The Trek started out early Friday August 7 as we met our mentors Mark Alberhasky and Rosanne Pennela. It was nice to see their work and interesting to hear about their similar experiences, as both had different professional careers prior to becoming professional photographers.
Our first stop was the Montreal Botanical Gardens. We could not have asked for better weather and there were so many photographic opportunities everywhere we turned. The gardens are beautiful - full of lovely flowers and unique floral exhibitions, containing many different colors. Many of us decided to head directly for the Chinese Gardens.
After the Gardens we headed for a boat ride on the St. Lawrence River, sailing up and down the port of Montreal. Friday afternoon introduced these very large, puffy clouds over the city, but the sun was still bright, which led to a great contrast as we looked back at the city skyline from the boat.
After we docked, we headed to dinner on our own in Old Montreal. After dinner we met up again to take a leisurely walk through Old Montreal. Again photo opportunities surrounded us: musicians, artists, small shops, lots and lots of colors and shapes. In Old Montreal there are also many buildings with different types of architecture and a great deal of interesting styles.
Saturday morning started early. We met at the bus before sunrise for the ride to St. Jean de Richelieu to watch the early start of the International Balloon Festival. We arrived at the same time as the balloon pilots! There were so many huge balloons possessing many, many colors and shapes. The fields were vast and the photographers spread out all over. Some conversed with the balloon pilots and were able to get some very unique photos. It was a great start to the day.
Afterward we had our work reviewed by Rosanne and Mark, then headed up to Mont Royal Parc to photograph from an overlook revealing the City of Montreal. The bus then took us to Ile Notre-Dame, for the annual ongoing fireworks competition at the amusement park La Ronde. We were lucky to see South Africa�s submission.
It was very special to have the opportunity for us to get into the seating area before the general public was allowed to enter. This gave all of us ample time to find a good spot to set up and be ready for the exhibition. When the fireworks started, it was non stop for almost an hour, right in front of us. It was truly an evening to remember, with a great deal of learning to be had along the way.
Sunday morning we took a short ride to the Atwater Market. Rosanne and Mark spoke to us briefly on how to approach different types of photographic opportunities. The time they spent with us was really invaluable in helping one�s ability to approach and grow their photographic skills. There were all sorts of stalls with fresh fruit, flowers, and vegetables. Again the weather was really nice and it was another fantastic photographic experience.
We then headed back to the hotel for our final digital reviews and the closing presentation, getting the opportunity to see all the work created all weekend by the trekkers.
The trek in Montreal flew by so fast. We had so many excellent photo opportunities and it will always be a weekend to remember. We were a large group, but an enthusiastic and fun one, and we all were there to learn and experience great photo opportunities. To say the least we accomplished all of this and more.
Joel Kleiner
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