Signed up to do a half-marathon on May 2nd, the day after I am photographing Tim+Emily’s wedding. Yup, I might be crazy but it’s something I have wanted to do for a while and it’s go time! Did 13km around Stanley Park on Sunday and felt great.

I took this photo of my Grandma a few weeks ago and had been meaning to post it here, although I am sure it will result in an ear-twisting next time I stop in to say hi. Anyways, to my #1 Blog follower, Hi Grandma, love you, see you soon!

I dug this photo I took of Rick a couple years ago out of the archives on my external.  A photo from my Hands project, which is still a work-in-progress. I am hoping to have an exhibition of the series his year or next year.  I really love this photo, I miss using my Hasselblad and think this photo really signifies Rick’s strength, resilience and work ethic.   Happy first day of Spring people, I am off for a motorbike ride!

I had about 3-4 minutes to take this picture, which is always the challenge when working for newspapers. But, having a small amount of time, and very few locations to chose from, I was pretty happy with what I got. I wanted a nice simple image a man who is considered to be a Canadian hero. He mentioned about trying to get me out sometime when he goes Sturgeon fishing on the Fraser River, (one of his other passions) and I really hope I can get the chance to do it.

Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of the start of the Man in Motion World Tour, where Rick Hansen wheeled more than 24, 000 miles across 24 countries. Brett Beadle for The Globe and Mail

I went out to Abbotsford on Saturday to shoot promo stills for an upcoming TV Production where amateurs boxed each other inside their ring to settle a grudge. I haven’t shot boxing since I did the BC Golden Gloves Championship a couple of years ago, and I still think it is one of the most difficult sports to photograph. The best shots come from the great fights, which can be few and far between, and when they do come, you usually have to try to shoot photos while quick punches are being throw. Not to mention the light is not usually the greatest for still photography, and it’s a challenge. But having said that, there is just an inherent beauty and simplicity to boxing that makes it something great to photograph. Having watched the documentary “Facing Ali” a few days previous (I highly recommend it) I was set to go. It turned out to be a long day, but as far as shoots go, was a pretty cool day. A few shots of the thousands I took:

A few weeks ago I was assigned to go photograph Jason Kapalka in Comox, BC for Game Informer Magazine out of the States. Jason lives in Comox, and commutes to the PopCap offices in Seattle about once a month. What an awesome spot, I hadn’t been to Comox in ages, and although it was a wet, windy and gross day, we made the best of it. And to top it off, there were CF-18’s taking off from nearby CFB Comox, providing air support for the Olympics. The howling winds continually knocked my lightstand over, so Jason ran into the house and got some tape for me to rig up my softbox to withstand the blow. The magazine was very happy with it, as I was told most of the portraits they get are dudes in their computer game offices. Nothing like a little bit of West Coast scenery to make a picture work…..

Comox, BC – PopCap CFO Jason Kapalka photographed for Game Informer Magazine.

Part of the constant need to get out of town – Went to hike the Chief today in Squamish although it was pouring rain, which turned into snow on the top of Peak number two. Still, it was an epic day and an amazing view. Nothing like a bit of adventure to make it seem like you accomplished something with your weekend.





I have been doing a lot of personal shooting with my new camera – It’s a Fuji Instax and has been a lot of fun. Was kind of bummed that the prints got those marks on them, but I guess you can’t expect too much while sliding down a snow-covered mountain.

I shot some portraits of Nathalie at the Vancouver Library in downtown Vancouver a couple of weeks ago for the Globe and Mail. Nathalie was in town for the Olympics and was staying at The Westin Grand hotel on Robson, so we went across the street to the Vancouver Public Library.  Being one of the more interesting buildings in Vancouver, I figured the architecture would give me a great background to shoot her in.  She was a great photo subject, and I think the VPL gave me a great environment to get some nice, clean images for the story.

Pure Inspiration.

Photo by Meansranker “Life on the PCH” for Citizen K magazine.

I stopped and re-read this about four times last night while reading in bed.

“They ride along the Pacific Coast Highway they take off their helmets and scream at the 100 mph with their heads back and their eyes open they’re free and on their own and it’s cold and dark and the wind is in their faces and they’re in love and they still dream, still dream.”

– Bright Shiny Morning, James Frey

This summer, there will be no doubt… I’ll be ripping on my bike down the PCH, it’s just one of those things that has to be done…..

I had let the Globe and Mail know I’d be available to shoot any street celebrations/reaction to the men’s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics yesterday. Well, sometime into the third period I got an email saying they had an open page and needed it covered. Gear and laptop a couple feet away, I ran out of my friends apartment in Gastown and across to the Lamplighter Pub with only seconds left in the game. Thank god a timeout was called and I showed up with time to spare. (Props to the bouncers at the Lamplighter for letting me in)

It was unbelievable feeling the energy in the bar and was a roller-coaster of emotion after a devastating goal the USA scored to tie it up, and an epic OT goal by Sidney Crosby to bring home the gold. Then I was off to Granville St. to document the huge crowds celebrating in the streets, I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it…..

I think the photos speak for themselves……An epic day for all Canadians, especially the huge hockey fans such as myself!!!!!!!!

And here’s how the photos got played…A3 and BC Section Front.

Check them out in the free online edition of the Globe here http://eedition.globeinvestor.com/