Last night I went to a schmoozy Tourism BC event at the Vancouver Art Gallery (BC Pavillion) and I had an amazing view of Robson Square and the Ignite the Dream light show for the 2010 Olympics. I captured the light show on video with my 5DMKII and it looks super sweet. I’ll put that up in a bit.
I couldn’t help but get a little trigger happy last night. Such incredible photo ops during this Olympics. Wish I had more time to shoot!
Canada loves them some hockey!
There are piles of clothes accumulating in my apartment. Every red t-shirt, sweater, and hat I own is heaped on the floor. There is a row of empty Venti Starbucks cups, chocolate wrappers, and a pile of gadgets cluttering my desk. I’ve been living off caffeine and KD, and I’m out of frozen dinners. I’ve actually resorted to boiling eggs and eating them straight out of the pot because I have no clean dishes, and now, no clean pots.
Outside Vancouver is jumping up and down and screaming, “Go Canada Go!” and I’m here just trying to catch a cat nap before I have to buckle down and get to work again. It’s hard to stay focused in this madness. The irresponsible me wants to join in the party with reckless abandon, while the responsible me knows that it’s two hours before deadline and I’m staring at an empty page.
Since the Olympics started, the city never seems to sleep. This morning I was jarred awake by a noisy Chinese dragon announcing the Year of the Tiger with what felt like the loudest cymbals ever. Once the crashing noise had dissipated, my Swiss neighbour started rockin’ the cowbell. I reckon he thinks he’s a cow bell virtuoso. Clang. Clang. Cu-Clang. There’s almost a beat there. A Bossa Nova perhaps?
Later on Canada wins Gold and everyone erupts in celebration. I hear cheers, w00ts, whistles and air horns well into the early morning. 4am to be exact. Not that I noticed. (I did).
Ah, but who can possibly be an Olympics grinch, when everyone is so uplifted and happy? I even saw someone try to get angry at a volunteer for having to wait so long in a line at LiveCity Vancouver, but the volunteer was so lovely they ended up high-fiving and exchanging email addresses after 5 minutes.
That is my Olympic experience so far. Every time I get worked up over road closures, slow moving pedestrians, or general Olympic headaches, some fantastic, moving moment happens and I’m swelling with Canadian pride. So Vancouver, my advice: stock up on aspirins, ear plugs, and bucket loads of patience because this 17-day party has only just begun.
Ahem, can all those people celebrating the Olympics please turn the volume down a few decibles? Some of us have to get up and go to work tomorrow.
Agoraphobia and the Olympics don’t mix well. *hides under blanket for a few days. holds Macbook Air tightly*
Featured Editorial in Today’s Province.
Maybe I’m biased because I’m a proud Vancouverite and ex-figure skater, but this Winter Olympics feels immense to me. I feel massive amounts of pride and nervous tension, as I hold my breath for the next 17 days. But, while I was throughly weeping watching Clara Hughes’ teary eyes as she lead the Canadian team into the stadium, the internet shrugged, said “meh” and asked, “what’s happening on YouTube?”
The 2010 organizers are vocal about being the first Olympics to have a “Global Social Media” campaign, but they are still miles away from connecting to heartbeat of the internet and engaging with the masses of apathetic, web-addicted cynics like, well, me.
Comments of Twitter directly following the Opening ceremonies ranged from the inquisitive, “Dude, what happened with the torch?? #torchfail to the whining, “How hard would it have been for Gretzky to shoot a flaming puck into the cauldron?” to the bitter, “Lol @Canada. Thanks for showing up how to NOT do Olympics & healthcare” to the sarcastic “This just in: Olympic torch pillars being recalled by Toyota”.
There was a much more positive “Go Canada” vibe on Facebook, but then again people are generally nicer on Facebook. I think it’s the whole “if you happen to find me tagged in a drunken, embarrassing photo, please don’t forward it to my mom” silent agreement that keeps troll comments to a minimum. Most of my Canadian friends on Facebook were w00ting and my American contacts where complaining about the crappy NBC coverage of the Opening Ceremonies and giggling at their own “Blame Canada” jokes.
