Content-Rich Update

Technology is great when it works, isn't it? This post was long overdue a few days ago, and some of the excuses are good excuses, while others are pretty weak. The last delay though was technologically related. It always seems that when something is working just fine and I am satisfied with it, that's when something goes wrong and upgrading or replacing is necessitated. Maybe a new C drive and a bit more RAM is in order before this perfectly fine computer decides to bite it to the point that it needs replacing. But, I digress.

This is going to be one photo-intensive post and I won't waste your time with long-winded stories. Maybe just a sentence or two for each one.

 

  Family by Diefenbaker Centre by Jay Scott on 500px

The first photo in this post we are very grateful for as it was made by our good friend, Amanda and her great guy, Garrett, from over at Renditure Photography. I wanted to test out my latest investment and it performed exactly as I'd hoped. No more pushing my speed lights to the limit. I have a flash capable of some heavy hitting, when it is called for. We didn't quite make our hats look like cowboy hats, as an earlier photo of Fiona that many people were very fond of, but we thought it looked pretty good.

 

  Saskatoon 2015 Fireworks Festival by Jay Scott on 500px

Soon I will speak about some excellent work that I have been doing in collaboration with the Canadian Paraplegic Association and Saskatoon City Hospital Rehab Department. We've been working to create a database of accessible homes in and around Saskatoon. The purpose being to provide newly injured people a resource to help them decide how to best renovate or build their home following a spinal cord injury or similar disability. It also could be used for someone looking for good ideas to include in a future build. I know that I have seen a number of very affordable and reasonable options that I would like to incorporate into our existing house. A few of those have already been implemented, thanks to my dad's hard work.

During the process of this project, one of the condos that I photographed was overlooking the river from a seventh floor balcony. What an unbelievable view. The homeowner and former CPA employee/board member, offered me the opportunity to photograph the upcoming Potash Corp. Fireworks Festival. How could I say no?

 

  Saskatoon Before 2015 Fireworks Festival by Jay Scott on 500px

While I was up there I wanted to get a simple basic cityscape from a perspective I may not have the opportunity to get to very often.

A few weeks ago I led another accessible photo excursion at the University. We had a better turnout this time and, despite some unexpected heavy rain and a little bit of lightning and thunder, we had a good time, made a few photos, and enjoyed a coffee afterward.

A little bit of creative framing and you'd never know that Emma was dry and standing in a doorway. The way it was rumbling at that moment I thought we might just get a flash of lightning in the background. I must admit that it was very exhilarating to be making a nice portrait of someone I'm very comfortable photographing, while it was raining and lightly storming.

It was nice that Fiona's nap time worked out so that she and her mommy could join us. Even if we were inside, it was nice for them to get out on a bit of a rainy and windy day with me. She was in a great mood and the pictures are proof.

It's no Reptile World but our little Geology Building is certainly a fine place to go for a look at whenever animals they might have there and to listen to the relaxing trickle of some water. I think it would be nice if they had a designated area for people to sit and enjoy the atmosphere.

Finally, I took the time to make a photo I've had brewing in my mind for a little while, now. A fresh order of coffee arrived from Matchstick Coffee Roasters in Vancouver (just two days after I ordered it!) so I used the ample amount of beans to put together the photo I had envisioned.

 

  Raw Energy by Jay Scott on 500px

It has been awhile since I posted, but now that I found time there has certainly been a lot to share. With the summer seemingly coming to a close I'm in a bit of a hurry up and get it done mode for a few of the photos that I need to do outside. If the weather forecast holds I should have one more quite elaborate photo to share within the next week.

That photo does belong to Challenging Reality. I know there has not been much for updates there for some time but this one will be worth it. Moreover, I feel like as much as those pieces of technology are important, the accessible home photo database has the potential to help more people in a much larger way than what I've done to this point on Challenging Reality. As well, I have been selected to participate in a photovoice project the health region is putting on where chosen individuals photograph the barriers they face in the community because of an acquired injury. My injury may have been some time ago but these photos, and the conversations that will follow, will make it to some pretty big decision-makers. I hope that my efforts there and the quality of my photos will help them to understand the importance of proper and safe accessibility, and even the discrimination of inaccessibility. I may have to make a few trips down Broadway to prove a point. But that won't be until after my stop to photograph the very steep and dangerous curb cuts just outside City Hospital.

