On Saturday, September 4th I was back in Toronto to capture the frenzy that was Halo, thanks to a friend of mine.
Drill sergeants, uniform distribution and a mission briefing kicked off the event that lead straight into laser tag. All ages of the community came out to participate, and the intensity of the game showed on everyone’s faces. After completing the mission, teams filtered into the tent to test their skills on Halo Reach, or to pre-order the game online.
Halo Reach is set to launch on September 14th. Join the Xbox Canada Facebook page to keep up with info & events!
Click the image to view the full set.
Baseball season is over, at least for the church league!
Central Air wrapped up their 2010 season between Baden & Petersburg fields on August 27 & 28. I was able to attend the games on the Saturday, and boy what a hot day it was! Unfortunately I missed most of the season (sorry dear) but I did of course capture some photos to share while I was at the tournament.
Click the image to view the set!
What an exciting week.
First there was the Canadian earthquake that struck on Wednesday, and two tornadoes that ripped through two cities in Southern Ontario.
And then today; I attended the protests downtown Toronto. What I experience was not what I was intending on experiencing. Like many others, all I wanted was to be near the hype and excitement, and of course, to get a few pictures.
(Click here for all photos)
The first blockade was at University & Richmond. Nothing exciting, lots of cops and mounted police. We could hear a little bit of the protesters up on Queen Street, and overheard from a cop’s radio that they had smashed in a Starbucks.
We were not allowed to walk north on University, and a few people that attempted to were immediately stopped. In the half hour I was standing there, only three people had been trying to cause a ruckus.
“For your safety, I cannot allow you to pass. If you do, it will be a threat to police and security, and you will be taken down.”
From University & Richmond, we walked south to Adelaide and over to Bay. We ran into the protesters heading south, and continued to walk with them. It was intense, with lots of yelling and tears, passion. These protesters were passionate, and I give them credit for that. They’re standing up for something they believe in. But it’s the violence that silences everyone else. Violence will not solve anything, ever. And to quote Toronto Mayor David Miller, “…they call themselves anarchists when really, they are only criminals.”
Eventually there was a cloud of smoke, and the first thought was it was tear gas being dispersed. I ran to get closer to see, and then I saw flames.
Seeing the flames, and the crowd running in every different direction was like being in a movie. It was unreal. I kept thinking, “This isn’t Canada, we don’t experience such displays of violence here…”
As I got closer to the car I realized it was a police cruiser, which was even more nerve-wracking. If these protesters (anarchists, criminals, terrorists…) were torching cop cars, what else were they capable of?
The police formed a line around this time and started beating their shields with their batons. A scare tactic, echoing between the buildings, sounding a bit like gun fire.
I realized we were in trouble when they would no longer let us pass, and get away from the burning carnage. Instead, they were pushing us even closer, causing increased panic in the people around me.
A small group of us gathered under the BMO building roof, right at the corner of King & Bay. We were maybe 50 feet from the burning car, and there was a mix of emotion behind me: tears, sheer panic, yelling, laughter. One girl was screaming, “You can’t leave us here! If the car explodes we are all going to die!”
We stood behind the pillar until the police line on the other side escorted us out of there. We had to raise our hands like prisoners in order for them to lead us out, as if we were the criminals. Then we were stopped alongside the south side of the building, and told to stand still and keep our hands out of our pockets.
My phone was in my pocket but I was able to get out a few text messages anyways.
A few minutes later we were told to keep walking to safety.
We made it to the next block and stood there, waiting for the car to blow up (it didn’t).
It was intense.
What a great day it was for this annual festival, and for my first visit.
A lady and her friend were happily browsing the market when I asked for their photo. I noticed they were trying on hats and seemed to be enjoying the still-quiet, early morning out at the market. The lady in pink agreed, and took a few moments to pick out the best hat for the photo.
(almost as soon as I’d taken her photo, I wish I’d composed it a lot better)
When I first arrived at the park, there were two people lined up to take a ride. I wanted to wait until there were more spectators before I went up. It just gives a photo more juice than if no one and no cars were around.
While I was up in the hot air balloon, the operator told me he’d been flying hot air balloons for over twenty years, but did not own his own.
I stated the obvious, that it was going to be a hot, busy day, and he chuckled in agreement.
Standing in the basket, taking in the view, he then pointed out a tiny car in the lineup of antique cars. When it was time to disembark, that’s where I went.
…this is not the Mini
After checking out the mini Mini Cooper (it’s 26″ shorter than a Mini), Bill captured my photo, and then made the connection of how we knew each other.
