Things Worth Celebrating

Back in March, I went to Whistler with the Para Nordic Cross Country Skiing is Believing program to do some photography. My friend Andrea had asked me to come do some photography for them to provide to their funders. There was also the possibly some of the photos being published in a BC XC ski magazine. I was more than happy to support this amazing program. (Which, if you missed it, I posted about here.) 

I now have copies of the magazine! This is it:

It's distributed BC wide.

Two of my photographs appear with an article that talks about the program. One is at the top with the header (two sit skiers racing) and the other is the second down on the right. (A group of sit skiers practicing what to do if they should tip over.)

Here's my photo credit! I am really chuffed about this because it's the first time my photos have been published outside of artistic publications. I am still not quite comfortable labelling myself as a photographer-I am not technical about it at all. I shoot and edit with what feels right to my artistic eye, but I can't for the life of me tell you what a f-stop is, nor do I care. All I know is that I enjoy shooting and editing and I really loved the opportunity to have this experience.

Speaking of Andrea, last Tuesday, I went out to UBC with my friend Courtney to support Andrea as she defended her thesis, which was her work on AthletesFirst. Andrea did an fantastic job staying cool under pressure. I think the Doctors who were hearing her defence were very impressed with her as well because in the end, she was granted her Doctor of Philosophy degree! We are all *SO* proud of her!

This was the final slide of Andrea's presentation. Recognize anyone? It was sweet of her to include this photo. (I guest blogged for AthletesFirst at one point, which is why I was included in the presentation.) Another lovely thing about attending Andrea's defence was that I finally got to meet Josh Vander Vies and Meyrick Jones. Both great guys-Josh is super smart and Meyrick is really funny.

Soon Andrea will be off to the UK to do some post-doctorate work. Congratulations Dr. Andrea!!

Measuring the Impact

Sumi, the Vancouver 2010 

Paralympic Mascot

I have some big news to share: I was invited by Andrea Bundon to guest blog over at AthletesFirst.ca this week. Athletes First is part of Andrea's graduate student research project at the University of British Columbia.

In her own words, "The project explores how the internet can be used by people who share a comment interest (which in this case is disability sport) to discuss topics of concern to them."

I've been following Athletes First for some time now, on the recommendation of Josh Vander Vies, a Paralympian who competes for Canada in Boccia, because as anyone who has read my blog knows, I have a deep and abiding love for the Olympics and Paralympics. (On a side note, you simple have to watch this short documentary about Josh. It speaks so eloquently to the resiliency of the human spirit.)

I have learned so much from reading Andrea's blog. There's always amazing debates about what's posted and it's such delicious food for thought. Often things are brought up that I just hadn't considered and I've found myself more than once thinking differently about something as a result of the conversation that happens there. I love hearing other people's perspectives. I had the pleasure of meeting Andrea in late May.

 Andrea is a long time competitor in rowing and cross country skiing. She has been a ski guide for  visually impaired Paralympic cross-country and biathlon skier Courtney Knight. Last week, when Andrea sent me an email, asking if I might be interested in guest blogging while she's away in the UK attending a conference, I immediately said YES! So...without further ado, here's the link to The 2010 Paralympics: A Personal Legacy.


Thank you Andrea for the opportunity to share my thoughts about the impact the 2010 Paralympics had on my life. With the 2012 Games a mere 8 days away, I am feeling particularly nostalgic about 2010.