Finally, there is an organization by the name of Barrier Free Canada that that is working hard to have a Canadians with Disabilities Act legislated. Regardless of your political stripes, now is the time to be asking hard questions of candidates to see what they think about something like this and if they have any clue about how far behind Canada is on accessibility compared to the rest of the first world. I encourage you to check out their website and, if you believe this is something that Canadians with disabilities deserve, to participate.

Thanks!

2013 CPA Wheelchair Relay

Last Saturday was the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Paraplegic Association wheelchair relay. It is their major fundraising event that occurs once a year and occurs only because of the hard work of a lot of people. Delynne was the organizer again this year and she did an excellent job. She recruited top-notch volunteers, including a skilled photographer, had lots of prizes for everyone, great activities for the kids, information stations about wheelchair sports and adaptive videogame technology, a yoga demonstration by Heather Cuttai and some celebrity appearances for the initial relay.

Our very own Mayor Don Atchison was there to say a few words and participate in the initial relay. Since this is my site I will say that I always have to bite my tongue at these times. I'm afraid the City of Saskatoon just cannot be patting itself on the back about putting in a few curb cuts that are completely unusable in the winter and many in the summer, because of snow or the road pavement being higher than the low point of the curb cut which causes a very dangerous lip for the front wheels of a wheelchair. Meanwhile, new businesses are opening, freshly renovated, with inaccessible entrances or washrooms. Costco has a freshly redesigned parking lot with fewer usable disabled persons parking stalls and new strip malls have fewer sidewalk accesses and the ones they do have are often at the front of a parking spot so they are blocked by the vehicles of individuals who insist on pulling up to the curb until their wheels hit and their front spoiler rips off. Thank goodness that ramp is there so they don't damage that spoiler in those instances.

I suggested that they bring in a full zamboni just before the relay starts and dump it in the middle of the track to give our mayor a real feel of getting around by wheelchair, trying to plow through snow.

I suppose a lot of these complaints are part of the reason that I help out with this relay. It is my hope that the suggestions regarding accessibility that the CPA is able to provide businesses with will become laws. Until there is punishment for exclusionary decisions by businesses I don't believe we will have a properly accessible city.

Among our celebrity guests was Becky Richter who, since I first photographed her over four years ago when she was fairly new to wheelchair racing, has won plenty of medals and broken records.

Heather doing her yoga demonstration for us.

Heather's daughter rocking her face paint. She even had a leopardprint shirt on to match.

CTV's own Mike Ciona was our emcee for the fourth year and did his usual excellent job. Subway provided an excellent lunch for us and there were the many prizes provided by smaller businesses from around the city to give to people through draws, trivia competitions and other games.

Of course, there were the large corporate sponsors that are greatly appreciated and make this fundraiser the most beneficial to the longevity and effectiveness of the CPA.

I got a little heavy on the photos of Lawrence, but that guy can move! The sequence of six photos that I took of him making his passing maneuver above was a lot of fun to cycle between to watch him overtake the older gentleman who's reaching for him. Things like that make the day extra fun to participate in.

Some of the groups had the absolute best costumes this year. There were the biker women, as seen in the background of the last photo of Lawrence above, with their fishnet stockings, bicycle helmets and tank tops complete with knee-high stockings.

UPDATE: Angie suggested they may be roller derby players. I'm guessing she's right.

There was the team dressed country style with the fierce, but friendly, attitude to match.

And, of course, there were the Wheel Riders 1, Wheel Riders 2 and the Young Riders, all of whom were dressed in Saskatchewan Roughrider green apparel.

All in all it was a full and busy day with a lot of laughs and a lot of excitement. It's amazing how fast, with a little bit of training, a person can move in a wheelchair. It's also amusing at how someone who's not use to navigating in a wheelchair can come to a corner and push the chair the exact wrong direction that they intend. It was things like that that made for a few of the best laughs and best collisions.