Remembrance Day in Victoria
On November 11, 2011, I attended my first Remembrance Day ceremony. I was taking pictures for Victoria News. A large crowd of people was gathered in downtown Victoria, right in front of the Legislative building, in the pouring rain, remembering those who have fought and fallen for their country.
In all honesty it felt a bit strange.
Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin places a wreath on the steps of the cenotaph during Remembrance Day ceremonies
As you may know, Iceland doesn't have a standing army (we have the Coast Guard), and having grown up there I only ever saw some sort of Hollywood version of military life. Before I moved here, I never met someone who knew military life first hand, or even second hand (spouse, child, sibling). Well, at least I never knew about it. Never even thought about it.
The day that comes closest to Remembrance Day in Iceland is probably Sailors' Day, a day dedicated to the Icelandic men and women who have, through the ages, put themselves in danger at sea in order to help feed Icelanders. But that day focuses even more on celebrating down by the harbour, playing games and having fun, than it does remembering those who have drowned - although there is a memorial service in every town and village throughout the country. So not even that day comes anywhere close to Remembrance Day.
Umbrellas came in handy on this very wet Remembrance Day.
Today I have friends and acquaintances that are or have been connected to the military in one way or another. And I talk to them with open mind about what it's like, trying to grasp what lies behind. They, in turn, find it strange that I don't know military life at all. In that respect it's a bit like I come from another planet, because pretty every country in the world has a military.
I feel fortunate that I come from a country where there is no military.
I feel for the people who have lost someone during war times.
I respect the choices of those who enlist and fight.
But I may never be able to fully understand, no matter how hard I try.
Retired Lt William Stenton was in downtown Victoria to honour the memory of fallen soldiers.
CPO2 Pierre Cayer of the Royal Canandian Navy checked his clock as the crowd waited for Steven Point, Lieutenant Governor of BC, to arrive.
Rifleman Leo Stamp of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.
Petty Officer Greg Sly plays trumpet in the Naden Band, which performed during the Remembrance Day ceremonies.
RCMP Sgt Andrew Cowan (left) and Corporal M.D. Luke of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Two front page photos
Last weekend I took a Saturday shift for Black Press. It was a relatively easy shift, although I did have to drive between opposite corners of town for the day's assignments.
Of course I went places I would never have gone otherwise, such as a high school graduation at UVic and to Saanich Municipal Hall where an ethnobotanist was given the highest honour a resident of Saanich can get.
On Monday I received an email from my photo editor, Don Denton, who informed me that I would have the front page photo for both the Saanich News and Victoria News on Wednesday. Two front pages in one day, from one Saturday shift? I couldn't ask for more.
The one in Victoria News is of City of Victoria's parks environmental technician Fred Hook, as a part of a story about herons nesting in Beacon Hill Park. My attempts at getting a photo of him and a heron or two were futile, and I couldn't really keep Fred from his work for too long. I tried, though. And then I stayed for a while after he left, hoping to catch some heron photos, but that didn't work out either.
Front page of Victoria News, June 22, 2011.
The cover of Saanich News was probably a bit more surprising, because it was not part of a cover story. I had gone to Vancouver Island Technology Park to photograph the Victoria Canary Derby, a soapbox race to raise money for the B.C. Cancer agency. There I discovered a man getting ready to drive down the hill in a beautifully decorated racer; Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard. Him being there was apparently a secret to the guests until moments before he drove down the hill. I just got lucky being in the right spot when he was getting into the racer and adjusting his helmet before being pushed off.
Front page of Saanich News, June 22, 2011.
Do you dream of Jeanne?
It seems like a very long time ago, that Jeanne Beker presented her new fashion line at The Bay in downtown Victoria, but it's actually less than a month. And at the same time it seems like only a few days ago, that I arrived in Victoria for the first time, but in fact almost 16 months have gone by. Strange thing, time.
Speaking of Jeanne. I arrived at The Bay in good time to talk to my contact there, just to get an idea about how things would be running (I was shooting for Victoria News). A fairly large crowd, mostly (though not entirely) made up of women, gathered to see Jeanne and hear what she had to say about style and fashion. Some of the women there seemed almost awestruck.
Me, I didn't have a clue.
To me, this was just a middle aged woman giving advice on how to dress well to a group of people. I gathered from what she said on the stage, that she wasn't from Victoria. And I slowly began to realize (one hint was the big lineup to get Jeanne's autograph) that she wasn't your average middle aged woman. She was actually a 'somebody'!
Now, I'm not big on fashion (just ask my wife or my mum), but at least in Iceland I would have recognized someone of that stature (remember to divide by 100). I've heard the 'big' names at home, and I even know some of the faces. But here? Nope. Not a chance.
I guess it shows me how much I have yet to learn about this new country I live in, even after 16 months.
I might have to start watching more Canadian television, read more than just the local papers, check out Wikipedia whenever someone starts namedropping around me.
Until then, I guess I'll just have to be ignorant and not starstruck. I'll have to ask those around me how well-known or famous the person I'm photographing is, instead of thinking 'Oh, wow, I'm photographing [insert Canadian celebrity here]".
But I'll learn, bit by bit. I'll have to, because ignorance isn't bliss. Not really.
Jeanne Beker signed a number of autographs at The Bay.