Many Lives

So I haven’t updated my blog in ages and now I’m months behind and it’s going to be a slow, painful process. That’s what I get for slacking. 

About two weeks ago I was sent to take a last-minute portrait of Ice Road Trucker Alex Debogorski with two trophies the Likely, B.C. Archery Rod and Gun Club had presented him with for best wildlife story and best fishing story. 

Alex Debogorski is quite a character and lots of fun to shoot. If my flash hadn’t been taking so long to recycle I think there might have been a few other shots I would have preferred but I was happy with what I came away with. 

And as he was driving me back to the office I took a couple more…

YELLOWKNIFE, NT (26/04/2012) - Alex Debogorski holds trophies for best fishing story and best wildlife story, awarded to him by the Likely Archery Rod and Gun Club at its fish and game banquet in April. 

Link to the article here: http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2012-05/may2_12deb.html

I’ve been wanting to shoot the Northern Lights since I arrived in Yellowknife and finally, on Monday, I got to. 

I probably should have done this ages ago but a number of factors - cloudiness/frigid temperatures/early mornings and, admittedly, sometimes laziness - stood in my way. 

I went out around 10 p.m. Monday and stayed out for about two hours. My fingers froze at times and I was a little afraid for my and Adam’s lives when I made him pull over on the side of the Ingraham Trail and turn the headlights and hazards off, but thankfully we made it through alive and with all fingers in tact. It was an unreal experience, too - I was absolutely elated. 

I’m pretty happy with how these turned out, considering it was my first time. Getting to a prime viewing location and making sure I wasn’t missing my focus were probably the most challenging parts. I’m really, really excited to try again.

Five more Brrrlesque shots.  I can’t help it.

1) Sarah Elsasser (as Eva Knievel) cartwheels over the legs of Andrea Edmunds (as GG Delicia)

2) (Left to right) Kate Witherly (as Kiki Kincaid), Andrea Edmunds (as GG Delicia), Paco Greau (as Manzelle O alila Folie) and Sarah Elsasser (as Eva Knievel) performed the Can Can as the Klondike Girls.

3) In “Through the Smoke Screen,” Nicole Garbutt (as Lucy Caboose) and Kayla Cooper (as Lucy Caboose) examined the difference between a man’s perception of how a woman gets ready for a night out and what really happens

4) Rebecca Davis (as Lily Mae Dawgwood) showed off her frilly Habs bloomers at the end of her act, “Good Ol’ Hockey Dame”.

5) Margaret Bell (as Sassparilla Honeypotts) gets a few extra hands with her outfit in “Birds in a Cage”. 

This is gonna be a long one! 

On February 21 I got to attend the full dress rehearsal of a show called Brrrlesque - Yellowknife’s own take on classic burlesque. I couldn’t attend the actual show because the three-night run sold out in 7 minutes! SEVEN MINUTES. 

Anyway, each performer was allowed to bring two friends to the full dress so even that was full. I really can’t say enough good things about the show. It was a ton of fun to shoot apart from the fact that a low stage + a crowded room filled with tables makes for a bit of a difficult shoot. I wanted to be conscious of blocking people’s views so I shot from down low when I was up front and up high when I was at the back. Ice PIlots NWT was also there filming so I tried my best not to get in their shots. 

Anyway, the girls were hilarious/sexy/charming/talented/creative - I could go on and on. One of my favourite nights in Yellowknife, for sure.

1) (Left to right) Margaret Bell, Jessica Florio, Nicole Garbutt and Marie Pierre Castonguay do a final outfit check in the women’s washroom.

2) Aingeal Stone reads while waiting for the dress rehearsal to begin.

3) Erika Nyyssonen as Gracey Finnass caught some sexy footwear in the first solo act “The Fishing Hole”. 

4) MC Heidi Raulin (as Ursula Von Icebergs) rocked a 50s look.

5) Kelly Merilees-Keppel (as Mistress Sparkles Bandersnatch) begins her act “Wanted: One Hero” from atop the bar at the Top Knight.

6) Sarah Elsasser (as Eva Knievel) lets the jazz hands fly during her burlesque jazz number All That J’Ass, along with Andrea Edmunds and Johanna Tiemessen.

7) Johanna Tiemessen (as Lolah Spanx) playfully sighed about being “Tired of Love”. 

8) Mikey McBryan, left, and Tyler Sipos, both of Buffalo Air, strike their finishing poses after being pulled on stage to dance with Tara Newbigging (as Onyx Fire) in her number “Good at Being Bad”. 

9) Jessica Florio (as Luscious Lynxie) seduced the crowd with a bellydance. 

10) Paco Greau (as Manzelle Olila Folie) charmed the audience with a French number called “Formidable”.

1) Kent Alacida of the Weledeh School Grade 8 boys basketball team leaps to waist-height before releasing the ball for a layup in a game against the St. Joseph Huskies during the NWT Power Corporation Junior Cager tournament February 18. The Weledeh Wolves beat the St. Joseph Huskies by a score of 40-31. 

2) Jade Brown (left) and Kendra Sibbeston collide with Sarah Hart of the Grade 7 St. Joe’s Huskies girls basketball team as Hart grabs the rebound during the NWT Power Corporation Junior Cager tournament at Weledeh Catholic School Feb. 18.

3) Janessa Vilan of the Grade 7 Weledeh Wolves basketball team is descended on by members of her own team and opposing team the St. Joseph Huskies, all looking for possession of the ball. 

I’ve been covering the Legislative Assembly for Northern News Services, live-blogging the sessions from my little media booth behind the cabinet ministers. 

On Fridays, the leg. meets early and the Great Hall fills with beautiful light around noon. I’m not allowed to shoot anything from the media booth but I took my camera out during a break on Friday the 10th and just shot around a bit.

All photos are copyright Galit Rodan/NNSL photo

1. Robert Bouchard, MLA for Hay River North, exits the chamber during a break in session. 

2. Several MLAs and visitors gather in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly.

3. An inscription in glass at the Legislative Assembly details the unique history of the Northwest Territories.

4. Laura McLeod, a page from Aklavik, watches the proceedings from outside the chamber.

5. The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly through the trees.