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Mandy & Martins' White Wedding in Banff!
 Beautiful weather and fresh snow on the mountains and trees makes for a perfect white wedding in Banff. Mandy and Martin came all the way from Cumbria, UK and picked just the right day!  Despite the wintery backdrop it was warm enough that we didn't have to rush too much while we were shooting at the Bow Falls   Mandy & Martin were having a great time and it shows. Winter was the theme and their cake topper covered it all plus thier dogs!!  It's been a very busy month and keeping up with the blog has been tough but stay tuned for more!
A beautiful Buffalo Mountain Lodge Wedding in Banff!
A beautiful day in March for Andrea & Ross's wedding at Buffalo Mountain Lodge, warm and sunny. The girls were ready in plenty of time and having fun.  The walk from the bride's ready room to the Wapiti Longhouse, where the ceremony is held is one of my favorite times to get fun candid shots.  The ceremony was performed by Banff's Rick Kunelius and as always he had everyone relaxed and enjoying every minute of the most important part of the day.   It is March after all and in the afternoon it got a bit cooler but our chivalrous groomsmen saved the day. Who could say no to these beautiful girls anyway? Fortunately, as the sun passes behind one mountain there are usually other sunny spots to find in the valley and so we did.  The late afternoon light in the spring is one of the most beautiful times to shoot in the mountains. Andrea, Ross and thier wedding party had a terrific time with lots of laughs during our shoot. They were a great couple to work with and I'm very happy with the results!   Our wedding schedule for the spring is starting to fill up and I'm beginning to enjoy posting these blogs so please check in from time to time and have a look at what's new. Cheers Malcolm
Whew! We did it, all Olympic Alpine Events finished in Whistler!
The last two days of Olympic competition at Whistler Creekside  did not come easily. Some of the worst weather we had experienced so far (and that's saying a lot) descended on our venue. The volunteer course workers were on the mountain all night clearing snow in preparation for the Ladies' slalom event. Somehow everything was ready on time and despite the heavy snowfall the first racer came out of the start gate on schedule. At the top of the course the fog added to the almost impossible conditions for the photographers. Some of my friends were frustrated that there were really great shots to be had but they were pretty much ruined by the terrible visibility but that's ski racing!  Again our Canadian athletes had some excellent runs that would have been celebrated results at World Cups but were off the podium here. This is young up and comer Erin Mielzynski from Edmonton. She skied a great race with an almost flawless first run. Watch for her in the future. Yesterday (Saturday) was our last event at Creekside. Again the challenges facing the course crew were huge. Less fog and snow was a blessing but warmer temperatures were a big problem. Here water is being poured on the track to help firm it up for the run. Everything worked well and we saw two phenomenal slalom runs by the men.
  Here's a shot of me and the Director of Alpine Sport, Banff's own Peter Bosinger. Peter has been in Whistler for the last few years, working for Vanoc, building the race courses and running the test events. No-one has been under more pressure than Peter and somehow he made it all work. Banff can be very proud of him.
It was a bit sad watching the last racer cross the finish line yesterday but it was mixed with a feeling of accomplishment and relief that every scheduled alpine event had been completed succesfully
 In the early evening all of the staff and volunteers from the alpine venue met for a wrap up party in the finish area. Peter gave a hertfelt speech of praise for everyone who had helped make the games a success at Whistler Creekside.  As darkness fell I looked up at Whistler Mountain and took a quiet moment to soak it all in. What an experience. 28 days of stress, ridiculously early mornings, pressure, politics, amazing ski racing and parties! I saw things that I'll never forget. The joy of the winners and the heartbreak of those that missed maybe thier once in a lifetime chance of glory. The Olympics are special just like they say. It sounds cliche but this was my second Winter Olympics and this morning when I woke up, for a moment I felt just what I felt 22 years ago the day after the games at Nakiska. A bit sad that it's over but a wonderful feeling that I was there at the greatest party in the world. Sochi 2014? Stay tuned!
Down to the final races at Whistler!
 Whistler weather is back with a vengance. The ladies Giant Slalom was sheduled for Wednesday but after completing the first run, heavy fog forced the postponement of the second run until today, Thursday. Here's a photo of Nick Didlick the Chief of Photography for the 2010 Olympic Games (center, our boss), me in my stylish blue Vanoc uniform and some of the photographers waiting in the early morning for our clearance to enter the race course. I was at the start for the first run. It's a really eaciting place to be. There is lots of excitement in the air and when the racers throw themselves out of the gate thier coaches and teammates are shouting at the top of thier lungs! This is Canadas' Britt Janyk launching onto the course. All of our girls had great runs but didn't crack into the medals.   Backstage just before the award ceremony in the finish area you can see up close the flowers that are presented to the top three winners. They will receive thier medals at the Medal Plaza tonight in the center of Whistler village  Today the Gold went to Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg, the Silver to Tina Maze of Slovinia ( her second) and the Bronze to Elizabeth Goergle of Austria (her second also). It was great to see Patty Schwartz in the finish area chatting with Canmore's Shona Rubens. Patty has been helping run Alpine Races fo the Sunshine Ski Club for as long as I can remember and is dedicated to the sport. Shona put in some great runs at the Olympics and now is off to Europe to finish the World Cup season.
