close your eyes and hope for the best

The annual Capelin roll, Cape Bonavista Newfoundland Canada.
(click image to enlarge)

The frenzy will last along these beaches for about 2 days as millions of capelin roll in with the surf where the females spawn and the males fertilize the eggs before they too die.

There are certain dates in one’s life that leave a lasting impression. We remember in finite detail the events leading to the implantation.

Such was the case on July 2, 1992 when The Honourable John Crosbie stood on a soapbox in Newfoundland and announced: “It’s not my fault. I didn’t take the fish out of the God damn water.” Give Crosbie his due, whether wise or not, he faced the music and stood before a lynch mob after his neck.

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Christopher Reeve, “Superman”.(click image to enlarge)

Within those first few months I also gained the dubious distinction of being one of the only people in existence to have “knocked the wind out of Superman’s cape.”

What a fabulous job we photographers have. We get to pursue a craft by choice, and generally love what we do. Many of us learned our craft the hard way, through long hard hours of sweat equity and weeks upon weeks of being on the road. Intermixed was often a good helping of luck.

Like many of my peers I have had the opportunity to meet some fabulous people: the rich and famous, the cantankerous, royalty, and the long since dead and recently deceased.

My first job was shooting for a weekly community newspaper where I got reimbursed with another free roll of film and access to a darkroom, while holding down a full time paying job in the military. Granted, the darkroom left much to be desired and came without instruction. I can now only imagine what some of those first negatives might look like if only they had been processed properly. But yet there was this great mystery of watching an image appear while I rocked the tray of developer back and forth.

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Hockey game, Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. (click image to enlarge)

Just this past week I had yet another editor going to do wonderful things for my career if I could give him a photo from a local hockey game… I am much quicker with my response now… “are you working for free? No? Well sorry, neither am I.”

I am often left in amusement when photo editors believe they have the God given right to belittle a photographer’s skill to the point of asking for images that are free of charge. About 12 years ago, I had the opportunity to photograph an IMSA motor sport race near Halifax. Having photographed a few political conventions during my “stringer” days, I played a hunch: Sure enough, sandwiches and cold drinks were in the press lounge.

It was in the lounge that I met a Ferrari staff photographer who had the strangest set-up I had seen. Digital cameras were just coming on board and this was my first look at one of these behemoths with enough umbilical cords to substitute as a wiring harness for that red horse in the back stretch paddock.

Over the course of the weekend, and between practices and time trials, this Italian photographer and I developed a great rapport. I told him of the local area and he apprised me of all things digital. It was amazing back then, in a matter of minutes he was shipping these images back to his head office in Italy. Meanwhile I was driving like mad to the local lab with film in hand, paying for rush processing so I could have the chromes by the next morning. My new friend provided some very useful hints as well to this neophyte, and I will share the most important advise with you: Stake out a corner where the cars have to slow down; it will be easier to focus and the cars will “bunch up” creating more action.

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Stanley Park Vancouver British Columbia Canada. (click image to enlarge)

The recent storms that have ripped through Vancouver’s storied Stanley Park made me think of a trip I made last spring. I had the opportunity to spend several weeks photographing the natural splendour of Vancouver Island, as well as Stanley Park. To say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience would be an understatement. Of course the trip was made even more enjoyable by having fellow photographer and my good friend Janis Kraulis accompany me as guide and chauffeur; thank goodness he is a fine photographer!

As someone who has a preference to photographing trees over people, this is the place to be. Western Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce and towering Douglas Fir beckon those with ultra wide-angle lenses.

It is not without frustration however. I went back to one location several times in the hope that I could catch the vista in good light - this was a quintessential British Columbia mountain scene complete with what I knew would be a snow-capped mountain reflecting in a gorgeous clear water lake. If only the rain and fog would abate so I could get a clear view.

The whole side of that mountain had been clear-cut of trees and there was nothing remaining to record on film but stumps and brush. I was so angered I simply left, not having taken one picture.

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The Gold Cup and Saucer harness race at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
(click image to enlarge)

I always wanted to be a sports photographer, perhaps because I was never quite good enough to make it as a professional athlete. God knows I tried.

As a kid growing up in the late 60’s and early 70’s, Bobby Orr was God. I believe it was every Canadian kid’s dream to score the game-winning goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup final. I can still envision myself flying through air with arms reaching to the heavens as Tony Esposito is sprawled on his back, clearly beaten. Then I wake up.

Sometime between now and then I acquired a camera and started shooting for the community weekly newspaper. Man that was heady stuff; my ego had never been so inflated. Payment was another roll of free film to shoot for the newspaper and access to the makeshift darkroom to do all of the processing and printing.

I was in my second heaven, of sorts. Even got to photograph Christopher Reeve when he “pulled alongside” in his sailboat.

But still, no sports.

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