tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34322843428809404892024-02-19T04:31:55.718-08:00Ailes de VerreMelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-21724719338141433282012-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:002012-01-08T20:45:22.379-08:002011, european heaven (pt 3)And almost within the first week of 2012, I'm ready to finish recapping the rest of 2011. I hope I'm this on the ball all year long.<div><br /></div><div><b>September</b></div><div>What's a better way to kick off September than a Labor Day weekend celebration of amazing food with two fabulous friends? I sure don't know, so I was thrilled that Christina and Jules came to Chicago to visit me!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0904-5.jpg" border="0" alt="The girls!" /></div><div>We ate Pinkberry froyo, Sprinkles cupcakes, Oysy sushi, and visited Oak Park to see some of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Jules and I had been talking about going on a FLW tour for YEARS, so it was thrilling for us to finally see them.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0904-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Jules" /></div><div>Jules poses at the park in Oak Park before house-hunting.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0904-2.jpg" border="0" alt="J's house" /></div><div>She plans to move into this house.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0904.jpg" border="0" alt="Me" /></div><div>We did a photoshoot at FLW's studio.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0904-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Pinkberry Me" /></div><div>And then capped off a great day with great froyo!</div><div><br /></div><div>In mid-September, I went on a retreat with a group from my church. I was really nervous about going, because I didn't know anyone at church super well yet, and I was anxious about the location. We went to Lake Geneva Youth Camp & Conference Center, where I worked for a summer with my high school sweetheart. A lot happened that summer, both good and bad, and I wasn't excited about dredging up those memories again, but I think it was good for me to go and face some of my issues. I also had a chance to take some sweet photos of Ultimate Frisbee:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0917-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Frisbee 1" /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0917.jpg" border="0" alt="Frisbee 2" /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0917-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Canoe" /></div><div>And I was given a bit of peace.</div><div><br /></div><div>The following weekend, I was off to Canada for one of my favourite fall traditions: the premiere of <i>Battle of the Blades. </i>The weather was absolutely perfect, so Christina, Jules, and I spent a day at the Beach on Saturday, eating delicious brunch, eating cupcakes, walking, and taking photos.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0924.jpg" border="0" alt="Me" /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0924-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Jules" /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0924-3.jpg" border="0" alt="The 3 of us" /></div><div><br /></div><div>We were thrilled to have our girl, MF, back on the show, so we were out in full force for the opening and, of course, continued the post-show photoshoot tradition.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0925.jpg" border="0" alt="Rockstars!" /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>October</b></div><div>In mid-October, I took a much-needed break and headed west. I had a free flight from Southwest that was about to expire, so I booked a trip to Seattle and took the bus up to Vancouver, where I spent five days basking in beautiful weather, eating delicious food, taking photos, and spending time with friends. It was such a relaxing break that I even found time to work on my thesis!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1016.jpg" border="0" alt="M&ZK" /></div><div>I'd had this photo in my head for months, inspired by Christina, so I was thrilled with how it turned out and thrilled for the chance to finally do a proper portrait session with Maddie & ZhaoKai.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1017.jpg" border="0" alt="Babies" /></div><div>I was also so thrilled that my trip was well-timed to the arrival of my friends' incredible little twins, and that they were kind enough to let me photograph some of their early moments. I don't have much experience photographing kids, but I would love to look for more opportunities in 2012.</div><div><br /></div><div>Only about a week after I got back, I was off to Skate Canada in Mississauga. The convenient location meant that I make the trip even though I was almost completely broke. I had a great time, saw wonderful skating, and took some quality photos.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1028.jpg" border="0" alt="Tessa & Scott SD" /></div><div>Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, SD</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1029.jpg" border="0" alt="VoloTran FS" /></div><div>Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov, FS</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1030-2.jpg" border="0" alt="CapLans FD" /></div><div>Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte, FD</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1030.jpg" border="0" alt="TK FD" /></div><div>Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon, FD -- I was most excited to see their Grand Prix début, since I've been around for a lot of the moments in their skating lives over the past 4 years.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1030-3.jpg" border="0" alt="V & Cale" /></div><div>After Skate Canada, I drove straight to the Mastercard Centre for <i>Battle of the Blades</i>, where I took this photo of Violetta Afanasieva & Cale Hulse on Halloween night.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>November</b></div><div>A few weeks later, I was back in Toronto again for the BOTB Finale. First, though, I did headshots and in-class shots at Dance Fusion. I am still editing all of these photos, but I'll share a couple from the junior ballet class:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1112.jpg" border="0" alt="Ballet Shoes" /></div><div>I love photos of skates on the ice, and it turns out that I love photos of ballet shoes in the studio, too.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1112-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Ballet" /></div><div>This one will be in the front window of the studio in the near future.</div><div><br /></div><div>We had a great time cheering on MF & Bryan in the final night of competition at BOTB:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1113.jpg" border="0" alt="MF&BB" /></div><div>They did an amazing job, and once the show was over, we were off to celebrate over wine and some delightful bites with MF. I certainly don't have the time or space to gush properly over how much those couple of hours meant to us, but the key was: "get older, but don't age."</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1114-2.jpg" border="0" alt="The girls with MF" /></div><div><br /></div><div>The next night, MF ended up second and we were so proud of the progress that she and Bryan made over the course of the show. We took some time afterwards to continue chatting with the fam. So sad that our Battle nights were over, but at least we have our family photo as a super cute keepsake!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1114.jpg" border="0" alt="Family Battle" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Back home, I was honoured that my friend Kate asked me to shoot some non-cheesy photos of her and her fiancé.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1119.jpg" border="0" alt="Kate & Jeff 1" /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1119-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Kate & Jeff 2" /></div><div>We had a lot of fun (and even did a little cheese) at The Bean in Millenium Park and I loved how they turned out. I added some retro effects because I thought she looked so glam in that red coat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a great Thanksgiving with the extended fam, but somehow managed to go all day without taking more than a couple photos. Too busy eating, I guess!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>December</b></div><div>I love Christmas so much, and I love getting caught up in the magic of the season, but this year was a tough December. Too stressful to fully enjoy it and a little lonelier than usual, too, so I kept looking for excuses to celebrate on ordinary days.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1207.jpg" border="0" alt="Market" /></div><div>I had a nice evening on a quiet weeknight in the Christkindlmarkt at Daley Plaza. My fab find was starfish ornaments for Jules and Christina. We have a starfish thing.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1219.jpg" border="0" alt="Zoo Lights" /></div><div>A few days before Christmas, I went to Lincoln Park Zoo's Zoo Lights with some friends from church. It was so warm this year that Zoo Lights didn't have its usual nip in the air, which was nice for walking around and photography...not so great for the ice sculpture guy whose work kept melting.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-1227.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and the Girls" /></div><div>Christmas came late for my family this year, but we celebrated on the 27th with the kids and had a lovely time. I adore my girls, even more when we have matching headbands! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for the memories, 2011. On to 2012!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-59006745373401397282011-12-20T19:29:00.000-08:002011-12-26T17:45:05.577-08:002011, european heaven (pt 2)Picking up where I left off with my last entry, here's the 2nd third of 2011!<div><br /></div><div><b>May</b></div><div>Apparently, I didn't do much in May besides work as much as possible to store up money for Europe. The only event of note was a baseball game with a group from my church. I had been going to the University Village campus of Park Community Church since late 2010, but I didn't start meeting people until this spring. Going to the Sox game was extra special for me because it was my first trip to Comiskey since they won the World Series in 2005.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0521.jpg" border="0" alt="Sox" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Other than that, I think I mainly stayed inside and planned for the Europe trip!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>June</b></div><div>Of course the main event in June was the start of the European Adventure, but before I left, I had to celebrate my birthday multiple times. You understand. My first celebration was with my mom, and we finally had a chance to try Piccolo Sogno, the Italian restaurant in my neighbourhood that is always packed and gets amazing reviews. It definitely lived up to its reputation! I also treated myself to brunch at the Bongo Room on my actual birthday, and then I went to Toronto for Sixth Annual Birthday Weekend with Jules and Christina.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wasn't originally going to go to Toronto—Christina won tickets to the Glee concert on the radio, and I was supposed to be in London, so she and Jules made plans to go. When my departure date got moved back, they asked me to come, but I had to turn it down once I looked into ticket prices for the show. So then Christina announced that she was able to get an extra ticket, and I believed her, because I didn't think she'd lie to me. ;-) It turned out that she and Jules had decided to buy a ticket to the show for me for my birthday, so we'd have birthday weekend together again. I have the best friends!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0611.jpg" border="0" alt="Glee" /></div><div>The show was awesome! They sounded fantastic and did so many of the songs that I would have picked, if I had been in charge of the set list, including "Somebody to Love" as one of the encores (as pictured above)!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0612.jpg" border="0" alt="Toronto Music Garden" /></div><div>On Sunday, we went to the Toronto Music Garden at my request, which is a waterfront park designed by Yo-Yo Ma around Bach's 1st Cello Suite. I had wanted to go the year before, on the road trip, but it was just a tad difficult to get around Toronto that day, what with the rioting and all.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0612-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Frolicking" /></div><div>I only had 3 days at home after the Toronto weekend before it was time to leave for EUROPE. I was starting off in London for two weeks, as the second half of a summer course. The first half had been done in Chicago, with 5 students from London Metropolitan University joining us to study Chicago writers. Then we all headed to London together to study London writers. At the end of the course, my mom met me in London, and we traveled together for about two more weeks, hitting Paris, Normandy, Brittany, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. A little over half of the trip has been chronicled at my <a href="http://melaniehoyt.wordpress.com/" target="new">travel blog</a>, with more entries still to come. So in here, I will pick one photo per day to post.</div><div><br /></div><div>June 16: fly from Chicago to London.</div><div><br /></div><div>June 17: Arrive in London, get to hotel, hang out in train station, buy voltage converter. No photos of note.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0618-0055.jpg" border="0" alt="Westminster at Sunset" /></div><div>June 18: First sightseeing day! Trafalgar Square, Westminster Palace (pictured at sunset), monsoon, pub lunch.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0619-0130.jpg" border="0" alt="Portobello Road" /></div><div>June 19: St. Paul's, Notting Hill (Portobello Road pictured), take 2 of Westminster at sunset</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0620-0062.jpg" border="0" alt="British Museum" /></div><div>June 20: mainly the British Museum</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0621-0023.jpg" border="0" alt="St. Paul's" /></div><div>June 21: Bus ride from Portobello Road to South Bank Centre, Tate Modern, traditional fish & chips, Camden. Shot of St. Paul's and Millenium Bridge, taken from near Tate Modern.</div><div><br /></div><div>June 22: no photos taken. Must have rained.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0623-0053.jpg" border="0" alt="Greenwich" /></div><div>June 23: Greenwich! Gorgeous day, gorgeous views, gorgeous buildings.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0624-0040.jpg" border="0" alt="Covent Garden" /></div><div>June 24: One of the best days of my life. Covent Garden (above), London Transport Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, froyo, cupcakes, macarons from Ladurée, amazing coffee from Caffe Nero, and capping it all off with a West End performance of <i>Chicago</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0625-0116.jpg" border="0" alt="Hyde Park" /></div><div>June 25: South Kensington walking, Hummingbird Bakery, Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrod's, Hyde Park (above).</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0626-0002.jpg" border="0" alt="Columbia Road" /></div><div>June 26: Columbia Road flower market (above), Brick Lane, Sunday UpMarket, Spitalfields Market.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0627-0001.jpg" border="0" alt="Southwark Cathedral" /></div><div>June 27: a really hot day seeing Southwark Cathedral (above), Borough Market area including Monmouth Coffee, river walking and views of Tower Bridge.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0628-0005.jpg" border="0" alt="Liverpool Street station" /></div><div>June 28: trip to Liverpool Street station (above) for a Brick Lane evening with class</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0629-0005.jpg" border="0" alt="Trafalgar Square" /></div><div>June 29: Mom's arrival in London, so a repeat of Trafalgar Square (above), National Gallery, Covent Garden, St. Paul's, Westminster area. Little Venice for dinner for our last class.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0630-0011.jpg" border="0" alt="Honfleur" /></div><div>June 30: Crazy travel begins! Eurostar to Paris, train to Caen, rent car, drive to Honfleur (above), French laundromat adventures, first of several amazing seafood dinners.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0701-0106.jpg" border="0" alt="Pegasus Bridge" /></div><div>July 1: Cathedral viewing in Rouen, Normandy D-Day tour begins, Pegasus Bridge Museum (above), German bunker tour, Juno Beach and Museum.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0702-0075.jpg" border="0" alt="Omaha Beach" /></div><div>July 2: Day 2 of D-Day tour including Utah Beach, Omaha Beach (above), American and Canadian cemeteries, Mulberry Harbour museum, also Bayeux and its tapestry and the medieval fest.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0703-0174.jpg" border="0" alt="Pink Granite Coast" /></div><div>July 3: Mont St-Michel, a random windmill, and one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen—the Pink Granite Coast in Perros-Guirec and Ploumanac'h. And some of the best seafood I've ever had!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0704-0132.jpg" border="0" alt="Eiffel Tower" /></div><div>July 4: Travel back to Paris, evening sightseeing in the Latin Quarter, waiting in line for Berthillon ice cream behind Meg Ryan, and taking poster-perfect night shots of the Eiffel Tower.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0705.jpg" border="0" alt="Opera Garnier" /></div><div>July 5: Full day in Paris! Finally saw inside the Opéra Garnier (above), introduced my mom to lunching at bougie grocery stores, paid a visit to the Arc de Triomphe, macarons at Pierre Hermé, the Tuileries gardens, and the Musée Rodin.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0706.jpg" border="0" alt="Sainte Chapelle" /></div><div>July 6: La Sainte Chapelle (above), my favourite place in Paris. Victor Hugo house, and an amazing on the Place des Vosges. Travel back to London on the Eurostar, overnight train to Edinburgh.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0707.jpg" border="0" alt="Edinburgh" /></div><div>July 7: Arrive in Edinburgh, various city sightseeing, including several museums.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0708.jpg" border="0" alt="Edinburgh Castle" /></div><div>July 8: Edinburgh Castle, another museum, climbed the hill to the National Monument and climbed the tower on the hill for great views of the city. Overnight train back to London.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0709.jpg" border="0" alt="Cardiff Bay" /></div><div>July 9: Arrive back in London, send Mom off to the airport for her trip home, train to Cardiff. Cardiff Bay (above) sightseeing on a summer festival evening.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0710.jpg" border="0" alt="Cardiff Castle" /></div><div>July 10: Wandered around Cardiff, and realized that I had allowed far too much time to wander around Cardiff. Enjoyed the art museum, but too much shopping in Cardiff and no extra cash with which to shop.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0711.jpg" border="0" alt="Tintern" /></div><div>July 11: Took a train and a bus to get to Tintern to see the abbey ruins. So worth it! Beautiful day, incredible site, and a lovely town. Finally had a full English tea on one of my last days. Surprised that I liked it. Train back to London in the evening.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Europe%202011/Hoyt-2011-0712.jpg" border="0" alt="Buckingham Palace" /></div><div>July 12: Last full day of the trip. Several eating goals in London accomplished: one more coffee at Caffe Nero, a few more macarons from Pierre Hermé, frozen yogurt at Snog, one more yummy salad from Simply Food. When I wasn't eating, I walked by Buckingham Palace and had one more pint of cider in Victoria Station during rush hour.</div><div><br /></div><div>July 13: Early wake-up call to drag myself to the train station and then the airport. Saw Brad Pitt at Heathrow. Exhausted. Slept most of the way home. What a trip!</div><div><br /></div><div>After I got home from Europe, I only had about a week to recover before I left again for the start of the skating season and my usual trip to Lake Placid and Ottawa. On the way, I stopped in Michigan to spend a weekend with Jules and then spent a night with Christina in Toronto. This year, LPIDC and Minto were on the same weekend, and since I had people that I <i>needed</i> to see at both events, I stayed in Lake Placid from Tuesday afternoon to Saturday morning, and then drove up to Ottawa to catch the junior and senior dance on Saturday and Sunday. Exhausting, but worth it. And some photo highlights:</div><div><br /></div><div>I love doing off-ice portraits in Lake Placid, because the scenic views make every shot seem special. This year, I had a chance to work with some new athletes and I had a great time with all of them, but towards the end of a long day of photoshoots on Wednesday, I reconvened with my usuals, Danielle & Alex Gamelin, for our fourth annual Lake Placid photoshoot. And we got this shot:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0727.jpg" border="0" alt="Gamelins" /></div><div>I remember checking my LCD screen and saying something like, "OK, we can take a few more, but seriously...this is the shot." And it was!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0727-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Wade & Wilson" /></div><div>Between shoots all over town, I snuck in a couple of hours at junior dance practice, where I got this winner of Vanessa Wade & JoeBen Wilson. The partnership did not survive, but this photo lives on!</div><div><br /></div><div>On Day 2 in Placid, I photographed intermediate compulsories, a few novice free dances, and most of the junior and senior short dances.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0728.jpg" border="0" alt="Biechler & Petrov" /></div><div>I think that Julia Biechler & Sasha Petrov are just lovely. They have terrific unison in their compulsories, especially for such a young team.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0728-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Moore & Klaber" /></div><div>Holly Moore & Daniel Klaber volunteered to make us lunch one day, so of course we were thrilled that they have such a winning free dance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Friday in Placid was my final shooting day. I shot the novice Kilian, and then some of the junior and senior free dances. It's usually tough to pick which photos to post, but one of these was an easy choice.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0729.jpg" border="0" alt="Culhane & Mondor" /></div><div>My Canadian li'l sis, Cate Culhane, made her junior début in Placid with Simon Mondor. Their free dance was just a few weeks old at that point, but it made me cry anyway. Even though I had spent two years shooting skating events with her family, Placid was the first time that I saw her compete live, since her dad obviously photographed her while she was competing, and I would be on the other rink. I'd seen her compete free skate once, but never dance, so this was extra special for me.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0729-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Cannuscio & Lorello" /></div><div>Three of us were sharing my camera during the senior free dance, and when we had divided up the teams to shoot, I had taken the Canadians. But when the last skaters of the night were up, Michelle was exhausted and told me to keep going, which is how I ended up grabbing this airborne shot of Isabella Cannuscio & Ian Lorello. Just wish their costumes hadn't gotten stuck in Russia before Placid!</div><div><br /></div><div>On Saturday morning, I got up super early to hit the road for Minto Summer Skate in Ottawa. Without any traffic, I arrived in plenty of time to charge my computer and get caught up with a ton of folks. It was really nice to be back, especially among the volunteers that make sure that I am fed!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0730-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Orford & Williams" /></div><div>Nicole Orford & Thomas Williams in the junior short dance</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0730-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Moyer & Chapplain" /></div><div>Haili Moyer & Aaron Chapplain in the novice Cha Cha Congelado</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0731-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Edwards & Pang" /></div><div>Madeline Edwards & Zhaokai Pang in the junior free dance</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0731-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Harvey & Gagnon" /></div><div>I had already seen Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon's free dance twice that week, so I loved knowing exactly when this move was going to happen, and knowing that I was in the perfect spot for it!</div><div><br /></div><div>The free dances were over by early afternoon, and just as I was trying to decide how much of the trip home to tackle in one day, the BC crowd invited me to join them for a late lunch, and then lunch turned into lunch + football in the park. Which I, of course, photographed.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0731-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Aaron makes the catch" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Overall...another wonderful trip. Already thinking about Lake Placid/Minto 2012!</div><div><br /></div><div>Two weeks later, I went up to the NW suburbs of Chicago to photograph our local summer competition, the Dupage Open. It was fun to see plenty of new faces, even more fun to see junior ladies that could jump, and weird thinking about how I can walk into a club competition in Ontario and immediately start hugging people, but I went almost the whole day at home without even speaking to anyone.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0814.jpg" border="0" alt="Verhulst" /></div><div>Lexis Verhulst and a picture-perfect Ina Bauer</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0814-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Moeller" /></div><div>Jordan Moeller, one of my favourite younger guys in the States to watch. He goes to a school in my mom's district and, well, let's just say that the big-name skaters have never come from the south suburbs of Chicago. So it's been fun to watch him develop; he's a lovely skater.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0814-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Brown" /></div><div>I hadn't seen Jason Brown since fall 2008, when Jules and I were at a show and he was one of the local talents, and I leaned over to her about a minute into his program and said, "this kid is GOOD." Well, this kid recently won the Junior Grand Prix Final!</div><div><br /></div><div>And to close out August and this blog post, I leave you with a photo of my family on the Wendella river & lake cruise:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0827.jpg" border="0" alt="Markhams" /></div><div>Me, Kristin, Bradley, Uncle Bill, Danielle, and my mom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Part 3 coming soon-ish!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-587865761808156242011-12-14T10:53:00.000-08:002011-12-15T09:15:39.323-08:002011, european heaven (pt 1)Contrary to what the title suggests, I (unfortunately) did not spend all of 2011 in a European heaven. But I'm limited by rhyming options this year, so I'm going with that. It's hard to believe that this year is over...a part of me still feels like the Olympics (in February 2010) were just yesterday. They were not. Anyway, I am at least a little more organized than I was a this time last year, due to missing Challenge, so I figured that I would start my year-in-review posts. Considering that I posted all three of them in February last year, this is a huge improvement.<div><br /></div><div><b>January:</b></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0102.jpg" border="0" alt="Trimming the Tree" /></div><div>I kicked off the New Year sitting on an Amtrak train in Jackson, Michigan, craning my neck to see fireworks from the window. A last-minute gap in my work schedule allowed me to join Christina and Jules in Michigan after all, but by the time I knew my schedule and could buy a train ticket, the one that would have allowed me to ring in the New Year with them was out of my budget. So I arrived in Royal Oak after 1am, and they picked me up on their way home from the New Year's party that they had attended. We had a stellar couple of days together for our belated Christmas.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also went to a Charlotte Martin concert in January!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0109.jpg" border="0" alt="CharMar" /></div><div>CharMar is one of my absolute favourite musicians, and I had not seen her perform before. The show was incredible. She débuted many of the new songs from her album <i>Dancing on Needles</i>, and I fell in love with "Warrior," which I am still patiently waiting for her to release as a B-side...</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the main event in January was, once again, the Canadian Figure Skating Championships. They were in Victoria, BC, this year, so the trip was looking like it would be quite expensive, at first. I managed to save money by flying into Seattle and when one of the skating families found out that I planned to stay in a hostel, they found space for me in their rooms. Skating families are fantastic! Flying into Seattle also meant that I had a great excuse to fly in a couple of days early, so that I could spend some time in Vancouver with Lori! Of course, it rained the whole time, but she had tons of <i>Road to Avonlea</i> episodes available on PVR, so all was not lost. After 2 days with L$, it was off to Victoria! I was busier at Canadians than I have ever been, since I doubled up on coverage and was working for both Ice-Dance.com and GoldenSkate. It was exhausting, but exhilarating, and I'm still so relieved that the pieces fell into place for the trip to be a possibility.</div><div><br /></div><div>Day 1: Grueling 15-hour day at the rink for novice short programs, the junior ladies short, where I snagged this amazing Ina Bauer shot of Julianna Sagaria, and junior dance practice.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0117.jpg" border="0" alt="Julianna Sagaria" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 2: Another 15-hour day for novice free skates, junior pairs short, and the novice medal ceremony, which was way after bedtime for some of the kids on the podium. The novice dance event was my favourite to shoot all last year, because the top 6 or 7 teams were so talented and had such wonderful free dances. I hated that it was the first event to end this week! So one of the standout moments of the day was Madeline Edwards & Zhao Kai Pang's championship-winning novice free dance. They also set a new Canadian record. I love this shot, snapped a couple of seconds after they hit their end pose, because it's so easy to tell how thrilled they are with their skate.