Posts Tagged ‘Canadian National Exhibition’

Some preliminary shots from the Warrior’s Day Parade earlier today at the C.N.E. (More to come as I get the chance to process them).

Went down to the Canadian National Exhibition (C.N.E.) this morning with my daughter Vanessa in order primarily to show off the venue to my visiting cousin-in-law Carla from Germany.

In previous years I have deliberately gone to the C.N.E. in order to shoot the Warrior’s Day parade, but this time I hadn’t done the research as to when exactly it was happening and just chanced upon a notice at the Go Train entrance saying that it was today. So I dragged Vanessa and Carla with me over to the parade route and we stayed around for maybe half the parade. Luckily I had my favourite zoom lens with me and for once I got on the side of the parade opposite to the sun. I managed to shoot many pics, and here are some of my favourites:

I understand from a comment from a previous year’s parade that this lady is a heroine of the Dutch resistance movement during WWII.

This smiling veteran was asking the crowd to smile and cheer and as you can see, he got his wish:

The next pic is interesting: I found out after the fact that my Step-Father-in-Law was also attending the parade, and that his brother Alan Roy was in the parade. He told me that he helped ensure that Jim Eddy, a highly-decorated veteran in his 90s who apparently insisted on standing in the jeep he was riding to salute the parade masters stayed safe. I went through my pics and sure enough there’s Alan marching beside the jeep holding Mr. Eddy:

A smiling and waving female veteran nurse in the back of WWII-vintage troop truck:

A smiling American vet riding in a jeep:

Two airborne regiment veterans greet each other briefly during the parade:

Here’s a selection of the rest in gallery format:

Got to the Canadian National Exhibition around 12:30 and managed to find a good spot to view the Canadian International Air Show from. I brought along my f/2 200mm and my f/4 300mm lenses along with me to put them both through their paces. I tended to use the 200mm on the larger or faster planes in order to freeze their motion, and the 300mm on the smaller ones, trading off speed for detail. It wasn’t the best day for taking pics of flying planes, as the skies became cloudier as it went on, and was finally brought to a premature end when the front of a thunderstorm came in. Given that most of the show is over the water and facing south, in most cases side of the plane facing the audience is in shadow, hence the need for a fast telephoto lens. Still, it was a good and rousing show.

I arrived just as three members of the all-female parachute group the Misty Blues jumped out of an airplane. This was followed by some aerial gymnastics by Mike Wiskus in the red Lucas Oil bi-plane, and then some precision flying by the members of the Heavy Metal Jet Team. (The Heavy Metal Jet Team site only mentions having L-39 Albatroses and T-33 Shooting Star, but doesn’t mention what seems to be a swept-wing MiG which had a prominent place in their show). After that came more aerial acrobatics by Pete McLeod in the Red Bull Zivko Edge 540. Then came the Lancaster from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, one of only two Lancasters still flying. While it flew by they had an pilot who had flown 19 successful missions in one during WWII (and was shot down on his 20th mission), who was given a rousing round of applause by everyone in attendance when he finished. I didn’t catch much of Rick Volker‘s show in his Sukhoi SU-26M since it was mid-afternoon by that point and I desperately needed some food and drink! Then came the demo of the A-10 Warthog, which buzzed by the waterfront several times. At that point the air show was called on account of bad weather, though the MV-22 Osprey buzzed by — allowing me to get a single shot of it as it went by — on its way to shelter at Pearson International Airport.

Here are some of the better shots I took from the show:

Took the Go Train from Danforth station to Exhibition, and arrived at the C.N.E. grounds just as it opened at 10am.

My main reason for coming was to shoot pics of the Warrior’s Day Parade. I like taking pics at this event because, a) who doesn’t like a parade? b) the pomp and pageantry is fun, and c) I like capturing the moment where a personality is revealed under the uniform. Also, it is a kind of homage to my parents, both of whom did their part in WWII.

I saw a couple of old WWI-era planes circle the grounds prior to the show, and I wondered if there was going to be a fly-by to help celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the parade. The answer was no as it turned out, but they were still fun to see, though I didn’t have my 300mm lens which would have brought them into focus.

Instead I brought along my heavy-but-fast (f/2) 200mm lens, which was its first outing at a parade. Figure I would trade off getting the types of close-ups I could get with my f/4 300mm lens but which would likely be slightly blurry due to motion for being able to freeze the motion of the people going past. For the most part that seemed to be a good strategy, and in some pics it is even possible to read the names on individual’s name-tags in the pictures I came away with.

I think the most moving for me was this one:

Am guessing that this is the father or maybe older brother of the soldier in the photo who was killed in Afghanistan. [Postscript: I was right, the photo the man is carrying is of Joshua Baker, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010].

Here is a selection of some of the many pics I took:

Took the opportunity to head down to the Canadian National Exhibition in order to catch The Warrior’s Day Parade. Took my telephoto lens with me and tried to concentrate on taking pictures of the people in the parade, especially the older vets, who are often very expressive.

I didn’t take note this time as to which units appeared, but from what I understand from their website, the parade members follows this sequence:

Members from various regional Royal Canadian Legions
Public Service Veterans, Police War Veterans, Fire Fighters War Veterans Associations, Unattached Veterans – 1939-1945, Korea, Peace Keeping, United Nations Force
Dieppe Veterans, Regimental and Corps Associations, Hong Kong Veterans, Dunkirk Veterans, Burma Star Association, Royal Navy Association, Royal Marine Association, Merchant Navy Association, Canadian and British Airborne Forces Associations, Guards Division Association, Royal Canadian Naval Association
Allied and Visiting, and Re-enactor/Living History Contingents.

Last year I had a vantage point from almost the middle of the parade, and this year I took a vantage spot that wasn’t far from the official stands near the Princes’ Gates.

Here’s my single favourite pic, of a female vet beaming at the crowds as she is being driven in a lovely old green Bentley:

Here’s the rest:

Here’s the pics I shot at last year’s parade.

Went to the Canadian National Exhibition this morning, mainly to catch The Warrior’s Day Parade. There are several aspects of it that appeals to me: the chance for some interesting portraiture shots, the many different types of dress uniforms over different times and places and of course it is also a slice of history. It is also a way to honour the memories of my parents, both of whom played their part in WWII.

According to the Warrior’s Day Parade Web Site the order of the contingents in the parade are as follows:

• Various Royal Canadian Legions
• Public Service Veterans, Police War Veterans, Fire Fighters War Veterans Associations, Unattached Veterans – 1939-1945, Korea, Peace Keeping, United Nations Force
• Dieppe Veterans, Regimental and Corps Associations, Hong Kong Veterans, Dunkirk Veterans, Burma Star Association, Royal Navy Association, Royal Marine Association, Merchant Navy Association, Canadian and British Airborne Forces Associations, Guards Division Association, Royal Canadian Naval Association
• Allied and Visiting, and Re-enactor/Living History Contingents.

Though the skies initially threatened rain, it ended up being a nice day, and though the clouds never completely disappeared for the event, there was enough light to take good, crisp shots. Thanks to various transit snafus I didn’t make it for the start of the parade, but managed to find a good spot to take pictures from.

All of the contingents of marchers were accompanied by a cadet carrying a three-number placard, identifying the group. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a listing online, so the only ones I can positively identify are those that had their own signs, either as a banner at the head of their contingent, or written across a drum.

Here in parade order, are the pics: