Sunday, August 28, 2011

IndiaFest 2011

India Fest samosa eating contest. Contestants had to either eat 10 samosas, or as many samosas as they could, in 10 minutes. The guy in the striped shirt managed 10 in 9 minutes. One of the last of the summer festivals, on a hot summer Sunday.

solitude smoker

solitude smoker by Wanderfull1
solitude smoker, a photo by Wanderfull1 on Flickr.

A lone smoker has a quiet puff beneath the trees by the river bank.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Bow River Flow 2011 - rise of the hammers

Also this weekend was the annual Bow River Flow, not to be confused with the masses involved in a Bow River float (of which there seemed to be hundreds). This event gets better every year. I managed to capture a social media pre-planned battle of silliness between inflatable hammers and swords.

People's Poetry Festival - Wakefield Brewster

Calgary's first ever People's Poetry Festival took place this weekend in Kensington. People were encouraged to create haikus, build visual art poetry, judge various poems, and listen to the local wordsmiths near the Plaza Theatre. I had a listen to some of the poets on Sunday, including the coolest guy in Calgary... Wakefield Brewster.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Calgary Slut Walk 2011

Participating in a demonstration is another great way to spend a hot Saturday afternoon. This was Calgary's first ever Slut Walk, held Saturday, August 20. The well attended protest against archaic attitudes towards victims of sexual violence started off around noon with a rally at Eau Claire Market. It was followed by a short walk through Prince's Island Park.

Links:

Reggae Fest 2011

With a media pass on wrist, thanks to Len Chan, Calgary's long time cultural events photographer, I was able to take in and photograph the Calgary International Reggae Festival concerts held Saturday, August 20th.

The Calgary International Reggae Festival is an annual event held in downtown Calgary's Shaw Millennium Park. This year the festival ran from August 18th to 20th with musicians from all over the world, plus vendors and local organizations displaying their wares.

The biggest draw were the evening performers, especially Freddie McGregor.

It was one great way to spend a hot summer afternoon. This lovely lady was hand dancing in the shade of the sound tent. It was a quick shot, snatched as I was coming around the front of the tent. I don't know if she knew I photographed her.

Friday, August 12, 2011

horsing around

horsing around by Wanderfull1
horsing around, a photo by Wanderfull1 on Flickr.

So it's my day off work and I'm sitting on my balcony, sipping tea, and playing with the Kit. Suddenly, we hear a loud crash.

Kit jumps into the apartment and I look over the railing to see this truck hauling a trailer that is suddenly leaning slightly to one side, like it has a flat tire.

Next thing I see is four people jump out of the truck to tend to the trailer which has half of the back door open. When they couldn't tie the door closed they backed this horse in and out. Took them several tries and almost half an hour.

It's never boring in my neighborhood.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Course complete

red pod by Wanderfull1
red pod, a photo by Wanderfull1 on Flickr.

To celebrate completing SAIT's Fast Track Photography Certificate program this afternoon I cycled to Edworthy Park. It was a spur of the moment decision.

Around noon, I decided I was less than inspired to print off photos. After two days of printing, there wasn't a whole lot left I wanted to do.

On the way home I was thinking of how I hadn't been to Edworthy Park in ages. Afraid that once I got home I'd get too comfortable to go back out, I turned my bike around and headed for the river pathways.

It was worth leaving class early for.

All the rain has made the park forests lush with plants and flowers I can't identify. Sweet bird song followed me. I made my destination a tasty veggie burger at Angel's Cafe and then decided to walk back along the Edworthy bikepath. On the the walk back is when I saw the most amazing thing.

Dozens of large dragon flies were buzzing around the area like mini-helicopters. I'd never seen so many in one place before. I wanted to stop the people whizzing past me... look up... isn't it amazing... but they would've probably thought I was a lunatic. All I had was my little PowerShot, so there was no way I was going to be able to capture a dragonfly in flight. Even a big one.

Then again maybe some things, like dragonflies and lightening storms, should be left to the realm of magic... to enjoy for a moment without being captured. Not everything needs to be photographed.