Just a few pics....

[CoyoteChris]

Time now for a few snapshots of 4 Conts. And guess what? YOU have to match the captions to the pics!
http://s1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/CoyoteChris303/

1. Adam upside down
2. Adam right side up
3. My charming seatmate Miki
4. Where's the fans? (this could apply to more than one pic)
5. Gun fighter's eyes
6. All my daughters
7. Very nice posters (2)
8. New technical specialist, Mr. Bowser. One bark means "Review", two barks means "edge call"
(more than one pic)
9. Mr. Shpilband trying to bribe Mr. Bowser (like he needed too....smirk)
10. Any Madison can SKATE TOO??? (10,000 pics)
11. Guess who? (2)
12. Nice shades, Mr. Nicks
13. Very small medals (more than one)
14. You just cant get close to ice skaters
15. Mary Beth stretching in practice rink.
16. Mao and Ashley
17. Igor, this altitude is killing me.....
18. Medics attend to poor woman who fell down stairs. She was all right.
19. Up in the air (more than one)
20. Can't get enough of those ice dancers! (more than one):thumbsup:

Must go watch Miki Ando skate in TV special.....

 

[Spun Silver]

You got some really great pictures, Chris. The 3tw of Mary Beth are amazing.

 

[Olympia]

Thanks so much, Chris! So many lovely ones...I'm especially fond of the one of Davis and White, not to mention the ones of Mao.

 

[dorispulaski]

Great shots!

 

[CoyoteChris]

Thanks! I am no Toni as far as pic taking....but I used to drag along a huge camera and lens and film to certain events in the days of film and I found out I would not enjoy myself as much. Now I see people literally watch whole events through the view finder now , taking thousands of shots....its like a sickness. Now I take along a little point and shoot and take some shots that have some memories for me, keep about 100 of them from each event I go to , and go back and look at them and remember the wonderful times and things that happened. Talking with Mary Beth about our home town, wishing Ross luck....always getting that beautiful smile from Alissa...and flippant funny remarks from Mark...everyone wanting to pet or hold the sound guy's comfort dog, including Mr. Shpilband....seeing Caroline laugh with her coach...Telling Madison I was glad at least SHE showed up as the Michigan crew was holed up in another state till late in the week.....having ace international skating photog David Carmichael personally tell me that all the Michigan ice dancers are holed up in another state so they wont make the practice you are staying for.....that sort of thing. Beats the heck out of reality TV......

 

[Olympia]

It's definitely more important to live the event than to photograph it, as you've discovered. Nonetheless, I'm glad you took a few pictures to share with us! I have to say, though, it's your words that really bring the setting to life for me. You're such a vivid writer.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Why thank you, Olympia, that is very nice of you. I have added 10 more pics to the ones I have posted. Might have a few more to post later, too. I wish you all could join us at an event such as this one, where everything is laid back and you can mingle with the skaters and there are few people. There are so many things that go on, so many memories. First day I got there I walked to the shopping center and obtained some food stuffs and went to the liquor store to pick up some ready made margarettas in a bottle (medicinal purposes only, of course, ...self medication only to get to sleep) and I saw four members of the Japanese team in there buying beer (they have lousey taste in beer, by the way). After the jet lag, they probably needed some meds just like I did. Also saw some asian team members buying food in the Target store just like me....We really are all pretty much alike in so many ways....its just some of us have more talent doing some things and others have skills to do other things. One thing I have learned is that I was never very smart in the academic sense. I couldnt hack differential equations and orthogonal funtions like mathman so I dropped out of engineering and became a radio technician. Best thing that ever happened to me, cause of the second thing I learned. You dont need to be very smart to be a technician. All you have to do is make people happy. There is this wonderful Jimmy Stewart movie called, "Harvey". And in the movie, Jimmy's charactor said, "In this life, you can succeed by being either very smart or very pleasant. " And he was right. If you walk up to a person, famous or not at a skating event, and give them a big ole smile and and be very pleasant and polite, you meet all kinds of folk and make so many very nice memories. I also learned that one STILL cant take pics of a costume. Maybe some day we all will have 3D cameras and it will be possible. But untill you see them in person, it is hard to imagine the beauty and craftsmanship. The last thing I learned and I have always know and talked about since my first live performance is that, "These skating people are REALLY SMALL!" But there is nothing small about their courage, art and athletic talent. I would urge all of you that have not been as fortunate in life yet as I have been to somehow save up some money over a few years and get to one of these competitions. You will remember it for a lifetime.

