Summer Doldrums

This is what happens when you get really busy - the blog slides! These two photos are from a walk along Toby Creek in Invermere this morning ...

I'm currently working almost-full time at the top Canadian birdwatching tour operator in Windermere (Eagle-Eye Tours) ... this is my year round job that I count on to help us get the bills paid. Its a great place to work as my boss is super-relaxed about hours as long as the job gets done ... to say nothing of offering me an Arctic cruise fam trip when I'd only been at the company a few weeks! (I leave in about 10 days on this bucket-list trip).

I'm also working part time for Kyla Brown Photography, assisting both in the office and on shoots - mostly weddings (every Saturday this summer is booked!), engagement shoots, and family shoots. Kyla is incredibly generous not only with offering me the paid work, but in sharing her knowledge of photography - technical, business, post processing, no questions are off limits.

Due to this work load, I have or will be missing every event that I'd really like to shoot this summer ... triathlons, hang- and para-gliding, downhill and cross country mountain biking, marathons, etc ... but that's the price I'm willing to pay ... this year, anyway!

So that's my excuse for it being about a month since my last post! I have been adding odd photos to my portfolio, though, so keep an eye on the site as its growing slowly!

Fairmont Fantastic 3 Triathlon 2012

Its Canada Day - or Dominion Day - or just plain July 1st - that means its the day that the fifth annual Fairmont Fantastic 3 Triathlon was held down the valley!

Its a small event, not a huge field of competitors. Its a comparatively short course - but don't let that fool you - its tough! Paul and I sat beside the trail for a few hours this morning, watching bikers slog up the mountain, then down again - then hoof it back up the mountain, and back down again!

This guy won by a mile, didn't seem to even break a sweat until he came down off the hill the last time:

The gallery of photos from the triathlon is being posted on my smugmug gallery - I've still got about 100 photos to process - the collection should be complete in the next day or two!

On the road to the venue, we saw something we've never seen in person (as opposed to on tv) before: A turkey vulture! This isn't the best photo for a couple of reasons, but I love the lines of that huge wingspan - a better photo is in my birds gallery:

Happy Canada Day to you!

Branch Out Bike Tour 2012

My first summer sporting event of 2012! It was great to get outside for a couple of hours, although I have to admit that the sunny warm weather that was forecast would've been nice, instead of the overcast, chilly stuff we got instead! I suppose we should just be grateful that it didn't rain.

The bike tour was a Branch Out Foundation event - the group raises funds for research of natural and holistic therapies for neurological disorders in hopes of finding a cure for the various complications of the nervous system.

This was a 100km bike tour - and a pretty serious way to kick off the road cycling season when you look at the hills (most people call them mountains!) involved - from Panorama Resort down to Invermere, along the valley highway to Fairmont Hot Springs, back to Invermere via Westside Road, then back up to Panorama! 

The Only Tandem In The Tour - Sweet!

As you can tell, there was a lot of fun to be had, along with the serious side of the event!

I situated myself between Panorama and Invermere in the hope to getting photos of all the participants while they were still having fun on the mostly-downhill portions, and before they started running out of gas when the serious uphill sections (that I know from experience exist around here) commenced the butt-kicking!

Cycling events like this are tough to photograph because of the way people bunch up - I know I missed a few people, but I got most, I think!

I've just started processing the photos and they'll be posted in my smugmug gallery as they're done, so check it out!

Iao Valley & Kepaniwai Park Heritage Gardens

I'm finally getting caught up with photos from our visit to Maui, Hawaii, last month! More photos from this location are in the smugmug gallery.

Iao Needle

One of the very interesting locations on the island, full of local culture and lore interwoven with the flora and fauna of the island, the Iao Needle in the Iao Valley, and the Kepaniwai Park Heritage Gardens.

Apparently, it used to be a rite of passage for young men to climb the Needle, which is a lava remnant rising 1200ft from the valley floor (or 2250ft above sea level, which is a mere 20 minute drive away).

The heritage gardens incorporate many cultures' influences ... Hawaiian, American missionary, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Filipino ... it is a pity that it seems more than a little neglected ... and that gangsta wannabe's bring their "music" to this oasis to assault everyone else's quiet enjoyment of the peace of the valley.

Windsurfing on Maui

Photographing windsurfing on Maui, that is ... not actually doing it myself! (I'm terrified of surf and there's no way you'd ever catch me doing what these brave watermen and -women do!)

It is almost a month since the afternoon when I captured this action - I've finally finished editing all 750+ images from this session. If you know any of these sailors, or "their people", do send them to my smugmug gallery to have a look at their photos - most were taken May 10th.

Hawaii tends to be more of a globally-famous surfing destination ... at least, it was until the last few years when all sorts of ocean-based watersports and gained wild popularity! One of those is windsurfing (sail attached to surfboard, in case you don't know).

Ho'okipa, on Maui's north shore, just outside of the quaint town of Paia, on the road to Hana, is a world-renowned spot to watch some of the best in the business ... training, testing new equipment, youngsters improving their skills and measuring themselves against the more experienced sailors, etc. Strictly a place for boarders who know what they're doing - this part of the island is not the place to learn how to windsurf, or even to try to improve on flat-water skills!

I have been following a local photog who specializes in ocean windsurfing - in fact, he is a Ho'okipa specialist - to the point that he refers to his shooting station as The Office. The legendary Jimmie Hepp knows all the athletes, knows the weather and current patterns, knows the gear, and more than anything else, knows how to photograph the action! (He lives a few minutes' drive from the break, too ... could it get any better than that?!) I've stalked him on Facebook for a few years and, last month, was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet him - and spend a session shooting beside him! These photos are from that afternoon.

Romance

Andrew, met his lady, Heather, on eHarmony ... it was the very last day of his membership when he decided to have one more look ... and the rest is history!

While we were in Maui a few weeks ago, Heather and Andrew accepted my offer of a "romance" shoot.

I was delighted that they did, because they didn't get engagement photos done prior to their wedding ... and I need the practice! (I'm ashamed to admit that I'm responsible for the rather dodgy set of photos taken at their registry office nuptials, so I owe them something for sure!)

They chose sunset on one of the best beaches on the island as their location, Big Beach at Makena, in South Maui.

Here are a few of my fav's from this outing ... they, and many more, may be viewed in higher resolution here:

Two Greys and a Haflinger

It feels like its been a long week ... so I took myself for a little drive, hoping to find something that caught my photographer's eye ...

I was only out about half an hour ... but came across some horses that I had to stop for ... twice! For me, there's nothing as relaxing and peaceful to watch as fat, happy horses, grazing in a green meadow ...

This chap was resting up after hard morning's grazing, napping in the occasional pool of spring sunlight that spilled across his paddock. I'm not sure how "correct" this perspective and composition is, but I just love this picture:

Then, as I started driving away, I saw this handsome lad, ambling over to his friend's paddock to see what was going on ... he got sidetracked by some particularly tasty spring grass just inside the gate:

Not to be outdone, the last of the trio finally lifted his head, wondering about that clicking sound that human was making:

Of course, there are more photos on my smugmug page!