The Right Place at the Right Time

I don't know who she is, or why she climbed that tree, right then, in a dress.
But this lighting and this moment were made to be photographed.

The Atlantic From the Shore

Inspired by a friend who said he'd never seen the Atlantic Ocean from the shore...

Crystal Crescent Beach,
Nova Scotia, Canada.

Victoria Park, Truro

Nova Scotia is a province of about 940,000 people. Of those, approximately 373,000 live in the city of Halifax alone. The rest are spread over a smaller city, towns, and rural areas, with pockets here and there that somewhat resemble an urban life. There are plenty of places to go to escape the big city for a day or a weekend, and in May, that's exactly what we did.

Welcome to Truro.

More specifically, welcome to Victoria Park.

 This one originally made me think of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." More fittingly, perhaps, for a weekend away, a quote from Alice in Wonderland:

“Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.”

Nancy and Jonathan, and baby makes three.

Nancy and Jonathan are becoming a little blog-famous, and rightfully so! You've seen a day in the park here, their engagement here, their wedding here, and now, when baby makes three, here's one more for the road!

First, we warmed up with some couple shots of the happy parents-to-be.

Always the fashionista, Nancy brought along a few wardrobe changes. Never, EVER, underestimate the power of a wardrobe change!

Fun props have also never hurt a good photoshoot!

Nor have some different shooting angles.

Everyone says it every time, but really, these two are going to make fantastic parents, and maybe I'll get a chance to set my lenses on what's guaranteed to be one seriously photogenic baby!

Grant's Pass, Oregon (Part I)

By March, I was in dire need of an adventure. Local missions had been panning out well, but I needed something that would satiate more than just my shutter finger, and my need for company and fresh air. So, on the 22nd of March, I spent two thirds of the day crossing the continent to the west coast. 

Destination: Grant's Pass, Oregon, USA.

 (artist's rendition: travel may not have been exactly as it appears)

I was picked up at the airport by my friend James, and given my first etiquette lesson of the trip. "It's the 'bathroom', not the 'washroom': you're in Americaland now."

America: 1, Canada: 0 
 

With that covered, we drove the 45 minutes or so to Grant's Pass and promptly, at my behest, he delivered us to a phenomenal little dive bar called Wonder Bur. It turns out this place is known for its strong drinks and boy, do they deliver. The bartender, upon learning that I was Canadian, not only let me leave with a shotglass souvenir, but didn't charge me for having it filled.

America: 1, Canada: 1
 

As the bar was closing, I tipped him a loonie and we were on our way.

My first day in Grant's Pass was surreal to say the least. This place is extraordinarily beautiful: I woke up to the sound of Canada geese on the Rogue River, and the stunning sight that is the Caveman Bridge first thing in the morning.

It was early, but I wasn't wasting any time. so I packed up my camera gear and went for a walk.

Crossing the bridge

and it's just as beautiful from the other side!

 

Riverside Park:

Looking left...                                                  ...and looking right.

It was about this time that James came to find me.

"What do you want to do today?"
"Can we go see that waterfall you showed me pictures of?"
"Yup, but first we need to make a stop."

Waterfall on the side of a mountain? Check.

I hadn't even asked what the stop on the way was for. It didn't matter. I'd trust this guy with my life, and it's a good thing, because it turned out I kind of had to. We drove all the way to the top of the mountain, and he takes out this:

Scared? Not even a little bit.
Until he told me I was going to shoot it.

I had never even held a gun in my life. I was a little terrified of the darn thing.
But James is army-trained and meticulous about gun safety. He showed me how to stand, how to hold it, how NOT to hold it, and where all the movable parts and safeties were. Then, when he felt I'd be okay, he stood back behind me and told me to put my finger on the trigger.

Yup, that happened.
Not only did that happen, but upon closer inspection, I discovered THIS happened:

 Check that out: you can see the bullet casing coming out of the gun in the picture. "It's because I'm awesome," James informed me.

America: 2, Canada: 1

Not one to be out-awesome'd, I immediately inspected the pictures I had taken of him.

 

 Mmhmm. Tie game.
 

America: 2, Canada: 2

 A little side trip to the very end of the road yielded an amazing view of Grant's Pass, and showed me just how high up we actually were.

Eventually, our bellies got the best of us and we went back to the truck and headed down for some food.

On the way, there might have been a bit of mud.

On purpose.
Like... the go-out-of-our-way-to-hit-it kind of on purpose.

"So what do you want to eat?"
"I don't know. Something not too heavy. Maybe just a burger or something?"

It's called the Oklahoma burger and it's from Joe's Sports Bar & Grill. I ate the onion rings out of it and maybe a third of the burger itself. It was phenomenal, but there was no way I was managing to eat all of that.

Seriously.
 

America: 3, Canada: 2

I spent the rest of the day being integrated into American society. I learned about LARPers, tweakers, and disc golf. I discovered that iced tea in America is actually iced tea, not the lemony sweetness that is assumed in Canada. Applebee's tastes different, loonies and twoonies are a thing of wonder, and the People of WalMart website is not necessarily an exaggeration.

And I learned that my body adjusts to four-hour time differences really really well...