This past Tuesday my photography club got out to Fisherman’s Wharf here in Victoria.
What a neat place to shoot. There are lots of interesting shape, shades, and objects. I had a lot of fun, but if you go down there, be sure to be courteous to everyone, and try to stay away from the house boats. One of the people in the club mentioned that they can be a little crotchedy about people taking pictures of their house.
It started on Friday with our arrival in Peachland. As we were gassing up we could see a large plume. At first we thought it was a cloud, but we realized later it wasn’t. The gas station was super busy as people were heading out of the area. It didn’t help that Penticton and Summerland were without power due to the Vasseux Lake fire that has just started that afternoon. We made it to Penticton, and to our chosen motel.
Skip to the pictures
Saturday we took in the athletes meeting, floated down the canal, played some pool, relaxed, and went to bed early.
Sunday morning arrived very early. 4:30 am we crawled out of bed, headed to Lenny’s for some grub, then off to the start line. I will let some pics tell the story for a bit.
It was an amazing experience. Watching the pure joy as some people came down the finishing chute. Seeing just how fast the pros are on the run portion after swimming and biking so far. Witnessing some of the gutsiest performances. Truly an amazing experience.
The one thing that struck me as truly miraculous was the city of Penticton itself. The race officials had to reroute the swim and the run. The run course was through the main streets of Penticton. The town quit literally was shut down from 7 am to midnight while the race was conducted. The superfans were in awe that a city would allow this since we all know that something like this could never, and would never be hosted in Victoria. Victorians complain enough when a race shuts down a couple roads for a few hours one day a year. Penticton is a wonderful town to visit, and truly a gracious host for such an event.
In the end it all worked out. The IronFans treked to the interior and settled into a long day of watching some pretty inspiring performances. It was pretty smoky in Penticton on race day, and surely it affected some racers, but for the most part everyone looked great. It is remarkable how fast the pro’s are during the marathon. Good grief. How can someone run a sub 3 hour marathon after swimming over 3.75 Kms and biking over 180 Kms? Astounding. I hope to get a more complete write up a little later.
Another road trip begins. Me and a few friends will soon be on our way to Penticton to watch Ironman Canada. The past few days we have been a little stressed wondering if the forest fires in the area will force a cancellation of the race. It sounds that besides a little smoke in the air, Penticton is fairing pretty well. The Ironman Canada organizers have confirmed that the race will go ahead, and no changes are going to be made. Good news (right now anyway).
This could all change if the winds turn the wrong direction so again, :cross: your fingers for us. Hopefully I will come back with some good action shots. T minus 20 minutes until I leave home, and T minus 1 Day, 21 hours, 8 minutes until the starting gun!
Gaaah! What to do, what to do? A bunch of friends and I are supposed to be heading to Penticton to wacth Ironman Canada this weekend. The forest fires in the area are wreaking some major havoc. The course may have to be rerouted, or if the fire danger increases, they may have to cancel! :jawdrop:
:cross: your fingers, watch the news sites, and just hope it all works out (for everyone in the area, not just us). The problem is, do we travel up there and hope the race goes on? Do we not risk having to be evac’d and go elsewhere for a guys weekend? Not sure since we are supposed to leave tomorrow morning. My gut says to just go up there and see what happens. Not my decision though. If we do go, you can bet I will try to take some pictures of the fires.
Ok, time to rant here. I picked up a half yard of very wet sand for Elizabeth’s sand box today, and while on the way to deliver it, came across a very stupid driver who deserved to have his licence revoked.
Around 5:15 tonight I was driving down Cook St, where it is still two lanes. Traffic was backed up from a light, but had started to move. Dorkwad in front of me waits for another person to turn left. The person turning left cannot go since he can’t see the other lane of traffic. I honk at Dorkwad, he glances up in his rearview, and glares at me, but starts moving. Veeeeery slowly, obviously in an effort to piss me off. Whatever. He was trying to be nice, but he was just holding up traffic, so I honked at him. Instead of holding his ground until the left turner went, he caved and became very immature by trying to piss me off.
Shortly we come to an intersection. The light goes yellow, so Dorkwad jams on his brakes instead of going through the intersection like he should have since he was so close. I see the front of his car dive from jamming on the brakes, but I but never see any tail lights, cuz THEY DON”T WORK.
Remember that sand? Well since he stopped so quickly, I hit my brakes but my truck wasn’t slowing like it normally does. I got a little scare, but luckily I stopped in time.
I sat at the light contemplating whether or not I should go tell him that his tail lights aren’t working. I can see this turning into some kind of road rage incident (him not me, I was laughing at his stupidity and immaturity), so I decided not to. Just before the light went green, I noticed a car seat in the back seat of Dorkwad’s car. Incredible. This guy is stupid and immature, yet has kids. I sincerely hope there weren’t any kids in the car today.
This guy gets Revoked for a threepeat: the stopping in rush hour traffic for someone who can’t turn, the slow starting after the honk, and the lack of tail lights. Sayonara Dorkwad.
I have always been drawn to the ocean. The rhythmic pounding of the surf. The ever changing landscape. Plants and animals that look so foreign it is difficult to comprehend that they also came from Earth.
Yoshi will be staying at his own little resort. His weekend will include much romping and playing. He is staying at the Thetis Lake Boarding Kennel. Most of the time he stays there his buddy Digger is with him, but this time he is going stag.
Today is a little hectic though. Lots of things to do before I go, and I still have to work today! I just have to keep the end goal in mind. I hope to take a bunch of pictures this weekend too.
More importantly: new laces that need to get muddy!
It was a pretty good place to shoot actually. Beautiful grounds, interesting buildings, wildlife, and to top it off, big rigs and pretty women. There were some professionals there doing a shoot of some new rigs. Not sure why they came all the way here (there were California license plates), but they did choose a nice setting. It was kind of interesting watching the professionals work though. Huge white screens to bounce light, the truck freshly waxed, the ground wet to look nice, the lady dressed in a shimmery dresss, and tons of helpers. People placing the hair on the model, people adjusting lights, people just standing and watching. Very cool.
My shoot went pretty well, but I struggled with the lighting. Everything was a bit cool and dark, and my camera seemed to want to lighten everything too much. Maybe I had the wrong settings. I need to consult the manual. I should have the pictures up tomorrow though.