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0118.jpg" border="0" alt="Edwards & Pang" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 3: Three junior programs, but I was able to sneak out after the junior free dance to head back to the hotel early, eat an actual meal (and not just a bagel slathered in Nutella), and catch up on photo organization and submissions. Photo of the day is Nicole Orford & Thomas Williams in their first-place short dance. They also won the title the next day, which meant that their coaches & my friends went 3-for-3 on the national dance titles below the senior level. Awesome! Anyway, I had the privilege of shooting Nicole & Thomas quite a few times in their début season, but this shot might be my favourite.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0119.jpg" border="0" alt="Orford & Williams" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 4: Finally, the schedule worked in my favour! I shot senior dance practice in the morning, and then I had time to get out of the rink and breathe. I met some of the novice dancers & parents at Roger's for sundaes, and embarked on an amusing turbo-shopping adventure to find a black skirt for Maddie, before heading back to the rink for the junior free dance, men's free, and medals. Photo of the day is Kelly Oliveira & Jordan Hockley, a team I loved watching for several years. I didn't have any idea then that this was my last time to photograph them as a team. I sure miss those smiles! At IDC, we called them our prozac team, since they always gave such a bubbly performance.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0120.jpg" border="0" alt="Oliveira & Hockley" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 5: First day of senior competition! However, the POTD is from practice, since I knew that I wanted this shot of Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, and I knew that I needed an angle that I wouldn't be able to get from the media seats during the competition. The first time that I saw their short dance, via a tiny feed on my computer, I knew that I wanted to get this shot at Canadians. I had missed it a couple of times in practice the day before, so this was my last chance, and it was one of those moments where I knew that it was perfect the instant that I clicked the shutter. Love those moments!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0121.jpg" border="0" alt="Weaver & Poje" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 6: Two of the senior frees, ladies and pairs. POTD is, without a doubt, Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford's reaction at the end of the free skate that would propel them onto the podium and send them to Worlds. I think that even people who don't know the backstory can understand what this moment meant to them, but for those of us who have watched Meagan's career unfold over the past decade, well, it probably means a bit more.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0122.jpg" border="0" alt="Duhamel & Radford" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 7: Canadians comes to a close with two incredible events, the free dance and the men's free skate. In the free dance, Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje were so fantastic and so close that I almost forgot that the headliners had withdrawn earlier in the week. In the men's free skate, Shawn Sawyer and Patrick Chan delivered the most incredible back-to-back free skates I have ever seen, finally topping Chris Mabee and Jeff Buttle in 2005. (No offense meant to Chris and Jeff, I still adore those moments, too.) It's funny—during the competition, I am so focused and so worried about my action shots, and initially, those are the ones that I look through first. But months after the event, when I go through the photos again, it is almost always a photo from the emotional reaction that jumps out at me...</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0123-1.jpg" border="0" alt="CroPo" /></div><div>...like Vanessa & Paul's reaction in the kiss & cry, when they found out that they'd won the Canadian title. Again, I had no idea that this would be the last time that I would see this familiar scene.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0123-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Shawn Sawyer" /></div><div>...and like Shawn Sawyer's extended celebration at the end of his free skate. I think that his flawless performance surprised even himself, and for me, it was the most incredible moment of a wonderful week. And I don't think I have ever left an event more exhausted than I left Victoria.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>February:</b></div><div>February kicked off with a big, white, fluffy bang. Chicago had its worst blizzard in something like 30 years. People who didn't listen to repeated warnings and tried to drive home on Lake Shore Drive were stranded until the wee hours of the morning, but I didn't mind the blizzard much at all, tucked inside my house, watching the snow drift all the way to the top of my patio door while I sipped hot chocolate and probably ate Nutella.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately, the blizzard came the day that it did and not a day later, because just two days after the dumping, I was on a flight east for my second skating event of the year. The eventual destination was Oshawa, Ontario, for EOSIC, but since I'd forgotten to make my plane reservation while I was at Canadians, I ended up flying to Buffalo, taking a bus to Toronto, and taking the commuter train to Oshawa. Quite the ordeal. I wasn't too excited about the actual competition at first, since it was a StarSkate event, and I did not know most of the competitors. But of course, once I was there, I had a great time shooting. I especially enjoyed the Triathlon event, which I had never shot before, since I got to follow the same girls through three phases of the competition. A few highlights:</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0204.jpg" border="0" alt="Francesca Joanette" /></div><div>Francesca Joanette, one of the most expressive skaters in the junior bronze event</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0204-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Sheridan & Gunther" /></div><div>I even got to shoot some dance! Here's Chelsea Sheridan & Alex Gunther in the pre-juvenile Fiesta Tango.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0205.jpg" border="0" alt="Casey Barber" /></div><div>Casey Barber, gold triathlon skills</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0205-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Marisa De Souza" /></div><div>Marisa De Souza, bronze triathlon interpretive; this <i>Chicago</i> program is one of the only skates that I still remember at the end of the year, such a joy to watch</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0206.jpg" border="0" alt="Rebecca Marcinek" /></div><div>Rebecca Marcinek, gold triathlon free skate</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't think I did anything interesting the rest of February. At least, I didn't take any photos. I wrote a lot of Olympics-in-review and year-in-review posts in February, so I'm guessing that it was cold and I stayed inside all month.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>March:</b></div><div>March kicked off with beautiful weather. I remember this because I left my coat in the car when I went to a concert on March 3, and I did not suffer from frostbite or hypothermia as a result.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Made Avail" /></div><div>The show was Made Avail's CD release party, but they invited Superchick, and that was why I was there.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Matt Dally" /></div><div>Specifically, because I grew up in church/school/jazz band with the Superchick bassist, Matt Dally. I was hoping to see more folks that I knew there, but the only person I knew besides Matt was his mom, who was running the merch table. I'm also remembering now that I think I promised to send her photos, and I don't think I ever did...perhaps I should see if I can find her email address. Anyway, Superchick always puts on a great show, but this show was even more fantastic because the lighting was just perfect. I got so many great shots, most of which have still never seen the light of day.</div><div><br /></div><div>The following weekend, I went to see Stars on Ice with my mom. This was my 10th event (or so) of the season, but this was my mom's first time seeing live skating since Disney on Ice with Girl Scouts, circa 1993. I was excited for the chance to take her, but a little worried that she would hate it. She didn't, though, and she even wanted to talk about who was good and who wasn't on the drive home. Our seats were crap (sometimes Stars on Ice gives the photographer a good seat, and sometimes they can't be bothered; this was a 'can't be bothered' day), but Mom was willing to scootch at intermission.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0312.jpg" border="0" alt="Joannie Rochette" /></div><div>Mom and I were both most excited to see Jo, who was definitely on our "good" list.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0312-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Sasha Cohen" /></div><div>I can't remember if Sasha jumped or not at that show, but she was into the dramatic flair, at least, and I really enjoyed this shot.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0312-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Evan Lysacek" /></div><div>I was also thrilled to get a dramatic!Evan!spin! photo, and even more thrilled about the angle. Perfectly in front of the SOI sign! Tell me again why they haven't hired me as their official photographer yet. Haha.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the end of the month, Mom went to a conference in San Francisco, and asked me if I would go with her. I couldn't turn down an almost-free trip to one of my favourite American cities, so off I went! Unfortunately, a sunny California weekend was not in the cards for us, but we went out in between the showers and made the best of it. We went to SFO in 2007 for Thanksgiving, and it was the first trip that I took with a "real" camera. I was anxious to get better shots this time, now that I have a bit more experience, and I even sprung for a wide-angle lens rental. I typically rent with <a href="http://www.borrowlenses.com/" target="new">BorrowLenses</a>, and they are based in SFO, so I was able to do a local pick-up 3-day rental. Awesome! </div><div><br /></div><div>Day 1: Scoped out the walk to Mom's conference and also picked up my lens rental. Introduced my mom to the magic of eating quick meals at Whole Foods, instead of at a sandwich shop. Took the ferry to Sausalito and spent the day walking, drinking cappuccino, and browsing art galleries. Dinner in North Beach, walked back to our hotel just off Union Square.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Ferry Views" /></div><div>Great views of San Francisco on the ferry ride!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Ferry Building" /></div><div>And I fell pretty hard for both the Ferry Building and wide-angle photography.</div><div><br /></div><div>Day 2: Mom's conference started, so I was on my own. Met up with Tina for lunch at the Ferry Building (Blue Bottle Coffee & Cowgirl Creamery & Scream non-dairy ice cream!) and wandered the Saturday market, too. Walked and photographed all afternoon, through the Financial District, Chinatown, Nob Hill, and Union Square. Met up with Mom after sessions ended, and went out for sushi.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0326.jpg" border="0" alt="Ferry Building" /></div><div>More Ferry Building photography</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0326-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Stockton Street View" /></div><div>View from Nob Hill, looking north down Stockton Street, all the way to the bay</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0326-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Union Square" /></div><div>I also decided to try HDR more on this trip, and here's one of the crazier results. I don't know, I really like something about the effects on this shot at Union Square.</div><div><br /></div><div>Day 3: On my own most of the day again. Took the cable car to Ghirardelli Square (I would do this every day of my life if I lived there, I feel), then continued west to the Palace of Fine Arts and the Presidio, where I thought that I would see the Golden Gate Bridge, but I did not. Treated myself to froyo twice. Photographed Alamo Square once the afternoon sun went away. Paid homage to the <i>Full House</i> house. Met up with Mom, and had dinner at the fabulous Hyde Street Bistro, which I found a Yelp, and which I later read about in a travel magazine. Guess I picked a good one!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0327.jpg" border="0" alt="Palace of Fine Arts" /></div><div>The Palace of Fine Arts is other-worldly!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0327-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Alamo Square" /></div><div>My effort at the postcard shot. Much better than the 2007 attempt, but still not zingy enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Day 4: No photos, since I had to return my lens on the evening of Day 3. During Mom's morning sessions, I walked around Union Square some more, but the real highlight came at lunch, when I brought her to the Blue Bottle Coffee shop on Mint Plaza. Most perfect cup of coffee ever. I can still taste it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>April:</b></div><div>Much of April was spent finishing my last lit class ever, in which I wrote a killer paper that compared the two most recent film adaptations of <i>Sense and Sensibility </i>to the novel. It was a good way to end my lit class career. Of course, even with concentrating on school, it's not like I could deal with staying home all of the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>So once again, I spent the second weekend of April in Ottawa, shooting the Gloucester Spring Skate. I had fun shooting the interpretive events and a lot of cute little ones, but I did not have fun when my shutter died. It had been acting funny for most of the day, and at least I had my backup 20D close by. Until that one died, too. Oups. So I had to spend the second day shooting with Phil's backup Nikon. Everything felt backwards, so it was challenging, but I made it through. And at least we didn't have to close up shop on one of the rinks. Of course, it was just about the last thing that I needed. I sent the 50D off to get fixed as soon as I got home, using the money that I made from the competition, but I still haven't been able to afford to fix the 20D. It also seems silly to fix a 20D (soooo 4 models ago), but I am having a hard time imagining being able to afford an upgrade. Everyone cross your fingers for me for more photo sales and freelance work. But anyway, a couple of random shots I liked from Gloucester:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0409-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Cute kid in hat" /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0410.jpg" border="0" alt="Cute kid in pink" /></div><div>Beyond the photography that weekend, I had a wonderful weekend with the Ottawa family, and as was the theme of the year, I didn't realize that it would be my last event with them. I am really missing my regular trips to see my "Canadian li'l sis."</div><div><br /></div><div>Right after the semester ended, I was off to Toronto for the annual Canadian Stars on Ice weekend. We went to the usual Friday night show at the ACC, which I photographed, of course.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0429-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Kurt Browning" /></div><div>This program of Kurt's wasn't my favourite (I am getting a little tired of voiceover programs), but it was quite photogenic.</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0429-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Balloons" /></div><div>Another photogenic one was this quirky ensemble number that reminded me of the way SOI used to be, pre-budget cuts.</div><div><br /></div><div>We were feeling a serious lack of energy and commitment from the skaters during the show, so for the first time in a long time, we didn't feel like going to another Canadian show. Jules, Christina, and I skipped Hamilton and spent our Saturday in Niagara-on-the-Lake instead. Christina took us to some touristy sites we'd never seen before, like the world's smallest chapel:</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0430-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Chapel" /></div><div>and we feasted on a Whole Foods picnic in the park before doing some photoshooting on Lake Ontario. Note to self: when the plan is to save money and skipping eating in a restaurant, buying picnic fare at Whole Foods with the girls doesn't actually save money...but it sure is tasty!</div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0430-3.jpg" border="0" alt="The Girls" /></div><div><br /></div><div>And that's it for my first four months of the year. I'm expecting the summer months to take some time to put together, so I hope I'll have that post ready by January. No promises, though. ;-)</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-6746412815200258752011-06-06T12:46:00.000-07:002011-06-06T13:56:31.315-07:00busy summerI can't remember the last time that I had nothing to do. So even though my spring semester ended over a month ago, I haven't really stopped and I'm just as stressed as I was when I was finishing up my term paper. So here's a recap:<div><br /></div><div><b>April</b></div><div>- I went to Ottawa to shoot the Gloucester Spring Fest skating competition. Great weekend for spending time with my Ottawa fam, not such a great weekend for camera shutters. The shutter died on both my main 50D body and on my backup 20D. On Day 2 of the competition, I had to shoot with Phil's backup body & a lens borrowed from a friend—and it was Nikon, so all the controls felt "backwards" to me. But I was glad that they had them!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0409.jpg" border="0" alt="Gloucester Interp" /></div><div>I got to shoot quite a few Interpretives at Gloucester, which is a departure from usual competitions, to say the least.</div><div><br /></div><div>- I joined a small group Bible study, which might sound like a small thing, but I'd been wanting to get involved in one for years and finally found one. I just feel really fortunate to be in the group that I'm in and to have the opportunity to get to know a great group of ladies.</div><div><br /></div><div>- I wrote a pretty awesome term paper on Jane Austen's <i>Sense and Sensibility </i>and how the 1995 Hollywood and 2008 BBC film versions have interpreted it. I worked really, really hard on it and ended up with an A in the class, so I am proud of how it turned out.</div><div><br /></div><div>- I went to Toronto for the 4th consecutive Annual Canadian Stars on Ice Weekend. Jules, Christina, and I only went to one show this year, since we all thought that the tour was a bit lackluster this year. Some good programs, but overall, too many people on the ice who didn't look like they wanted to be there. </div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0429-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Joannie Rochette" /></div><div>Joannie Rochette was marvelous, as always. She lit up the arena in the second half with "Show Me How You Burlesque."</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0429.jpg" border="0" alt="Salé & Pelletier" /></div><div>Jamie Salé & David Pelletier, in one of the few moments in their Prince number where they weren't dancing facing opposite directions.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0429-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Kurt Browning" /></div><div>I thought that Kurt Browning's "Downstream" was the best program in the whole show. Just gorgeous.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0430.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls at Lake Ontario" /></div><div>So instead of going to the Hamilton show, we picnicked in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday and then Jen joined us for bougie brunch and shopping on Sunday. Great weekend with the girls!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>May</b></div><div>- I had to get right to work, as I had some writing deadlines right at the beginning of May. I'm also transcribing a big block of focus group interviews, which I'm supposed to finish before I leave for Europe, but this will definitely not happen. Between all of this, I've also been trying to work on my thesis, but I've been frustrated with how little time I've had. It rained most of the month in Chicago, so at least I didn't mind staying inside!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0521.jpg" border="0" alt="Sox Game" /></div><div>One nice day, I did get out to see a Sox game with a group from church. I grew up going to a game every year with my family, but before this game, I hadn't been since 2004! This meant that this was my first try at shooting baseball. I discovered that it's much easier than skating, since they stand in the same places and do the same things over and over again. Ha. I would love to shoot more baseball from closer to the field. Although I got a lot of good shots, I was lacking eye contact up in the bleachers.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0521-2.jpg" border="0" alt="2005!" /></div><div>This also means that it was my first time seeing this sign!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>June</b></div><div>- I'm getting ready for the big summer trip of 2011: London, Normandy, Brittany, Paris, Edinburgh, and Cardiff! Woooooo! I'm thrilled about the opportunity, but it's stressful because there's so much I want to get done before I leave, and also because tuition for the course is about twice as much as I thought it would be, so I have to completely clean out my savings account. I don't anticipate being able to afford food in London. Since I'm going to be there for 2 weeks, this might be a problem. I don't think I can bring <i>that </i>many fruit strips.</div><div><br /></div><div>- Yesterday was a really stellar kickoff to my birthday week. After church in the morning, I walked over to the Printers' Row LitFest and wandered the tables for a bit before having a froyo/latte lunch. Then I met my mom at Symphony Centre, where we went to the CSO's final concert of the season, Mahler's Ninth with Haitink conducting. It was brilliant, as can be expected from Mahler+CSO+Haitink! Finally we capped off the night with dinner at Piccolo Sogno. It's in my neighbourhood, and I've been wanting to go for a good three years, but have never planned it far enough in advance. For a Sunday night at 6, I had to make a reservation two weeks in advance, but I was so glad that I did! Magical patio setting paired with artichoke tortelloni? Yes, yes, yes. Only a chocolate hazelnut molten cake with a scoop of hazelnut of gelato could have made it better. Good thing that was on the menu, delivered to our table with "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate sauce and complete with a candle!</div><div><br /></div><div>But after such a delightful day yesterday, today's return to the grindstone was inevitable. I started the morning by writing a post for my <a href="http://melaniehoyt.wordpress.com">travel blog</a> about New England, and I've been slowly piecing this together all day as I take little breaks from transcribing. It's beastly hot out, but my next task is to hike down to school to pick up reading materials for tomorrow's class. I might just have to grab a froyo to make the walk less brutal.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-48058546461376263892011-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:002011-04-05T21:07:06.369-07:00art and cioppino: san francisco, day 1Two weekends ago, I enjoyed a little vacation in San Francisco with my mom! Well, vacation for me, conference for her. She was in sessions most of the time, so I was responsible for planning the itinerary for our free day together and also for finding post-conference restaurants each night. I love picking restaurants.<div><br /></div><div>I arrived late on Thursday, March 24, and Mom was already there. She'd arrived Wednesday evening so she could have two days to sightsee before the conference started, but I have Thursday afternoon class, so I decided to just fly out after class. Thursday turned out to be a bit of a bust—terrible thunderstorms in the Bay Area, so I'm glad that I didn't blow off class for that.</div><div><br /></div><div>So on Friday, we were both looking forward to exploring the Bay Area! We went to San Francisco together in 2007 and both loved it, and we wanted to do something different this time. One of her friends suggested Sausalito, so I did a bit of research and we planned to take the ferry over on Friday. First, though, I had to pick up a rental lens in SOMA. Since <a href="http://www.borrowlenses.com/" target="new">BorrowLenses</a>, a fabulous mail-order lens rental company that I always use when I need glass, is based in SF, they do local 3-day rentals at various pick-up locations around the city. I'd never used a wide-angle lens before, so I was excited to try the Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens. We stopped for breakfast at Whole Foods on the next block over, and my mom and I both tried Icelandic yogurt. She liked it better than I did, but I didn't hate it either. It's similar to the Greek yogurt that I've had.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next, we headed to the Ferry Building! The F-line (streetcar) was packed, so we took a bus that follows the same route. None of the other tourists appeared to have caught onto that.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Ferry Building" /></center></div><div>I'm pretty smitten with the Ferry Building. We went past it on the 2007 trip, but never got out of the streetcar, so this was my first time photographing it, and I went a little nuts. I'd also forgotten about the palm trees on the Embarcadero. I never think of SF as a palm tree sort of town, but there they are.</div><div><br /></div><div>Inside the Ferry Building are a bunch of really interesting shops (mostly food-related) and restaurants. I already had plans to eat there with a friend the next day, and we'd just eaten our Icelandic yogurt breakfast, so Mom and I didn't buy anything, but I was definitely tempted by the Ciao Bella gelato shop. Just a few days before my trip, I'd noticed that my grocery store in Chicago had started carrying Ciao Bella, and I loved the key lime pint that I'd bought.</div><div><br /></div><div>The San Francisco-Sausalito ferry has been hailed as one of the greatest ferry rides in the world. I'm not keen on boats in general, but got used to them fairly well on my Canada trip last summer, so I was looking forward to the views and not thinking about the boat aspect. </div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-2.jpg" border="0" alt="SF view" /></center></div><div>Great views indeed! I can only imagine how much more spectacular this view would have been on a prettier day, if the water could have reflected more blue from the sky.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Golden Gate" /></center></div><div>Same goes for this shot of the Golden Gate Bridge, although it was really neat to be able to see it from this angle.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Sausalito Boardwalk" /></center></div><div>In Sausalito, one of the first things we did was stop at the tourist office, where a very nice lady was kind enough to point out the entrance to a delightful wooden boardwalk along the boat docks. There were a <i>lot</i> of boats, which led to an amusing conversation between my mom and me...we don't really get the whole boat concept, unless you actually live on a lake. Like, how often would you even use a boat that isn't in your backyard? Personally, I would much rather spend my extra money on traveling or art or even a nice car! But then again, I don't really like boats, so maybe that is clouding my judgment.</div><div><br /></div><div>We walked around for a bit, then settled on a restaurant on the east side of the main downtown</div><div>area for lunch, where I ordered a salmon burger and yam fries. Doesn't get much better than that! Then we walked up to Caledonia Street, which is kind of the "local" version of Main Street, so the locals don't have to fight tourists. It wasn't too crowded on a blustery Friday in March, but I'm sure that downtown is super clogged on sunny weekends during the summer. Caledonia Street was a lot of fun and featured two of my favourite Sausalito stops, Studio 333 and the Pinestreet Papery. Studio 333 is a huge art gallery in a renovated warehouse kind of space, featuring work from over 40 local artists. We especially liked the <a href="http://www.module-arts.com/" target="new" module="" art="" tiles="" by="" ross="" drago=""></a>. The Pinestreet Papery is a delightful little shop featuring cards, books, decorative papers, stationery, etc. I love a good paper store.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Bay View" /></center></div><div>We headed back towards the main part of town after that, and climbed a huge staircase/ramp conglomeration to the top of a giant hill. We're talking, like, 5-6 stories up. It was brutal, but the view of the bay was pretty grand. I took this from someone's driveway. Can you imagine waking up every day to a view like this?</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Sausalito Hotel" /></center></div><div>Back downstairs, a patch of blue sky had moved in, so I took a ton of photos of downtown, including this one of the Sausalito Hotel.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Bridgeway" /></center></div><div>Here's the west end of the main street, where Bridgeway curves around and follows the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge. Around back of the curvy building is Piccolo Café, whose sign out front proclaimed that it had the best cappuccinos EVER. Of course we had to try. I think it's pretty bold to say that they're the best ever, I mean, forever is a long time. But the cappuccino I had was pretty heavenly!</div><div><br /></div><div>We visited some of the galleries in this part of town, but for the most part, they were a lot more formal than Studio 333, so we didn't linger anywhere too long, since we weren't buying. However, the exception was the Hanson Gallery, which was friendly and bustling and featured some work that I loved by <a href="http://www.hansongalleryfineart.com/artists/scott-hanson/" target="new">Scott Hanson</a>. We saw <a href="http://i1.exhibit-e.com/gtemplate/3ff46bb5.jpg">this piece</a> (or a similar one), a map of the United States made of out pieces of license plates. My mom and I both loved it, and one of the employees heard us talking about it, so came over to tell us a little bit more. My mom mentioned that she was sure I'd love a Canadian version, and the guy brought us over to his computer because the artist <a href="http://i1.exhibit-e.com/gtemplate/a8487441.jpg">has made a couple!