I first “met” Bill at the 2009 New Hamburg fall demolition derby & fair. I had anonymously (or so I thought) snapped his photo while waiting for the next derby heat to begin, and he found me while browsing photos from the event on Flickr. It’s always neat to put a face to a Flickr name ;)
Wandering through the vendor zone, I met Randy, owner of a kiosk selling various home decor items. I purchased a small bench picture frame with shells and oceanside flare. He agreed to let me take his picture while he was still setting up a few items for sale. Randy has been to a variety of markets in Southern Ontario, and is almost always at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. (Maybe I’ll track him down next year and give him a copy of this photo :)
An hour or so after I visited a few neighbourhood garage sales, I stopped in at a kiosk full of ethnic charm. Drums, necklaces, crosses, rings, tribal decorations. I’m always drawn to these kiosks to get a dose of distant culture, without actually leaving town. Handcrafted items have not just their unique, sometimes imperfect looks and feels, but they also carry the love that flowed through the artist’s hands. Victor introduced himself to me and we chatted about the variety of items he was selling. El Salvador crosses, Indonesian necklaces, Mexican drums, Peruvian bean-bead necklaces. I purchased the Peruvian bean necklace and asked Victor if I could take his photo. Such a nice man!
One of the garage sales happened to be a fund-raising effort put on by the youth of St James Lutheran church. I purchased custom-made reusable bags to support their cause, and then asked to take a group photo of the youth helping out. I hope they had a successful day!
Sights, smells, sounds… colours, shiny cars, dusty books, greasy foods, condesation covered cans of pop, sweaty kids, diesel, jet fuel, fried foods, cooling off in the shade
Met Donna, owner of a 1947 Dodge businessman’s coupe and a 1956 Dodge Coronet. Donna and her husband have owned these cars for about five years, and travel around every weekend during the summer to show them off.
Her husband keeps the business man’s coupe in shiny shape.
I told her I was a student photographer at Conestoga, and Donna offered to let me in one of the cars to get a few interior shots. I gladly accepted.
My husband’s grandfather is a expert violinist/fiddler, and we had the honour of attending his CD release party at The Commercial Tavern in Maryhill, Ontario.
The music was fantastic, the crowd was engaging, the energy was high and the food – excellent!
While looking for something specific in my grandma’s house a few weeks ago, my dad came across a rare photograph his dad took. On the back was written “1957″, and the photo lab stamp was from Park Photo Service in Cornwall, Ontario. (I wonder if they’re still in business?)
I think this is just fantastic. And adding to the excitement of the news that the Queen will be visiting Kitchener in July this year, it just seemed fitting that I share this now. I just hope to capture my own photo of royalty when they roll through the city!
It’s always, always a good day when I get to a nursery!
Mum wanted to shop for a few plants and flowers to spruce up their gardens around the house, and invited me along. What a bright sunny afternoon in the greenhouse. It was HOT.
I wasn’t planning on taking many photos, maybe just one or two since this visit was impromptu. But I just couldn’t help it. The colours, textures and compositions were presenting themselves to me every time I turned around.
In my bag I had only my 50mm f/1.8. It was all I needed to capture these images. Best lens* ever, baby.
View the set.
*Best is 1.4, which unfortunately I don’t have, so this is the best lens I currently own. :)
On April 24/10 while I was in Toronto for the NPA Conference, a friend of mine was hosting a charity event at Bread & Circus, and was looking for a photographer. Having nothing else to do after the conference, I volunteered. (Nice to finally meet you Reggy!)
Jason & Caroline Take On the Ride to Conquer Cancer!
A Northern Drawl, Carla Sacco & Neil Dirtyred Mooney were the performing artists, and they did a fantastic job keeping the crowd engaged & entertained.
Shortly after the event I learned that Jason & Caroline raised over $500 at the event, and over $5000 overall for their Ride. I wish you guys all the best in your quest!
Click here for more information about The Ride to Conquer Cancer, or to make a donation.
The first weekend in May is the annual town-wide garage sale in Mannheim, Ontario. My husband & I spent a little more than an hour wandering the streets, looking for decent sales and things we needed (and perhaps, things we didn’t). On our way back to the car, I found what I really wanted. Unfortunately, I could only assume it was going to be out of our price range.
On April 22, 2010 at approximately 5:30am a fire broke out in the University of Waterloo plaza, destroying numerous businesses.
Photos shown here were taken around 5:30pm. A few of the affected businesses include Mel’s Diner, Sugar Mountain and Ceaser Martini’s.
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