Canada Day Fireworks at the Saamis Teepee

There are only so many ways to capture the iconic Saamis Teepee in Medicine Hat, Alberta - however, Canada Day is certainly one of the more exciting times to do it. 

Each year on July 1 fireworks are set off from Kin Coulee Park just behind the Saamis Teepee (although the fireworks aren't quite as close to the teepee as the pictures make it seem here). I wanted to shoot a few closeups and see if I could capture one of the more "touristy" scenes that Medicine Hat experiences every Canada Day a little bit differently. This was the result.

Repeat after me: "oooooooooooo!" "aaaaaaahhhhh!"

My Regina Calendar Shot

The picture I sold a few months ago for the cover of the Regina city phone book has had its initial release (in what I consider to be a bit of a teaser) in the 2013 DirectWest desktop calendar.  A few weeks ago I was mailed a copy, and a cropped version of my picture is the header for July.  It's appropriate considering I shot the image on the Canada Day weekend on July 1 this year.  

My picture appears alongside all of the other images that will be featured on the regional phone books across Saskatchewan.  It's always cool seeing my name and work in print, and it has me anxious for the release of the phone book cover come June 2013.  If you missed how all of this came about, I wrote about this unexpected opportunity here.    

Exploring Downtown Regina

One of the final moments to share from my visit to Regina earlier this month was the time that Tyler and I spent exploring downtown.  I hadn't even realized prior, but 12th Avenue has now been paved to create the City Square Plaza around Victoria Park.  This links the F.W. Hill Mall and creates a huge open walking space that brings a welcome and brand new focal point to the centre of the city.  They've done a really nice job.

The new Mosaic Potash Tower (Hill Centre Tower III) is also nearly complete, which changes the symmetry of the skyline created by Regina's twin towers - not to mention the logo on the welcome to Regina signs.  It's a beautiful area though, and we even had a few flashbacks from seeing the Saskatchewan Film Pool building again.  It was where we screened our experimental film shorts back in 2006.  It's great to see Regina continue to become a more dynamic place, and in some cases change so rapidly in just the few years that have passed since my time there in film school.