</a> Seriously, if I could afford it, one of those would be on the wall in my living room, pronto! I'm actually already starting to wonder if I could create something similar out of my photos from the trip...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Ferry Building" /></center></div><div>It was starting to rain when we left Sausalito, but an enchanting blue sky was hanging over San Francisco when we got back, so of course I had to shoot the Ferry Building again!</div><div><br /></div><div>Then we walked to North Beach, a mostly Italian neighbourhood in the northeastern part of San Francisco for more seafood with some Italian flavour.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0325-9.jpg" border="0" alt="Street" /></center></div><div>I'd scouted out Caffe Sport on Yelp on the ferry ride back, and it turned out to be a fantastic find. This shot is of Green Street outside the restaurant. The inside of the restaurant was <i>covered </i>in all sorts of random stuff. It was like Buca di Beppo on crack, but less commercialized, you know? Then our waiter told us that the owner had actually made most of the things on the walls—random posters, painted tiles, bits of mosaic, etc. Really neat. Caffe Sport serves meals family-style, so my mom and I split a house salad (simple but delicious), salmon ravioli (a special), and the signature cioppino. Cioppino, WOW. It had lobster pieces (still in the shell), scallops, mussels, clams, and I don't know what else, but it was all incredible. My mom and I are suckers for fresh coastal seafood, and that definitely hit the spot. And since dinner was such a hit, we topped it off with cappuccino and a cannoli for dessert. The cappuccino was wonderful, but only our second-best cup of the day. Hard to beat the best ever, you know!</div><div><br /></div><div>We decided to walk back after that, since I wanted to walk through Chinatown, but it was getting late, and everything was closing up. We ended up walking down Stockton by chance, but it turned out to be an excellent choice, since Stockton St. tunnels under Nob Hill for a less strenuous walking experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>It might be a few days, but I have posts on days 2 and 3 in San Francisco still brewing!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-7254248144621983252011-03-22T22:54:00.000-07:002011-03-23T00:31:48.930-07:00stress, pasta, and bit o' recognitionIt's nearly 1 a.m. and I am blogging. It's nearly 1 a.m. on a day when I worked at 6.30 a.m. after only sleeping 3 hours, and I am blogging. I did have a little nap this afternoon, but not much. There's so much work to do and I am really overwhelmed and not doing well at channeling this energy into work, so I'm reverting to one of my favourite tactics: get the fingers moving on the keys, any way I can. Then get back to work.<div><br /></div><div>So here's a blog in 3 parts.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Partie Une: Stress</b></div><div>(Does one say "partie une" or "partie un?" Partie has got to be feminine, right? But 'une' still looks wrong. Francophones, please advise.)</div><div><br /></div><div>This course I am taking, on British Romantic Lit, is way more stressful than I thought it would be. I've read most of the material before, written papers on most of the material before, and liked most of the material before, but something about this course is not working for me. I don't feel like I'm connecting to the material the way that my professor wants us to. I don't know. I'm just not handling it well. I have to do all this work by Thursday and I need to go to the library tomorrow, which I hate, and beyond the library and the research, I have to reread <i>Frankenstein</i> for Thursday's class and write a final draft of my research proposal, because that's due too, and oh, I basically have to leave directly from class on Thursday to get to the airport because I'm going to San Francisco for the weekend.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other source of stress is my thesis, aka the book on my trip across Canada. It was my goal for the semester to get a first draft done, but the semester ends with April, and between thesis and the research project, I'm not sure if this is possible. True, there have been times when I haven't worked as hard on my thesis as I should have, but overall, I have been working pretty consistently. And when I've let my thesis sit for a few days in a row, it hasn't been due to slacking off, it's just been to prioritize other deadlines.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, the present deadline I have is to deliver a chunk of work to my adviser tomorrow. Hence being awake and heavily caffeinated at 1 a.m. I wanted to give her Ontario and Québec, but I have 17 pages on Ontario and I'm not done yet. It's a big province and I was there for a long time. So I guess it will just be Ontario and I will view the deadline as another failure. Well, half failure.</div><div><br /></div><div>My problem is that if I stay up all night writing, I'll get Ontario written, but then will I have the energy to go to the library and read <i>Frankenstein</i> and write the proposal and pack for San Fran and get up at 5 a.m. again on Thursday for another early day? If I can make it through class and if I can get to the airport on time, I'll have a long plane ride to catch up on sleep, but that was going to be designated reading time so I had less to worry about in SF, where I wanted to actually enjoy the city. Then again, it's supposed to rain all weekend, so maybe having reading material in SF isn't such a bad idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>And oddly enough, writing all of this out has made me feel a little less stressed. At least I have organized my stress now, pinpointed the sources, you know. I think that counts for something. But moving on...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Partie Deux: Pasta</b></div><div>I love pasta in restaurants. I always have. One of my first grown-up, not ordered off the kids' menu meals was fettucine alfredo at the Olive Garden. I think I was 5. It was a huge deal. I had to split it with an adult, of course, but it was love at first bite for me and pasta.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when I moved to Michigan and into my first apartment, it was natural that I should turn to pasta. It's easy to make, and it can be prepared in single serving sizes very easily. I defaulted to the packets of pesto that you mix with olive oil and milk for sauces, but occasionally switched it up with a bottled tomato sauce or the alfredo packets.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I moved back to Chicago, I went shopping with my mom at Sam's Club to stock up on foods that I could buy in bulk, since I didn't have a car and there wasn't a full grocery store within walking distance of my first apartment in the city. One of the things I bought was a 5 lb. monster bag of pasta. And since that was before I knew about how taking 9 hrs of grad credits was a huge rip-off, I was so painfully broke that year. I ate pasta all. the. time. No matter how much I ate, the amount of spaghetti in the bag never decreased. The pasta stopped tasting good, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. Then one night, it backfired. The pasta actually made me gag and I couldn't force down anymore. And I still had at least 2 lbs of that freaking bag of spaghetti left.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's been like this for two years, friends. Sure, I still love pasta in an Italian restaurant, but at home, I haven't been able to stomach it. I tried different brands of pasta, different sauces, but everything made me gag. It's been rough.</div><div><br /></div><div>But this week, I had a breakthrough. I don't know why, but on Monday night, I was wandering aimlessly in the grocery store, and I found myself in the pasta aisle. It had been a while since I'd tried it, so I thought I'd give it another go. I ended up trying a new noodle, one I'd never cooked at home before: ROTINI. Rotini is fun and whimsical and cooks in 3.5 minutes! Win-win-win! I paired it with tomato florentine sauce and I <i>loved</i> it. Now I just have to make sure I don't overdose on rotini. Don't worry, I bought a small box.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Partie Trois: A Bit o' Recognition</b></div><div>The ladies at <a href="http://www.ice-dance.com/">Ice-Dance.com</a> and I definitely do not keep the site going for recognition. We don't do it for thanks, and we don't get paid for it. We just do it because we love skating, especially ice dance. For me, personally, it is linked to a possible career path that I am exploring, but IDC honestly isn't about furthering my own goals or anything like that. I guess I feel some sort of responsibility to share our coverage with the World Wide Web because I know that we do a good job. I'm floored by the talent and dedication of the dancers that we photograph and write about, and I want to honour them, too. We all have a sense of pride in what we do.</div><div><br /></div><div>So for friends that aren't as heavily invested in the skating world as I am, the short story is that the World Championships were supposed to be this week, in Tokyo. For obvious reasons, they have were postponed. Last week, there was a ton of press about what the options were, so the IDC Staff decided to weigh in. We all had ideas and the article we wrote was passed between all 4 of us before it finally went online. I didn't do any of the rough draft work because I had the first draft of my proposal due last week, but I spent a couple of hours composting the various drafts, throwing in a few more thoughts, and piecing together the final version. So we published the article and did what we usually do—posted links to the IDC Facebook and Twitter accounts. A couple of people said nice things about it on the thread on FSU (skating's main discussion forum) on the subject of Worlds, but shortly after we published, a delusional Virtue & Moir bandwagoner hijacked the thread. And we moved on. The news kind of slowed over the weekend and we all had various things happening, so I was happy with what we'd put together, but I wasn't really thinking about it on Saturday night when I opened an email from Daphne, the IDC administrator.</div><div><br /></div><div>It turned out that PJ Kwong, Skate Canada announcer and commentator and author, had read the editorial we'd written, had loved it, and <a href="http://apps.pjkwong.com/blog/?e=62525&d=03/19/2011&s=Ice%2DDance%2Ecom%20Article%20%2D%20Couldn%27t%20Have%20Said%20it%20Better%20Myself%21">had written a blog about it</a>. Okay...whoa. Not expecting that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even though we're all really proud to be associated with IDC and we know that we do quality work, we're still underdogs in the media world. People keep getting their media from the web more and more, but web media is still the last one invited to the table. We're the first to get our credentials cut when we're short on space. I don't know about the other federations, since I've only covered big events in Canada, but Skate Canada prints out articles and clips newspapers and puts things on the wall in the media center at its big competitions. But they only print and clip from newspapers, not websites. Well, one of my photos made it onto the wall at Nationals this year—but it was uncredited, stolen by one of the Victoria newspapers off of the IDC website and printed without my consent. They were even careful enough to crop my name off the edge of the photo. So not quite the same thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>In conclusion...I don't do this for recognition, but it feels really, really nice to get a bit of recognition on occasion. Thanks, PJ Kwong. You've always seemed like a really nice person.</div><div><br /></div><div>And not to overexpose myself, but I really am proud of the joint effort that brought about this editorial, so if you'd like to read it, it's <a href="http://ice-dance.com/news-a-articles-articles/1032-2011-world-championships-our-thoughts">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>And with that, my fingers are clearly moving across the keys with no problem at all, so it's back to Ontario.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-22882609388501880442011-03-14T14:06:00.000-07:002011-03-14T17:22:57.407-07:00the sweater + doop doop<b>30 Days of Skating</b><div>Hey, remember when I got through 15 days of this, and then I went to Canadians and forgot to finish? Me too. I opened my blog because I wanted to write about the situation with Worlds and Japan, but my thoughts on that are far too scattered, so I'm channeling my energy into a different skating post. Just for fun.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>Day 16: What is your favourite ladies professional/show program?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is turning out to be a tough category to pick from. Shows and galas always seem to be full of girls skating to GFBs (Generic Female Ballads, for those of you that don't speak FSU) and everything kind of looks the same. And when the girls try to do something different, it often comes off looking fake and overchoreographed. So it's a tough category, and I'm going to pick two true classics for my favourites.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9LheO4sxZFI?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>The first is <b>"The Sweater,"</b> a bit of comedic genius by one of my favourites, <b>Josée Chouinard</b>. There's just something about it that still makes me giggle now, and something about it that made me wear out my tape of it when I was about 13. I didn't tape a lot of skating in those days, but I was determined to have a tape of "The Sweater," so I sat with a video tape and the remote at the ready every time skating was on TV, just in case Jos happened to be in the event and she happened to be skating that program. I finally got it, but I didn't understand that rewinding a tape without stopping it is bad for it, and that tapes wear out after a while, so using a tape that had already been used for countless episodes of <i>Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman </i>was probably a bad idea. So the tape didn't last long, but the memories are still there.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RmbLS7cAYrA?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>I like to think that my second pick was part of what inspired "The Sweater." I will never, ever forget the first time I saw <b>Kristi Yamaguchi's "Doop Doop"</b> or how much I loved the entire thing. It's so quirky and goofy and I just ate it up. I want to say that the year was 1994, I know the event was Ice Wars, and I know that I was eating Market Day Split Topper pizza while watching skating in my parents' bedroom. They were probably watching a movie or a game or something out in the living room, and I almost preferred it when they took over the big TV, and I got the little TV in their room, because I could close the door and get lost in the skating world. The skating world seemed so far away to me then, and so glamorous. I remember watching Ice Wars because I was taking very careful notes on the event so that I could write about it for some school project. I guess it was the first time that I wrote about skating. And Kristi's program was the one to get the best review from me...despite the fringed epaulets.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Honourable Mentions:</b></div><div>Michelle Kwan's "Fields of Gold" - Of course I still wish that she'd had the skate of her life and had won gold in a home Olympics, but I think this program was even better without having won gold, you know? Totally heartwrenching.</div><div>Joannie Rochette's "Summertime" - After considerable thought, I think this is my favourite Jo show program. I feel like it's a good choice, since she liked it enough to reprise it last year on tour (she originally skated to it in the 2007-2008 season).</div><div>Yuka Sato's "I Love You Always Forever" - this program began my obsession with this song that is still ongoing even today, after like 15 years!</div></div><div>Angela Nikodinov's "To Love You More" - Okay, okay, I know I just railed on GFBs, but this is a special program and it was perfect for her. Plus, I love Céline Dion more than I can possibly explain in this post, so to me, this isn't a GFB.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-55517075144582815752011-03-09T09:51:00.000-08:002011-03-09T19:59:18.265-08:00busy breakTechnically, I'm on spring break this week, but I'm not any less busy this week than I was last week during midterm week! So I'm not really feeling the "break" part of this week, but it's definitely spring in Chicago. This isn't to say that the weather is nice, just that we're experiencing some of that cold, damp, muddy weather that we look forward to every March here in the Windy City.<div><br /></div><div>I did a phone interview last week with Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, Olympic silver medalists in ice dance who are currently touring with Stars on Ice. They were a great interview because they're very poised, they come off as very friendly, and they can pack a lot into a short amount of time. I was able to squeeze the 15-minute phone call into my midterm schedule a week ago, but I didn't have a chance to write the article for a few days. It went live on ice-dance.com today: <a href="http://bit.ly/gCpE7X" target="new">read it here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is also deadline week for <i>IFS</i>, the figure skating magazine that I started writing for a couple of issues ago. I normally plan ahead better, but the timing of this deadline was tough, and I was still gathering information and frantically reading books at the beginning of the week. I'm reviewing two books in one of my columns, which are going to be my 4th and 5th reviews for the magazine, so I guess that's kind of becoming my thing. I like reviewing books and take that task very seriously, so I'm trying not to rush through them.</div><div><br /></div><div>And of course, I'm trying to keep plodding through my thesis, but I'm having a tougher time with energy and motivation this week. I was so looking forward to working on my thesis this week, but with everything else going on, I guess it's not the relaxing break that I was looking forward to. I have stuck to all of my deadlines with my thesis adviser so far, but I'm worried that I'm not going to be able to keep this one.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I need a break from the written word, I'm also working on my old scrapbook from 2004, which is proving to be a bit of a challenge, since I can't locate quite a few photos from spring/summer 2004. I'm hoping to find backups at my parents' house this weekend. I thought I had a stack of backup discs here, too, but I can't find them.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0307.jpg" border="0" alt="Music Page" /></center></div><div>This is my most recent page, in progress. I finished it yesterday.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which brings me to two other projects: 1) cleaning and 2) organizing photos. Both are ongoing and monstrous tasks. I'm not exactly the best housekeeper, especially when I'm busy, so I have all kinds of piles of things to sort through. I cleared a bunch of stuff out of my bedroom last week, but somehow new piles have already appeared. I'm enjoying the extra space right now (my roommate moved out in December and I haven't found a replacement yet), but I definitely kept at least the living room cleaner when B lived here.</div><div><br /></div><div>The photo organization is also a huge task. It's time for a portfolio update, so I'm trying to figure out which of my skating shots from this season that I should print. I'm also well overdue in posting photos, so I'll try to get a couple more sets edited this week. It's also nearing the end of the season, so I need to make sure that I have double backups of everything. Being a part-time sports photographer is a never-ending task. I can't imagine keeping up if I did this full-time!</div><div><br /></div><div>And spring break week culminates with seeing Stars on Ice on Saturday. I might be going alone, which will be a weird experience, but at least it's just the U.S. tour and I'll be reunited with the girls for the traditional CSOI weekend in April/May.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-803105375027687102011-03-06T18:32:00.000-08:002011-03-06T19:56:20.418-08:00superchick in the houseLast Thursday (March 3), I had one of those terribly crazy days. It began at 4.30 am and it involved work and a midterm and a train and driving and exhaustion. But then I got to Mojoes and the music started, I finally relaxed.<div><br /></div><div>I was there for Superchick, a band I've been following since the beginning, to say the least.</div><div><br /></div><div>It started with Matt Dally, whom I met the summer I was 8. He was the lead in the children's musical at church, playing Gideon in <i>Zeroes into Heroes</i>. I was in the "<i>corps,</i>" parading up and down the stage, holding a <i>papier-mâché</i> jar over my head in "Crash Go the Pitchers." I don't think he had any idea who I was.</div><div><br /></div><div>But in high school, the jazz band was desperate for a pianist, and I was coerced into the job, despite having no idea how to read a chord chart. Matt played guitar, his friend Bill was the drummer, and Bill lived down the street from me. My sophomore year, they were both seniors, and Bill drove us to 7am practice every day. One day towards the end of the year, Matt gave Bill a cassette tape to play when he got in the car. It was a recording of a band he'd kind of auditioned for the night before, and he really wanted to join. 12 years later, Matt is still playing bass for Superchick.</div><div><br /></div><div>For whatever reason, I'm often out of town or otherwise booked when they have nearby shows, so it had been almost 2 1/2 years since my last Superchick show. It was great to catch up with Matt and his mom, who was working the merch table, and of course, to see the band play. It's a really cool feeling when I look around and see girls shrieking for them and singing along to their songs.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the beginning, they've always put on spectacular shows. At the last show I went to, in fall 2008, the shutter on my camera broke midway through their set. I've been a little worried about my shutter lately, but it held up just fine and I got some awesome shots. So enough with the sappy stories about the "beginning" and I'll get on with some photos. Warning: these photos have more lens flare than a pivotal J.J. Abrams scene.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first opening band was Keep the Change, a local band from Joliet.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303.jpg" border="0" alt="Keep the Change" /></center></div><div>They seemed a little nervous at first, but looked like they were having fun by the end of their set. I think this is Frank Stella on bass and Jeff Winter on vocals.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-2.jpg" border="0" alt="At Rifts End" /></center></div><div>Next up was At Rifts End, another semi-local band out of Bradley. This is their frontwoman, Haleigh Boatright. She tossed her hair <i>a lot</i>, so I had plenty of opportunities to get "hair-movement" shots.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think the show was actually Made Avail's CD release party, and since they've played with Superchick before, they asked Superchick to join them. I'd heard the name before, but hadn't heard their music. It's not usually the type of music I'm drawn to, but they played really well and put on such a great show that I really enjoyed their set.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Made Avail 1" /></center></div><div>I tried to find the names of the guys in Made Avail, but I'm having some difficulty, especially since it seems that they've recently added 2 or 3 new members. So I don't know who this is, but I love the way the light is hitting him.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Made Avail 2" /></center></div><div>The frontman (also nameless) for Made Avail. Their last song was this crazy performance piece that involved super-dramatic lighting, a rose, and a face mask.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Superchick was finally up!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-8.jpg" border="0" alt="MattDally" /></center></div><div>I got this hilarious shot of Matt early in their set. It really sums up the essence of Matt's typical performances. :)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Melissa from Superchick" /></center></div><div>Melissa Brock, guitarist and vocalist, working the crowd during "Hey Hey," I think.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Drummer from Superchick" /></center></div><div>It's really hard to get good shots of the drummer in most bands, because they're generally in the back and generally not well-lit. But I tried! So while this one isn't as pretty as the spotlight shots, it's a fun one. I believe this is a new drummer, and I actually don't know his name. Apologies!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0303-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Dave from Superchick" /></center></div><div>Guitarist Dave Ghazarian in one of his more tranquil moments</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0304.jpg" border="0" alt="Tricia from Superchick" /></center></div><div>Tricia Brock, lead vocalist, in one of my favourite shots of the night. She's an incredibly photogenic performer, so I have a ton of photos of her to eventually post to my Flickr account, along with more shots from all four of the bands. I'll try to remember to post an announcement when they're up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whew, this has taken me 2 1/2 days to finish this post! I'm technically on spring break, but that only means that it's crunch time for the projects that I had to set aside while I was trying to get ready for my midterm. I have two chapters of thesis to finish this week, along with two columns to write for IFS by Thursday, which includes reading two books. Off to continue book #1...at least I won't have to worry about being bored this week!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-15810134236427314992011-02-28T09:06:00.000-08:002011-02-28T09:47:38.978-08:00crafty sundayI hardly ever see movies and I don't currently have a way of watching TV that isn't Hulu after the fact, so here's a Monday-morning blog that's <i>not </i>about the Oscars. Instead, I spent yesterday being fairly productive, though I suppose I should have spent a bit more time working on my thesis. I only gave that a whirl early in the day, and then abandoned it.<div><br /></div><div>Lately, I've been wanting to be creative. I think this is partly inspired by my friend Lori-Anne Jackson, who is working hard to get her brand-new accessory line, Sara Laurence, ready for its launch. She's been posting sneak peeks of some of the pieces on Facebook in preparation for her pro photoshoot, which is coming up soon. I haven't made anything that I've wanted to wear since a poorly-thought-out foray into painted beads in the fourth grade, but I do get paper crafty, on occasion. Though it's been a long time since I've been inspired for those occasions.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jules and I made an 8x8 photo scrapbook together to give to some friends of ours last fall, but besides that, I'm 7 years behind in my scrapping. And I like to scrap chronologically (I like to do most everything chronologically), so I'm determined to finish up the years I can barely remember before I can't remember them at all. Over the weekend, I started digging through all my tubs and boxes of materials and started to get organized. I currently have an empty bedroom in my apartment, so this has proven to be quite useful for the process.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 2006-2007, I worked at a scrapbook store for 50 weeks (that's a story for another blog...), and one of the things I picked up there is that it's easy to fall into the organizational trap and never get anything done. So yesterday, I determined that I had unearthed more than enough to scrapbook my March 2004 weekend in Michigan, and I did it!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0227.jpg" border="0" alt="SOI 2004 Layout" /></center></div><div>It took me a long time to pick the paper from my stash. It was for a skating show, but that was before I was a real photographer, so my pictures of the actual skating were worth forgetting and I wanted to highlight the good times of the weekend with paper that was fun, a little springy, and not too girly. This super old paper (all of my paper is super old, since I bought it in stacks in 2006-2008 and never got caught up) by Junkitz did the trick! Sidebar, but the striped paper is reminiscent of Seb's pants, right? I didn't have any specific embellishments to use, so I layered papers, used Distress Ink in a couple of places, and added some Prima flowers and a painted chipboard square with a sticker to the bottom right corner. The brads on the journal box are glittered, so I thought that was appropriate for Stars on Ice.</div><div><br /></div><div>I actually didn't plan for the paper to coordinate with the tickets, but that was a nice perk, once I decided where to put them! They're actually stuffed into a makeshift pocket behind the patterned paper. I have this weird thing where I don't like to stick things down if I can't see them completely, but I didn't want to take up all of that space of laying out all 4 tickets, side by side. So I put them in a bunch in this pocket and if I ever need to take the tickets out to see exactly where I was sitting in each arena, I can. You know, just in case.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0227-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Cards" /></center></div><div>I hate throwing away scraps, so instead of saving all of these tiny pieces of paper, I have taken to making cards out of the leftovers. These are all small (4.25"x3.5") and very simple, but they're cute and will be useful. I'm actually planning on sending the two non-thank you cards out in a package that I'm planning on mailing today, if I can get the rest of the photos for it edited.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2011-0227-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Easter 2004 Layout" /></center></div><div>I thought I was done after that, but my creativity was still looking for something else to do, so I ended up making another page. I only had two photos from Easter '04 and couldn't find backups of any other photos to print. It's actually tougher for me to come up with an interesting layout with only two photos, since I'm so used to having to cram 10+ onto a two-page spread. I picked remnants of a paper pack that I bought circa 2004, used some vellum and some flower brads and some Prima flowers, and hoped for the best. I don't like this one as much as the other one that I did yesterday, but it's better than the awful layout I did the one time that I scrapped last year! I only had enough leftover paper from this page to make one card.