Well, it’s not easy to change the early morning behaviour of my six year old, Olympics or not. Trying to get the young fella to “get cracking” so we could make it out to see the torch be run down Denman street was no easy task. I awoke to the sound of helicopters that were tracking Govinator Arnold Schwarzenegger through his leg of the relay in neighbouring Stanley Park so the mood was already heightened in our house. Shuffling down the street with sleep in his eyes and me time checking out loud every couple of minutes to make sure the he understands that the torch waits for no one.

When we arrived the sirens and rolling lockups of the police motorcycles was already in full effect. Squeezing in kitty corner from Olympia Pizza the we caught up with the corporate preamble and then there it was…the torch, team of support staff, and camera crews there were documenting the event. And then it was gone. In fact I don’t even know who was holding the torch for that leg to be honest. I was just trying to snap a few good shots and make sure that Noah could see the event without getting pushed about.

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Now I am not going to give anything away here but I will say that the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies were much better that I thought they were going to be. I have seen most opening ceremonies in recent years and this one does more than hold it’s own. Sure there are some moments that maybe a bit too Canadiana but hey that’s what sells a country these days. Union Jacks for the Eiffel Tower for France and the Statue of Liberty for the good old US of A, it’s what the people seem to want.

The feeling of winter is conveyed through some great yet simple techniques of fx and lighting. There were stand-ins for stars and dignitaries with exception of one huge Canadian star that brought the house down with song in a surprise appearance.

The fact that there is a roof on the place does not get in the way of the event at all. Well maybe for the pre-show and I suspect that will get sorted too. The show runs 2.5 hours  and considering that this was the first dress rehearsal and the third rehearsal overall it went off with only a few tiny glitches. One more full dress rehearsal should take care of what did not go on cue.

There were plenty of stand-ins and blanked out names that will be replaced by the stars of sport but even though it was just a dress rehearsal it really did flick the switch for me and the family. We will watch the real ceremonies on Friday from the comfort of our own couch knowing that we did share the some of that experience. Oh and I won’t have to choke back cheap beer in an expensive plastic cup while watching it.

The one thing I can say is that there will be fireworks that are launched after the show from the roof of the giant dome.

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Here is what the downtown core looks like with just 5 days left until the games. There are tons of international athletes already wondering the streets in uniform and getting their pictures taken by the locals and tourists alike. In fact I ran into CTV Newsnet anchor Tom Clark at Japadog too and he informed me that the 2010 Olympic media centre is one of the best he has seen at an Olympic games.

CTV Set up on Robson

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Walking around on Sunday you could feel the pre-Olympic fever that was beginning to crackle to life in the city. The downtown core was a buzz and the GE plaza was pretty jammed with skaters and spectators alike. I shot this looking down through the new glass domes that were part of the recent GE expansion and revitalization of the Robson Square rink.

• Camera: Canon EOS 10D
• Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
• Aperture: f/6.7
• Focal Length: 55 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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This was shot on the old set of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” in the Tabernas Desert, near Almeria Spain. The set has been turned into a pretty cheesy attraction but we stayed the night near by and felt compelled to pay homage to the western legend. This set and the surrounding desert was host to the plethora of spaghetti westerns produced in the 60’s and 70’s. I guess the attraction [Mini Hollywood]  is worth it if you are in the area but I would not necessarily go out of my way to visit the old western set unless you are a spaghetti western freak. My 4.5 year old son really thought this was a real cemetary and I could not convince him otherwise.

Here is a slide show from the rest of the day spent there:

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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I love this one for the rough grindhouse look and the overly saturated colours. Bigger than life just like a show girl. Shot in Seattle on 1st Avenue.

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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Well it hit today. The 12th Annual International Photo Competition edition of Photolife Magazine that I was lucky enough to place fifth in the category of “People, Family, Friends, Strangers” I had found out that the image had placed back in December and I have been eagerly anticipating it’s arrival on the news stand shelves ever since.

I have been published before in magazines like the Georgia Straight and 24Hr magazine, among others this however is a pretty big deal for me as the competition was fierce with thousands of entries from around the world. The other thing that I am so very proud of is the fact that I shot the image on a Lumix procumer point and shoot. The rest of the winning images were all shot on DSLRs and SLR. I am a small camera fan and like the portability and “always with me” style that it brings.

I may be a new media guy but I have to admit still like the feeling of being published on real paper and cover stock, it just feels so tangible. I did also rush out and buy up the entire rack at the local Chapters.

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This is the first time I have noticed the official Olympic US Network here in Vancouver. It almost looked like the many movie sets around town where we put stickers like this to masqueraded as a US city. Not this time though the big cock is in town for real. I did notice that they were parked close to the GE rink though. I guess old habits die hard.

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I shot this 3D rendition of Miga at the Pacific Centre mall. I am not much of a mascot fan but like the 2010 ones. This execution was very well done I though. The only lame thing that I saw was the 3D trademark near his foot.

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Join me as I document  the 2010 Olympics from the downtown streets of Vancouver. I don’t have any specific photo plans as of yet but I imagine those will present themselves during the games. My photography is usually much in the moment and I suspect there will be quite a few that make their way into my lens. I will shoot with both my iPhone and my Canon DSLR depending on what I have on hand at the moment of “snap”.

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