I've written in the past on the traditions at New Years here, so I won't go into a lot of detail. The Reader's Digest version is: Games; Church Service ending at midnight; countdown to midnight, followed by a lot of handshaking and tears; fireworks and/or guns being fired by the Rangers; a parade of snowmobiles and ATVs from Uluksan all around the ice and then through town; Inuktitut dancing until early morning.
One of the coolest parts is watching the long line of snowmobiles as it snakes around the ice, and then roars through town. I didn't get a count this year but in the past it has approached 80 machines. I was home when the the snowmobiles started, and though I had thought I wasn't going to photograph them I changed my mind.
I raced around the apartment and gathered up the gear I needed, got dressed and headed downstairs. As I did the machines were already driving off the ice. Wow, that happened quickly. I figured out a likely route they were taking and scrambled to set up my camera to catch them as they came by. Just as I got things set up, and heard them approaching Leah pulled up. She yelled at me that she needed her goggles and I ran upstairs, got them and brought them to her. By this time the machines were already roaring past the house. I fired off a couple of time exposures and waved to Leah as she took off to join them, the last machine passing as she left.
I had given up getting any useful shots but changed my mind and went around to the other side of the house. As I set up I took a couple of shots of the separate line of trucks and cars that were just now coming off the ice.
Then I re-framed everything in time to catch the line of machines as it came down past our old House, down the hill and along the main road that runs along the waterfront. In this photo you can see the line stretching from the upper left by our old House down to the first machine. Over 700 metres of snowmobiles, with more still to enter the picture. That's a 9 second exposure.
Finally this is the bulk of the machines passing by directly below the apartment. Its a thirty some second exposure so the scene is pretty well lit.
At this point I started to pay attention, and noticed the Full Moon, but when I tried to catch the last machines, with the moon framed in the shot I couldn't get the camera to fire. After that I gave up, vowing to be more prepared in the future.
Comments
3 responses
Very cool images, Clare.
Neat photos, Clare. Sounds like a pretty exciting evening up there. I think you put us southerners to shame. (-:
Thanks Liza and Bev.