Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Overdue blog post.

My blog post updates have been lacking in the last little while. Here with pictures is basically what I have been up to photographically over the last three or four months. Click on the pictures to enlarge in your browser.

Chester Race Week - Aug 16/2013














                       




"Since the sea gives Chester its character, sailing naturally occupies a position of importance here. Yacht racing has been a major summer sport in Chester for well over 150 years. Its roots are firmly planted in the mid 19th century when the fishermen raced each other to markets in Halifax or New England.
As sailors and fishermen have been wont to do since time immemorial, they loved to get together and talk shop. Sailing races for pleasure and bragging rights was inevitable. As the gatherings and races occurred more regularly, the Annual Fishermen’s Regatta was born. The regatta was a show case for locally built boats of different designs, as well as for sailing skills.
The first documented regatta was in 1856. It is reported to have been attended by 3,000 people who participated in a parade, amusements, land races as well as the sea races. In 1858 a rowing race for ladies was added and a dance took place at the Mulgrave Inn which had been hosting guests from Europe, US and Canada since 1820. In 1860 the press reported the regatta pleasures were “enhanced by a large party consisting of 150, accompanied by the city band, who arrived in the steamer ‘Neptune’ from Halifax”. In 1885 the two day regatta had boats from Mahone Bay, Lunenburg as well as from the two Tancooks. The big excitement was a circus which featured a hand cranked Ferris wheel on the parade ground. According to the Lunenburg newspaper, the 1888 Annual Regatta attracted 2,000 spectators who weretreated to “the closest and most exciting match of its kind ever witnessed in the South Shore”.
After CYC was established in 1902, it became the focal point for racing. Charter member Ned Fader remembers, “Citizens donated prizes: 100 pounds of sugar, a barrel of flour, maybe a little cash. A boat crew could get a wonderful view on life for a dollar ... best of ale, fifty cents a gallon, good rum at one dollar a quart. They were all good God-fearing people, but they did not let it spoil their lives too much.” In 1902 there were 5 classes for racing yachts based on the old Rater Rule (water line and sail area) As interest increased and designs evolved, competitive requirements led to more classes, designs and sizes". ( http://chesteryachtclub.ca/ )

In the last 6 or 7 years or so, Lunenburg has been one of my favourite places to visit because of the artistic community and photographic opportunities. The last weekend of Aug., Sandra and myself celebrated her birthday by staying at the Lunenburg Inn for two nights.

The Lunenburg Inn. Estimated stay per night between
$150 and $170 dollars.

The Lunenburg Wooden boat races.



The Fisheries museum and Old Fish Factory restaurant.

Downtown Lunenburg

Lunenburg Waterfront

Lunenburg waterfront and golf course.



"History of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
The first mention of a settlement in what would later become the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia was in the early 1600s. At that time, it was an Acadian/Mi’kmaq village named Mirligueche. After recurring hostilities between the French and English, Nova Scotia’s governor, Edward Cornwallis, ordered the village of wooden houses destroyed. In its place, a British fortress was erected to guard the harbour. However, the British recognized the area’s value as a settlement:

Foreign Protestants were encouraged to settle the area in a town that would be named Lunenburg, in honour of King George II, Duke of Brunschweig-Lunenburg. 
Lunenburg would quickly become known as a major shipbuilding centre, with local mills supplying the wood needed to build some of the most impressive sailing ships ever designed. Among these was the famous Bluenose, a fishing and racing schooner built in 1921 that would remain undefeated in international racing for 17 years. The Bluenose lives on on the Canadian dime, while her replica, the Bluenose II  has gone on to act as Nova Scotia’s sailing ambassador around the world and continues to call Lunenburg home.
As the use of wooden vessels fell in favour to steel steamships, the town evolved to become a modern ship repair and outfitting port, especially during the First and Second World Wars and to the Province’s trawler fleet. Today, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is very much a town where the past meets the present. Seventy percent of the original buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries continue to greet visitors with their colourful facades. As a result, the town has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – a fitting tribute to the lasting history nestled alongside this
tranquil harbour". (http://www.novascotia.com/en/home/ourregions/ourregions/southshore/lunenburgnovascotia.aspx)
On Sept. 11 of this year I had the priveledge of photographing East Coast Living magazines cover and story feature of a Halifax couple who downsized from a large home in the south end of Halifax to a smaller renovated victorian style home.