 The ladies slalom is scheduled for tomorrow. This event is shorter and relatively immune to bad weather so I think we'll get it off the card. Cheers from Whistler!
Wonderful Skiing in Whistler then back to Racing
Finally a day off with beautiful weather. Time to go skiing and explore Whistler-Blackcomb. From the top of Blackcomb Mountain the view of the famous landmark "Black Tusk" in the distance was spectacular.   Somehow in the vast expanse of this huge resort we ran into my friend Canadian Ski Team member and Olympian Britt Janyk skiing with fellow Olympian Chemmy Alcott who is Britians' top female racer. They were on the upper mountain with Chemmy's coach, free skiing in preparation for Wednesdays Ladies Giant Slalom.
At the top of the Peak Express Chairlift on Whistler Mountain there is this enormous Inukshuk. There is a constant line of skiers waiting to get a picture posing at it. Here are a few of our Olympic Press Staff that we met up with after lunch. I never seem to ski Whistler when there isn't cloud and fog so I'm really glad that we had such a great day. I finally know my way around this massive resort (mostly).   Today it was back to racing with the Men's Giant Slalom. The clouds had come back into the valley and by the end of the second run it was raining lightly. The forecast is not great for the last few days of events but unlike the speed events, Downhill and Super-G, we can run the technical events in almost any weatther.  Swiss Carlo Janka put two great runs together to win the Gold Medal with Norway's Jansrud and Svindal claiming Silver and Bronze.
 No-one has worked harder than the volunteers on the mountain. Here is a group shot of the Ladies Course crew. Anyone who has worked at the Lake Louise World Cups would recognise alot of faces in this bunch. Most of them run those events and are helping out here and doing an incredible job, hats off to them! Tomorrow is the Ladies GS. Looking forward to watching Britt and the girls have great races, stay tuned!
Speed Events finished, a day off and then on with the Technical Events in Whistler
Lots of news to report from the Olympics in Whistler. Yesterday (Sunday) we hosted the Men's Super Combined and on Staurday we saw the Ladies Super-G. That means the speed events, which are the thrilling, action filled top to botom races are finished. We have a day off to do a bit of skiing tomorrow (Tuesday) we start into the Technical Events with the Men's Giant Slalom. Saturday morning the view from the Women's start hut was amazing as usual.  It's hard to describe how steep and treacherous it is on these courses. People are working, equipment and cables are everywhere and the snow under your skis has been shaved down to hard white ice. It's important to be confident on your feet because there is nothing more embarrassing than to loose control of your skis in front of this crowd but someone does it almost everyday!  Lindsey Vonn again had a medal run. Here she celebrates just after crossing the finish line. As for our Canadians the frustration continues. Britt Janyk shows her disappointment at the finish despite having a great run and finishing in the top ten!! Medals are everything here, whether that's right or wrong that's the way it is.
 Austria certainly had something to celebrate Saturday as Andrea Fishbacher claimed the Gold in the ladies Super-G with Tina Maze from Slovakia taking home the silver and Lindsey a bronze.  I had a very quick chat with Lindsey in the finish area while she signed a few photos for our daughters. For the last couple of years she has taken a second to pose with them in the World Cup Media Lounge at Lake Louise and I've had a few copies in my jacket for her to sign. She said that she remembers them because they are all so cute! (they are)  Sunday was the Men's Super-Combined event. Here I am up on the roof of the broadcast center on the top of the grandstands. What a place to watch the race! With me is one of our photo service volunteers, Jon Margolis from Squaw Valley Resort in California. He's a budding photographer and full time ski patroller and like all of our volunteers having a blast at the Olympics. (We have the best volunteers of the games). Jon is not standing on somthing he's actually that tall. The Super-Combined consists of a Downhill run in the morning followed by a Slalom run in the afternoon. The times are combined to determine the winner. The slalom is on the bottom of the course and almost the entire race is visible from the grandstands. The noise the crowd makes is amazing.
 Here's a shot from the finish area of a racer speeding past the giant Olympic Rings that look down the hill from a tree island where the Men's and Ladie's courses meet.  Unbelievably strong skiing and an unfortunate fall for the event favorite Norways' Aksel Lund Svindal gave Bode Miller his third medal of games. First Bronze, then Silver and now the Gold. What a show!!  We're starting to call it the "Bodium" So far there has been at least one American racer on every Alpine Olympic podium of these 2010 games. Congratulations to them. I just wish we had a bit of that luck for our squad. I don't know how I manage to be so lucky but I honestly think that I have the best job at the Olympics. I'm in front of the people in the front row seats (I try not to block thier view) and I work with really fun, dedicated people and the worlds best ski racers. I'm going to enjoy my memories of these Olympics every bit as much as I do that last games I worked at in 1988. Here again is Bode Miller who brought all of his coaches and staff from his team out into the finish area for a photo. This is what happy looks like!!
 Lots more action to come, stay tuned but for now I'm going skiing!!!
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