Indirect Benefits of Writing an Annual Letter

For decades, my mother-in-law used to sit down in front of her typewriter and write her annual Christmas letter. Her audience is identified by the salutation used in each iteration -- "Dear Family, friends, and missionary friends." The content was a summary of the year's events and of course, Christmas season's greetings.

After we wed, my wife's mother asked us to contribute to this letter, which we did happily. A couple years later, we appreciated this valuable tradition and embarked on our own Christmas letter with our own style and to our own distribution list. The typewriter was replaced with Microsoft Word, and we wanted to share our year in pictures too. At some point in the early 2000's, we registered our own domain name, eBai.ca (pronounced e-bay". Sidenote: it was a toss-up between "ebai.ca" and "thebai.ca" which is a play on The Bay, a trademark of The Hudson's Bay Co.). Since we found it was difficult to get this done in time for Christmas, we called it the "eBai Annual Report" and sent it out in early January.

What started out as a simple text-based letter became not just about content, but also visual appeal. As I grew as a photographer, so did my skills in Photoshop. Let me be clear: I'm no graphic designer, but I try to be creative. My approach has always been the same -- to use photos and elements from the past year only as it helps tie the annual report together.

It's interesting to use the main banner of our annual report as an indirect indicator of the evolution of my photoshop skills. Another indirect benefit is that working on the banner helped me learn features of Photoshop I would never use otherwise, but now that I know them, are part of my "toolbox."   This year, I even made notes on some ideas I could do for next year's banner.

So here is the evolution over the years (I haven't included all the years). You can really tell when I stepped it up:

1999

2005

2010

2011

2012

2013

I encourage any couple, family or individual to write your own version of a Christmas Letter. Not only will your friends and family appreciate it, it will help you remember events or details that you may not otherwise years from now. Or you can just keep it to yourself. Think of it as doing a diary entry only once a year. It's also reason to pat yourself on the back or kick yourself in the butt to change things.

The Best Motorcycle Movies to Watch During Winter - Part 2

In Part 1, I talked about what I consider the top 5 motorcycle movies. The rest of the top 10 follows below. Hopefully this will help you get through the winter blues.

The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
IMDB Link
Link to Trailer

Anthony Hopkins who I remember best as Hannibal in the Silence of the Lambs (which by the way was a terrible movie to go to for a date - don't ask me how I know), plays Burt, a man of meager means who chases his dream of going to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Now in his 60's and suffering from a heart condition, he brings his 1920 Indian motorcycle which he's been modifying for 25 years to be the first motorcycle to break the 200 mph barrier. On a shoestring budget and not knowing all the rules of the salt flats, he charms his way into doing the timed runs. By the end you'll be cheering for him and don't be surprised if you shed a tear or two.

Dust To Glory (2005)
IMDB Link
Link to Trailer

While not strictly a movie about motorcycles, Dust to Glory covers the Baja 1000 race across the Baja peninsula in Mexico. Motorcycles, cars, buggies and trucks aim to be the first ones across the finish line. competing in different classes and are timed versus being a scramble. Racers only have to arrive at the checkpoints so any route goes. I've heard of this race but after watching this movie I realize just how physically gruelling it is for the equipment and especially the riders/drivers! This movie follows several teams including two motorcycle teams -- a sponsored factory team, and a privateer. It's interesting to see the difference between the two. There are lots of exciting moments such as the two motorcycle teams neck in neck that take different routes to the checkpoint. I love how involved the spectators are -- they're so close they can touch the vehicles! I guess safety measures are a little different in Mexico than they are in North America!

(more after the jump)

The Best Motorcycle Movies to Watch During Winter - Part 1

For motorcyclists living in Canada, winter is a bit like purgatory. While our beautiful two wheeled machines are in hibernation underneath a warm blanket, we are in a state of temporary suffering. Is there anything that can ease the pain? Yes there is!

In addition to going to a local motorcycle show during the off-season, I like to host motorcycle movie nights and invite my riding friends over. It's guaranteed good times ... until someone loses an eye. Then it's a sport :) Over the years my friends and I consumed dozens of chicken wings while watching hours and hours of great and not-so-great movies. Here is a list of my favourite motorcycle movies that I personally guarantee that you will love (this is not a guarantee).

Riding Solo To The Top of the World (2006)
Website Link
IMDB Link
Link to Trailer

By far this is my favourite. What Ewan and Charley do with a film crew and a support vehicle in Long Way Round and Long Way Down, Gaurav does by himself. Gaurav travels from Mumbai, India to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. He captures amazing footage and is given access to places and cultures that even National Geographic haven't. If you watch it, please buy the original DVD from his website to support Gaurav's courageous and costly efforts. Or if you're in the GTA, I'll lend it to you.