Myself photographing the cover. Photo by Janice Hudson



East Coast Living Winter edition
Photo by Steve Jess


Owners Catherine Clark and Edward Mowbray
 relaxing in their Kitchen



One of three bedrooms in this home.






Front Entrance and Hallway
Visit East Coast Livings webpage;
http://eastcoastliving.ca/


This October past, I winterized my RV in Chester where it resides for 6 months or so. Chester has a great skateboard park where I stop and take a few shots when passing through.







Aboard the Zim Shanghai in November on a photo shoot for Halifax magazine that's on stands this week

Photo Credit, Beth Muzzerall

Photo Credit, Beth Muzzerall 

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Friday, 2 August 2013

July has come and gone

I haven't posted anything to my blog in the last month or so, and I thought the first week of August would be an opportunity to showcase a few photos that I've recently taken. 

I had the opportunity at the beginning of July to photograph some of the Halifax City Councillors. Councillors Bill Karsten, Lorelei Nicoll and Russell Walker were more than accommodating during a very fast and rushed shoot in one of the main rooms and entrances of Halifax City Council.




Councillor Russell Walker, District 10, Halifax-Bedford Basin West -- Councillor Walker was elected to Council in 1994 and serves as President of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM)
Councillor Lorelei Nicoll, District 4, Cole Harbour-Westphal -- Councillor Nicoll was elected to Council in 2008 and serves on the Union of
 Nova Scotia (UNSM) Board
Councillor Bill Karsten, District 3, Dartmouth South-Eastern Passage -- Councillor Karsten was elected to Council in 2004 and serves as the HRM representative on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board



July 12, 2013, saw one of rock and rolls legendary bands come to the Halifax Metro Center to perform two shows in three nights. I first saw Rush in 1977 and then again in 1987 and then again a few weeks ago at the Metro Centre. I shot these photos from afar with my Iphone 3GS. Not the best quality, but you can basically get a feel for the great show that they delivered.






"Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of TorontoOntario. The band is composed of bassistkeyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Leeguitarist and backing vocalist Alex Lifeson, and drummerpercussionist and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their current form when Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first United States tour.

Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for its musicianship, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fictionfantasy, and philosophy. Rush's music style has changed over the years, beginning with blues-inspired heavy metal on their first album, then encompassing hard rockprogressive rock, and a period with heavy use of synthesizers. The band finished the Time Machine Tour in July 2011 and released their latest studio album,Clockwork Angels in June 2012 with a supporting tour that began in September 2012.

Rush has sold 25 million albums in the U.S. for a ranking of 79th. Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units as of 2004. The group has been awarded 24 gold, 14 platinum, and 3 multi-platinum albums.]

Rush has won a number of Juno Awards, was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Over their careers, the members of Rush have been acknowledged as some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning numerous awards in magazine readers poll. ( Wikipedia)





As most of my friends know, I love RV'ing/camping and on the weekend of July 20th, my friend and I picked up my RV in Chester and headed to one of the most beautiful provincial campgrounds in the province, 
Blomidon Provincial Park.



 Hiking the Jodrey trail and came across this beautiful piece of scenery. The late Roy Jodrey donated 400 acres to the Blomidon Provincial Park. 
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"The highest tides on Earth occur in the Minas Basin, the eastern extremity of the Bay of Fundy, where the average tide range is 12 metres and can reach 16 metres when the various factors affecting the tides are in phase (although the highest tides occur typically a day or two after the astronomical influences reach their peak).
The primary cause of the immense tides of Fundy is a resonance of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine system. The system is effectively bounded at this outer end by the edge of the continental shelf with its approximately 40:1 increase in depth. The system has a natural period of approximately 13 hours, which is close to the 12h25m period of the dominant lunar tide of the Atlantic Ocean." ( Hantsport and Area Business Assoc. website article)





I thought this car restoration shop was interesting enough to stop at on our way to the ' look off ' and take a few pictures. The owner of the shop was more than obliging to let me roam around his property.

