Another blog post

I've actually worked a five day week this week. Wow. Just in the studio mostly, working on albums. Also a couple of weddings - we covered the reception of one, so they gave us so much food! (I am eating properly, but this dinner was pretty nice and I didn't have to do the washing up.)

Although I didn't have to do the washing up on Tuesday either, when we went for steak night again after an exhausting game of ultimate frisbee, or on Wednesday for pasta night, where I would/should have offered to help but got absorbed into a game of draughts instead. I played BINGO on Thursday...a Real Banff Experience not really my thing it turns out. The guy on the mic was getting strict about the noise levels - apparently people had to "concentrate".

Today was my first day off in a while, so I made an effort to sleep in. It really wasn't that hard. They had a free public swim up at the Banff Centre, so I went there but the pool was jam packed with kids and plastic things. Afterwards, I met up with Peggy in central park under the shade of a very small tree, and when Jade and Lorelle turned up, we had ice cream then cycled up to Cascade Ponds again. They're glacial ponds about 8km north of Banff but it's so flat, apart from the cattle grids, that it's easy to reach by bike. They look quite artificial because of the perfect blue water and green grass. There aren't even any slimy things on the bottom.
And I might have mentioned already how glacial water is COLD. So we all jumped off the bridge a few times. Then we swam back to the grass (where I took the picture from) and lay there. Today has been so hot and so sunny, (like all the rest of them) that it was the perfect thing to do. I'm going again on Tuesday.

Since Tuesday

Steak night at the Elk and Oarsman. Mmm. Sweet potato fries.

Anyway, the weather's been less hot! And kind of weird because of forest fires in BC. Apparently we're still on high alert here because we've only received 1.5mm of the 50mm of rain expected in July. I don't know if that figure was before or after the rainstorm the other night.

So I've been out and about.




Laura and I are planning to go to up on a short trip to Jasper with Brewster tours, and also to Calgary (haven't been yet - apart to the stampede). After being unable to go to Lake Minnewanka on Thursday, we did a tour up to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Johnson Canyon. No pictures. Sorry.

MASSIVE wedding yesterday. Well quite small, really. But so, so long. Ten hours. Very tiring. Loads of pictures. Camera battery ran out.

Today I took went for a guided tour around some of the old log cabins, which was very interesting. It's such recent history, kind of weird. People who died in the seventies. Then I went home and slept for two hours! Nice to have the freedom to do that. I'm going to be working in the studio a lot more next week. Nine to five. Well, ten to five-thirty.

Tonight, going round to my friend's accomodation to watch movies.

Oh, and here am I going canoeing the other day, with Paul and Laura.

Some wedding photos

Hi. I can't post any wedding photos with faces in them unless I've got permission, so here are some "anonymous" ones. They're only from two of the shoots I did with John, because I haven't got any of the photos I took with Andrew yet, but it should give you a good idea of what I'm doing and how stunning some of these weddings are.








Also here's a picture of me and Tonya that John took at Grassi Lakes a couple of weeks ago.



I managed to watch the end of the series of Dr Who on my laptop. The devastation in that last episode was taken way further than usual! I thought it would be pretty harrowing for eight year olds. It was pretty harrowing for me.

Sundance

I just got back from a bike/hike/mossie feeding session with Laura. Have some photos. I can't be bothered using words right now.










Mmmm...Sundaes at Phil's. I had blueberry and asked for one without cream so the lady put all my extra cream on Laura's. Look at it!




Paddling in the Bow on Thursday. Glacier water is pretty cold.




And that's the Fairmont again. I stood still in a swarm of mosquitos to get that shot!

Weddingwise - only one this week. It was on a yellow meadow behind Tunnel Mountain. Everyone was walking about in the grass, the weather was beautiful, string quartet playing, really pretty flowers everywhere...but as soon as the ceremony started I got a tremendous nosebleed got myself covered in blood. Apparently it's probably something to do with the heat and altitude. It didn't last for long and luckily, I managed to put the camera down before I dripped on it.

And I just got a pay rise. Pretty cool.

The Stampede

Hi blog.

I went to the Calgary Stampede yesterday. All day - I spend twelve hours there, in this huge area stuffed with fast food stands, fairground rides, massive tents, and people. And most of them were wearing cowboy hats.

The rodeo was probably the best part of it. Nobody got injured but that was just luck. There was bull riding, bareback, wild pony races and general cowboy stuff. I also saw the agriculture tent, which had weird looking sheep and massive horses.