</div><div><br /></div><div>I should apologize for the quality of the photos, taken on my phone. I was feeling a little lazy about photography last night. I'm not sure I'm going to keep posting photos of craftiness, but if I do, I'll get motivated to post better photos.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-8967161827587342712011-02-26T10:46:00.001-08:002011-02-27T14:10:44.585-08:002010, i'd do it again! (pt 3)And, finally, here's the last part of my 2010 recap. You might think that the end of February is kind of late for a year-in-review, but I posted part 3 of my 2009 recap in March 2010, so I am actually ahead of schedule!<div><br /></div><div><b>September</b></div><div>September was a little crazy. I started semester #5 of my grad degree, which included the overwhelming task of starting thesis hours and beginning to synthesize everything that happened on my summer road trip. Not a super easy task, and I probably should have taken the trip in 2009 to make thesis-ing a bit easier, but I didn't have any money at all saved up a year earlier. So I just had to make it work.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0904.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Lauren" /></center></div><div>First up: Lauren's wedding in Saugatuck, MI. Lauren is a friend from my writing program, and I went with two of our other MFA-ers, Adam and Marynia. The wedding was in an old mansion—so gorgeous, and with unique "Lauren" touches all over it. Unfortunately, I overestimated the power of my flash, and therefore, most of my photos from the lovely event are kind of bad. We stayed overnight in Holland and then before we headed back to Chicago, we explored both Holland and Saugatuck. Amber and Jules even drove over to the west coast and met me for lunch, gelato, and a bit of wandering in Saugatuck.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second weekend of September, I drove to Toronto to present at the PMA (Photo Marketing Association) show there! I was just filling in for Phil Culhane, who had to back out due to his day job, but it was a great experience. I was so nervous and know that I sounded like a moron at the beginning, but once I relaxed, I had a lot of fun. I spoke about shooting figure skating, which is obviously something that I know a lot about, but I still see myself as a novice in the skating world. Being viewed as the expert and having people ask me questions isn't a position I often find myself in. But once I realized that, while I might not be the most experienced skating photographer in the world, I was a lot more experienced than everyone sitting in front of me, things went well!</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up was driving eastward to Ottawa to shoot Autumn Skate with Phil. It was cool to shoot an event in the arena where I'd sat and watched practices during Canadians in 2006. A lot has changed since then! Like, my camera is 8x heavier.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0917.jpg" border="0" alt="Skater and coach" /></center></div><div>The arena had taken down a big section of the hockey glass, so it was fun to stand on the "back" of the rink for some of the events (not dance) and get shots of the skaters with their coaches.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0918.jpg" border="0" alt="Elladj Baldé" /></center></div><div>I also jumped for joy when I got this great jump shot of Elladj Baldé!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0918-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Jeremy Ten" /></center></div><div>And I loved the sneak peek into Jeremy Ten's new short program.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0918-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Andréanne & Marc-André" /></center></div><div>And I totally fell in love with Andréanne Poulin & Marc-André Servant's short dance to the<i>Glee</i> version of "Keep Holding On." So perfect for them.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0919.jpg" border="0" alt="Laurence & Yoan" /></center></div><div>On Sunday, there was only one rink, so Phil took main photographer duties, and I got to stand at the back of the rink for some different angles on the free dances. I still haven't gone through most of those photos, but this one of Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Yoan Breton caught my eye. I think it's awesome that they hug <i>before</i> they skate, every time.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0919-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Carolane & Benjamin" /></center></div><div>Carolane Soucisse & Benjamin Smyth, waiting to take the ice.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't have photos from it because, well, Symphony Center says no, but the last weekend of September, Mom and I went to our first Chicago Symphony concert of the season, where new music director Riccardo Muti directed "Symphonie Fantastique" by Berlioz, one of my favourite pieces of music! I'd heard it once before, but it was even more incredible this time around.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>October</b></div><div>Much like October 2009, the beginning of October 2010 revolved around going to Toronto for <i>Battle of the Blades</i>. Such a fun experience! Even without MF to power-vote for, we had a great time at the premiere. The skating in the opening show was a LOT better than last year. The initial season was fun, but the guys in season two knew what to expect and came ready for a showdown.</div><div><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1003.jpg" border="0" alt="B&B" /></center></center></div><div>We had a few teams to cheer for, including Shae-Lynn Bourne & Patrice Brisebois.</div><div><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1003-2.jpg" border="0" alt="With Deej!" /></center></center></div><div>One of the best parts of the premiere? Meeting DJ TANNER, aka Candace Cameron-Bure, whose husband Valeri Bure was one of the competitors. She was very sweet and even volunteered her oldest daughter to take the photo so Jules could hop in. Jules kept her feelings about <i>Full House</i> to herself at that moment and hopped in.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next weekend, we were at it again!</div><div><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1010.jpg" border="0" alt="Rockin Fierce Hair" /></center></center></div><div>First, Christina and I both went to Jules' for a fun weekend o' shopping and celebrating for her new job. We also rocked some fierce hair.</div><div><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1010-2.jpg" border="0" alt="With MF&P" /></center></center></div><div>And then we caravanned to Toronto on Sunday to catch <i>Battle</i>, where MF was the guest judge and we caught up with MF&P after the show.</div><div><br /></div><div>After the first two weeks of <i>Battle</i>, I managed to stay home for a couple of weeks (only because my mom and I had opera tickets, I believe) and get my hair cut (which I desperately needed, as you can see from the past couple of photos). Next up was Skate Canada in Kingston, ON, at the end of the month. I almost didn't go, but I'm so glad I did, because it turned out to be a really great event for me, professionally-speaking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since I got my start in skating photography by learning from one of the best, I am always eager for opportunities to observe photographers more experienced than I am. In Kingston, I got to shoot with quite a few experienced photographers, and since my friends weren't there, I found myself having more time to chat with the other photogs. I even ended up picking up a writing gig for <i>IFS</i>, which is a goal I've had for years! I feel bad taking any credit at all for it, since it literally just fell into my lap—it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And the right place was Kingston during Skate Canada, in the photographer row, so I'm really glad that I went!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1029.jpg" border="0" alt="PChiddy" /></center></div></div><div>I also got some great shots, like this one of Patrick Chan.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1031-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Alex & Mitch" /></center></div><div>Of course I went to as many dance practices as possible, and I was so glad that I sat on the wrong side of the arena for the Sunday morning free dance practice, or I couldn't have nabbed this shot of Alexandra Paul & Mitch Islam.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1031.jpg" border="0" alt="CroPo" /></center></div><div>And it was wonderful to be in the arena for CroPo's first Grand Prix title. Like I said a couple of posts ago, I feel like I've been "with" them for a long time.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>November</b></div><div>I'd taken a plane and a train to Kingston, but when it was time to leave, I hopped in a car with the Culhanes, who had made the trip to watch/photograph the event, too. I stayed with them for the week, then we went to Napanee for the weekend to shoot Sectionals.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1106.jpg" border="0" alt="Anoushka & Philippe" /></center></div><div>The arena in Napanee has hosted Sectionals two years in a row and I'm selfishly hoping that they don't get it next year, because it's poorly lit and the ads suck the life out of my photos! But at least they don't have ads in the centre of the boards, where Anoushka Ritchie-Hervieux & Philippe Massé (above) busted a move in their "Empire State of Mind" free dance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cate stayed in Ottawa over the weekend, so it was just Phil, Rhonda, and me at Sectionals. I had a good time, especially at the officials' party on the Saturday night, where Rhonda, Phil, Kristy, this guy whose name I can't remember, and I stayed for an hour after everyone else left and had to be asked by hotel staff to please be quiet...this was when it was just the 5 of us, apparently the noise was not a problem when 30 people were crammed into the tiny room. Oups! Anyway, when we headed back to Ottawa, I was glad to have one last night of homework partying with my Cate before I went home.</div><div><br /></div><div>For Thanksgiving, my aunt & uncle & cousins went to their grandparents' in Wisconsin and my stepdad went to his son's house in Indiana, so my mom and I went to a nearby hotel that had a ginormous Thanksgiving buffet. The food was great and it involved no cooking or cleanup, which is just what we were after, but it still felt like such a weird holiday!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>December</b></div><div>And a few days later, I was off to Challenge! I'm sure I've written about it before, but Challenge is one of my favourite events because I get to see almost all of the dancers in Canada from pre-novice up through senior, with plenty of time to catch up with kids & families & coaches between taking, like, a hundred thousand photos. This year felt a little weird because I was alone for most of it and because I missed the first day, but it was still full of good times.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1202.jpg" border="0" alt="Nicomas" /></center></div><div>On Thursday, I shot the novice free dance, junior short dance, and senior short dance. Long day, but so much fun. This shot is of Nicole Orford & Thomas Williams in their second-place junior short dance. Since I went to the Michelle Wojdyla School of Photography (TM), I've been well-trained to look for and appreciate great skirt movement. Nicole's skirt has great movement.</div><div><br /></div><div>I rented a Canon 7D body to try at this event, since I've been contemplating an upgrade. I thought about holding off and renting it for Canadians and having it my big event of the season, but I wanted to see what the 7D could do with low light in the Hershey Centre. I'm really glad I tried it, because I was not happy at all with its low light performance. The focusing was wonderful, a huge upgrade from my 50D, but since I do so much of my work in tragically-lit community rinks, it isn't the right body for me. The 50D has much less noise at ISO 1000-2000, so I'm sticking with it until I can afford a real upgrade. Anyone have a great deal for me on a 1D Mark IIN or Mark IV? ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1202-2.jpg" border="0" alt="TK" /></center></div><div>All of that said, I wish I could afford a 7D just to use in big arena settings, because it made getting shots like this one of Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon a breeze! I think this is one of my favourite shots of T&K ever, which is really saying something, because I think I might have photos of them than their mothers do.</div><div><br /></div><div>Friday, I had another long day, starting super early with pre-novice compulsory dances were up first. 33 teams, 2 dances each. At least one was a tango! With just over an hour between events, I was sitting on the ground in the concourse when Jules showed up with special Starbiz! That's what friends are for! We then settled in for an evening of junior and senior free dances.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1203-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Lauren & Dave" /></center></div><div>I have to post a photo of Lauren Sears & Dave Mackay-Perry, because it ended up being Lauren's last competition. The Sears family has been fabulous to me over the past few years, including letting me & two of my friends (that they'd never met) stay at their home in Halifax when we passed through on the road trip last summer. Lauren's dad was the only one at home that night, and he was a fabulous host, demanding stories about our travels thus far and making some of the best chocolate chip cookies ever.</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday was my last day at the arena, which was perhaps why it felt so weird this year. I usually go back for something on Sunday. And Saturday was an earlier day, since all I had was the pre-novice free dance, which was over by early afternoon.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1204.jpg" border="0" alt="Jessica & Nik" /></center></div><div>The pre-novice competitors don't go on to Junior Nationals anymore, so Challenge is the national championship for them. Jessica Jiang & Nikolas Wamsteeker took the title fairly easily with strong, confident skating and excellent unison.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1204-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Exhausted with the girls" /></center></div><div>After I was done, I zoomed back to Toronto, sat in traffic for an hour when my GPS told me to exit by Yorktown (my GPS doesn't not make exceptions for mall areas on Saturdays in December), and then met Christina and Jules where they were shopping downtown. We then went to a fun brewery across from the Eaton Centre for dinner and I managed to keep my eyes open (but just barely, as pictured above) before going back to C's to take in a seasonal viewing of <i>Love Actually</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday, we actually started heading home at a reasonable time, after a super early dinner (or super late lunch?) with Megan & Aaron in the 'sauga, but by the time we got to London, we were in the middle of a blizzard that had closed the highway. Since we were in two separate cars, it was especially terrifying. Then once we got a little past London, the snow was basically gone. It was bizarre, but that's London for us. Typical.</div><div><br /></div><div>After such a weird Thanksgiving, I was so excited to celebrate Christmas with my family! So excited that Christmas happened in two parts.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1222.jpg" border="0" alt="Zoo Lights" /></center></div><div>A couple of days before Christmas, when I had a day off, I planned a Chicago Christmas-themed day that included a visit to the Field Museum and the Christmas Trees of the World exhibit, a super cold trip through Lincoln Park Zoo to see the lights, and then I finally get to take my cousins to Molly's Cupcakes!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-1224.jpg" border="0" alt="Danielle and her camera" /></center></div><div>And then on Christmas Eve, my mom and I went to Rockford to spend the holiday with them, where Danielle was thrilled to get her very own camera!</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall: two thumbs up for 2010. If I had three thumbs, I'd put them all up.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-51850577600050483352011-02-25T13:38:00.000-08:002011-02-25T22:08:20.864-08:002010, i'd do it again! (pt 2)Warning: this part of the recap will probably be really long. This is only the second sentence, but I expect many more sentences, because a lot happened.<div><br /></div><div><b>June</b></div><div>Life Dream #2 of the year began in June when I embarked on a 30-day, 10-province, cross-Canadian drive. What an experience! You probably know that I created a separate <a href="http://melaniehoyt.wordpress.com/" target="new">blog</a> dedicated to that trip, so please peruse that if you want more details. It's pretty well organized, though still not completely done! I'm trucking along, though. For this recap, I'll try to stick to 1 photo per day!</div><div><br /></div><div>British Columbia, province #1</div><div>My flight was into Seattle, where I rented a Toyota Matrix from the awesome guy at Hertz who gave Jules, Chele, and me a free upgrade a year and a half earlier, for 2009 Four Continents. Hilarious! No upgrade this time around, probably since I wanted to take one of their cars for 30 days and return it on the other side of the country.</div><div><br /></div><div>June 9, Day 1: I drove into Vancouver, had sushi with Meg downtown, drove out to Port Moody to the Edwards' house, heard the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup on the radio as I missed the turn for their street 3x, and celebrated my 26th birthday with the Edwards family, who were also celebrating Mark's birthday. Quelle coincidence! I was off to a great start and actually didn't take a single photo that day. Whoops!</div><div><br /></div><div>June 10, Day 2: I took the ferry to Victoria! Such a lovely city. I fell in love with the city, the food at Rebar, and Munro's Books. I did not fall in love with hostels.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0610.jpg" border="0" alt="Munro's" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Inside Munro's Books</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 11, Day 3: Drove up the Malahat, ferry from Nanaimo to West Vancouver, Lighthouse Park in West Van, Lynn Canyon Park in North Van, coffee with Raul, and being the token girl out for drinks with Aaron and his friends.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0611.jpg" border="0" alt="View from Malahat" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Incredible view from the Malahat on Vancouver Island</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 12, Day 4: Relaxing morning at the Edwards', sightseeing Kitsilano Beach, re-sightseeing Stanley Park, and an awesome dinner Chez Edwards w/legit cedar plank salmon.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0612.jpg" border="0" alt="Kits Beach" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Kits Beach is just across the water from downtown Vancouver, so the photo ops are terrific!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 13, Day 5: Met up with Jenny & Sam & fam in Stanley Park, a farewell to Vancouver and Vancouver friends, and a nighttime, fairly intimidating drive through the Coquihalla Pass to Kelowna.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0613.jpg" border="0" alt="Me & the Echo" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Ready to hit the road!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 14, Day 6: Hosts Tori & Cam (and their son Austin) were wonderful! Cam took me on a tour of the Okanagan region, including scenic wineries and the Okanagan Lake Park. Then Tori called—an ambulance was on its way to take her away. So we headed back to the house, he took Austin and went to the hospital, and I took in scenic Kalamalka and Wood Lakes. They were all mostly fine—just a case of vertigo from their cruise for Tori and croup for Austin—so Cam took me downtown after dinner. Eventful day, but wow, that is a <i>gorgeous</i> part of the country!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0614.jpg" border="0" alt="Kalamalka Lake" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Kalamalka Lake</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 15, Day 7: First long day of driving, from Kelowna to Calgary. Gorgeous drive through the BC Rockies!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0615.jpg" border="0" alt="Three Valley Gap" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Ghost Town at Three Valley Gap, now a tourist trap, but it sure is picturesque from afar!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Alberta, province #2</div><div>June 15, Day 7: Rain started as soon as I crossed the border into Alberta, so the drive through the Alberta Rockies wasn't quite as lovely. After a downpour when I arrived in Calgary at Erin & Kyle's apartment, it let up enough for me to explore downtown Calgary for an hour. Two thumbs up for Calgary!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0615-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Calgary" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">I got this shot up on a hill north of downtown...lucky to find this spot!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 16, Day 8: First day where the weather derailed plans. Visited Canmore and Banff, but skipped Lake Louise due to rain. Canmore & Banff were both nice, but I'd love to see them again when I can get better photos and when my feet aren't soggy. Back to Calgary for the night.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0616.jpg" border="0" alt="Lake Minnewanka" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Lake Minnewanka, mysterious in the crummy weather</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 17, Day 9: Left Calgary via the Stampede grounds, where I got a little teary-eyed at the sight of the Saddledome! Drove north to Edmonton via the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (it's in a rest area in Red Deer, no joke). Edmonton was kind of unattractive and disappointing, overall. The Legislature Building was nice. West Edmonton Mall was like a ghost town; it was creepy.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0617.jpg" border="0" alt="The Leg" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">"The Leg" is the only pretty building that I saw in Edmonton.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Saskatchewan, province #3</div><div>June 18, Day 10: Mostly driving, from Edmonton to Regina. Some really nice scenic stops NW of Saskatoon, with a view of the river, and NW of Moose Jaw at Buffalo Pound Lake. I acquired 3 ticks. Chele's flight was delayed 6 hours, but I finally picked her up at the Regina airport just after midnight. Yay for having a road trip buddy!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0618.jpg" border="0" alt="Saskatchewan Train" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Train crossing the North Saskatchewan River Valley</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Manitoba, province #4</div><div>June 19, Day 11: After walking around Regina in the morning (nice little city!), Chele and I hit the road for Winnipeg. Lots and lots of driving over very, very flat land. Enjoyed our time at The Forks in downtown Winnipeg and across the river in Saint-Boniface, the country's largest French neighbourhood west of Montréal, but the mosquitoes were horrendous. </div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0619.jpg" border="0" alt="Union Station" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Union Station, downtown Winnipeg</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Ontario, province #5</div><div>June 20, Day 12: Stopped in Kenora (Erin's hometown!) en route to Thunder Bay, where we stopped in a park and saw the Sleeping Giant rock formation in the distance before checking into a slightly sketchy hostel. </div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0620.jpg" border="0" alt="Thunder Bay" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Park in Thunder Bay with view of Lake Superior!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 21, Day 13: You know it's going to be a good day when it starts off with super-awesome, super-cheap Finnish pancakes. Beautiful day of driving from Thunder Bay to St. Joseph Island, just east of Sault Ste. Marie. First stop was at the Terry Fox Memorial, then onward around Lake Superior, through the provincial park. Arrived on St. Joseph Island at the Sunset Bay B&B, also beautiful, in time to take in the sunset behind the house.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0621.jpg" border="0" alt="Me at Old Woman Bay" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">At Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 22, Day 14: Still more driving: St. Joseph Island to Parry Sound. Stopped on Manitoulin Island, mostly to say we'd been, because the weather wasn't great for sightseeing. Great ice cream, though! Nice night staying at The Carson House B&B in downtown Parry Sound.</div><div><br /></div><div>June 23, Day 15: Better weather, so we did our Parry Sound sightseeing before we left for Ottawa. Had to detour around Huntsville because of the G8, so we ended up seeing the world's largest photomosaic in Port Carling, where I also had the world's greatest banana-almond smoothie. Somewhere between Port Carling and getting back on the highway east of Huntsville, an earthquake shook Ontario and western Québec...we failed to feel it, probably because my GPS was routing us on gravel back roads! Arrived in Ottawa early evening, where we stayed with the Culhanes, of course—my Ottawa family! </div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0623.jpg" border="0" alt="Georgian Bay " /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Beautiful Georgian Bay in Parry Sound</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 24, Day 16: Fab day in the Capital City! I was a trooper and got up before the sun so I could go photograph Cate and the other Minto dancers at their morning session, then went back to the Culhanes' and got ready for a super day o' sightseeing with Chele. We photographed Parliament, wandered through the ByWard Market area, and visited the Museum of Civilization across the river in Gatineau.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0624.jpg" border="0" alt="Cate" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">If you thought I could make it across Canada without shooting skating, you were wrong. Here's li'l sis Cate with Sam and Hélène.</span></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0624-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Rideau" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">The Rideau Canal—in the winter, it's the world's longest ice rink.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">June 25, Day 17: Backtracked a bit, driving back west towards Toronto. Stayed in Pickering, east of Toronto, with Sarah, who played a lovely host and took us out for some scenic photos after dinner. We ended up wandering by the Pickering waterfront, where I made geese friends that left me. It was a little traumatic, but I recovered.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0625.jpg" border="0" alt="Sunset in Pickering" /></center></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Sunset at the boat dock</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 26, Day 18: Chele I kept driving west, through Toronto to London, where Amber was dropping off Jules with us. Brunch at Cora's, of course, and then back east to Toronto and Christina! All plans of doing nerdy tourist things in Toronto were cancelled, because mobs were presently smashing windows and looting in downtown Toronto during the G20 summit. Fun? So we picked up Jen and the five of us went out for birthday dinner in The Beaches. Yay! All of five us, together for traditional birthday weekend, although it was a bit truncated this year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Québec, province #6</div><div>June 27, Day 19: We said farewell to Christina and Chele (for the time being), and Jules and I headed to Montréal, La Belle Province. Feels a little like coming home, though I have never lived there. Spent a whole afternoon and evening wandering around the Vieux-Port. Beautiful day that ended with coconut ice cream...what more could a couple of girls want?</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0627.jpg" border="0" alt="Chapelle" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">The Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours is one of my favourite things in the whole world to photograph.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 28, Day 20: Visit to the Oratoire St-Joseph before leaving Montréal, and also to lunch at a café near McGill where one of the customers had a real, live snake wrapped around him. Then off to Québec City! Wonderful town...more wonderful when we don't waste over an hour sitting in traffic and when it doesn't downpour all over us, but enjoyable even with the setbacks, except for the FLQ graffiti! We really enjoyed our night staying at the Frontenac.*</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0628.jpg" border="0" alt="Frontenac" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">The Château Frontenac is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Swanky </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">and</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"> historic.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>June 29, Day 21: Long drive from Québec City to Bathurst, NB, but with lots of stops! Montmorency Falls first, which were impressive but had muddy grounds, then a random stop in La Pocatière because we saw a pretty building on a big hill from the highway, a stop in Notre-Dame-du-Portage for photos, and a stop in Cabano to search for ginger ale (for Jules) and to pick up some road trip snacks, like a wheel of Brie (this is for me). Then crossed into New Brunswick, saw the falls in Grand Falls, and encountered two moose driving across the foggy interior of the province late at night (not recommended). So thrilled to finally get to Crystal's in Bathurst!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0629.jpg" border="0" alt="LaPo school" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">The pretty building in La Pocatière ended up being their school!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>New Brunswick, province #7</div><div>June 30, Day 22: This was a great day of food. Crystal sent us off with a fabulous breakfast as we headed for the Acadian coastal tour. Highlights were scenic stops at Pokeshaw and Grand-Anse and the best freaking <i>soupe de la mer</i> I've ever had in my life at Phare Café in Caraquet, where Jules may have concussed herself a little on an iron coat hook. Then down the coast and off to PEI, where I had to drive the scary bridge because Jules had driven the moosey fog the night before. Blown away by the PEI countryside, picked up Christina at the Charlottetown airport, and feasted on Lobster at the Wharf.