I needed a rainy day to help me clear off my desk. I admit to taking advantage of the recent stretch of sunny weather we’ve had. It felt good to get out and camp, hike, and ride with my family. Just getting out of the house and not worrying about where and when my next client will come in felt good. It was good for the soul as they say.
I’m hoping photography will pick up within the next few months as routines slowly fall back into place after a world-wide Covid-19 shutdown. Fall and winter are my favourite times to take photos. Inclement weather…what’s that?
I’m available for action shots, portraits (both indoors and out), product, event and animal photography. Contact me for more info.
Part II – The journey starts at the bike shop the day before the ride only to find out it had snowed at the top of the peak that morning.
And so it begins…early Sunday seven of us left at 8:30 to begin a rather long climb. Our goal was to reach the top of Granite Mountain where the rest of the party would be waiting for the ceremony. Included in that group was Tammie’s oldest sister Sherry and her husband Sheldon, the Wedding Commissioner and the rest of my camera equipment (thanks Sheldon!).
Mandatory riders meeting for the first wave of riders. Close to 100 riders participated.
We slowly made our way uphill through gorgeous single track moving in and out of the pine scented forests. Fashionably late we arrived at Granite Mountain 45 minutes behind schedule (probably my fault as I wanted a few photos along the way and was a wee bit slow climbing). The ceremony was held on the platform of a small warming hut at the top of Red Mountain Ski Resort where the clouds blew in and out faster than you could say ‘I do’. I suspect it was a balmy 2 or 3 degrees Celsius.
The Wedding Commissioner, Roberta Post, began as Tammie and Mark stood opposite of her. I’m sure she was using the hut to shield her from the wind. Smart. The rest of us gathered around, cold yet warm. Every so often a cloud would lift revealing the layers of mountains below. In a few weeks time this area will become snow-covered leaving behind any trace we may have left. Yet this special day will live forever through stories and photos among friends and family.
The ceremony was without a doubt beautiful as the commissioner read the vows. We looked on as both Tammie and Marks’ smiles warmed our cold hands. And as if on queue the clouds lifted and a ray on sunshine fell on them both just before their kiss. Cheers and clapping erupted as we congratulated them on the beginning of their life journey together.
We took a few photos of the group and left fairly quickly to make the 1:30 pm Poker Ride cut-off time. At this point I believe we had covered the largest portion of climbing and looked forward to shorter, steeper, smaller climbs and fast downhills. The recent rains made for excellent trail conditions offering unrivaled uphill traction and stable corners.
Part of the attraction of a Poker Ride is the camaraderie and Revolution Cycles brought it out in full-force. With check-in points along the 36 km route riders drew cards, threw darts, played Trivial Pursuit, and belted out old TV shows songs for everyone to hear.
I would like to thank Revolution Cycles for a very well organized event. And for the cool t-shirts (in both men and women’s cut non-the-less)!! Maybe one day I’ll have another opportunity to tackle this ride. It was hard but not impossible and I’m super happy to have completed it….albeit in my own fashion.
En route…
Those of us who have taken the plunge understand this moment perfectly…
No it wasn’t an o-ring but it was a beautiful blue sapphire encased in platinum….that way Tammie can’t damage it!
The Wedding Party – Kelly, Tennille, Sherry, Sheldon, Paul, Lisa, Mark and Tammie.
Most at this point take a limo but not these two…it was a rocky descent to continue our 36 km trek across the Kootenays.
Some of the checkpoint festivities – throw the dart and hit your favourite politician!
Spin the Wheel and hope you don’t land on the Vegemite!
Saltine crackers and Vegemite. Mmmmm…
Showing our age (well maybe mine only) and trying to remember the theme to The Love Boat.
Riding a tricked-out Brodie. Feel free to leave messages if you think you know what’s up with this bike.
The Flying Bride shreds the downhills.
YAY!…we made it!
Mark getting that garter belt and throwing it at the post-ride BBQ.
Congratulations to Tammie and Mark for a wildly fun and successful day!! It was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to photograph and share this special day with you.
If I’m going to shoot a wedding let it be this type. Thanks for allowing me creative freedom 🙂
…and by Anti-Wedding I mean that Tammie and Mark did not follow most wedding traditions which is why this wedding was THE most fun to photograph and attend.
A few months ago I found out that Tammie and Mark had plans to marry during the Seven Summits Poker Ride while climbing a ridiculous amount. The event, organized by Revolution Bikes, is an official IMBA ‘epic’ ride and hails out of Rossland, BC. And as the name suggests it covers seven peaks.
