For the first time since I was in the Navy, I spent more time "on the road" than I did at home. The last time that happened, I was deployed aboard the USS Princeton (CG 59) doing anti-drug ops off the coasts of Central and South America. That was 1997.
My first trip saw me in Alberta; Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Canmore, specifically. It was a good trip that I chronicled in a previous entry.
After that ten day trip, I came home. For a whopping four days. After that, it was off to Toronto for eight days. That trip was for a trade show, and it was a pretty damn good time.
I tried to take more pictures in Toronto than I usually do. Toronto's one of those cities which, after a couple of visits, you just don't figure there's much to take pictures of anymore. While that's true, I thinki, to an extent, I did try to take photos on this trip. Truth be told, there are portions of Toronto which are pretty visually striking. Why not shoot them?
While I didn't take a ton of pictures, I did manage to get a couple here and there. The weather was absolutely lousy, so that kinda' put a damper on things and, when it wasn't raining, I was busy walking from Point A to Point B, in a hurry, so I could avoid the impending rain.
Without a doubt, the most obvious subject of photos in Toronto is the CN Tower. It's big. It's really big. AT one time it was, at 1,815 feet, the tallest free standing structure on the planet. The elevator up to the observation deck, of course, is an exterior glass elevator. Needless to say, this probably isn't the best place for an acrophobic.
But it's still cool, and I didn't hesitate to jump on the elevator and head to "360", which is the revolving restaurant which sits just atop the observation deck. It's in the Guiness Book Of World Records as the worlds highest revolving restaurant, and also for having the world's highest wine cellar.
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| Sitting in "360" in the CN Tower. |
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| The CN Tower as seen from the base. |
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| The view from the Observation Deck of the CN Tower. |
After a week in Toronto, it was time to head back to San Diego. I'd had a lot of "road time", and was looking forward to a little bit of down time.
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| Aisle seat... Just how I like it. |
Once back in San Diego, I had to get ready for a concert shoot; the Barenaked Ladies. I've gotten to know them a bit over the years, and it's always a fun shoot. They were playig at Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay in San Diego, which is a great outdoor venue right on San Diego Bay. I spent the better part of the day with them, and I was given unfettered access to shoot that night. The last time that happened was with Styx back in 2007. Normally, you get to shoot the first three songs and that's it. BNL allowed me to shoot all night, and from anywhere I wanted.
The first three shots were taken from the front of the stage, but I spent a good deal of time on the stage wings, as well. That's just something that doesn't happen.
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| Ed Robertson and Jim Creeggan |
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| Kevin Hearn and Ed Robertson |
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| Jim Creeggan, looking out on the crowd. |
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| Me with Ed Robertson, backstage at Humphrey's. |
They're one of my favorite acts to shoot (I've shot them three times now), and they're a great bunch of people; everyone in their organization is.
So, now I'll enjoy short week before heading out again. Tomorrow's Memorial Day, so no work on Monday. Thursday afternoon I leave for Dallas, Texas. I'll drive to Austin on Friday to do a two-day album cover shoot for a Houston-based guitarist named Jeff Pritchett. This will be my first "dedicated" album shoot, and I'm looking forward to it.
And, who knows? Maybe, at some point, I'll get a chance to do, I dunno', nothing for a while...
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