While I wasn’t surprised that the internet latched on to the “epic torch fail” moment, I was surprised at how little people were actually talking about the Olympics online. In fact, the Olympics only trended on Twitter for about three hours, then it was booted off in favor of #thuglife. Blame violent video games, Michael Bay movies, or Wikipedia, but the internet audience has about as much attentiveness as a flee circus. Days, weeks, and months seem to mash into one giant lol, fml, pwn or fail. At the end of one day’s “torchfail”, another “OMG rofl” moment is born somewhere else, most likely on a Japanese game show.
Perhaps it is the buzz of just living in Vancouver, footsteps away from the heart of the action, that has sold me on this Olympic Games. I’m loving every minute of 2010 excitement and even my overwhelming desire to make snide comments about the four phallic-shaped totems that slowly rose from the ground as dancers shook and shimmied around them has been squelched.
Aerial View of huge crowd gathering in front of BC Place to protest the 2010 Olympic games. Chanting: “We want peace!” & “No Olympics”. I was shaking holding the camera because it was so intense and unexpected.
There is now a line of police and Olympic officials stopping them from disrupting the Torch Relay, but the protesters are slowly creeping through.
Quickly ran out and took this video with my 5DMKII as the Olympic Torch Relay came down my street. It was madness, but happy madness. I have never seen so many cameras in all my life. So many 70-200mms & pro cameras! Jealous.
I love the USA vs Canada shout off in the crowd.
Canada clearly won.
The Olympics haven’t even started and I’m pooped! There is so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of it all. This is why I spent most of my day surfing the internet and observing Olympic related traffic jams from my apartment.
I decided to head out into the wilds of Yaletown to catch the end of the Torch Relay and the first night of fireworks. I arrived at 8pm thinking I would be able to just sneak in and see Michael Buble light the cauldron in David Lam Park, and so did 50,000 other people.
I caught a glimpse at the Olympic Torch and so did one little kid who’s annoyed father said, “you’ve seen the flame now let’s go”.
I wasn’t even close to the LiveCity Yaletown stage, but somehow it was more fun to be amidst the animated crowd. Thousands of people, dressed in their finest Canadian apparel, waved flags and cheered as the fireworks lit up the sky.
Today, we open our city to the world. I can’t wait to see what is next.
“The fireworks were really fun!” And you can quote me. :P
Shot with the Canon SD960 IS.
If you Google “Olympic Red Mittens” you will find hundreds of websites dedicated to selling one of the popular souvenirs of the 2010 Games. The mittens are so popular that Official Olympic Store online is currently out-of-stock and sellers on Ebay are offering the $10 mittens at prices as high as $30.
Since I’ve kind of fallen in love with the Olympic Games since witnessing the awe-inspiring Opening Ceremonies pre-show on Monday, I’ve been on a mission to find a pair of those elusive red mittens.
I figured the best place to find them would be at the Official Olympic store at the Hudson’s Bay Company downtown. What I hadn’t planned on was waiting outside the store for ten minutes just to get in the door.
Once inside the store, I was instantly lured into the plush toy section where I made friends with a rather curious Sasquatch named Quatchi. Though we didn’t speak the same language, we bonded over the loud, annoying noises we could make with cow bells.
We spent many hours searching through Canadian hockey jerseys, slippers, furry hats, mousepads, and flasks of maple syrup. Any and anything they could smack an Olympic logo onto they did, including doggy rain wear! w00f!
Finally, I found my very own pair of red mittens! It was another lengthy wait to buy them, but it was well worth it. I slipped my hands in the fleecy warmth and headed out on the downtown streets to cheer on my fellow Vancouverites who are stuck in traffic due to Olympic road closures.
Shot on the Flip Ultra HD.
I live right in the heart of downtown Vancouver. And like many Vancouverites, I feel a responsibility to make the 2010 Olympics a great success. I want visitors fall in love with my city and enjoy all the sights and experiences Vancouver has to offer.