Green Goblin Customs


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Friday, 21 June 2013

Greek Fest and 'Play On' hockey tournament


The Greek Festival 2013
The Greek festival first began in Halifax in 1986 after Lillian Meletedis had attended a similar event in the US. It was brought up as an idea to then priest Father Elles and other community leaders in the Halifax community. The first Greek festival went beyond crowd expectations in the early summer of 86 which resulted in total depletion of food early on  Sat. evening. The Greek community fused together and started preparing food in the late hours of Sat. night into early Sunday morning with the help of local Greek restaurants donating and preparing a lot of the food.

My first experience going to the Greek festival was in the summer of 1991 as I attended it with a few of my Greek, Lebanese and Italian friends. Ever since, I have been a huge fan of the Greek Festival and try to get out every year to take part of this cultural experience. This year I took my camera along to capture a few moments from a brief visit  this past Saturday.



This was a game to score on the goaltender and win a t-shirt.
This boy and girl were only fooling around while the regular goaltender was on a short break.

Greek School Dancers

Greek School Dancers
History of Greek Folk Dancing
"Greek folk dancing ties Greeks to their past and to their future. Greek folk dancing is very much an active art, both in Greece and throughout the world where Greeks have immigrated. Dancing is a vivid expression of everyday life and everyone of all ages dances at important occasions – weddings, baptisms, family celebrations and community social events." 
( Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church )

Maria Panopalis helping the Greek School Dancers explain
the history of Greek clothing attire.


 "'POSEIDON' plays both contemporary and traditional Greek music from a wide variety of popular Greek singers, and most recently has focused its attention on composing and recording original music. They have performed at hundreds of dances, festivals, televisions shows and concerts from coast to coast in Canada, and in parts of the United States, such as West Palm Beach (Florida), San Francisco, New York City and New Orleans.(poseidonband.com)
Preparing Greek Cuisine 



 Hockey Night in Canada's 
'Play On'
4 on 4
Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 15/13

A friend of mine had called me up early Sat. morning as I was getting ready to photograph at the Greek Festival. He told me about a 'Play On' tournament where 4 on 4 road hockey teams take on each other in a weekend tournament. Being a hockey fan, I was ashamed to say I had never heard of the tournament but thought I should be photographing this event as well. Below are some of the action I captured last weekend and here is a little history about the 'Play On' tournament.

"Play On! is a story of a small-town hockey fan who was passionate about the game and wanted to make a positive difference for the sport across this great nation. The concept was formed after he graduated from one of Canada’s most prestigious business schools and couldn’t find a job. Now, 10 years later, that same business school teaches the story of Play On! to all entrepreneurial students, reinforcing a message that anyone can fulfill their dreams if they just never quit." ( Playon.ca)


"Starting from a single tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia back in 2003, Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! has grown to 21 annual tournaments that take place from coast to coast across Canada. Now in it’s 10th season, over one million people have taken part in one of the 90+ events held to date." (theqmjhl.ca/article)



"Hockey Night in Canada's Play On! tournaments feature hundreds of teams and thousands of participants and include separate divisions for both genders, all skill levels, and all ages." ( Playon.ca





"Each year, the top Elite, Grinders(u19) and Enforcers(u17) teams from across Canada qualify to compete in the National Championship where teams have the chance to hoist the Redwood Cup and earn the title ‘Greatest Street Hockey Players’. At four feet tall and sixty-three pounds, the Redwood Cup is taller and heavier than the holiest of grails – the Stanley Cup." (www.moncton-wildcats.com)"

The Oval, Halifax Commons, Sat. May 15/2013
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