“Vague” – 2010. Nikon F5, 70-300VR, exposure unknown
Last year I competed in the Vancouver Photo Marathon (#12x12yvr) and ended up with a theme winning photo for “Vague”.
“Vague” happened to be one of the easier themes for me to devise as I instantly had an idea for what to do with it. Executing it along with the other 11 themes was a lot tougher, and the whole event really stuck with me in ways I probably don’t fully realize yet, leading me to think about being involved in some way this year.
Through various circumstances, but mainly due to vacillating about whether to do it or not, this year’s event sold out. Intrigued about other entrants’ experiences throughout the day, I pitched the idea to the organizers about doing a video documentary on the event by following some willing entrants around. Marathon day arrived, and it happened that I had to leave to film a cancer fundraising event later that day so I could only stay for seven themes. Still, better than nothing. I managed to hook up with Ryan Mah (#32) and Ruwan Fernando (#56) outside the cafe right after the first theme was announced, and we went filming along with their helpers (Sara, Garvin, and Jana). I wish I had a helper last year; what a luxury to have a willing model!
It was a lot of fun following them around, recalling some of the same agony I went through last year trying to come up with ideas for each theme. I love that they were so open and accepting of having me tag along and stick the camera in their faces, so I hope I’ve managed to capture some of that in the video. I had a ton of fun and laughs. Thanks, guys! I hope this brings back good memories, and to the other entrants reading this, I hope your day was at least as much fun as it was undoubtedly nerve-wracking, confusing, stressful, and…uh…vague. I know what it’s like.
Perhaps your shot came to you instantly and you executed it perfectly. Or more likely, you struggled, surfed the web on your phone, worked on an idea for a while, backtracked, refined, then nailed it. Or you totally got lost and copped out with a shot you knew in your heart wasn’t going to be great, but you needed to just get it over with? Let’s hear what happened!
Update September 16: At long last, the videos are done. I’ve kept them down to about 3 minutes each. Enjoy!
Warning: some coarse language and mature themes. PG-13 or so.
Ryan and Ruwan’s Story, Part 1
Ryan and Ruwan’s Story, Part 2
Ryan and Ruwan’s Story, Part 3
Ryan and Ruwan’s Story, Part 4
Ryan and Ruwan’s Story, Part 5
Note: These videos might be subject to tweaking, and since YouTube doesn’t let you change videos in-place without creating a new one, if you link to them directly they may stop working. Just come back here!