I knew Tammie would not have a typical wedding and I jumped at the chance to photograph it. My idea was to capture them before, during and after the wedding. I had already arranged an afternoon photo session Saturday which would ensure me that their white spandex cycling outfits would remain clean. Being unfamiliar with the area and having arrived late Friday night local Rossi residents and friends of the bride and groom, Tennille and Kelly, were instrumental helping me find a suitable location – I needed one that offered a simple, clean background that showcased Rossland. I knew I wanted a photo of the towns iconic main strip and also wanted to incorporate a large white pedestrian crosswalk into my final shot that I had seen earlier in the day (it reminded me of The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ cover album). I must also give a big thank you to Zabrina Nelson, of ‘Revival Boutique’ downtown Rossland for lending us the white umbrella. I saw the umbrella sitting on a shelf and couldn’t help myself with laughter. It was the perfect compliment to the wedding and it’s ‘anti-movement’.
Both are fun people and my goal was to provide a long lasting memory of the best day of their lives. I wanted to keep the photos simple but introduce an element of tradition in their non-traditional wedding, while keeping the overall feeling of the photos fun. Something which I hope they will cherish and not get bored looking at. I’m pretty sure I captured the mood and the personalities of them both and am super stoked at the results!!
I am deeply honoured to have been able to share this important day with Tammie and Mark. I love the idea of having a fun wedding that isn’t about formality, traditions and rigidness. It was clear that both the bride and groom, along with their friends and family enjoyed the day.
As for me … I never dreamed of photographing weddings but if they could all be this cool and I could have creative control than I could really get into it! So if you are planning some wild and extreme wedding…send me an email!
Tennille helping Tammie pose like a lady.
Tammie … it’s an umbrella not a battle axe! A HUGE shout-out to Zabrina from Revival Boutique in Rossland for lending us her white, frilly umbrella (which totally suited Tammie’s personality – haha).
After a little ‘touch-up’ Tammie loosened up in front of the camera and the photo session took on a life of its own.
Run Tammie Run.
A HUGE shout-out to Paul Udovic for standing in as my voice activated tripod!! Cheers Paul!
Downtown Rossland, BC.
Inspired by The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ album cover I knew I had to use this pedestrian crosswalk to help highlight Rossland’s main strip.
Stay tuned for Part II – bikes, snow, wind, cold, fun, laughter, marriage, single track, vistas, uphills and downhills for a not so typical wedding atop Granite Mountain. To be released real soon!!
Revisiting some pictures I took this summer at Kelso Conservation Area with my friends Eaphan and Tammie. Now that big guy is in school and I’m with little guy, I kinda but not always, have a bit more time for myself. Funny how I thought that having one child is really hectic. Now it seems so easy!!
So I decided to give these pictures either a Black and White or Sepia treatment. I’m sure I’ll revisit these in a few weeks. Just because I tend to that sometimes. Sometimes if I leave if I don’t look at a picture for a while…a whole bunch of new ideas come to mind, and than I either start all over again or I tweak things to make them (hopefully) better!
It was a beautiful day – perfect blue skies with wispy clouds, and warm. Well…hot actually. Eaphan and Tammie were great as I asked them to ride a line over and over and over again. Thanks (again) guys!!
I’m hoping to get some more pictures of 2 wheeled action and now that I’ve got my dream camera I’m gonna love shooting in the woods!!
In the meantime here are a few teasers. Sorry for the large watermark but I’ve had a few people lifting my pictures without permission. Thanks for your patience and understanding!!
Thanks Dan for what I consider to be a top notch event! Very well organised, managed and an amazing loop!
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Substance Project ran a great event called ‘Homage to Ice’ April 2, 2011 and it couldn’t have been more appropriately named! Great conditions made for great pictures and great riding. Lots and lots of snow and ice! There were two races – a 25km and a 50km.
Luckily it wasn’t too windy but was a wee bit cool (for me) in the morning. However, that also meant for easier riding as the wheels weren’t sinking in the deep snow. As for the later race (50km) they had a much harder time as the sun began melting the snow which left deep ruts that made for lots of hard pedalling and uncontrollable lines.
Taking pictures was equally as challenging as the sun kept popping in and out of the clouds. The morning was sunny and I didn’t need strobes as the snow acted as a perfect reflector dish which illuminated my subjects faces quite nicely. However, there were nasty shadows in the trails. So I stayed out of the trails until the sun hid for a hour or so. During that time, I went into the trails and used either one or two strobes pending on the lighting conditions.
By the end of the fourth hour my feet were throughly wet and by now numb. I took over 500+ pictures and have uploaded them onto my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cecilegambin/. If you are interested in purchasing a picture please contact me via Flickr or through this website for details and pricing. Thanks for looking!!