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0630.jpg" border="0" alt="Pokeshaw" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div><b>July</b></div><div>Prince Edward Island, province #8</div><div>July 1, Day 23: We began Canada Day in Charlottetown, the birthplace of confederation! How appropriate! But Day 23 was spent driving around the western part of the island, including a visit to Green Gables, PEI National Park, North Cape lighthouse, West Point lighthouse. We had dinner in Summerside while an awkward cover band serenaded us with "I Gotta Feeling" and followed a double rainbow to Cow's Ice Cream. Best Canada Day ever!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0701.jpg" border="0" alt="PEI beach" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Prettiest beach in the world? Probably.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Nova Scotia, province #9</div><div>July 2, Day 24: Sad to leave PEI, but we had another incredible day ahead! Drove to Cape Breton, where C and I feasted on 2-for-1 lobster dinners and then we drove the Cabot Trail. Just gorgeous.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0702.jpg" border="0" alt="Cabot Trail" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">View from the western end of the Cabot Trail</span></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0702-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls on the Cabot Trail" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Road tripping with Jules and Christina makes the great stuff even better!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Newfoundland, province #10</div><div>July 3, Day 25: Long, long ferry ride to Newfoundland. 15 hours without sheets, sometimes freezing, sometimes gross, sometimes irritating, but we made it! My mom met us in NL to spend that part of the trip with us. St. John's turned out to be a great city and we had gorgeous weather for our first night there.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0703.jpg" border="0" alt="Downtown St. John's" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Downtown St. John's, throwback style</span></div><div><br /></div><div>July 4, Day 26: Happy American Independence Day, let's go to France! Took a very rough ferry to St-Pierre, where everything was closed when we arrived. Everything. I loved how cute it was and how the houses were practically neon colours, but I did not love that we literally could not buy anything to eat until 8pm. At least the food was awesome, when the restaurant finally opened!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0704.jpg" border="0" alt="Les Salines" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Les Salines, the fishing sheds near the St-Pierre lighthouse</span></div><div><br /></div><div>July 5, Day 27: Spent the morning in St-Pierre, where a few places were open, but still not many. Nowhere to buy chocolate or cheese. Ferry back to Newfoundland wasn't so bad, and we drove straight to Cape Spear, hoping to get there before dark. We made it, but just barely! 27 days into my trip, I stood on the easternmost point in North America. Very cool.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0705.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls at Cape Spear" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Thanks for going all the way east with me, friends!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>July 6, Day 28: Woke up early to take my mom out for breakfast at Cora's, a must for her Canadian vacation experience. The two of us then went to Bay Bulls for O'Brien's boat tour, where we saw a few whales and a ton of puffins and other sea birds and where I got pooped on twice (no one else was hit, just me). Meanwhile, Jules and Christina slept in and explored St. John's a little more, then we met up with them for vegetarian lunch, finding the mile zero sign, and driving up Signal Hill, where it was so foggy that we couldn't even see the bottom of the tower. Last stop in St. John's before the ferry: Wal-Mart to buy cheap sheets! I don't usually shop at Wal-Mart, but this was an emergency.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0706.jpg" border="0" alt="Puffins" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Puffins are cute!</span></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0706-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Mom and Me" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Mom and me at the Mile Zero sign: Canada Starts Right Here!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Nova Scotia, province #9, again</div><div>July 7, Day 29: The ferry ride back was more overnight, more comfortable with sheets, and better overall. After getting the boot removed from my car, we headed for Hali, which I loved. I definitely need more time here.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0707.jpg" border="0" alt="Old Town Clock" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Old Town Clock, on Citadel Hill in Halifax</span></div><div><br /></div><div>New Brunswick, province #8, again</div><div>July 8, Day 30: Fun at Fundy! We drove back up into New Brunswick, where we hit the Hopewell Rocks at the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world. We timed our visit at low tide so we could walk around on the ocean floor, no big deal. After a seaweed appetizer, we had dinner at a veggie place in Moncton (cuter than I expected) and then went on to Fredericton, where it smelled like "poop and rednecks" (according to Jules), and where we stayed for our last night.</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0708.jpg" border="0" alt="Hopewell Rocks" /></center></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Pretty day at the Hopewell Rocks, as long as you didn't look at the muddy water!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Back in the States!</div><div>July 9, Day 31: Crossed back over the border into upper Maine, which was deserted and a little creepy, not gonna lie! But then we had lunch with Daphne in Portland, checked out the Atlantic in SW Maine, mysteriously and simultaneously acquired southern accents, and returned my beloved little rental car at the airport in Manchester, NH, where Chele picked us up and our relentless southern accents practically had her in tears, but she took us to Rhode Island anyway, so we could all cross that off our list of states to visit.</div><div><br /></div><div>July 10, Day 32: Official last day of the trip was spent in Boston, which is a city that I just love. We sightsaw a little on the way to a pub for lunch, where of course I had some chowda, then ran through a monsoon and spent the rest of the afternoon drying out, wandering around the city, and continuing to speak in southern accents. And I finally got my photo with the ducks!!!</div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0710.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and the ducks" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div>Overall...what a trip! We all flew home on the 11th and it took me a good week to recover and get back into reality. By the time I did that, I had to work overnights for a week, doing a reset at work, and then the week after that, it was time to pack up my camera and travel again for the second annual Minto-Lake Placid trip!</div><div><br /></div><div>As always, I had a great time shooting Minto, but I'd injured my back a few days before the trip, and four straight days of shooting was a bit more than I can take. I ended the last day in a ton of pain, passing out on the floor under the photo table, and I still had another event to shoot. Oups!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0730.jpg" border="0" alt="Minto1" /></center></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0730-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Minto2" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0731-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Maddie & Zhao Kai" /></center></div><div>Here's Maddie with her partner, Zhao Kai. Maddie & her family hosted me at the start of my road trip in Vancouver, so it was great to see her and her mom again. Of course, it was also wonderful to spend time with the Culhanes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>August</b></div><div>The day after Minto, the Culhanes drove me to Lake Placid once again. The rest of my group wasn't getting there until later in the day, so I had some time to wander around town, for a change! Since we had a ton of photographers, I didn't have to kill myself shooting during the week, but I was in some serious pain every day. Not fun!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0803.jpg" border="0" alt="TK" /></center></div><div>On Tuesday, I did a photoshoot with Hannah & Scott, then shot the three teams who showed up senior free dance practice and a few of the junior free dance practices, too. This shot is Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon, always a fun team to shoot.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0804.jpg" border="0" alt="Maddie & Nathan" /></center></div><div>On Wednesday, I did a shoot with Maddie & Nathan (above), then only shot a few junior teams in their short dance practice so I could rest my back.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0805.jpg" border="0" alt="Lynn & Logan" /></center></div><div>Thursday was a big day! I shot Intermediate compulsories, one of the Novice compulsories (Blues, my fave), half of the junior free dances and the senior free dance. Whew! Pictured above are Lynn Kriengkrairut & Logan Giulietti-Schmitt, who were fairly mesmerizing in the senior free dance.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0806.jpg" border="0" alt="Stasia & Colin" /></center></div><div>Friday, my only assignment was Junior Short Dance, Group A, and this photo of Anastasia Cannuscio & Colin McManus was a fan favourite. Well, maybe not a fan favourite, but Colin and Stasia and their moms all loved it. Unfortunately, it's too small to do much with besides flaunt it on the web.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0807.jpg" border="0" alt="Gamelins" /></center></div><div>Saturday is always a bittersweet day in Placid because it's the last one. People leave, we get ready to leave, and it's sad knowing that another Placid week has flown by. But it always starts well, because for 3 years in a row, I've begun Saturday with a photoshoot with Danielle & Alex Gamelin (above), twin ice dance team extraordinaire. They are just so much fun and easy to work with. Michelle joined me this year, which was a great help, because I worried about getting stuck in a rut and taking all of the same shots again. Once I got back to the arena, I shot some opens and then the juvenile free dance, which is also one of my favourite things to shoot. The little kids are so much fun!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0807-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Mirror Lake" /></center></div><div>Thanks for the memories, Lake Placid! (This is actually Mirror Lake, which is the one that you can see from downtown...it's tricky.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Once I got home from Placid, there was a lot of trying to recover from the back injury. I stayed home and rested, and when it didn't get any better, I finally went to my stepdad's chiropractor, who discovered that it was actually my hip joint that was misaligned, and rest was bad for it. Oups! So he popped it back into place, just in time for my mom and I to head to Cowden for the weekend.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was born in central Illinois and we lived for my first three years in a tiny town called Cowden. Some of the people there are still as close as family, so we try to go back and visit a couple of times a year. Lately, I've only been making the trip about once a year, and in 2010, my Cowden trip was the last weekend of August, coinciding with Pioneer Days, their annual summer festival.</div><div><br /></div><div>My mom and I usually go to great lengths to avoid Pioneer Days. We're not really into carnivals or being outside when it's hot and sweaty or sticky carnival food or anything like that. But we were good sports and went with a legion of children to the carnival. My mom even sprung for some all-day passes for some of the kids. I took a lot of photos, most of which came out badly, and most of which I haven't remembered to edit yet. But I did have a good time, especially because...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0828.jpg" border="0" alt="Cowden Rodeo" /></center></div><div>...I can now officially say, "This ain't my first rodeo."</div><div><br /></div><div>*We didn't stay at the Frontenac, we just took a lot of photos of it.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-66111948136838715562011-02-23T09:31:00.000-08:002011-02-23T15:36:48.304-08:002010, i'd do it again! (pt 1)So I fully realize that it's the end of February and year-in-reviews are typically done at the beginning of January. But January is one of my busiest months, typically, and February is spent catching up from January's chaos, so I just haven't had time until now to post this. I could have just skipped doing a year-in-review this year, but if I don't do one, I'll soon forget most of what happened in 2010. Plus, now I am on a roll after all of my weepy Olympic recap posts, so I figured I would capture that feeling. So without further ado, here's part 1 of what I did in 2010.<div><br /></div><div><b>January</b></div><div>I worked New Year's Day, so I didn't begin the year in any sort of exciting fashion, but on the 2nd, I drove to Michigan, where I met up with Jules and Christina and kicked off the year in a predictable way:</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/2010-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Girl with Camera" /></center></div><div>By shooting the Detroit Skating Club's Champions Ice Revue.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0102-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Gilles & Donohue" /></center></div><div>I'm glad we ended up going, because I got to shoot Piper Gilles & Zachary Donohue's free dance...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0102-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Cassar" /></center></div><div>...and Jonathan Cassar's incredible spread eagle.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0102-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Moet Girls" /></center></div><div>Afterwards, we headed back to J's house to ring in the New Year a day late. Thanks for holding off on drinking the Moët until I got there, girls!</div><div><br /></div><div>Two weeks later, I was in London, ON, for my first skating event of 2010: the Canadian Championships.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0115.jpg" border="0" alt="Girard & Pelletier" /></center></div><div>I got to shoot my favourite OD of the year one more time, Mylène Girard & Jonathan Pelletier's Bollywood program.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0116-2.jpg" border="0" alt="C and Me and Starbiz" /></center></div><div>I was there all week, since I covered novice and junior events as well, so once the rest of the girls got there for senior events on the weekend, I was so excited to have friends to bring me coffee and hold my hand when I got nervous!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0116-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Jo" /></center></div><div>We weren't too nervous for Joannie Rochette—she was already on her way to becoming Canada's Sweetheart, but were thrilled to send her off to the Olympics with a terrific free skate.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0116-4.jpg" border="0" alt="TK" /></center></div><div>And I was personally thrilled to see Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon's delightful <i>Chaplin</i> free dance get a standing ovation.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0116-5.jpg" border="0" alt="CroPo" /></center></div><div>I was also thrilled to be in the arena when Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier made their first Olympic team! I've had my eye on them since 2006 and have known them since 2008, when I did one of my first feature articles on them and then did a photoshoot with them a few months later. I am so proud of them and how far their skating has come and continues to grow!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0116-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott" /></center></div><div>And of course...<i>everyone</i> in the hometown crowd was thrilled to send off their kids, Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir. Next stop: Olympics! (Spoiler alert: this turned out very well for them.)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0117.jpg" border="0" alt="Red & White Day" /></center></div><div>On the last day of Canadians, everyone was supposed to wear red and white so they could do a cheesy and touching send-off for the Olympians, when they sent them around the rink holding a Canadian flag together while someone sang the slowest, most dirge-like version of "O Canada" I have ever heard. Yep, I cried! But before all of that, some of the girls got together for a group photo with our Canadian spirit and red mitts! L-R: Chele, Sarah, Christina, Jules, Erica, me.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>February</b></div><div>I don't have any idea what I did for the first 11 days of February, but I do know that from February 12-28, I was in Olympicland! And for 6 of those days, I was actually AT THE OLYMPICS, which was such a dream come true. See the last 7 posts in this blog for full recaps: <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/surreal-but-nice.html">Day 1</a>, <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-tradition-spring-olympics.html">Day 2</a>, <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/all-about-curling.html">Day 3</a>, <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/olympic-ice.html">Day 4 (Pt 1)</a>, <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/o-d-o-d-oh.html">Day 4 (Pt 2)</a>, <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/reclaiming-0222.html">Day 5 (Pt 1)</a>, <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2011/02/and-ice-turned-to-gold.html">Day 5 (Pt 2)</a>. In this year recap, I'll just (re)post a few of my favourite photos.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/2010-0218-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls at Olympics" /></center></div><div>We could still hardly believe it once we got there and met up downtown!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Street Party" /></center></div><div>Downtown Vancouver was one big street party! It was such an amazing feeling to be a part of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-12.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls at curling" /></center></div><div>Women's Curling was my first Olympic event...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-14.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Ice" /></center></div><div>...but seeing Olympic Ice the next morning at dance practice was even better!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympics Jumping" /></center></div><div>It was so great that I jumped for joy!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-13.jpg" border="0" alt="FD Ticket" /></center></div><div>Getting inside the arena for the free dance the next day was amazing...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-15.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls at FD" /></center></div><div>...almost as amazing as sitting 6th row with the girls...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/2010-0222-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott hug" /></center></div><div>...and seeing the kids lay everything on the line...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0223-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott Gold" /></center></div><div>...and wear Olympic gold. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir of Canada, your 2010 Olympic champions.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0223-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Torch" /></center></div><div>It was only February, and 2010 was already cemented as the best year ever. Dreams come true!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>March</b></div><div>After we started to come down after the Olympics, Christina and Jules made plans to come visit me in Chicago for St. Patrick's Day weekend! In Chicago, this is a Big Deal.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0313-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Tres Leches" /></center></div><div>We had great times of eating, shopping, and 5K running (them, not me). Perhaps once of the most meaningful moments of the weekend came when I brought them to Decolores and they met Tres Leches Cake from Kristoffer's. (Along with all of the other phenomenal food there!)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0316.jpg" border="0" alt="Chicago" /></center></div><div>I love my city.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next weekend, I went to Thin Ice at the MGM Grand @ Foxwoods in Connecticut. What an awesome trip with Jen, Chele, the awesome cast of Thin Ice, and the production company that hooked everything up, VIP-style! I wrote about it in more depth <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2010/04/thin-ice-off-ice.html">here</a> and <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2010/04/getting-shot.html">here</a>, but some highlights:</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0319-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Kristi" /></center></div><div>Finally meeting my (real) childhood hero, Kristi Yamaguchi!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0319.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Stef" /></center></div><div>Also meeting Stéphane Lambiel, and finally getting to see him skate live.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0321-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls and Zimms" /></center></div><div>And spending some quality time with John Zimmerman, who really is just as classy of a southern gentleman as everyone has always said that he is, and meeting his awesome mom!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0321-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Flip Shot" /></center></div><div>Oh yes, and I also took one of the greatest photos I have ever taken in my life: Michael Weiss back-flipping over (temporary) partner Marie-France Dubreuil, en route to winning the competition.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>April</b></div><div><div>To kick off April, I shot Ice Dreams, a show in Chicago organized by Johnny Weir's management and featuring, of course, Johnny Weir. I brought Katrina with me, since she'd been wanting to try some skating photography with me for a while, but events are rarely in Chicago. And then the lighting was awful. Like, un-shootable, awful. It was a bit of a disaster.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0401.jpg" border="0" alt="Jordan Moeller" /></center></div><div>But I was excited to finally see Jordan Moeller, a talented young local skater who's now the 2011 U.S. silver medalist at the novice level. He goes to one of the schools in the district where my mom works, and he's the first national-level skater that I know of to hail from Chicago's south suburbs. Holla! Anyway, I'd been wanting to see him skate for a while, since my mom had met him and his parents, and it took Johnny Weir to make it happen. Who knew?</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0401-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Johnny + the Clem" /></center></div><div>And speaking of Johnny Weir, here he is, hugging a giant clementine.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0404-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Danielle Easter" /></center></div><div>I got to spend Easter with my family! Here's my cousin Danielle with the eggs she found during the annual Markham Family Egg Hunt.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0404-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Kristin bike" /></center></div><div>Cousin Kristin showed off her new bike and her flip-flops, both turquoise.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0404-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Brad uni" /></center></div><div>And poor cousin Brad...his parents only bought him one wheel when the girls got new two-wheelers, but he makes do just fine. ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0411.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Cate" /></center></div><div>I went to Ottawa the next weekend to shoot the Gloucester Spring Fest competition with "my Canadian family." Here's me with li'l sis Cate at the event.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0410.jpg" border="0" alt="Lizzie" /></center></div><div>Over 10 months later, I still have hardly looked at any of my shots from Gloucester, so I wasn't sure which one to post. But then I remembered that I photographed Elisabeth (Lizzie) Dyer, and she's one of my favourite young skaters to watch, so I just went through my shots of her and picked one. Less daunting than trying to go through everything!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0415.jpg" border="0" alt="Tulips!" /></center></div><div>I was a busy girl, wrapping up the semester and starting to plan for my Cross-Canadian Adventure (!!!), but beautiful spring days in Chicago and tulips blooming on State Street right outside work kept me motivated.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up was the annual tour of Canadian Stars on Ice shows! This year, Jules and I planned to hit three: Windsor, Toronto, and Hamilton on a Thursday-Friday-Saturday weekend o' fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Windsor was up first, and we stayed overnight north of Detroit with Amber, which was a grand time as well, though Jules and I went solo to the show. I bought our tickets (which is a strange feeling nowadays) online at Amber's the day of the show, and Ticketmaster informed me that "best available" was something like Row P in a corner. UNpleasant, but then again, it was an Olympic year, so we dealt with it.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0429.jpg" border="0" alt="Rock the Runway" /></center></div><div>Sometimes, I get really fun shots sitting up high, like this one of the "Rock the Runway" group number that closed Act 1. Awesome number, too! What, what!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0429-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Rock the Runway" /></center></div><div>But while we were sitting up high in the corner, we noticed that the opposite corner, next to where the skaters came out, was almost completely empty. "Best available," Ticketmaster, really? So we moved, naturally, and I was so glad that we did, because I got a pretty great shot of Jo's split jump! I've been on a quest to get a perfect shot of Jo's split jump for 4 years now. Almost always, if she jumps facing me, it's blurry. If I nail the focus, she's facing the wrong way or doesn't get her back leg quite parallel. This still isn't absolutely perfect, but it's the best so far!</div><div><br /></div><div>Up next was Toronto! Toronto is always a fun show to hit because so many of my friends are local, or close enough that they make the effort to get there. We also get to go to practice before the show if we get there early enough, and they put on a nice reception afterwards, so it's a pretty stellar evening.</div><div><br /></div><div>At practice this year, we got to catch up with Shawn, have a peek at Jen Robinson's new baby girl, and see Scott & Tessa try (and fail) to imitate one of MF&P's lifts. Points for effort...that lift was insane. Also at practice, I got to tell the media rep exactly where I wanted them to set up a chair for me at ice level. Talk about getting to pick your seat, and way better media relations that what occurred on the U.S. tour in Chicago. Way to go CSOI...you were always my favourite.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0430-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Shawn" /></center></div><div>So from my hand-picked seat, I got some wonderful gems like this one of Shawn Sawyer's cantilever! I've been shooting this move for years, but never had a great angle for it until this show.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0430-4.jpg" border="0" alt="JButt" /></center></div><div>I love this moment from Jeff Buttle's "Sympathy for the Devil" program.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0430-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Jo" /></center></div><div>The lighting for Jo's "Summertime" program was perfect and made her look gorgeous...not that it's a stretch!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0430-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott" /></center></div><div>I was sitting almost directly opposite a floor-level coloured spotlight, so by the time Tessa & Scott closed Act 2 with their shortened free dance, a program I'd already shot so many times before, I had a chance to play with the lighting a bit. I love the flare in this shot!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0430.jpg" border="0" alt="Rock the Runway" /></center></div><div>Group shot with MF&P, of course...once we all finally got into the reception! The short version of the story is that the reception passes didn't make it into the envelope with the tickets that Jo left, and a crotchety security guard tried to tell Canada's Sweetheart that her friends couldn't come inside. ACC fail, you can't talk to Canada's Sweetheart like that!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0430-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls" /></center></div><div>Group shot with the girls! L-R: Jules, me, Lori, Jen, Sarah</div><div><br /></div><div><b>May</b></div><div>The 3rd CSOI on Jules and Mel's tour o' CSOI stops was Hamilton on May 1st. We love going to Hamilton because a) it's the show taped for TV, b) the Copps is an awesome arena with a lot of great memories, c) it's close enough to Toronto to just jet over for the show, and d) Hamilton is the best skating audience in the world, period. Unfortunately, this year, the lighting in Hamilton wasn't as nice as in Toronto, which was odd because it's the TV show. But maybe they needed to tone down the vivid colours for the TV cameras, or something, because it was definitely darker, less colourful, and a bit flatter.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0501.jpg" border="0" alt="MF&P" /></center></div><div>But I still got this great shot of Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, in their bluesy & sexy "Do I Move You?" number. </div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0501-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Kurt Browning" /></center></div><div>I've probably seen Kurt Browning skate 20+ times since I started going to live skating events in 2003. I've never seen him be anything but completely entertaining, so this is some pretty serious praise coming up. On May 1st, 2010, in Hamilton, ON, Kurt Browning gave the absolute best performance I have ever seen him give, to one of his classic programs, "That's Entertainment." It was complete magic. The crowd always stands for Kurt, but that night, it was like he was competing again, and he'd just delivered a skate sure to score straight 6s. Everyone was up before the music even ended. It was just so incredible. And to top off that memory, I also snapped the best shot I've ever taken of him! Win!