On Any Sunday (1971)
IMDB Link
Link to Trailer

This movie captures the fun of riding motorcycles and sucks you in with the opening scene of a five year old kid doing a massive wheelie. Being made in 1971, I thought the movie would seem dated. However, the "dated" feel is charming and added to my overall enjoyment. It's also cool to see what people could do with 40 year old technology, albeit new at the time. This movie is impossible to watch without having a smile on your face.

(More after the jump)

My Take on the 2013 Toronto Motorcycle Supershow

So what's the Toronto Motorcycle Supershow all about? Hundreds of vendors and thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts gather at the International Centre near the airport to sell and buy motorcycle gear (eg. jackets, helmets, gloves, boots, etc.), accessories, new and used motorcycles, motorcycle insurance, etc. There are also booths for motorcycle clubs and charities, featured racers, custom bikes, fashion shows, live bands, models, awards and interviews on the main stage, etc. etc. And sausages. All this stuff takes up a huge amount of space -- 5 halls which adds up to 10 acres of floor space! And it's still jam packed to the brim with wall-to-wall people! The parking situation is a nightmare too. The enormous parking lot always fills up by 11am with new arrivals having to park a kilometre or more away. That's a cold, long walk in the dead of winter.

There are many booths for clubs and charities such as WROAR (Women Ride
Out Against Rape). WROAR is an annual ride that raises money for the
Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape. I've
provided some photography services for them for the past few years.
(Click for larger photo)

There's lots of custom bikes on display at the show. Since most of the patrons
are men, having a pretty lady at your booth doesn't hurt traffic. I admit it, I'm a sucker!
(Click for larger photo)

This is Brittany. Head over to her facebook page and "Like" her. She's super nice too!
(Click for larger photo)

(More after the jump)

My Favourite Shots From 2012 (aka my 2012 Pic Picks)

The holiday season is a good time to look back and celebrate your successes and analyze your failures (I prefer to call them learning experiences). And looking forward, the new year is an exciting time full of anticipation of what's to come both known and unknown.

With that in mind, I wanted to do a retrospective of my photography for the year. My original idea was to do a Top 10 but I liked too many so instead I'm just calling it My Favourite Shots From 2012. :)

My only criteria was how the photos made me feel. Maybe it was the visual impact, maybe it was the technical challenge in putting it together, or maybe it was a happy memory of when the photo was taken. After putting these together, I realized it was a good exercise to learn a little bit more about myself as a person, a photographer, and what my favourite subjects are. Some things were fairly obvious such my love for motorcycles, sunsets and animals. However I did learn something interesting. Apparently I much prefer shooting the right side of motorcycles. I didn't say I learned anything deep.

In no particular order, here are my favourites from 2012:

1. The Bendy Photoshoot

(Click for larger photo)

(Click for larger photo)

Every year I plan a big motorcycle photoshoot where I get a couple models, make-up artist, a few different bikes, etc. I was at a loss as to what to do this year when a crazy idea fell in my lap. My friend Adrian from the YouMotorcycle blog asked if I wanted to a motorcycle photoshoot with a contortionist. So I bent over backwards to make this happen (did you get the pun?). It was amazing to watch these talented and flexible ladies right in front of me. It was like having a personal Cirque du Soleil performance! And they did it with grace, smiles and pointed toes.

Credits: Bendy in Black: Gabriella (Twitter @gabby_db), Bendy in White: Danielle Gnidec (Twitter @Gnidec) Makeup Shannon Spence (Twitter @shannonaveline), Motorcycles: YouMotorcycle and Mark Gornik.


More after the jump.

Weekend to End Women's Cancers

(Scroll to the bottom of this post to donate now)

This is my 3rd year volunteering in the Moto-Safety crew for the Weekend to End Women's Cancers. My role is to ensure the safety of the 100's of walkers at intersections across Toronto as they march 60 km's over September 8, 9. I also ride along the route to report any safety or medical issues. 

Margot and I in action! I traded in my traditional green mohawk
for a pink one. About the ears -- part of our job is to cheer and motivate
the participants (apparently kitschy is motivational)

Stop!

Participants walk in memory of loved ones lost, for someone who is battling this disease, or are survivors themselves. They range in age from little wee ones to 100 years old! I have utmost respect for them all.

Every walker has their own story for why they're participating.
Norma carried these photos in her hand all day of her friend Karen
who is losing her battle with cancer. Handwritten on the
outside is "Walk For Karen. Best Friend. Love you
Forever!!!". It was very touching. The Motosafety
team does their job so people like this can walk safely.