I feel happy when I see crowds of smiling faces milling around the Olympic Countdown clock in Robson Square, snapping photos and “ohhing” and “ahhing” at the bright, snow-capped mountains and tall, glass buildings that frame our picturesque downtown.
For the most part, I’ve embraced the many permanent changes I see appearing all over our city. Every so often, I’ll see something that will make me grumble about the games, like the huge, garish McDonald’s mural painted on the Hamilton entrance of the Vancouver Public Library,
Yes, we are welcoming the world to our city, but I can’t help but wonder what Olympic mementos, good or bad, the city will be left with when the 2010 party bus leaves town.
Will the Olympics change a city for the good or bad? Thoughts?
Site of the 2010 Opening & Closing ceremonies.
Today I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at the 2010 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Pre-show held at BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver.
Ticket I got last minute to attend the pre-show.
Security tents are set-up behind me.
When I arrived at BC Place, there was a medium sized crowd bustling in front of the security tents. After about 10 minutes, we were directed towards the security check points. People with bags had to form separate lines from those without bags who were able to go through “Express Security”.
Crowd is directed towards security tents.
Happy that I get to go in the Express line.
I only had my iPhone and some chewy cinnamon hearts stuck in the inside of my pocket, which I regretted eating later, so I got through the Express line pretty quickly. It was very much like going through airport security except more smiley with less interrogation. Although my security lady was sporting a vicious gang of embroidered cats on her handbag, so I kept my eyes forward at all times.
i can haz catz purrrs.
Metal detector!
Once in the stadium, it was clear that this was a dress rehearsal, not only for the performers, but all the staff working at the venue. Each food and merchandise stand had at least 10 people standing around looking confused and somewhat bored. I was starving, so I went on a hunt for food. My options, as it turned out, were not the most, how shall I say this nicely? I’ll just let the food speak for itself in this picture.
The BBQ chicken sub was so yummy someone ate it right off of the display!
I opted for some delicious $7 “spicy potato wedges”. They tasted like an overcooked Wendy’s baked potato with a slight hint of that red spice that doesn’t really taste like anything. Yes. Exactly like that.
Freedom Fry?
Moments after taking this picture I actually said, “Ohh I feel a snarky blog post coming on”. This is how cynical I am now. I was ready to dismiss the Opening Ceremonies based on one soggy potato. Tisk. Tisk. But once I walked into the stadium and saw the Olympic rings, I felt a flush of, dare I say, emotion, pink up my cheeks.
I walked to the very top of the stadium and walked around the entire loop and took it all in. I was predictably taken with all the technical details and gear, including masses of electrical cables, enormous spotlights, speakers and tv cameras.
TVs for the broadcast
I snooped around the stadium and took some iPhone snaps until I got asked to return to my seat politely several times, and then once with a bit more gusto, so politely returned to my seat eventually. I am Canadian after-all! And then the show began with a bang!
Since this was a closed event, there were only about ten thousand people in the audience (full capacity = 55, 000). All ticket holders were asked to stay hush-hush about the performance they were about to see. Security was insane during the performance. Anyone taking pictures or video was ushered away by the police in a matter of minutes. Even if you were seen taking your cell phone out of your pocket an Olympic officer would politely remind you that there is no photography allowed.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil any of the well-kept secrets of the Opening Ceremonies, though I will say that the themes, lighting, fxs and performances by some of Canada’s best performers were breathtaking, and even someone as cynical as myself felt truly moved and may have even shed a few tears watching the Canadian flag raised into the air during the National anthem. I felt a rush of pride for my country and remembered the true meaning of the Olympic games.
With my Olympic doubts washed away by this moving ceremony, I am ready to experience our hometown Olympics as they should be, “with glowing hearts” and “open wallets”, because official 2010 events ain’t cheap!
Lisa Bettany is a photographer and iPhone App Developer (co-creator of Camera+). She enjoys zombie flicks, British tea, R2D2 & her 5DMKII.
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