</div><div><br /></div><div>The day after the Hamilton show, Jules and I were high on skating and we had to head back to Michigan. But in order to head back to Michigan, we had to drive through London, right about the time the show was taking place in London, which as you might remember from the January part of this post, is Tessa & Scott's hometown. You also might remember, either from the February part of this post or from life in general, that Tessa & Scott became Olympic champs in February 2010. So seeing the tour in their hometown seemed like a great idea. The show was sold out, but when we stopped by the box office to meet up with a couple of friends who were already attending the show, a few more tickets had been released, so we just had to, you see. But since I already had photographed the show for the past 3 days, I just sat and enjoyed it, which is nice, every once in a while!</div><div><br /></div><div>Two weeks later, the U.S. tour of Stars on Ice came to Chicago. Normally, the U.S. tour is first and takes place during the competitive season. The Canadian tour follows it and some of the skaters from the U.S. tour carry over, but some Canadian competitive stars are added to the roster to replace the pros who only do the U.S. tour. But in the Olympic year, they had two separate tours running simultaneously, so I saw a completely different cast in Chicago.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, my photos from that show are trapped on a corrupted external drive. I've taken steps to repair it and made a bit of progress, but haven't recovered my Stars photos just yet. So no photos to share, but I still don't believe they're really gone! I'm staying positive!</div><div><br /></div><div>And here's where I'm ending this volume of my 2010-in-review. Next up: summer vacations!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-59833102780818633632011-02-22T20:54:00.000-08:002011-02-22T22:06:32.240-08:00and the ice turned to goldLet's pick up where I left off with my last post, shall we? I'd just purchased "resold" tickets with the girls and we were going to the free dance. To help you understand what this is like for me, I'll give you a good ol' American football analogy. For me, this was like getting tickets to the Super Bowl, within spitting distance of the field. Only imagine that the Super Bowl only happens once every four years. And the year that your home stadium is hosting the Super Bowl, something which is decided several years in advance, your home team ends up having an incredible regular season, winning their division, and breezing through the playoffs to make the Super Bowl. So you're watching the Super Bowl <i>at home,</i> and your team is favoured to win. And now it's halftime, and you're up by two touchdowns and you feel like nothing can possibly go wrong. Oh, and you've known the quarterback since college, you had world civ together and created a hilarious government for a group project, so you have all these inside jokes with him. This is what it felt like for us, walking into the free dance in Vancouver. Just take a moment and imagine it.<div><br /></div><div>We headed through lucky Lane F at security and I decided that I wanted to remember that moment as a happy one, even if we got to the arena and the ticket was a dud.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Me with my ticket" /></center></div><div>No regrets!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-11.jpg" border="0" alt="The Walk" /></center></div><div>I tried not to get <i>too</i> excited just yet, but it was tough, because the walk to the Pacific Coliseum was basically the greatest walk I've ever taken. We even walked part of the way with the Moir clan, who were pretty calm, all things considered! We agreed that it was going to be a great night and wished them luck. We also chatted with Jim Virtue, Tessa's dad, though now I can't remember if that was outside or once we got in—he was sitting just half a section over from us.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-12.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls outside" /></center></div><div>But back to the walk...we had someone take our photo together by the sign, proudly holding up our newly purchased tickets. We were almost to the door and our fingers were crossed.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-13.jpg" border="0" alt="Inside!" /></center></div><div>Chele had a little scare because she was the last one of us to go in, and the usher accidentally scanned her ticket twice, which made a terrifying noise, and we all stared back at her like OMG!!! But the usher knew what happened and sent her happily inside, where we FREAKED OUT. And the tears started for me already!</div><div><br /></div><div>We had plenty of time, so we headed to the washroom to apply some face decor, and then checked out our seats, which turned out to be EVEN BETTER than we expected. Our tickets said row 13, but the first 7 rows had been taken out on our side, so we were in 6th row from the ice!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-14.jpg" border="0" alt="Canadian Mel" /></center></div><div>We were so thrilled that we started an impromptu photoshoot, of course. Don't I make a great Canadian?!</div><div><br /></div><div>It turned out that we were sitting in front of Vicky, another photographer that I'd met the year before and re-"met" via a mutual friend on Facebook a few weeks before Vancouver. We'd run into each other during one of the practices already, but then it was really cool to end up having seats by someone else that I knew for the free dance!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-15.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls in front of the ice" /></center></div><div>I think we all agree that <i>this</i> is one of the most perfect photos we've ever taken. The five of us, in front of Olympic Ice, before the free dance, together, not really that far from where we'd be sitting. Shut the freaking front door. Dreams DO come true.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-16.jpg" border="0" alt="TDub" /></center></div><div>Speaking of dreams, THEN we ran into Tracy Wilson! She's one of my favourite ice dancers ever, basically the only one I hadn't met yet, and in Vancouver doing rockstar commentary. Since this was a day of dreams, we stopped her and asked for a photo, and she was so sweet and down with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not long after that, it was time to begin! When the 3 people sitting between our two pockets of tickets realized we'd be talking around them all night, they offered to slide down. Thanks, Seattle couple and the other girl who told me her name and I've now forgotten it! You're still tops of my list of awesome seatmates. Our seats were close to where we'd sat for practice that morning, but one section off-center. I don't usually choose to photograph from the side opposite the judges, but I ended up getting some awesome shots. I was in the zone, the lighting was perfect, and of course, the emotional level was through the roof.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-17.jpg" border="0" alt="Reeds" /></center></div><div>Cathy & Chris Reed (JPN)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-18.jpg" border="0" alt="Beiers" /></center></div><div>Christina & William Beier (GER) -- I actually don't remember a thing about this program, not even the music, but this photo is one of my favourites from the event. It's in my portfolio and I get a ton of compliments on it.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-19.jpg" border="0" alt="CroPo" /></center></div><div>Remember the Canadian kids I wrote about yesterday, Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier? They rocked their free dance and I cried like a proud mom. Their scores were lower than they should have been, but don't worry, they ended up breaking the top ten the next month at the World Championships.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-20.jpg" border="0" alt="Pechafabs" /></center></div><div>By the penultimate group, emotions were sky-high. Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat (FRA) had a great skate in the stacked field.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-21.jpg" border="0" alt="Delschoes" /></center></div><div>There were a lot of Olympic moments that night, but one of the most beautiful, in my opinion, belonged to Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA). After years of getting lowballed on marks, especially missing out on the podium at 2005 Worlds and 2006 Olympics, they finally won their first and only World medal in 2008—and they won the gold. At that point, with the Olympics less than 2 years out, you know they had to be dreaming about stepping onto the podium in Vancouver. But a freak shoulder injury meant surgery and missing 2009 Worlds, which is never a good thing for a pre-Olympic season, and then, in spring 2009, Isabelle found out that she was pregnant. A beautiful thing, of course, but not what a highly competitive team expects in an Olympic season. But they were determined. They choreographed their programs before she got too far along, and she stayed active for as long as she could during the pregnancy. After baby boy Loic was born in the fall, she was back on the ice as soon as possible, and the French skating federation pronounced them ready for Vancouver. By the free dance, they knew that a medal was almost certainly out of reach, and they just skated for the moment—to prove they could do it, to complete their comeback, just to skate. Their program was "The Impossible Dream" and it was the story of their career. It was beautiful. I think it was a bit overshadowed (understandably) by the medal-winning performances, but it was still definitely an Olympic moment, and one that I am so grateful to have witnessed.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-22.jpg" border="0" alt="Khokhlova" /></center></div><div>I'm not usually a fan of over-the-top (OTT) crazy programs, because I feel like a lot of teams do them because they want to BE DRAMATIK and MAKE A STATEMENT. However, I embrace the crazy OTTness when it comes to Jana Khokhlova & Sergei Novitski (RUS) because I really believe it just comes naturally to them.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-23.jpg" border="0" alt="Jen and Scott" /></center></div><div>During the flood before the final group of dancers, Jen spotted Scott Wolf sitting in the next section. She's been in love with him for, like, a decade, maybe more. And since it was a night of dreams...she went like she owned it! His <i>V</i> costar took a photo of them with Jen's camera, but for insurance purposes, she asked me to be at the ready with my telephoto lens. So I was snapping away, but getting most of the backs of their heads, and then to my surprise, I saw her point at me and they turned and he waved. Hilarious.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-24.jpg" border="0" alt="Merylie" /></center></div><div>Back to the skating! Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA) were up first in the final flight and created an incredible Olympic moment. Their passionate performance even made me forgive them for picking <i>Phantom of the Opera</i>! Gorgeous moment. I think we all knew when it was over that they'd be standing on the podium at the end of the night, but we were also silently hoping it would be the silver medal. Nothing against them, just...full disclosure.</div><div><br /></div><div>I always think that Tessa & Scott skated last, but they actually skated third in the final flight. We all squeezed hands before they began, took some deep breaths, and clenched. Normally, when I'm really, <i>really</i> nervous, it takes a little bit for me to get into the program, before the tears start. But with Tessa & Scott's Olympic free dance, we all believed so fiercely that they would skate their best and wear gold at the end of the night, that I actually relaxed almost as soon as they started skating. I knew they would skate lights-out. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-25.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott Opening" /></center></div><div>They skated with beauty...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-26.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott Free" /></center></div><div>...and with passion...</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/2010-0222-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott Hug" /></center></div><div>...and when it was over, we didn't need the marks. We <i>believed</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-27.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott Marks" /></center></div><div>But we got marks anyway, and then it was almost official. Two teams left to skate, but they'd have to put up almost inhuman numbers to surpass The Kids.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-28.jpg" border="0" alt="Tanith & Ben" /></center></div><div>For the second night in a row, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto (USA) had to skate after the Canadian favourites, and for the second night in a row, they did an incredible job. I liked Tanith & Ben a lot when they first broke out, circa 2003, and then I went through a phase where I found them overrated, and then I loved their free dance in 2008 and started changing my mind, but then they went to Linichuk and I started respecting their skating more, but disliking their programs again. But at the Olympics, I realized how much I respected them, and I desperately wanted them to medal and firmly believed that they deserved to medal, but in the end, they were left in fourth. It wasn't the right decision, but they handled it extremely graciously, so I applaud them for that, and I think they're doing a fab job on Stars on Ice now. And I love Stars on Ice something fierce, so I don't just throw that kind of praise around. Also, I love this lift, and I was pissed at myself for missing this photo in practice earlier in the day, but I nailed it in the competition!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-29.jpg" border="0" alt="Domnina & Shabalin" /></center></div><div>Oksana Domnina & Maxim Shabalin (RUS) had some nice moments, like this lift, but I wouldn't have placed them in the top five if I'd been on the panel. Shabalin came back from knee injuries too soon, more than once, and the weaknesses just showed too much in his skating. Plus their OD was downright offensive.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0223-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Flags" /></center></div><div>So when the marks came down, it was official—Canada would stand in the middle.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0223-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Anthem" /></center></div><div>And we all sang "O Canada" together. Well, all the Canadians and the nerdy Americans who know all the words, of which there were at least three in the audience that night.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0223-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott Medals" /></center></div><div>All for the kids, who wore gold that night. This is why we came. This is why I shelled out a month's salary to get in the building that night, and I would have paid just as much for far worse seats, just to experience those moments. Shoot, the whole trip probably cost me 6 weeks' salary, and it was more than worth it. It would have been worth it even if it hadn't ended in gold, even if this blog was about how proud I was of them for trying and coming 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th, or not making it through the competition because Tessa was skating through incredible pain. It would have been worth it, no matter what, because of the journey and everything that went behind it, but you have to admit that it makes a pretty great story when it ends in gold. But no matter what, the reason why all of this happened—why my Olympic dream came true—is because we believed.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0223-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Torch" /></center></div><div>Dreams come true when you believe.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-16783883504213146242011-02-22T17:14:00.000-08:002011-02-22T19:41:58.833-08:00reclaiming 0222Apparently, a lot of Americans remember 02-22 quite fondly as the date on which the famed Miracle on Ice hockey game was played in 1980. I wasn't alive then, but I own <i>Miracle</i>, so I understand the allure. For me, February 22nd took on a significant meaning in 2000. I was in 11th grade, it was the Tuesday after the February semi-formal, and after keeping me in agony for 3 whole days, my high school sweetheart finally gave me a note before my ACT review session, asking me to make things official and be his girlfriend. We stayed together through long-distance, he asked me to marry him a year & a half later, and I truly thought we'd get married, be together forever, start a family, be happy. But when he ended things in January 2005, February 22nd became a dark day for me. Even after the fresh sting of the breakup was gone, 02-22 always reminded me of what I'd had and lost—my love, my best friend, a surrogate mom who was there when I couldn't communicate with my own, a chance at the life I honestly believed I wanted. Whether it was for the best or not is open to interpretation, of course, but whatever the case, February 22nd wasn't a day that I looked forward to. It was such a memorable day, too. Maybe if it had been February 25th, I would have let it go a little more easily, but all of those twos staring at me...it always brought me back.<div><br /></div><div>Even at the Olympics, when we woke up—early again—on Monday morning, I had a little twinge. But this was the Olympics, and I knew that an amazing day was in store. We BELIEVED. But...a little superstition never hurt anyone. So we did almost everything exactly the same as the day before.</div><div><br /></div><div>We went to practice, and although we got a little more sleep and missed the first couple of groups, we still got there before the sun was up. We settled into good seats, centre, opposite the judges. We caffeinated and cheered. And the top athletes warmed up their free dances, to be competed later that night.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222.jpg" border="0" alt="Pechafabs" /></center></div><div>Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat's crazy/awesome lift entry...I was shaking too much to capture this moment in the competition later on.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Merylie" /></center></div><div>Meryl Davis & Charlie White, probably my favourite photo I've taken of them.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott" /></center></div><div>Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, one of the final moments of their free dance. Again, not as crisp later that night due to the shaking. I was SO EXCITED when she came out in this blush dress. I knew she'd have a new dress for the Olympics, but was expecting white, of course. White on ice makes for bad photos. It's tough for the camera to focus on and it looks blah. Blush isn't that much better, but with Tessa, I knew better than to hope for a bright colour.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Belgosto" /></center></div><div>Speaking of white...prime example of how it doesn't work against the ice! Here's a beautiful lift by Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, white jumpsuit aside.</div><div><br /></div><div>And just like the day before, we watched a couple of groups of ladies afterwards, including:</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Tugba" /></center></div><div>Tugba Karademir, everyone's favourite Turkish skater! She trains in Barrie, ON, and I first saw her skate at the Mariposa Gala in 2003, so it was awesome to photograph her on Olympic ice.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Cynth" /></center></div><div>Cynthia Phaneuf, 2004 (and now 2011) Canadian champ</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Mirai" /></center></div><div>Mirai Nagasu, 2008 U.S. champ</div><div><br /></div><div>And after the ladies, we headed outside for photo shooting and lunch, once again.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Glowing Hearts" /></center></div><div>It was another beautiful day, and our hearts sure were still glowing!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0222-9.jpg" border="0" alt="C and J" /></center></div><div>Christina and Jules were clearly pumped, and I continued my warmup with more action shots!</div><div><br /></div><div>At lunch, we strategized our ticket-buying process once again, then schlepped to the bank to withdraw as much money as we could from our accounts. I'd been rationing food for weeks in hopes that my Olympic dream of being in the building for the free dance would come to fruition. We agreed that we'd spend no more than $300 each, but obviously, we'd prefer to spend closer to $200. When we headed back to the arena, to the corner of Hastings & Renfrew, where Chele and I had scored our OD tickets, the scene was quite different from the previous afternoon. Only about 5 resellers were standing around. I instantly got nervous. Fewer options would drive prices higher, and there was still a lot of time before the event started. We had to act quickly if we wanted to get in at all, but what if the only tickets were out of our budgets?</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't see the nice French guy who'd sold Chele and me our OD tickets, so we just picked someone. Did we want free dance tickets? We sure did. Did he have them? Well, only 3. But he had a friend down the block, and his friend might have some left. He could call him. I was clenched while he talked into his cell phone. Yeah, his friend had two more tickets. They were all in the same row, in the same section. I can't remember exactly what happened next. I think he wanted $300 each, but we talked him down to $250. Whatever it was, we ended up paying less than half the face value for five lower bowl free dance tickets that were essentially together at the OLYMPICS. As long as they scanned when we got to the door, I was officially the luckiest girl in the world. Well, me and the four girls I was with.</div><div><br /></div><div>To be continued!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-10269508787139812142011-02-21T12:20:00.000-08:002011-02-21T14:06:22.240-08:00o-d, o-d, oh!2010 Olympics, Day 4, Pt 2: OD OD!<div><br /></div><div>For non-skating folk, the original dance (OD) was the 2nd of 3 segments in ice dance competition between 1990-ish(?) and 2010. The dancers had required elements to perform, and a theme was given each year, but they could pick their own music that fit the theme. For the 2009-2010 Olympic season, the theme was "Folk/Country" for the 2nd time in 3 years. Not my favourite theme, but no complaints allowed at the Olympics!</div><div><br /></div><div>Christina, Jules, and Jen had nosebleed tickets, the only skating tickets any of our group got in the initial ticket lottery. So after lunch and a break between practice and the event, Chele and I sent them off towards security with hugs and hopes that we'd be joining them shortly. First, we had to hike uphill to a bank, since my debit card only works in ATMs at banks in Canada. On the way, we set a limit and talked strategy. This was our first experience dealing with ticket "resellers" at any sort of event, so we didn't want to get bamboozled.</div><div><br /></div><div>My friend Liz already had positive experiences with the resellers in Vancouver, getting her into the opening ceremony for less than half the face value of the tickets. She said to wait as long as possible, and if we wanted to wait until after the event started, we could probably get great seats for $100. Unfortunately, Vanessa & Paul were in the first group, and it was a long walk from the ticket sellers to security, and then another long walk to the arena. I didn't want to risk it, and Chele said that it was okay. We decided that $250 was our limit, and I hoped that for that, we could at least get seats in the first few rows of the upper bowl, where my 200mm lens could still get decent shots. But...I wasn't going to be too picky about seat location!</div><div><br /></div><div>So Chele and I kind of wandered into the ticket sellers, and a guy from Québec approached us. He wanted to sell us two lower bowl tickets for $250 each. I was tempted, but if we could get lower bowl for $250, the poor student in me wondered if we could save $50 and get first row in the upper bowl, which wasn't a huge difference. So we started to look for another option, but then Québec started chatting with us. He said he loved Chicago. We said we loved Montréal. I spoke French with him and he complimented me. And then he said he'd drop the price to $200. Really, really, really nice guy! And sold!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-21.jpg" border="0" alt="Miga Welcome" /></center></div><div>We were too nervous to celebrate until they scanned our tickets at the door and let us in, but we got in! And Miga, my favourite of the Olympic mascots, was there to welcome us. Thanks, Migs.</div><div><br /></div><div>We didn't have a ton of time once we got inside, but it was enough to meet up with the other girls and freak out a little! Then they headed upstairs to their seats, and Chele and I found ours—last row of the lower bowl, on the end opposite the kiss & cry. I normally don't like shooting ice dance from the ends, but at the Olympics, you can't always pick your seat, so I just went with it. I don't have as many awesome shots as I'm used to getting, but I have more than a few, and it was more about the experience than the photography!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-15.jpg" border="0" alt="Shtork & Rand" /></center></div><div>It was fun to see the lower-ranked European teams that I hadn't seen before and I got some great shots that I didn't expect, like this one of Irina Shtork & Taavi Rand.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-16.jpg" border="0" alt="Hoffmann & Zavozin" /></center></div><div>I feel like Nora Hoffmann & Maxim Zavozin withdrew from more competitions than they entered leading up the Olympics, but they made it through the Olympics, where I got this neat shot of their OD.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-18.jpg" border="0" alt="Samuelson & Bates" /></center></div><div>Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates were one of three teams at the Olympics with American cowboy numbers, and the only American team of the three. This program worked so well for them; I don't think they ever skated it poorly, and it was a ton of fun to shoot!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-17.jpg" border="0" alt="Media Tribunes" /></center></div><div>Shot of the media tribunes in the lower bowl. These extended through the center section all the way up the upper bowl, too! Maybe I'll have a seat at one of these in the future. :) The guys in the upper right corner are the "wire" photographers—for Associated Press and the like. They usually get access at ice level near the kiss & cry, so they probably weren't happy with this nook in the top row of the lower bowl media area. However, it was high, center, and right behind the judges—exactly where I love to shoot from! Oh, to be in their shoes...especially if their shoes come with their gear and access to the giant Canon storeroom available to Olympic credentialed photogs!</div><div><br /></div><div>Before long, it was time for the big guns! The top ten teams after the compulsory dance draw for a random order in the last two groups.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-19.jpg" border="0" alt="Delobel & Schoenfelder" /></center></div><div>I was <i>so</i> excited to see Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder's Can-Can OD! I love this team, and since she'd had a baby less than 4 months earlier, this was their competitive season debut.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-20.jpg" border="0" alt="Faiella & Scali" /></center></div><div>I was also excited to see Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali, who I'd been watching since 2002, but had never seen live until then.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-23.jpg" border="0" alt="Pechalat & Bourzat" /></center></div><div>Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat's (French) take on a cowboy OD</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-27.jpg" border="0" alt="Chele and me" /></center></div><div>Chele and I were loving our lower bowl Olympic seats!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-22.jpg" border="0" alt="Davis & White" /></center></div><div>Meryl Davis & Charlie White's Indian OD was one of the most popular dance programs of last season. Yeah, it was pretty awesome to not only see it at the Olympics, but also to see it go into first place! Chele and I were pretty sure that we could hear Christina, Jen, and Jules screaming from across the arena! ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-24.jpg" border="0" alt="Tesscott" /></center></div><div>Of course, Meryl & Charlie didn't stay in first for too long, because then Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir came out and rocked their flamenco for the home crowd! What a moment! </div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-25.jpg" border="0" alt="Canada!" /></center></div><div>The ovation just kept going! I felt bad for Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, who were the only team left to skate after them, but they are pros and handled the pressure with ease and a ton of class.</div><div><br /></div><div>After it was over, we had people to see! The Olympics are kind of a rough time to socialize because everything is crazy and everyone is so busy. But it was not okay that we only had one day left in Vancouver and we hadn't seen Megan & Aaron yet, so I was texting him during the last group, coordinating a meet-up location. It took forever for me to make it all the way around the arena, since I was exactly at the wrong end, but I finally pushed my way through the crowds and found them, where they were getting fangirled! Aww.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-26.jpg" border="0" alt="girls with Megan & Aaron" /></center></div><div>Jules and I dragged them over to the rest of the girls for a chat and our usual self-po. It's still too bad that I didn't get a photo with my favourite Olympians four years earlier, when they were actually competing, but Europe + Olympics + unemployment = impossible, so four years later at the Olympics in their hometown was an acceptable substitute.