Here are a few photographs.










Sorry about the poorer quality of some of those. Taking pictures in the dark is sometimes difficult.

I also did a lot on Tuesday, although I have no photographic evidence. I hiked up Tunnel Mountain (which looks like a pimple from the top of Sulphur), we went canoeing on the Bow river up to the Vermillion lakes, and I went to see Transformers. I didn't really enjoy the film. It's something Ian would like though. Action and comedy. The love interest was shallow and wearing far too much makeup.

Stuff that happened today.

Today is Sunday, and I know I only just blogged on Friday, but I've got a whole load of photos to show you from today. I went up Sulphur Mountain (if you've been paying attention you'll remember I already went up there before) with Paul from Melbourne and a couple of his friends, Mathieu and Sonya, from the Banff Centre.

Weather was fine, mosquitos were out.




Those were both views from the top. The second one shows where I live - just underneath the weird circle. That isn't there in real life. This next one is of a tree stump that looks like a bear.




So that was a lot of fun. Then when I got back, I got a phone call from Andrew (he's the photographer who I do weddings with) because he wanted to congratulate me on what I shot yesterday. He was thought my photos were really great, so that's made me very happy...

More stuff coming up after more stuff happens.

The Summer is here.

I can't remember the last time it rained...but that's just poor memory. It's been so hot the last few days though!

John and Tonya took me to Canmore on Tuesday. It's a town just outside the park boundary, so there are less growth restrictions and real people actually live there. We "hiked" up to the Grassi Lakes after going around the shops for a bit. Here is a photo of John and Tonya, so that you all know what they look like.


On Thursday, Peggy and I met for breakfast at a really nice cafe, then did leisurely stuff around town, like going to see this random brass band playing in the park, before cycling up to the Cascade Ponds and going swimming. The temperature in the sun was definitely over 30, and since the water here is all glacial meltwater, it was nice and chilly! Afterwards we had a barbeque with Paul, an aussie who also works at the Banff Centre.

That's Peggy in the grass.

I had a wedding today and I'll have one tomorrow. It was pretty bad actually, because the sun was so hot and relentless. Then the mossies came out and I have bites all over my arms and some reactions to them. It doesn't matter though because on Fridays everyone goes for "drinkies" (everyone in today's case was the two photographers, the two assistants including me, Tonya, the studio manager, and John and Tonya's friend Jose). I won't name everybody. You wouldn't know who they were. It was good fun.

So the Calgary Stampede has started today. I am vaguely planning to go next Thursday, but I haven't booked my tickets yet. I will though. Last time I checked, there was plenty of space on the tour shuttle thingy. I will let you know how I get on...I think I'll have to buy one of those proper western shirts.

Imitating a Canadian

Today is Canada Day, which is apparently a big thing here. It's hot and sunny, so after spending most of the day outside I have retreated for a bit. I got up at half six (yeah I know I'm a morning person back home, but here I've started sleeping until 10am) to volunteer at the pancake breakfast, which has earned me another T-shirt, two helpings of pancakes and a big goofy Canada hat. The hat was kind of accidental though.

There was stuff in Central Park this afternoon, but nothing mesmerising apart from an a capella group from Calgary called The Heebie Jeebies. Their bass was a guy called Cedrick who looked weedy and wafer-thin, but he could sing so low and powerfully. It was funny. I just hung around with Laura for a bit. Liz, there were mounties there whose job it was to hang around and get photographed with people.


Going back in time, it turns out I used to be a cowgirl/boy/person in a past life, because when we went to Wild Bill's on Wednesday I managed to rope a fake cow on the first attempt. I was only the second person in a whole load to rope it at all.



That is Laura, above. With me.

Wedding yesterday, down in the foothills. It was kind of refreshing to get out of the mountains. I missed the deciduous trees; here it's covered in pine. It was some kind of Indian (as in India) ceremony although the couple were white Canadians, which I didn't quite understand. There was some amazing natural woodland about, with so many wild flowers. Then I went straight to this outdoor concert up the hill at the Banff Centre, which Peggy had managed to get me a ticket for. We sat on blankets on this soft grass and had a picnic with some of her friends. The concert was this African/Canadian guy called Alpha Yaya Diallo, or something similar, and the weather was beautiful. Most of the audience (including me) ended up down at the front, dancing. We let everything go and had a great time.

Next up; fireworks tonight.