And She's Off!

Wow, that's what you call jumping in at the deep end! Since my last post I/we have ...

... purchased and started retrofitting a small van for camper use
... photographed a local gymkhana event
... photographed a local jumper warm-up event
... photographed a three-day hunter jumper event 135km away

The SVEA gymkhana was a fun season-opener ... here's one of my fav's from that day:

Click to enlarge!

The following weekend, a very enjoyable couple of hours were spent photographing the SVEA jumper warm-up event:

The three-day hunter-jumper event at MREC was a completely different experience, starting with the drive from Squamish to Maple Ridge (this country bumpkin is not used to major highways and city-style traffic)! Three full days of non-stop photographing from 8am until about 4pm daily, in record-breaking heat, resulted in over 3500 images to sort through when I got home. Needless to say, I slept like a top despite the really chilly mornings! It took a week of working on the photos during every waking hour when I wasn't "at work" or sleeping, but they're now posted. Here's one from the show:

With no idea of what, if any, economic benefit will come of this new venture, to save on accommodation costs (and to have a chance of recouping some expenses if it doesn't work out) we decided to start conservatively with an older Chevy Astrovan that we can refit ourselves as a camper. The idea of an "incognito" sleep option is reinforced by the ladder rack and (working!) orange revolving light on the roof!

After cleaning about 20 years' worth of dust, dirt and grime from this ex-municipal/plumber's workhorse, we discovered that our rarely-used futon fits perfectly - and provides extra storage space underneath! My better half spent hours installing a rooftop solar panel for much-needed camera and laptop battery recharging - it works like a charm! Also included are a water tank for drinking and washing, and a mini-porta-potty for midnight emergencies.

One certainly couldn't ask for a nicer place to park for 3 nights:

Can you spot the one that doesn't quite "belong"?!

What's next? A local gymkhana this weekend, then another 3-day hunter-jumper in Maple Ridge in two weeks!

Cheers for now!
Tanya

In the Start Gate!

This weekend is my last one completely "off" for a month!

Next Sunday I have a gymkhana at SVEA, the following Saturday a SVEA hunter-jumper event, and the weekend after that a three-day hunter-jumper at MREC!

I've started a list to try to keep track of things to do and help me get organized. It will be interesting to see what I forget, or didn't anticipate. Hopefully nothing major!

Oh, and my two-sided equestrian business cards arrived:

I'm still not sure about them, and am sure that my graphic designer friends will be cringing - but they'll do for now!

Meanwhile, it seems spring is finally putting in an appearance while still maintaining a tighter grip on alpine regions:

Last night's rain sticking on the ridge behind the Stawamus Chief ...

See you next time out!

Cheers!
Tanya

No "rain" today ...

... "the rain" has gone away ... with apologies to Herman's Hermits!

After what seems like weeks of non-stop rain, and a rather bleak forecast for show day, yesterday was dry!

Last year at this time the trees were in full leaf, this year the leaves are barely showing:

And we managed to have a fun morning at the SVEA Jumper Warm-up!

Not only did it allow many horses and riders to stretch their legs over some jumps for the first time this season, it also allowed me to get my photographic "eye" back in after a long winter!

If horse shows are your thing, have a browse around the gallery (30% off with coupon code SVEAwarmup until the end of April).

Two weeks today will be gymkhana day!

See you there!
Tanya

My Dance Card is Getting Full!

All of a sudden, thanks to the unfailing support of my Most Significant Other and a firm push from a couple of friends, I have a very busy year ahead of me ...

Three 3-day hunter/jumper shows at MREC ...

Three instructional clinics at MREC and Southlands ...

Seven gymkhana fun-day Sundays at SVEA ...

And a couple of SVEA dressage days, too ...

The busiest month features 2 one-day events and 1 three-day ... and there's a possibility of more dates to be added!

I'm excited!

Until next time ... keep that umbrella handy!

Tanya

Sunset & Night Long Exposures

That's a photography expression ... believe me, any other type of exposure is not something you want to see!  :D

It all started with a forecast of Aurora Borealis - and this dramatic view from our deck yesterday morning:

(please click to enlarge the images!)

There was similar drama going on above Mt Garibaldi throughout the day, so I thought I'd try for some longer exposures at sunset. The closest we got to sunset colours was this ...

... and that was minutes before the clouds slammed down over the mountain!

After about an hour of standing in freezing wind, hoping that the clouds would break up, they finally started to give the mountain back to us:

As darkness fell, the focus shifted from sunset, to capturing the "dragging" clouds and the indigo sky of alpenglo, then to stars, followed by a (very faint and forlorn) hope of aurora borealis!

Lessons learned:

- Need a shooting location further out of town ... once darkness fell the light pollution definitely impacted my efforts in a negative way!

- Need to find a sturdier qrp (plate that connects camera to tripod) to further minimize the impact of wind on long exposures - can you say camera shake?! I know it's in a box somewhere ...

- Need to investigate a remote shutter release device ... the 2 second delay mechanism doesn't cut it!

- If I want to capture Aurora Borealis, I'm going to have to stay up late or get up in the wee hours, when they're more likely to be putting on a show! I'm definitely not a night-owl!

Thanks, as always, go to my ever-patient and supportive hubby for his company - and the cup of Timmy's hot chocolate!

Until next time ... have a great week!
Tanya

A House Guest!

We are busy this weekend, with a friend staying overnight ...

Well, he's actually more family than friend!

The small but mighty ...

Madi the Teacup Maltese Poodle

Madison!

What a cutie, eh?!

See you next time!
Tanya

Blue Between Blizzards

Ok, blizzards might be putting too strong a spin on it, but you catch my drift!

Before I get onto that, though, here's the sunset Alpenglo on Garibaldi from last weekend's day of gale-force winds - the fuzziness you can see is the snow blowing around in the alpine!

As always, click to enlarge the photos!

And now, back to regular programming...

Yesterday's storm brought 10cm+ to the Squamish area. Needless to say, this caused chaos on Highway 99, the main artery between Vancouver and Whistler, on the worst possible day of the week: Friday! Vancouver was snarled, too, because the city isn't set up for snow (or efficient snow-clearing) and city-mice don't put winter tyres on their vehicles.

This morning, though, we woke to a glorious bluebird day and, as soon as the sun reached the valley floor, we were out walking to enjoy the winter wonderland before the sun started knocked the globs of snow out of the trees:

The next storm is forecast for tonight ... another approx 10cm of snow!

Could this be the last blast of winter?! We shall see...

Until next time!
Tanya