These folks were walking for a family member, Sandra,
who lost her battle with cancer.

Sadly, everybody is touched by cancer. I'm sure you know someone in your family or group of friends that has been diagnosed with cancer. And no one is out of reach of cancer's grasp. Read this heart-rending story of Canada's youngest breast cancer survivor, Aleisha Hunter, at 4 years of age in 2010.

Please consider joining me to help cancer research in Canada by following this link and clicking the "Donate online now" button. You will also receive a tax receipt.

http://www.endcancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2012?px=3540763&pg=personal&fr_id=1463

Money raised will go towards the Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute at The Princess Margaret Hospital.

Thanks!

Lakeshore and Leslie aka L&L - Toronto's Largest Motorcycle Meet

Lakeshore and Leslie, aka L&L, is Toronto's largest motorcycle meet. Bikers from all over converge in the joint parking lot of Tim Horton's and Price Chopper in the Leslieville region of Toronto every Thursday. Hundreds of motorcycles will roll in and out anywhere between 7pm to after midnight. Some stay for the length of time it takes to drink a coffee while others will stay for a few hours. Being a bike night, attendance is of course somewhat dictated by the weather. Don't expect to see more than a few die hard regulars on a rainy evening.

A lineup of sportbikes by the Price Chopper

This meet had humble a beginning when it started 2006 by Kevin and Mike (thebronze and cagedcbr from www.gtamotorcycle.com ). There were no designs to make it the biggest meet in Toronto. They just wanted a place to hang out and have coffee. And apparently they wanted the option to buy fresh produce and lunch meat.

Ghostrider's motorcycle?

The thing I like about this meet is you'll never know what you'll see or who you'll meet for the first time! I've seen a boa constrictor, a dog that travels on a motorcycle, Ural sidecar, slammed and souped up scooters, a Suzuki Hayabusa with a built-in vibrator, bikes from the 70's and more! You'll see the whole spectrum of the motorcycle community from cruisers to sportbikes and customs to scooters. You'll see the accompanied range of people from all walks of life too. All are welcome here. I've met motorcycle builders, computer nerds, nurses, artists and many more types of people. But what you do or where you come from doesn't matter -- our love of motorcycles is what brings us together.

Marta, Raf and Reenie share Ighor's boa constrictor

Fiona's Ural sidecar rig with passenger Shaun

(more after the jump)

Bad Weather Can Make Great Photo Ops

View of downtown Toronto during a storm on Wednesday June 8, 2011.
Nikon D7000 with 18-200mm VR. ISO 800 1/200 at f3.5 Aperture Priority.
(Click on the photo for a larger version)

I met some friends down at the Keating Pub to try out a new location for our weekly Wednesday night bike meet. Sadly after a couple years of bike nights at St. Louis' on King St., they closed their doors in February.

As I pulled up in the parking lot, the sky was dark and the wind was whipping up. The staff were frantically taking down the patio umbrellas so they wouldn't set sail. Dirt, leaves, paper and everything else that wasn't tied down was flying around so I kept my helmet helmet on. Thoughts of Dorothy and Kansas came to mind with these strong winds and ominous skies. I snapped a few quick photos before heading inside.

The dark clouds sure made for some dramatic photos. Sometimes when you think it's time to put away the camera, it's the best time to capture some great images! Mathematically speaking, 95% of people will bag their cameras so you're already in the top 5 percentile :) My photographer friend Neil Cameron from Competition Images captured some fantastic motorcycle racing photos during the pouring rain with rooster tails, reflections off the water on the track, and a motorcycle almost axle-deep in water as if he was fording a river. I wasn't brave enough to stand out in the rain all day, but Neil got the money shots (well I hope he got some money for his trouble!).

(more photos after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Karen Alley

Karen at the Ride for Sight charity bike wash in Midland, Ontario in March 2008.
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR. Fill flash provided by built-in camera flash
in TTL-backlight mode. (Click on the photo for a larger version)

Karen is a good friend of mine. We met a few years ago at the now defunct Spiducci's in Newmarket, a regular morning fill-up spot for our bellies and launching point for rides (many fine memories of the 507, Muskoka, and sausages). I'm a little selfish when I say she's a good friend of "mine" because really she's a good friend to anybody. Fun-loving, smart, loyal, caring are all attributes that come to mind when I think of Karen. So are cute and sexy.

It's inconceivable to look at this photo and not smile. Between Karen's natural sweet smile and the silly flower's matching expression, your only choice is to respond back in kind. Karen’s gentle, caring spirit brought her to Midland that day for a bike wash that was raising money for Ride for Sight. It's about a 2 hour ride from Toronto if you take the direct route which might seem a long way to some but for bikers like Karen, getting there is 1/2 the fun.