 

[Olympia]

I loved Harvey, too. If you want to be jealous about live experiences, my Mom saw it in the theater years ago when Jimmy Stewart played the role in a Broadway revival. (I was jealous, too. I'm a huge "golden age" movie buff.) What's more, Joan Crawford was at the performance, and she signed everyone's programs, so Mom got her autograph. Talk about a theater-going experience! But I'm even more jealous of you. How lovely getting to see all the skaters around town as well as in the rink, and to see their costumes in such close detail--one of my favorite aspects of any performance art. Picture me green with envy.

These days, experts realize that there are many different kinds of intelligence. One of the most important kind is people smarts, which your writing reveals that you have in good supply. In fact, we'd be a lot better off in this world if more people had this crucial skill. When I see it in anyone, it stands out to me and stays in my mind.

 

[iluvtodd]

Wow! Thank you!!!!!

 

[clairecloutier]

Great pictures, CoyoteChris!! Thanks for sharing. I love seeing practice shots and backstage shots of the skaters--it's like seeing a different side to them.

Your reports from 4CC have inspired me . . . I'm trying to figure out now if there's any way I could possibly afford to go to Worlds next year!! Probably not, but I can dream.

 

[Scrufflet]

What wonderful photos and recollections, CC! Between your feedback and Radio-Canada coverage, I feel like I was There! And I didn't even have to gassp for air!

Seeing competition live really is something everyone should do at least once if possible. I attended Canadian Nationals in Hamilton in '91 and oh, the memories! Tripping over skaters in every hallway! Amazing practice sessioons watching Bourne/Kr while Elvis was lounging at the sidelines. Meeting Emmanuel Sandhu in the gift shop and giving him our newspaper so he could read the reviews! Sale/Pel. were peaking, Jeff Buttle was emerging and they did a big tribute to Elvis. Still gets me excited just thinking about it.

I'd love to try Worlds in London next year but can't manage the whole thing. I'm going to try for one event or maybe two if possible; I'm just a few hours away so it is possible. I would love to have a huge house in London and invite fans to bunk in for the week and make it one huge fsfan party. Wouldn't that be fun? Ahhh, in my dreams!

 

[CoyoteChris]

Only one thing I would mention. There is a guy following my advice (accidently of course) that my friends and I met at 4 Cs. He is from Vancouver BC and he is an older person of Chineese descent without a bunch of bucks. But he loves to photograph skaters. He took the bus from BC to COS, which is two days ride, bought a cheep all event package far away from the ice and just sat in front row seats till he found one no one ever sat in. I dont know where he stayed but if one learns the bus routes in an event town, you can find a cheep hotel/motel and commute. Or walk alot. This kind of cheep event experience would be very hard to do at a Worlds, but much more easily done at a 4 Cs or SkateWhatever, or even a nats. If you can get the time off, events CAN be done for under 1,000 dollars, especially if you have a buddy to go with. I have never been to a skating event where I have said, "Gee....THAT wa a waste of money...."
Chris who has spent many nights sleeping in his car on vacations to save money.

 

[CoyoteChris]

I believe the topic of different types of intellegence is one of my favorites....maybe I have something like horse sense...ever since I was young, I knew I couldnt spell or do complex physics problems....but I could repair aircraft radios and build dog houses after designing them in my brain and on paper. And I have always watched how people run their lives and tried to learn from their mistakes.....

"Once there was an astro-physicist who got a flat tire next to a mental institution. The inmates all delighted in watching him change his tire and wouldnt you know it?..He accidently kicked a hubcap full of lugnuts and the five lugnuts fell down a storm drain. "What do I do now?" he exclaimed. One of the inmates shouted from an open window, "Just take one nut off of the remaining three wheels and use those to fasten the wheel you just put on and that will get you to a gas station." "Wow, the PHD exclaimed, that's pretty smart thinking, what are you doing locked up in there?" "Well," the inmate said, "I may be crazy but I'm not stupid!"