Even from all the way in the stands, I can get definition of a player's muscles.

Olivet won the game, 21-14, which gave us the lead in the MIAA standings. We lost the game two weekends ago, but won last weekend, which put us in a three-way tie for #1 again. The last game of the season is this Saturday, and I have no idea what happens if we win and if Alma and Hope also win their games. I think all three of us has lost to one of the others, but not both. I think Division 3 has playoffs, unlike Division 1, but I could be wrong about that, too. Go Comets!

More sports photography to come!

sometimes you just gotta skate

2007-10-31T07:18:00.000-04:00

I had a burst of photographic activity in mid-October that started with a figure skating show called Gotta Skate. It's hosted annually by four-time World Champion Kurt Browning, and it generally has a good, Canadian-centric cast, and interesting musical guests. When I went to it in 2003, Michael Bublé provided the soundtrack to the evening. That was just as he was starting to gain popularity in Canada, and before most people in the States had heard of him. I got my picture with him when he was hanging out in the lobby after the show, and three years later, it was quite the envy of several of my friends. He also asked us for our phone numbers, but that's another story altogether. (He never called. But I forgave him.)

This year, the show was on October 10, and featured the music of Motown. The Temptations and Boyz II Men both performed. The Temptations. Boyz II Men. As a girl who grew up listening to oldies, seeing the The Temptations live was incredible, even though the lineup has changed so many times, I'm not even sure any are original members. As a girl who grew up in the 90's, seeing Boyz II Men was kind of hilarious/awesome.

I had good luck with pictures in the first few numbers, until an usher kindly told me that photography was not allowed. Fine, I know that events have their policies, and since I'd made a last-minute decision to go, I hadn't had a chance to try for a media credential. What wasn't fine was that there were people with cameras all over the arena who were not approached, and some of them were using flash. Flash photography at an athletic event, particularly at one that is staged in the dark, with spotlights, is extremely dangerous to the skaters. Plus...your tiny little flash on your measly little camera when you are 10 rows up is going to do nothing for you. So it's stupid and is it really worth making Sasha Cohen fall on her face just so you can have a blurry patch of lights that you tell people is a picture of her? If you say yes to that, then you are a meanie-poo, and she doesn't want you for a fan anyway.

Fortunately, at intermission, one of the friends that I met there said that the guy in the row next to her was taking pictures with a pro camera, and guess what - she also happened to be in the first row, and there was an empty seat next to her. I sat down, bonded with camera-guy, since we had similar cameras, and discreetly shot the second half. My lens was a little long for the first row, and it's fixed, so there wasn't anything I could do about that, but it was great practice. Some of the photos turned out well and I was pretty happy with my first experience shooting in show spotlights.

Sorry for all the babble. On to the pictures!

Shae-Lynn Bourne, the 2003 world champion in ice dance, and aforementioned host Kurt Browning joined forces for a duet to "Proud Mary." They've never skated an entire number together before, and it was one of the highlights of the show for me. I wish Kurt's head hadn't been down in this shot, but I think that Shae's expression makes up for it.

Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon are the 2006 and 2007 world silver medalists in ice dance. They've been skating together since 1995, and I believe they have been a couple off the ice since 1996. They're very comfortable with having their relationship on display, and as a result, excel at romantic programs like this one, to a newer Temptations song. This photo was snapped when they were slow-dancing at the opposite end of the ice.

I tried to pick someone different, but I kept coming back to this picture, and besides, I knew it would still look good when I reduced the size. Here's Shae in Act 2, skating to "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, and looking amazing doing it. I feel like she has about 18 variations on this costume, but it's possible that there are only two. Whatever...with abs like that, she can do whatever she wants.

Well, I was going to pick another action shot, or at least one that I actually took, but seriously...how could I say no to flaunting my photo with Boyz II Men? We noticed that there used to be four boyz, but I guess that only three of them became men. Photo by Jen's mom, who learned how to use Jen's digital camera about 3 seconds before she took this. L to R: Christina, Boyz, Jen, II, Me, Men. Or something like that.

If you're interested in seeing more of my photos from the show, check 'em out here.

animals and apples!

2007-10-29T21:59:00.000-04:00

It's been a while. The month of October has been...well, let's just say that I'm glad to see it go. The University of British Columbia will receive my application to their MFA in Creative Writing program this Friday, providing that I don't drop the ball, and then, sometime after 3.30 Pacific Time on Friday afternoon, then and only then...I will breathe. I will probably also nap. And then I will have a better November.

So while I catch up on the photos I took in October, allow me to be a little random with tonight's post. I give you: animals! and apples!

About a month ago, two of my friends came to visit another friend and me in central Michigan. We went out Saturday night, and on our walk back to my friend's house, we sort of adopted these two adorable kittens. They just appeared lost, and they were so cute! When we woke up on Sunday morning, they were still there, sleeping under a bush in her front yard.

Awww, hand holding! The kittens, since no owner was found, are now living with a friend of aforementioned friend's dad. But sometimes, when I look at the pictures, I pretend they're mine. I've never had a pet.

Taken from the parking lot at Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. John, MI. I'm assuming this is where the apples come from, but I guess I could be wrong. We usually go straight inside the cider barn, so I've never ventured into the...what's the word for this? Orchard? Do people still say orchard? It sounds so very "Johnny Appleseed."

