WSSF 2010: Day 8

It seems that I got a bit behind in my blog posts, but then it’s hard to get internet while up in Whistler without paying a crazy premium for it. Granted, Keith would allow me to use his Rogers Internet Stick (which works well) but most of the time I just didn’t have much time to write posts. So far the cheapest hotel wireless internet I have seen (and used) was that at the Whistler Inn and Suites. I got good speeds (both up and down) and it would only cost $5 per day. Blackcomb Lodge (where Keith was staying) charged almost $10 per day! I have also heard in other hotels the costs only go up. I could have gone to one of the 3 local Starbucks and used my 2-hour free wireless internet time there I suppose, but majority of the time the Starbucks locations were pretty busy with coffee goers.

I was looking forward to Day 8 of the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival, primarily because it was when the Grenade Games were having their half-pipe competition. Unfortunately this year, they left much to be desired. Chatting with the various riders and people in the crowd, at lot of the competitors were still hung-over from the night before. There wasn’t as much organization like that of the WSI half-pipe event, but then snowboarding follows it’s own tune right? I did enjoy the majority of it though, but I knew it could have been bigger and better.

This guy (I think this was him) received $500 for being the first to hit up the hitching post. That is the cooler thing about the Grenade Games, they like to toss in props and objects to bring the skill level up a notch.

There was about 3 guys who were able to get any decent height on the 22-foot Superpipe that was constructed on Blackcomb. Though over the course of the following days I kept hearing how people, overall, were disappointed with the Grenade Games 6 Superpipe event. The other thing I would like to note, is that if you’re not buddies with any of the riders, or don’t know who is wearing what, it makes it really hard to write about them. The WSI participants at least wore bibs in which I could look back over the rider list and put a name to a skier. I guess Grenade Games is just a wee bit less informal and more about riding for fun, which is too bad, I would of liked to put names to the riders in my photos.People kept asking if the event started and no one (not even the riders) could tell you the correct answer either. When they announced people on the pipe it was not easy to figure out, as typically there was 2 to 3 riders at any given time. Oh well, I always enjoy watching riders strut their stuff, even if most of them seem to be hung-over from the night before.

Schick Fashion EXPOSED

Now some of you might remember the photos from last year’s Schick Fashion EXPOSED event. Well a lot of people seem to remember the top-less, body-painted girls who carried the signs above their heads before the show started. It was also Westbeach’s 30th anniversary, so that might be why it was longer than this year’s fashion show.

This year the stage was different (which seems to be the case each year). The models came out center back to smaller platform, and then proceeded around the live band. I picked a corner and hunkered down. Last year I borrowed my buddy’s 18-55m f/2.8 lens but this year I used my 17-40mm f/4L. I found that I couldn’t work my flash properly enough to use it and relied on my Canon 7D’s ISO capabilities and hopefully shooting above 1/100th for shutter speed. Anyway, I’m not entirely happy with my results, but I tried for some different compositions. I wish I could work the kinks out of my Sigma EF-530 DG Super flash unit.

Come to think of it, I’m actually pretty disappointed in my choice of shooting location and the not using my flash. Oh well, it was an experience though that I can hopefully learn from. The colour cast from the various spot lights they were using were horrible to work with and I won’t spend much time editing these photos. When it comes down to it, I’m still shy taking people photos unless they are sports related. I need to learn how to use my flash properly. The manual is pretty lame in regards to what buttons do what and for what settings I need the camera to be in. I guess I just need WAY more practice!

That was it for the day 8 events for me. Keith and I headed over to the Savage Beagle for the VIP after-party, but within 5 minutes upon getting inside, I wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep as the following day was going to be a bit busier for me.

You can check out my Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival collection for more photos of mine at Flickr. I’m still in the process of looking though the few thousands of photos I took in the 6 or 7 days I was up in Whistler.