(more after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Racer Nicole Pilkington

Nicole Pilkington in the pits waiting to get on the track at Shannonville
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR.

Motorcycle racing is cool. But women racing motorcycles is really cool. And a 17 year old woman motorcycle racer? That's really cool + awesome + sweet!

In 2010 Nicole Pilkington raced in the CBR Cup (her best result, finishing 3rd overall), AM 125 GP, and AM 250 GP classes in R.A.C.E. In SOAR she raced in Formula Femme, and Formula 2 Stroke, and in the National series she ran in the CBR Cup. That's 6 different divisions across 3 series! Most teenage girls would rather go to 6 stores in 3 different malls. So why does she do it? By her own words, "The one thing I love most about racing is the escape. The track is like therapy to me. It relieves all my stress. Just getting on track and putting all your concentration into what you need to do to improve on track and nothing else." So that tells me that in her "normal" life she's either really stressed out, or super relaxed like Jello.

Nic Pilk grew up at the racetrack. Her father Stuart started road racing in 1989 and Nicole spent every summer of her life at racetracks across Canada and the U.S. with him. He was her inspiration to get into the sport. But first she had to prove herself so at 13 years of age, a determined Nicole hopped on a motocross. The deal was she had to show she could crash and get back up before being allowed to road race. Now that's tough love! Nicole's first road race was 2 years later at Shannonville in 2009 when she was 15.

(Read more after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Racer Aubrey Bailey

R.A.C.E. Round 5, Shannonville Motorsport Park,
September 4, 2010. Shot with Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR
at 130mm. ISO 400, 1/800, F5.6 in Aperture Priority
(Click on the photo above for a larger version)

 Aubrey in the zone as he looks through the corner in the final hairpin before the front straight at Shannonville during R.A.C.E. Round 5 in the AM 600 class. This is one of my favourite angles as you can see how the body position is integral to going fast around a corner. His weight is on the inside of the bike with his right cheek off the seat, his right knee scraping the ground, and his head and shoulders on the inside. Racers wear knee pucks and I can hear them grinding as I take the photos. I like to call this the frog position because the legs remind me of a frog sitting on a lily pad.

I first met Aubrey in January 2009 at the motorcycle show in Toronto. He was a beaver and I held his tail. 100% true story. But I digress.

(Continue reading after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Jay's Custom 1972 Honda CB350

Jay's custom 1972 Honda CB350.
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR. 2x SB-800 flashes to
camera left and right. Click here for the lighting
setup. Note the umbrellas were used to keep the
flashes dry, not to diffuse the light

Pretty cool bike, right? You'd be forgiven if you parked this old custom beauty in a showroom and charged people $0.25 just to see it. But Jay is a biker first and this is his daily ride. In fact he rode it back from Mods vs Rockers Chicago last summer, 850 kms in 14 hours.

His project began in 2002 when he wanted to buy a couple wheels from a crashed bike but ended up bringing the entire bike home for not much more. She was destined to be a parts bike but Jay saw her beauty past her broken fork legs and non-functioning engine. After about a year and a half of major and cosmetic surgeries, she was reborn and granted the license to stroll on the roads once again.

Chicks dig his bike and many have asked to pose with it for photos. It's inspired at least two women to get their own vintage Hondas! "I can't go for a ride in the summer without at least one person giving me the thumbs up or yelling 'Cool bike!'" exclaims Jay.

(More after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - January 26, 2011

 

Aileen and her 1999 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Custom.
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR. 2x SB-800 flashes
to camera left and camera right.

Say hello to Aileen and her 1999 Yamaha V-Star Custom. This photo was taken at the 6th annual WROAR (Women Ride Out Against Rape) Ride on June 13, 2010. WROAR raises money for the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape. Aileen was not only a participant but a volunteer. She wasn't able to commit as much time as she wanted but was able to help out at the WROAR booth during the off-season motorcycle shows to help promote the event and cause. She also assisted during the event with signage and parking logistics.

(More after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - January 19, 2011

I thought I would start this with explaining the photo I use in my profile. This was taken on June 12, 2009 of my new to me at the time 2003 Kawasaki ZX-9R aka Ninja 900. It was starting to get dark and the sunset was behind me. I'm not sure if the light on the skyline is from the low sun, or from smog. Also, I was wearing my tiger ears because I lent my green mohawk to Darlene for the Mad Bastard Scooter Rally

Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR. No photoshopping, just 1 SB-800 to camera right.