This is why Michigan's unemployment rate is so high! Who wants to work for a dollar an hour?!

Coming soon: sports. Lots and lots of sports. And maybe some music.

and so autumn begins

2007-10-08T23:22:00.002-04:00

I celebrated the first week of autumn by taking some photos of my campus during one of my breaks. And if the past week is any indication of what is to come this semester, it may have been the first and last time for idle photography during the weekday.

After careful consideration, I decided that this tree, outside of the Kirk Center, was the best subject, with the greatest percentage of reddish leaves in direct sunlight.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. The library is the most architecturally unique/kind of odd-looking building on campus, but it's difficult to get a good angle with a 50mm lens, because the square is so shady. Maybe I'll do better in winter. I finally settled for using the tree branch to accent the photo, but I'm not sure about the contrast of it, and then of course, there's the fact that it looks a lot like a creepy branch hand. Don't look at this for too long if you're prone to nightmares.

And attached to that odd-looking façade of the main door of the library is this stone turret contraption. Don't look at me, I didn't design it. But the stone turret really is kind of pretty. It took some effort, but I found a shot that wasn't ruined by power lines.

The weird black squirrels on campus are forever indebted to the Class of 1938's thoughtful gift of a stone water fountain that is always on. Wildly refreshing!

Next time: kittens! Then I'll finally be caught up and I'll have to actually start taking new pictures. Or posting old ones.

experiments in mirror photography

2007-10-05T00:41:00.000-04:00

First, I must give you a proper welcome to my photoblog. I apologize for not having done that earlier.

In my house, a hearty "Bonjour!" is the greeting of choice. This is because I love speaking French much more than the average American. This has to do with the fact that I like Canada, I like France, and my mom was a French teacher for most of my life. My French is fair enough to get by, although I haven't studied it in a few years. Now, I mostly use it to gossip with my mom when we're on trains in Chicago, and to order cole slaw at the St-Hubert in Boucherville once a year.

Now, with that out of the way, onto mirror photography.

It took a few tries, but I was fairly pleased with how this came out. As for the Québec and British Columbia flags that hang behind me...it's a long story. The abridged version is that I think they're pretty, and that I've always been kind of fascinated by flags.

I tried getting fancy with the self-portraiting after that. Some ideas worked better than others, but the general consensus is that I'm not good at holding the camera steady with only one hand.

See? Fancy, but not so sharp. I also cut off my forehead, but who needs that anyway?

Next time: leaves beginning to change on campus.

things that i did not do this weekend

2007-09-26T19:14:00.000-04:00

I'm in my last year of undergrad as an English major. I am taking 24 credits this semester, in order to graduate in May. Three of these courses are English courses. This means that my weeks are very busy, and that I am always reading. Always, always, always reading. I cherish my weekends. However, since the semester started at the end of August, I have noticed that I always overestimate my weekend productivity, and then when Sunday night rolls around, I realize that I did not do much to ensure that the week will be pleasant and stress-free.

Here's an account of last Sunday night's inventory:

I did not go through my mail.

I did not vacuum my carpet. Of course, I did not even get the vacuum out of the closet in order to clean the carpets. I got the vacuum out of the closet so I could suck up a spider, but I didn't get the spider either. By the time I retrieved the vacuum, it had disappeared. That was four days ago. I still have not found the spider, and it was gigantic. I also have not spent any extended amount of time in the living room since, because I am scared.

I did not move my shoes from the floor by my front door to the floor of my closet. I didn't even straighten them. My little cousins would be so disappointed in me. Their shoes are always tidy.

Sadly, I did not even remember to put my books in the car for class. I went to my 8am class without any books for the whole day, and had to come all the way home after it.

This weekend, two of my dear friends are visiting from Toronto. I'm sure that even less will get accomplished, and I'm so excited.

an exercise in studying

2007-09-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

Civilization Studies I and II are required for graduation at my school. I'm graduating in May, ergo, I must take these courses. Here's the deal: I love history. I do not love studying it when I am surrounded by people who do not love it. I've taken European History and Asian History at the college level. Somehow, this still does not add up to Civilization Studies I and II. So...I'm taking World Civ I online from the community college. At least I don't have to sit in a class, but my book was written for ninth graders. It has bold "key words" and everything. But, every Sunday, I have to submit a lot of busy work. Here's how the process usually goes:

The furrowed brow is an effort to keep myself awake.

But sometimes, my nails are more interesting than the textbook.

And sometimes, I just can't take it anymore.

Bolthouse Vanilla Chai gets me through the evening. My assignments, due at midnight, are submitted by 11:48, and I close my book until next week.

disco lights

2007-09-25T12:47:00.000-04:00

Giving credit where credit is due, the title for the blog shares its name and takes its inspiration from an Emm Gryner song.

"Give me disco lights, while I've got dishes on repeat, you're forgettable like 1993."

I went through a phase when I was determined to make "forgettable like 1993" my new insult. It lasted about a week, but then I probably saw something shiny, and forgot all about it.

This is primarily a photo blog. If you want to read my deepest, darkest secrets, I am sorry to disappoint you. Feel free to do a psychoanalysis of my personality from the pictures that I post, though.

First photo post coming soon!