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-2-3.jpg" border="0" alt="girls with Gladys" /></center></div><div>After we said farewell to Megan & Aaron, who had to get up early the next morning to coach, we ran into Gladys right away! Gladys was a Mexican champ, and we'd met her and cheered for her at 2004 Four Continents, the first skating competition I ever attended. She's married to Canadian world champ Elvis Stojko now, so they were there together. She was so thrilled to have him take this photo, since she's always taking photos of him with fans. We usually prefer the group self-po, since they're a lot more fun, but we didn't want to crush her dreams, so I handed my point & shoot over to Elvis for this shot. Maybe I should put "© Elvis Stojko" on the side?</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-2-2.jpg" border="0" alt="girls with MF&P" /></center></div><div>By then, Marie-France & Patrice had wrapped up their commentary duties for the night and stopped for a chat. We exchanged some hilarious commentary of our own with P and agreed that it had been a great night of skating.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our chat was cut short because security started pushing us out. Apparently they were supposed to secure the arena? We're so not used to this! So we said bye, and they headed downstairs while we started making our way to the front doors...where there were still a ton of people. So much for emptying the arena!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-3-2.jpg" border="0" alt="girls with Kerrs" /></center></div><div>And we caught up with British competitors Sinead & John Kerr, who were still signing autographs and chatting with fans. This was the first time that I'd ever been at an event where they were, but I always heard that this was typical for them.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-4-2.jpg" border="0" alt="girls with Ben" /></center></div><div>And last but not least, we said hi to Ben Agosto, who was also still hanging around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then security showed up again (or maybe the same ones just followed us around the corner), so finally gave in and left, knowing that we'd be back at the rink in the morning for practice and, hopefully, we'd score tickets for the competition, too.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-24973398462347240932011-02-20T23:28:00.000-08:002011-02-21T00:36:15.880-08:00olympic ice<div>Olympics Trip Day 4: Remembering February 21, 2011...Part One!</div><div><br /></div>There's something about the phrase "Olympic Ice," you know? It's something the commentators always say, and they always say it with two capital letters. "She's under so much pressure, skating on Olympic Ice." "What a great moment for them to have on Olympic Ice!" And since the Pacific Coliseum hosted quite a few national and international events leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games, it was a phrase that got tossed around a lot. I went to two of those events, the Canadian Championships in 2008, and the Four Continents Championships in 2009, and there was such a buzz about the "soon-to-be Olympic Ice." It's almost like Olympic Ice is specially made somewhere else, and the same ice is trotted out every four years, jumping from Olympic city to Olympic city. Of course, that's not the case, but I almost feel like it should be. Olympic Ice is special.<div><br /></div><div>And on Day 4, my friends and I were going to see it.</div><div><br /></div><div>In case you've been living under a rock, here's the story: skating is our passion. I still haven't figured out how to explain it for myself, especially since I can barely stand up on skates, so just go with it. Entering the Olympic arena any year, at any time, would have been something incredible for me, but for the five of us to be together at an Olympics in Canada, one we'd planned on attending together since just about the day they announced that Vancouver would host 2010...that was our Olympic moment.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-12.jpg" border="0" alt="Jen and Me" /></center></div><div>Like all Olympic moments, this required sacrifice, and we left Chez Jackson around 5am. Jen and I were excited about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think practices started at 6 or 6.30, and we were determined to be there for every minute of them. Well, I was the most determined, I guess. Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier were in the first practice group, and they're my kids. I have a lot of kids now that I like to call my own, but they were one of the first Canadian teams that I claimed when I started going to Lake Placid a few years ago. The feeling of going through security (Lane F!) was euphoric, so much that I actually <i>ran </i>most of the way to the arena, which was quite a haul. Some of the other girls run, but I really do not run. Especially a year ago. But I couldn't wait to get inside, to smell Olympic ice, to feel Olympic chill, to hear my kids get Olympicly announced for an Olympic practice.</div><div><br /></div><div>We got our tickets scanned and kept running toward the ice. It was empty. We'd made it in time. This called for a celebratory self-po above Olympic Ice, but what doesn't, with us?</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-14.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Ice Self-Po" /></center></div><div>After the photo, it really started to hit me. I just remember tearing up, and everyone laughing, because it was only a matter of minutes before I did. I'm always the crier, and anything can set me off. A few years ago at Nationals, looking over and seeing Barbara Ann Scott sitting in the section got me teary. I'm ridiculous. So of course, a clean sheet of Olympic Ice was just the recipe for my first cry of the day—the first of many cries.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was covering the Olympics for Ice-Dance.com, but unofficially. I didn't have a credential. I actually didn't even apply for one, because I didn't know that the deadline for beginning the application process was a year in advance. Whoops. Not that I would have gotten one, anyway! So Liz and I were both on unofficial coverage duty, although she did most of it alone, since she was at the Olympics for the full two weeks and had tickets for all of the events. At that point, I only had tickets for two mornings of practice, but was hoping that I'd have luck with the scalpers later on. So we stood at the top of the concourse and cheered for the kids when they got announced, but then I was ready to sit down and start shooting.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221.jpg" border="0" alt="Vanessa & Paul" /></center></div><div>And since I made such a big deal of those kids, here's my favourite shot of Vanessa & Paul. At the end of the first practice group, Christina and I walked around to the judges' side, which was mostly blocked off for official seating and the media tribunes. But I managed to get an epic Olympic shot of their epic free dance lift from the right side, so...win!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Cathy & Chris" /></center></div><div>The other girls weren't as dedicated to watching every single dance team as I was (what can I say, I'm a huge nerd), so they walked around for a while and I took advantage of the sparse early-morning attendance to seat-hop, which gave me this gem of a shot. The dancers are Cathy Reed & Chris Reed, Michigan-born and East Coast-trained, but representing Japan. Since the dancers were encouraged (but not required) to portray their own heritage for the folk-themed original dance, they had a fun Japanese kodo program that involved fans.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-2.jpg" border="0" alt="With Glowing Hearts" /></center></div><div>I caught up with the girls on the flood for caffeine and more photos around the rink. Our hearts sure were glowing!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Kerrs" /></center></div><div>Here's another of my favourite Sunday morning shots. This is Sinead Kerr & John Kerr, siblings from Scotland. They'd already done a Scottish program twice, in fact, so they chose American country. Great program, and their choreography always has fun, photogenic highlights.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Tessa & Scott" /></center></div><div>Speaking of kids...Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir are actually the kids that we claim most fiercely and collectively. We all go way back with them, Christina most of all. Four years earlier, we all knew that if we made it to Vancouver in 2010, we'd be watching Tessa & Scott skate. I sure wasn't expecting to be watching them dominate, though. I still look back on the years between 2006 and 2010 and wonder how that happened! And seriously, how is the kid in the white suit pulling off lifts like this one?! </div><div><br /></div><div>After their runthrough, though, the euphoria came crashing down. My phone had buzzed while Tessa & Scott were skating (they were the 2nd-last team in the dance practice), but I didn't check it until they were done and Tanith & Ben were getting into their start positions. There was a text from Michelle, my editor at Ice-Dance.com, that said that Jo's mom had passed away that morning. The girls and I have known Jo for a long time, too, so it hit us pretty hard. But there wasn't anything that we could do, so we just cried and hugged and walked around a bit before the ladies started practicing. It definitely added another layer to the emotions of the day, though, and I kept her in my prayers.</div><div><br /></div><div>The audience wasn't allowed to stay for the whole ladies practice, since they had to clear out and secure the arena before the event later that day. Just as well—that would have been way too long of a day. Instead, there were only two groups, so we decided to stick it out so we could catch the Americans and Yu-Na.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, though, someone's eagle eye spotted Ms. Michelle Kwan across the arena!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-6.jpg" border="0" alt="MK!" /></center></div><div>I said a few posts back that I didn't have any photos of Michelle, but I forgot about this one. Yes, the only time I've ever seen MK in the flesh, she was sitting with Phil Hersh, who is one of the primary reasons why I say that I am a skating photographer, and not a skating journalist. Not known for being a nice guy, to say the least. </div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Yu-Na" /></center></div><div>We did see Yu-Na Kim, just a few days before she became Olympic champion.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Min-Jung Kwak" /></center></div><div>And I got this sweet shot of her Korean teammate, Min-Jung Kwak, against a great spot on the boards.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once group two was over, we had to clear out, and unlike Nationals or most of the other events we go to, security was actually pretty tight at the Olympics! I guess that's a good thing, but we sure aren't used to being pushed out of arenas when we're not literally the last people inside!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-9.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Flag" /></center></div><div>Outside, the skies were blue, and there's nothing like a blue sky to fill me with hope! So there's <i>really</i> nothing better than an Olympic flag against a blue sky!</div><div><br /></div><div>We had a really hard time leaving the grounds, stopping for an extended photoshoot near a photogenic piece of fence. We all took turns jumping in front of it, throwing in some jumps in pairs and some classic poses.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Me Jumping" /></center></div><div>Here's my exuberant Olympic jump, as captured by...someone who is not me, obviously.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-11.jpg" border="0" alt="TOTEM" /></center></div><div>Jen and I have this long-running quest to take photos where it looks like she's lifting me, totem-style. It stems back to a hilarious night when we took a photo that really, really looks like she's lifting me, totem-style. None of the repeat shots have been quite as successful, but they're still fun!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0221-13.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div>Since this is so long and full of 14 photos already, I'm cutting Day 4 into two parts. Part two begins with Chele and I tracking down tickets to the OD and includes all kinds of awesome OD festivities, so be on the lookout for that later today!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-67057495279788225602011-02-20T18:36:00.000-08:002011-02-20T19:12:19.077-08:00all about curlingDay 3 at the Olympics was one year ago today: February 20, 2010. And it was all about curling! I can't say that about any other day in my whole life...up to this point. The girls and I have big plans to start a curling team for the Vatican City and compete in a future Olympic Games. Only 2 out of the 5 of us are Catholic, but...we figure it's kind of like ice dancing for random former Soviet countries when you've never even been to them. The Vatican City would be lucky to have a curling team as rad as us, we'd be great for the image and the tourist ads! So be on the look out for that.<div><br /></div><div>Until then, enjoy the following set of photos from my first day at a curling match, which was also my first day at an Olympic event. So coincidental. I'll narrate you through them so you can follow along (also because I can't help it), but for the folks who might be reading who don't know anything about curling (read: Americans), the basic ideas are pretty simple. There are 10 "innings" (called "ends") and at the end of each one, the team whose rock is closest to the center of the target (the "button") gets points. One point if you've just got one rock closer than enemy rocks, or you can score multiple points if you have more than one rock closer than the closest enemy rock. It's a strategy game, but in some ends, the teams just alternate hitting each other's rocks out of the target (the "house") until all 10 rocks are used up. Those ends are pretty boring. It's fun when there are a lot of rocks in the house and the throwing team does crazy curve shots. It's also fun when you're at the Olympics, because what's <i>not </i>fun at the Olympics?</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-6.jpg" border="0" alt="House" /></center></div><div>Ready? Let's curl!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220.jpg" border="0" alt="Curling Venue" /></center></div><div>We took the train downtown again and then switched to the Canada Line (how appropriate) to head to the curling venue, since it was in a random neighbourhood in Vancouver. Actually, it was in the neighbourhood where Jules, Chele, and I stayed with our friend Meg in 2009. So we were a little familiar, but the train wasn't built yet in Feb '09, so we were all turned around when we got down to street level. Fortunately, we were not the only people heading to curling! We were actually following the husband of one of the girls on the American team, so we followed him most of the way. There was a long line for security, but we were early and excited, so we didn't care, and then we began our tradition of heading through Lane F and saw our first glimpse of the venue. I meant to drive past it on my summer trip through Vancouver last year, to see if it still says "With Glowing Hearts" on it. I hope so...that's not the sort of thing I'd want to erase!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Flags" /></center></div><div>We took a ton of photos once we were through security, before we ever even went inside! But then we decided that we should go in, get some snacks, and find our seats. Our tickets said Row 20, and we joked that they'd probably be the last row. Sure were!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-3.jpg" border="0" alt="USA" /></center></div><div>There were 4 ice surfaces, so 4 simultaneous matches. It was still the round robin part of the tournament, so all 10 teams were still in, and the two teams not playing when we were there ended up being Japan and Canada. :( So I actually cheered for the actual home team for me! Chele even had a Team USA tee-shirt. I had a Team USA headband from 2002 that I got for free with a Roots order once.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Team Denmark" /></center></div><div>I loved the skirt look that the Danish girls were rocking! I think I see super cute skirts in the Vatican City team's future.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Hurrryyyy!" /></center></div><div>One of the best things about curling is that the person throwing the rock often screams directions at the sweepers, who sweep the ice in front of the rock to make it go faster. This Swiss girl is probably yelling "Hurrryyyyyy" in German...or French. Or Romansh!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Harrrrddd" /></center></div><div>The Chinese team was way more into the yelling than I expected them to be, and then Christina informed us that they train in Saskatchewan with a Canadian coach.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Crowd Shot" /></center></div><div>The athletes weren't the only ones yelling! The crowd was off the hook. I think we did the wave more times than we did at Ottawa (skating) nationals in 2006, which had been a previous record for me. I also finally got to take part in a "U-S-A, U-S-A" cheer, since the American team recorded their only W of the tournament just for us. The "U-S-A" cheer hasn't really caught on at skating events yet, so it was my first time! I felt like I was in <i>Miracle</i>!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-11.jpg" border="0" alt="Jules and Me" /></center></div><div>In between exciting parts, we rocked self-pos in the back row. I also drank my first Molson Canadian beer and ate a hot dog. I'm not usually a meat eater, besides poultry and fish, but I felt like I needed a hot dog and a beer to really absorb the curling experience.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-9.jpg" border="0" alt="USA curler" /></center></div><div>Since curling is slower paced than skating, I had time to try to get some non-action shots. Not a ton of great ones from the back row, but I really like this one.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-12.jpg" border="0" alt="Girls at curling" /></center></div><div>After all the matches wrapped up, we dawdled on our way out and got to see the Canadian and Japanese teams practice for a little bit. One of the volunteers snapped a photo of us down closer to ice level, and yep, those red jackets behind us are Canadian curlers. We got our photos taken with future gold medalists!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0220-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Curling Rink" /></center></div><div>One last shot of the rink!</div><div><br /></div><div>It took a while to get back downtown, because we had to wait in a line for the train, so it was starting to get dark by the time we decided to wait in line to get into Alberta House. That was a bust. They had food there, but they also had live entertainment at night, so when that started, people stopped leaving and the line to get in, therefore, stopped moving. We had a SUPER early morning the next day and a long train ride + drive back to our hosts in the 'burbs, so we decided to call it a night and head back. Day 3: huge success, but the biggest two days were still ahead!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-37875496951612785432011-02-19T21:07:00.000-08:002011-02-19T21:42:06.086-08:00new tradition: spring olympics!A year ago today was Day 2 of our Olympic trip, and as a special treat, we got to celebrate something new: the spring Olympics! The Spring Olympics were so nice that I think future Winter Olympics should really consider switching to Spring. True, I heard they had a bit of a snow disaster up in Whistler, but we watched our Olympic events inside arenas, so we weren't too affected by that and we were loving the sunshine!<div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219.jpg" border="0" alt="Chele, Christina, me" /></center></div><div>Self-portrait in the sunshine! Chele, Christina, and me.</div><div><br /></div><div>We didn't have any set plans for Day 2 (Friday), so we took our time getting ready, enjoying the smorgasbord of breakfast treats that Mama Jackson had put together. Once we did head out, we realized that it wasn't just a nice day—it was WARM! I was wearing a long-sleeved tee under my regular tee because I'm always cold, but even I decided to run back inside to take off my extra layer.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Us with Flag" /></center></div><div>First things first: photo with the Canadian flag in our Canada tees! Fun fact: 3/5 of us are not Canadian. Whatever...details!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Torch" /></center></div><div>We drove to a Skytrain station, parked our rental Jeep, and took the train downtown. First stop once we arrived (after waiting in line for like 30 minutes for the washrooms at the train station) was the torch! Initially, I was not impressed with the fence around it, but I realized that a fenced-off torch is better than a vandalized torch and unfortunately, not everyone respects the Olympic movement like we do.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wedged my lens into the chain-link to get some fence-free shots, and I also climbed up on a pillar, with two of the girls steadying my legs so I could get a higher angle. The things I do for photography! ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Group shot with torch" /></center></div><div>There were a ton of people around, so we easily got someone to take a photo of all five us with the torch. L-R: Jen, me, Chele, Christina, Jules.</div><div><br /></div><div>We didn't have a lot to do, but this doesn't mean we were bored! Wandering the streets was endless fun. We went in a bunch of stores that had Olympic-themed merch, checked out the <s>crazy</s> dedicated pin traders, stopped in at some of the downtown Olympic "sites," like the downtown UBC campus, where they had entertainment as well as the official ticket office! We had to pick up our skating practice tickets, and we ended up buying practice tickets for a second day, the day of the free dance. I felt a little relieved, because at least I'd see free dance practice...I still wasn't convinced we were going to end up with free dance tickets.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Count-UP clock" /></center></div><div>Then, we walked around to the opposite side of the Vancouver Art Gallery, where the countdown clock is located. In 2008, we were all in Vancouver for the Canadian Championships and we took a series of photos with the clock, dreaming that we'd all be back together when the Games were happening. Being back at the clock while it was counting UP instead of down, all five of us together, was so emotional and awesome. Being at the Olympics was a dream come true, but it wouldn't have been the same if any of us had been missing.</div><div><br /></div><div>That night was the compulsory dance, and although we're huge skating nerds and would be happy watching compulsory dances, we were saving our pennies for the OD and free dance, so we didn't bother with CD tickets. Instead, we decided to time dinner with the CD, knowing that every TV in the city would be showing Olympic coverage. Christina had a recommendation for Ebisu, a Japanese place, so we headed there and thought we'd be plenty early for a Friday night, but of course, the line was epic and Japanese food isn't generally prepared quickly, so tables don't really turn over quickly. We ended up standing in line for almost the whole CD, craning our necks and leaning around a corner to see the top teams skate. We couldn't hear any sound, so maybe I was singing random Tango Romantica tracks to make up for it. Haha.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we finally got a table, it was literally in the break while the team before Tessa & Scott was waiting for their scores. And the table that we got was right below a TV playing the skating coverage. So some of us literally had to lay across the table to see the TV, so we could cheer on the kids, who laid down a fantastic dance and leapt into 2nd! Our waitress saw how into the Olympics we were, and told us that a big booth had <i>just</i> opened up in the bar area by the giant projection screen. Did we want it? Umm...yes, of course we did! Skating was over, but we got to watch skeleton, which included a win by Canadian Jon Montgomery. Singing "O Canada" with a whole restaurant while I'm eating fantastic sushi? Yes please!</div><div><br /></div><div>Once we hit the streets after sushi (and cooked food for Chele...her first bite of sushi was still several weeks away at that point!), the hits just kept on coming. We thought about going somewhere for a drink, but didn't want to deal with more lines, and I don't think anything could have been more fun that jostling gigantic crowds in the streets, high-fiving random Canadians, belting the anthem a few more times, and taking a ton of photos. Are the Olympics always this amazing? Or is it a special brand of awesome when you're part of the "home" team? I hope that I'll find out! Who's up for 2014? I speak Russian...not as well as I used to, but I can brush up! I'll be useful!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-7.jpg" border="0" alt="Lanterns" /></center></div><div>Some street decorations...I never did learn the significance of them, but they were a) pretty and b) fun to stomp around on.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-2-2.jpg" border="0" alt="THE GIRLS" /></center></div><div>One of my two favourite group shots from the Olympics! We all look so fantastic and happy! I'm a bit of a conehead in my hat, but it has a maple leaf on it, so it's allowed.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I'll leave you with a parting shot that describes, in photographic form, how I felt about that Olympic night.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0219-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Crazy Me" /></center></div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-51411310251164054752011-02-18T15:47:00.000-08:002011-02-18T20:49:05.634-08:00surreal, but niceHi, friends! Apologies for the extended blogging hiatus. Special thanks to a few unexpected people who told me that they were enjoying reading my blog! I had no idea more than, like, 3 people were interested in my ramblings. I knew I wouldn't have time to blog while I was in Victoria for the Canadian Championships, but I didn't realize it would take so long for me to get caught up once I got home. I'm still not caught up, but I have to set my other priorities aside for a few minutes, because today is quite a special anniversary.<div><br /></div><div>A year ago, Vancouver was busy hosting what I consider to be the greatest Olympics ever. Week 1 was starting to wrap up, the home team was doing well, and I kept reading fantastic reports from the lucky folks who were there. But unlike previous Olympics, I wasn't just keeping track of the 2010 Games from my couch, wrapped in a tattered red flannel blanket. A year ago today, I arrived in Vancouver, along with four of my best friends and the best road trip buddies a girl could have.</div><div><br /></div><div>February 18, 2010 was a looong day. For real...since I flew west, it lasted 26 hours! But it was a great one, too, one I'll always remember. My mom dropped me off at the airport, which is always a really nice gesture, since doing so means that she has to leave for work about an hour & a half early. The best part of the trip was that Chele, Jules, and I were all flying Southwest to Seattle. Although Chele started her trip in...BosMantonchester (I can't remember which) and Jules flew out of Detroit, Chicago is the hub for Southwest, so both of them had to switch planes at Midway, and we all had the same flight to Seattle. I got to greet both of them as their planes arrived, because I was early and hyper and excited and sleep-deprived, and it seemed like the right thing to do. We got seats in the same area of the plane, but not together, but the plane was still fun, once we realized that everyone around us was also going to the Olympics, and we all started talking about it.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/2010-0218-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Chele, Me, & Jules in Seattle" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div>In Seattle, we picked up our rental car & started driving north. With an essential stop at the Bellingham Target for sustenance for the trip, we were soon crossing the border and exclaiming to the customs official that yep, we were going TO THE OLYMPICS.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, Christina and Jen had already arrived at the Vancouver airport. They left their bags there and headed downtown. Since we were going to have to come back there for their bags anyway, we parked at YVR and headed downtown via the train as well. When we finally met up with them downtown, near BC Place, there was much jumping and squealing and group hugging and self-portraiting, of course. It still hardly seemed real.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/2010-0218-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Self-Po 1" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/2010-0218-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Self-Po 2" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div>But things got very real and very Olympic very quickly. While we were eating at Moxie's, the CAN-SUI hockey game was in overtime, and then it went into a shootout, and the whole restaurant was hanging over railings and staircases, watching the TVs in the bar, which was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. When Canada finally won, the place went nuts. Some guy appeared with an enormous Canadian flag on a pole and paraded up and down the stairs several times. We all sang "O Canada." Grown men cried. I cried, but that's nothing new. And it was still the qualification rounds! </div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2010-0218.jpg" border="0" alt="Moxie's after CAN pulled out the win!" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div>After some shopping, we were wandering the streets, dressed head-to-toe in Canada gear when a drunk Swiss guy hit on Christina. An encounter like that would have normally crept me out, but this was the Olympics! Everything seemed other-worldly. The Olympics was a place where it was normal to dress up like nationalistic crazies, run screaming through the streets, and have drunk guys try to pick you up. It was another realm, functioning with its own set of rules. Shopping at midnight in a department store? Totally normal. Buildings wrapped in giant flags? Yes please! Getting up before 4am to go to the rink to watch practice? Not only typical, but something to get excited about!</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/Hoyt-2010-0218-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Building wrapped in a giant flag" /></center></div><div><br /></div><div>For years, I'd watched the Olympics on TV and wondered what it would be like to be there in person. We all had. The funny thing was that even though I'd thought about it for years, it still felt like a huge surprise. I really didn't know what to expect, and every turn was something new and exciting. Somehow, the Olympics were everything I'd dreamt about and at the same time, nothing like I'd imagined. I knew I never wanted to leave, and the real highlight was still a few days away.