Kerr Photography - Victoria, BC, Professional Photographer » association

Scottish Country Dancing

Matthew — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:00:48 +0000

I recently did an advertising shoot with the Vancouver Island Scottish Country Dancing Society (VISCDS) to promote their program and their upcoming Open House. This was a group of people of an assortment of age, skill and ethnicity. We had the pleasure of having some guest instructors from Japan come over to show off their talent. Who knew that Scottish dancing is popular in Japan?

Some information about the group can be found on their website. And if you’re interested in attending their open house, it’s being held on Tuesday September 8th, 2009 Church of St. Martin in the field. Just on a side note, this is not Highland dancing, nor do you need a kilt or a partner for the open house.

Sailing, Esquimalt Harbour

Matthew — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:58:19 +0000

One of the joys of my job is that I get to go sailing. Constantly. As in everyday I get to be on the water in a boat and enjoying the sea. The other day, I was out on a Sonar. It’s a 23 foot keel boat that is designed as the International Sailing Association Federation (ISAF) Paralympic class 3-person keel boat. I was out on it taking pictures for the Disabled Sailing Associations Martin 16. Shortly after (and before) these pictures, the mast on the martin 16 fell off of the boat and all pictures stopped as my boat rescue training came in to play and I (and the other staff of DSA) had to perform a rescue before the boat (and the sailors) drifted in to the rocks.

The people in the boat, Max and John, are also instructors of DSA. John, a new instructor to the program was learning the boat during this sail. In the picture below, he is hoisting the boats “turbo kit” asymmetrical spinnaker. Max is a returning instructor coming back for his second year at DSA.

Of course, I was turning around for a better angle on the boat when the mast fell off and I missed all of the action. It’s funny how a split second decision can cause you to miss the shot. Since the sails went swimming, we had to wash and dry them to get all of the salt off. Below is Lukas, another new instructor, and Head Instructor Evan having a laugh about the incident that just went down.

Disabled Sailing Association

Matthew — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:26:18 +0000

I have the pleasure to tell you today about an association in Victoria that has been a part of my life for 4 years. The Disabled Sailing Association is a non-profit organization out of Esquimalt harbour that gives lessons, cruise sails, and takes trips to the Easter Seals Camp in Shawnigan during the summer to those who are living with disabilities. The summer is coming up and they will be looking for volunteers. If you are interested, contact the Recreation Integration Victoria at (250)477-6314.

^{Martin 16 with Instructor Max Brown – Matthew Kerr}

The above picture, a Martin 16 keel boat, designed specifically to be adaptable for sailors with disabilities. The Disabled Sailing Association of B.C., Victoria Branch (DSABC) has two of these. They also have a few other boats including the Access dinghy and an olympic class Sonar keel boat. During the summer more than 200 sails will take place in Esquimalt harbour. For information on DSABC or the Recreation Integration Victoria visit www.rivonline.org. Volunteers are always needed for a nice summer day on the water.