Live on the Waterfront - Thunder Bay Marina

Thunder Bay has gotten so vibrant with events and so many other things going on throughout the summer, that sometimes it is hard to keep track. This past Wednesday saw the last night for the Live on the Waterfront series, which took place at the Marina. It saw three bands take the stage to a large crowd of on lookers. Best of all, it was all free. 

I do wish I was able to get out to the previous ones but it has been one hectic summer for me. Regardless, my wife Anne and I did manage to get down to this last one for about an hour. It was a bit overcast but otherwise the weather was perfect. It was such a great atmosphere overall and you could tell by the crowd singing along and people dancing throughout the crowd and in front of the stage. The two bands we managed to see were The Honest Lake Collective and Cold Lake Sun. 

Oktoberfest 2015 - Thunder Bay Coliseum

Once again The Walleye asked if I could go out and photograph some of this years Oktoberfest. This would actually be the first year going to the event so I was curious to see how it was. Admittedly I didn't have much time on Saturday to spend too much time there, but I did manage to photograph some of the Strongman Competition and then one of the musical performances later in the evening. 

First up was the Strongman which I actually photographed a couple months earlier when it was hosted at the Wayland. During that event I was able to cover the push press event and tire flip. This time around, I got the chance to photograph the Atlas Stone lift. I have seen this on TV before but never in really life. It definitely makes you appreciate just how strong these guys are. Even when dropping the stones back onto the ground from the ledge, you could feel the weight. So suffice it to say, all the competitors had their work cut out for them. 

I spent about 30 minutes photographing the event and I managed to get some great action shots. It's hard to really show just how much weight these guys were lifting but I think you could really see it in their faces. 

Since I had a family session that evening, I decided to come back again later in the evening with my wife Anne. This time around we were inside the coliseum. As soon as we got there we grabbed a drink, after all, Sleeping Giant Brewery had some fantastic beers on tap so that was a no brainer. Then, it was time to grab my camera and get some shots of the Greenbank Trio, who sounded awesome! Afterwards, Anne and I scoured the floor for some great costumes, which there were a lot of. She's great at wrangling up strangers to photograph. When she approaches people they smile and of course say yes. When I do it on my own, the usually can't understand what I'm saying because I mumble, and then give me a sideways glance. I'm exaggerating of course, but that's what it feels like.

And then that was it. I only got to experience some of the even but the parts that I did, I really enjoyed. I can't wait to check it out next year when I hopefully have a bit more time.