</div><div><br /></div><div>To be continued...!</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-88478308507417873332011-01-11T10:47:00.000-08:002011-01-11T13:12:22.133-08:00nyahhh30 Days of Skating<div><br /></div><div>Day 15: What is your favourite men's professional/show program?</div><div><br /></div><div>I skipped over pro/show programs when I wrote about my favourite programs in earlier blog posts, because I had some questions that I wanted to change later. Question #15 was about predicting medalists for Sochi, which I find pointless when we haven't even hit 2011 Worlds, so time for a switcharoo.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a fairly easy time with the men's discipline for this question, because one program stands out above the rest for me. It's one I've never seen live, though would go to fairly great lengths to see it if the opportunity ever came up.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1zOoV9QsjRQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1zOoV9QsjRQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The skater is Kurt Browning, the music is "Nyah" from the <i>Mission Impossible: 2 </i>soundtrack, the year was 2001, and the result is just unbelievable. Very few skaters can command the attention of an audience like this, but Kurt can, so for him to try something like this wasn't an immediate plan for failure. But still, it was a risk for a pro like Kurt to try a program like this that focuses on subtle movements and musical interpretation, with no jumps or big tricks. He completely pulled it off, though. I think it's still one of the greatest pieces of skating choreography. And since he's been so into bringing programs back lately, I'm cautiously hopeful that I will someday have the chance to see "Nyah" performed live. If I don't have chills from the very beginning, I know I would when the music stops and only the clapping from the crowd provides the soundtrack to the end of the piece. Brilliant.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Honourable Mentions:</b></div><div><b>Paul Wylie's <i>Apollo 13</i></b> - a classic</div><div><b>Kurt Browning's "Serenade to Sonia"</b> - another classic, and my other favourite program by him</div><div><b>Jeff Buttle's "Eclogue"</b> - meant to be his competitive free skate in 2008-09, he revamped it for Stars on Ice when he decided to retire</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I am likely forgetting things so I may edit in some more honourable mentions later, but I mainly wanted to write about how much I love "Nyah."</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-1898396040255783352011-01-10T08:31:00.000-08:002011-01-10T11:36:32.717-08:00favourites of the favourites30 Days of Skating<div><br /></div><div><b>Day 14: Who are your five favourite ice dance teams?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It's no secret that ice dance has become my favourite discipline over the last six years. So many dancers have inspired me and challenged me as a photographer since the first time I clicked my shutter at the 2007 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships. But I'll try to stick to teams that have already completed their competitive careers, with one exception, I guess.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1: Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe</b></div><div>Especially towards the end of their competitive career, I would have rather watched them skate than anyone else, so I guess I have to put them at number one. I found them to be so musical and so versatile, and their programs were always so accessible and charming. And they were so consistent. Perhaps they didn't have the most difficult programs in the field, but they always showed up prepared and skated confidently, which goes a long way with me. They were a big part of the reason why I jumped ship and became a dance fan, why I skipped other events at Nationals to watch dance practices, why I got hooked on the discipline. And in the beginning, when I was fangirly and awkward, they were always so gracious and kind, always had time for a chat and a photo. Somewhere along the way, a transition took place and we became friends. I still have an incredible respect for them, not only as skaters (though I still say they were really underrated), but also as people. They're coaching now, and just four years into that endeavour, their dancers rank among the best in Canada at every level. I think they've surprised a lot of people, but not me. I've always seen the greatness in them.<br /><br /><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/sadfaceswithmegron.jpg" border="0" alt="With Megan & Aaron" /></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I'd almost forgotten about this: sad faces with Megan & Aaron, just before they vacated the central part of the continent for Vancouver<br /></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>2: Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon</b></div><div>I started paying attention to MF&P around the same time that I started paying attention to Megan & Aaron—during the 2002-2003 season. But while I liked them during the years between '02 and '05, it wasn't until fall 2005 that I really latched on to them. It was, of course, "Somewhere in Time" that turned me from a moderate supporter to a superfan. My feelings on SiT have been <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2010/12/ladies-programs-i-love.html">documented on this blog</a> already, so I won't rehash, except to that that the 2005-2006 season was the turning point for me. At the end of all of that, and the heart attack I nearly suffered waiting for the free dance at Worlds, they began notching up the list of my favourites. In those days, I found them equally glamorous and terrifying. It took me 3 years to track them down at an event and work up the nerve to talk to them. But in the past couple of seasons, they've become two of my favourite subjects to photograph—every program is a hit parade of gorgeous moments—and two of my favourite people to catch up with at events, as well. It turns out that, once you get to know them, they're actually kind of hilarious and quite charming.<br /><br /><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/withmffp.jpg" border="0" alt="With MF&P" /></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Circling up with MF&P for the usual self-po, October 2010<br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>3: Tracy Wilson & Rob McCall</b></div><div>I can't watch their programs without a giant smile on my face. In my eyes, they were one of the perfect teams—so well-balanced in having different strengths, but working together so well. And I think Tracy Wilson is a dance goddess, basically. I hadn't even started watching skating yet when Rob passed away, so everything I know about them has been thanks to the wonders of internet video sharing. Perhaps it tainted my opinion a bit because I already held them on such a pedestal, but heavenly days, how I love watching their old programs. And I don't think you'll ever convince me that they didn't deserve to win in 1988.<br /><br /><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/withtdub.jpg" border="0" alt="With T-Dub" /></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I finally got to meet Tracy Wilson at the Olympic free dance!<br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;">4: Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz</div><div>When I was little, Shae & Vic were one of the only dance teams I could stand to watch. I thought she was so pretty and I liked their happy programs a lot more than all the other boring stuff in ice dance. I didn't understand why they didn't win everything. Of course, the years have given me perspective and more of an understanding of ice dance, but Shae & Vic still rank among my favourites. Some of their programs, especially when they were trying to fit in to get better results, are real doozies, but overall, the gems outweigh the doozies. And I'm forever grateful to them for keeping my attention when I was young and giving me a bit of early exposure to the discipline I would eventually grow to love. I still love watching Shae, who is one of the sweetest and most gracious people I have gotten to know through skating. She was the first world champion I ever interviewed, and even though I was shaking the whole time, she was patient and far more articulate than I was!<br /><br /><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0321-5.jpg" border="0" alt="With Shae" /></center><br />Chele, me, and Jen with Shae, spring 2010<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5: Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir</span><br />Ah, the exception to the rule, the one team on my list that hasn't finished their competitive career. I decided I could include them, now that they're Olympic champions and I'm confident that they'll always have a special place in my heart. I knew they had something special when I first saw them as juniors, and I knew they were destined for great things when they burst onto the senior international scene so emphatically in 2006. And then their rise to the top of the world was so meteoric that it even caught me by surprise. I hope that if they're really going to continue to compete (I won't be convinced until they actually take the ice and skate a program during a competition!), that they will start to push the envelope a bit more and develop other facets of their presentation. I'm fiercely proud of them and I adore them, but I think they can do a lot more and I'd like to see that happen. We will see, I guess!<br /><br /><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/uswithtesscottandlesley.jpg" border="0" alt="With Tessa & Scott" /></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Jen, Jules, me, and Christina with Scott, Lesley Hawker, and Tessa in February 2007.<br /></div><br />I just realized that all of these picks are Canadian. I guess it's fitting. I fell in love with dance in Canada and continue to watch dance most often in Canada, all the way down to the juvenile level. But I also feel like I should point out that my previous #5, recently usurped by Tessa & Scott, were not Canadians. Just to try to prove that I do have a bit of perspective.<br /></div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-57098928237066656852011-01-08T18:34:00.000-08:002011-01-08T19:33:57.312-08:00five pairs30 Days of Skating<div><br /></div><div><b>Day 13: Who are your five favourite pair teams?</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>1: Jamie Salé & David Pelletier</b></div><div>Easy first answer. I think I can still recite their entire competitive record from memory. Not that it's super long. It's staggering to think that they accomplished so much in four years...and really, it was that first year and a half when they made the biggest leap. After '99 Skate America, it was a matter of progressing from really good to fantastic. I still know most of those competitive programs by heart. And for the first couple of years after they turned professional, they were still the most magical team in the world to me. For a lot of reasons (and this happened long before they separated, it isn't because of that), they started to kind of fade from my fangirly heart, but I think I will always consider them the greatest pairs team ever. I don't think I'll ever adore anyone quite like I adored them in the height of my fandom. And to them, I owe countless wonderful memories and the start of some of the most important friendships in my life. Being there, with everyone, when they were inducted in the Skate Canada Hall of Fame is a memory I treasure. And <a href="http://melaniehoyt.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-favourite-pairs-program.html">like I said before</a>, "Tristan und Isolde" always, always gets me.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2008-04/090.jpg" border="0" alt="Salé & Pelletier in 2008" /></center></div><div><center>Salé & Pelletier on Stars on Ice in 2008</center></div><div><br /></div><div><b>2: Valérie Marcoux & Craig Buntin</b></div><div>In the fall of 2003, the whole idea of "live streaming" was so foreign to me. But at some event in Europe that fall, a link to a live video of the competition got circulated. And one Saturday morning, before I went to work at the video store, I was squinting at Windows Media Player, watching a fuzzy video of Val & Craig's free skate. And I realized that Val & Craig had made it past the awkward first year and were getting fairly good. And then they went and won nationals.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two weeks after that victory, Four Continents were in Hamilton, and it was my first international competition. Christina had indoctrinated us upon arrival at her house; we showed up at the rink already planning to cheer heartily for Val & Craig. Once I saw their "Caravan" short, I was all in, inscribing with bingo dabbers on a hot pink posterboard our wishes: "Allez Val et Craig!" For the next few years, they were one of the dearest competitors to my heart. We saw them as often as we could, even at summer events, and we cheered until we were hoarse. I'm still heartbroken that things didn't work out for them together, still disappointed that, in my opinion, they never got the credit they deserved for the parts of their skating that were so solid. But I'll always have a place in my heart for them—for them and all of their sassy short programs, especially.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/meandmarbun.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Marbun" /></center></div><div style="text-align: center;">With Val & Craig, January 2006</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>3: Utako Wakamatsu & Jean-Sébastien Fecteau</b></div><div>Of all skaters, ever, that I have liked, I think I have carried the most outright bias for this one. I adored them—and told other people how good they were—before I had ever seen them. Before anyone had ever seen them, really, besides a few people at Québec Sectionals, I guess. I became friends with Jules during their first season together, when they had to sit out of Canadians because she was injured. When I met him in summer 2003, I was already in the fan club. I still hadn't ever seen them skate when I was frantically refreshing results from Nebelhorn and Finlandia, then calling Jules at work to relay them. When they got the Skate America assignment, I was so thrilled, not only for them, but also for me, because I was finally going to have a chance to see them skate! And then they went and made the Monday night ESPN broadcast of the short program, and I was at a college that didn't support the idea of cable in dorm rooms. So I staked out the basement lounge for a couple of hours before the broadcast, and got half the girls on my floor interested in it, too. I was so relieved when they were actually kind of awesome.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even if they hadn't been, I still would have supported them, but it was easier that I ended up adoring them. Pairs kind of died for me in 2007, when they retired and Val & Craig split. My heart broke; maybe it still is. Although I can recognize when pairs teams are good and there are a few that I like, it's been almost 4 years since I've really had a favourite pair.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/meandwakafect.jpg" border="0" alt="Me with Wakafect" /></center></div><div style="text-align: center;">With Utako & Jean-Seb, August 2005</div><div><br /></div><div><b>4: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov</b></div><div>I feel like it's nearly impossible not to include this pair, at least for someone in my generation. I was a little girl who was swept up in the magic of what they put on the ice, who thought they were the closest thing to perfect. I cried my eyes out when it was on the news that he'd died. There's such a pure quality about their skating, something that keeps them on a pedestal, unmatched by others. They always made me feel like I could fly.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5: Jenni Meno & Todd Sand</b></div><div>My other nostalgic favourite. I was caught up in their story, too—how they fell in love in Albertville at the Olympics and decided to start skating together. I loved their pretty, pretty programs and their gooey romantics. A lot of people dismiss them for being boring and bland, but I was a kid without much of an attention span the first time that I saw them, and they always captivated me. Even going back as a better educated skating fan now, there's a lot of good in their skating—lines, presentation, choreography. So what if they weren't really fans of triples? It certainly didn't matter to me then; to me, they were the best in the world in '96 especially, and they'll always have a place in my heart.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-62135342313922738142011-01-03T18:44:00.000-08:002011-01-03T19:33:09.105-08:00five girls30 Days of Skating<div><br /></div><div><b>Day 12: Who are your five favourite ladies figure skaters?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, this hasn't really been much a daily effort lately, but I'm trying! My wrists and eyes certainly appreciate the break from my laptop during New Year's weekend, and here's hoping for a fantastic 2011! And now, onto the ladies.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1: Josée Chouinard</b></div><div>Even when I was just a little girl, Josée's charm always captivated me. I was just getting into skating at the end of her competitive career, and while I loved her then, I don't think she really became my absolute favourite until the 1994-95 season, when she skated as a professional for a year before returning to competition for 95-96. Without the pressure of competition, Josée absolutely shone on the pro circuit, and I would have watched her skate her <i>American in Paris</i> program a hundred times in a row, if my mother would have put up with it. And a couple of years later, I probably <i>did</i> watch "The Sweater" a hundred times in a row. I always wanted to see her skate live, but by the time I was in college and attended my first Stars on Ice shows in 2003, she really wasn't skating much at all, so I'd just about given up hope.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then came the announcement for Dreams on Ice, conveniently located in Windsor, slated for Fall 2003. I was planning on moving back to Chicago for school, and my new skating fan friend lived in Michigan. It was perfect. Even better—VIP tickets included passes to the reception and a chance to meet the skaters. So in September 2003, I finally got to see Josée skate, and an hour later, I was standing in front of her, knees shaking, and when I said something completely stupid, like how I'd been wanting to see her skate for 9 years, she was so sweet and gracious.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/meandjos.jpg" border="0" alt="Me and Jos" /></div><div>Meeting Josée in 2003</center></div><div><br /></div><div><b>2: Joannie Rochette</b></div><div>Jo is also a sentimental favourite, on quite a few levels for me. For as long as I've been going to skating events in Canada, I've been cheering for Jo. I was a fan even before I ever saw her skate, just because my friends knew her. I met Jo at a concert my friend Lori gave in Montréal in August 2003, five months before I ever saw Jo skate live. While I always wanted her to do well, it ultimately didn't matter to me whether she skated cleanly or not—I was always going to support her, no matter what.</div><div><br /></div><div>And while my whole group of friends knew that she was capable of capturing at incredible moment at her home Olympics this year, we never could have anticipated what actually transpired. The grace, perseverance, and passion that she showed during the Olympics and since the Games ended have simply been consistent with the girl that I have always wanted great things for. I can't say enough wonderful things about her character, and I haven't even made it to her skating yet! Well, I guess that speaks for itself.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2011/jo2003.jpg" border="0" alt="Jo Concert 2003" /></div><div>The group of us at Lori's concert in 2003</center></div><div><br /></div><div><b>3: Kristi Yamaguchi</b></div><div>I was a seven-year-old American girl who'd just fallen in love with figure skating when Kristi Yamaguchi won Olympic gold. Of course she's on my top five list. When I was seven, I wanted nothing more than to be her. I wanted her voluminous ponytail and poofy bangs and pretty dresses and fantastic talent and gold medal. I wanted my face on the Wheaties box that I convinced my mom to buy for me, even though she knew I never finished a box of cereal. I wanted desperately to see her skate when Stars on Ice came to town, but it wasn't in the budget for my family then. So, much like Josée, I felt like I might have missed my chance with her. And I almost did, but I snuck out of the country and went to Isabelle & Lloyd's farewell show in 2004. When my mother found out, she nearly disowned me. I think she was going to, but my fiancé broke up with me right after she found out, and I think she felt a little bit bad for me. But it was worth it, to see my seven-year-old hero, still able to completely captivate me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also like Josée, it was Kristi's professional career that really endeared her to me. For some reason, I often remember seeing "Doop Doop" for the first time on TV, lying on my parents' bed while they watched something boring in the living room. It's funny how certain performances, though only viewed on a TV, are such happy moments from my childhood.</div><div><br /></div><div>I finally met Kristi last year, at Thin Ice in Connecticut. I'd had the opportunity a couple of times before, but she's one of the few people that I've literally frozen in front of.</div><div><br /></div><div><center><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/discolights444/2010/Hoyt-2010-0319-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Meeting Kristi in 2010" /></div><div>Proof that I got over my stage fright and met Kristi!</center></div><div><br /></div><div><b>4: Michelle Kwan</b></div><div>Though Kristi and Josée were my first loves in figure skating, Michelle was the one that I grew up with. I remember her first Nationals, how young she was, how much I wanted to be like her. And every year after, I was in front of my TV for Nationals again—captivated in '96, heartbroken in '97, overwhelmed with emotions in '98. Even in the years after Nagano, when high school took over and I didn't watch nearly as much skating anymore, I still kept tabs on Michelle, checking in on an old fansite, happening to catch Nationals or Worlds performances, at least most of the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the years after Salt Lake, it got hard to be a fan. I started following the sport more closely, and it was maddening that it never seemed like her heart was all the way in the sport anymore. She didn't learn the Code of Points properly, always seemed to be bouncing between coaches, and it seemed like she withdrew from events more often than she skated in them. During that time, I was going to Canadian events anyway, so I kind of lost interest. Plus, she had some really creepy fans, I never wanted to be associated with that.</div><div><br /></div><div>But looking back, it's impossible to say that overall, she's not still one of my favourites. One of the most consistent, genuine performers of her era, and also one of the most decorated. My uncle, who watches skating occasionally but is far from a close follower of it, was watching the Tribute to American Skating, or whatever it was called, on Christmas with me. When they mentioned Michelle, he said something about how it was too bad she never won an Olympic medal. I was quick to defend her: "She won two!!" Of course I didn't fault him for not remembering her credentials properly, but it's too bad that the general American public remembers Michelle as "the one who never won," when really, she won so much.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't have any photos of Michelle that I can post. Sadly, I've never met her, nor have I ever even seen her skate live. So unless I dug out my poster of her from Sports Illustrated for Kids, circa 1993, and took a photo of that, I don't actually own any photos of Miss Kwan.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I don't think I'm going to pick a fifth. There are, of course, many other female skaters that I admire, but none who are on the same level as Josée, Jo, Kristi, and Michelle.</div>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432284342880940489.post-60877051016531069782010-12-31T17:09:00.000-08:002010-12-31T17:35:22.936-08:00five guys<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">30 Days of Skating</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">I'll edit in some photos later, if I get an internet signal again in Detroit. I'm currently on a train leaving Chicago, and I have mobile 4G for my computer, but the signal will probably die shortly.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Day 11: Who are your five favourite men’s skaters?</b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">In the almost 20 years that I’ve been watching skating, men’s has probably been my least favourite discipline overall. So narrowing my favourites down to five is probably easier than it is in other disciplines.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>1: Stéphane Lambiel</b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Lambiel is definitely my favourite guy, ever. I saw him first during 2003 Worlds, when he was completely brilliant. I guess Europeans expected great things from him, but this was before I got really good at following all skating and I mainly stuck to what the American networks showed, plus the Canadians that my friends told me to watch. So I was pretty much blown away by the spinning Swiss. Over the next seven years of his career, he continued to amaze me. He was always such a gorgeous skater, even when the jumps weren't there, but when the jumps were, I think he was one of the best in skating, ever.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">I finally got to see him skate live at Thin Ice, a pro competition last spring. I also got to meet him, and the 18-year-old fangirl inside me that first saw in 2003 had a little meltdown. On the outside, though, I managed to play it cool, even when I ended up sitting next to him at dinner that night.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><b>2: Kurt Browning</b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">Speaking of being among the best in skating, ever, I don't think I can say enough about Kurto. I grew up watching him, back when pro skating was on the major networks almost every weekend in the winter, and he was churning out classics like "Brickhouse," "Serenade to Sonia," and "That's Entertainment." I saw "Brickhouse" live when he brought it back for Battle last year, "That's Entertainment" when he brought it back for Stars on Ice this year...seriously, who do I have to talk to to get him to bring back "Serenade to Sonia" so my childhood can be complete?!</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">Kurto was at the first show that I saw live, Stars on Ice in 2003, and he's been at a ton of shows and events that I've seen since. One thing never changes—his ability to hold a crowd, especially a Canadian one, in the palm of his hand.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><b>3: Paul Wylie</b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">P-Dub may not have been one of the best competitors in skating history, but I certainly think that during those times when he was on, he was one of the greats. He was definitely one of the greatest artists that men's skating has ever seen. I wrote a few posts back about his free skate in Albertville, so I won't repeat myself too much, but oh my goodness. It's always going to be one of those programs that has stuck with me. And then he really shone in his pro years, too, with classics like <i>Apollo 13</i>. By the time I started going to skating events in 03, he'd already retired, but then my life was kind of made when he made a comeback in 2004 and rejoined Stars on Ice for some guest spots. The closest show to me where he was scheduled to skate was Cincinnati, and guess what, I have a friend there. I can't remember the details, but some sort of car chaos (maybe the tires?) nearly stopped me from going and I think my mom wanted to disown me (she went through this phase where she thought that skating, and me going to skating events, was synonymous with me being addicted to heroine), but in the end, I made it. And P-Dub skated to Enrique Iglesias. But I forgave him. I've never met him, though, and he's one of the people in skating that I would most like to meet. I'm not sure what I would say, so I'd also hope that I'd have time to prepare something.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">Coincidentally, I'm wearing a Harvard sweatshirt right now. Most of the reason why I've spent most of my life fascinated with Harvard is because P-Dub went there.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><b>4: Ryan Bradley</b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">A sentimental favourite. No, I don't think he generally belongs on the same level as Lambiel, Browning, and Wylie. But he is really, really entertaining, and I fell in love with him when I was 15 and he skated to the "William Tell Overture" in a ridiculous get-up. He's my age, or at least really close to it, so it seemed like a natural thing to do to fall in love with the boy with the adorable smile who was on a team with Michelle Kwan at some cheesefest that I happened to catch on TV. Unfortunately, it took him a long time after that to have a breakthrough in skating, and he gave me a heart attack when he quit for a little while in there, but him winning the silver medal at Nationals in 2007 was such a moment for me. For him too, I'm sure. I was heartbroken for him last year at Nationals, when his best still wasn't quite enough to make the Olympic team, so I am beyond thrilled that he's planning on skating at Nationals this year, and I'm really happy for him, that he's been doing so well on the show circuit. From what I hear, he's also turned into a really classy guy.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><b>5: Jeremy Abbott</b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;">I was down to Jabbott or PChid for this one, and I went with Jabbott because on their best days, I think a clean Jabbott is better than a clean PChid. (On a less-than-perfect day, though, I'll take PChid.) The Abbott that won his second national title last year made me believe he was more than capable of being on the Olympic podium. Frankly, I hope that still happens, because when he's on, he has something that so few male skaters have. And I can watch last year's short ("A Day in the Life"), like, 85 times in a row without getting sick of it, even just the part when he hits that last spin to the music.</span></p>Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830131132675584259noreply@blogger.com3