Since a large part of the day was spent riding, I knew I had to travel light. My kit was as follows:
- Samsung cell phone (set to B+W mode).
Theme 1 - My Entry Number + Colour
Angela gave me a made-up entry number: 71. At the beginning of the day I met my riding mate, Steve, at his accommodations. He was riding a Rocky Mountain Element 70. The "colour" is the missing 1. I just made that up right now.
Theme 2 - Through the Looking Glass
I'm an (overly) analytical person, which tends to result in a fairly literal interpretation of themes. As Steve and I were planning our route, I shot a "rider's eye view" of the trail map through my sunglasses.
Theme 3 - Nude
I received theme 3 from Angela at the base of a "burly" (in Steve's words) 200m climb. I spent the next hour grinding up countless switchbacks in the scorching heat over rough terrain with the word "nude nude nude" repeating in my head. When the trail finally levelled off I got the idea to photograph some bare feet. They're really the only part of the body that needs to be clothed while bike riding.
Theme 4 - In 20 Years
While descending back into the valley we came across a clearcut in the forest. There is a section of trail that is under construction: the newest addition to the Sea to Sky Trail. In 20 years, the forest should hopefully start to recover and I'm sure the trail will be fantastic.
Theme 5 - Old School
Returning to the condo after a leg-numbing four hours of riding, I saw an old (early 90's) Kona mountain bike. In the world of mountain bikes, that is SERIOUSLY old school.
Theme 6 - Three Times
Hey, that baby has three cars on his shirt! I thought the photo was taken right as he looked into the lens, but alas, he looked away right at the last instant.
Theme 7 - Top
After a quick swim in Alta Lake and a shower, the Joyride jump competition, undeniably THE feature event of the Crankworx festival, was underway. This is possibly the only moment when I wished my kit contained a zoom lens (and, obviously, an actual camera on which to mount it).
Theme 8 - Hide
I hid some beers in my camera bag. No clanking bottles; no grounds for search, right officer?
Theme 9 - Clever
The Brewhaus in Whistler has a train running in a circuit suspended above the dining room floor. Sounds clever to me. What's extra clever is that they sell advertising space on it. What's not so clever is including half an exit sign at the edge of your photo. My excuse is that I rushed to take this photo because otherwise I would have to wait 10 minutes for the train to make another lap of the restaurant.
Theme 10 - Float
Not too much to say here. This photo does have a certain mysteriousness to it.
Theme 11 - Background Story
The rings at the Olympic Plaza in Whistler are an extremely popular spot to pose for photos. I took a shot from the background of a family posing for a photographer on the other side. This is the only case where I took more than one photograph to achieve a result I was satisfied with (all of the others were singular shots).
Theme 12 - (D)evolved
By the time theme 12 came in I was feeling pretty weary. Possibly from the epic ride, possibly from all of the Crankworx excitement, or more likely from the contents of my camera bag; I felt the need to retire to my accommodations. I'll call this non-photo the result of the evening's evolution.
