Making the grade to Inland Seas
So for the second time in a week, a magazine has contacted me for photos for up coming shoots. This one being the Inland Seas a boat watchers magazine. At first I thought it was for a freighter shot or so then to my surprise, Mr Palmer was doing a historical piece on the Olive Branch.
KEY STATS:
Ship Type: Schooner
Lifespan: Built 1871, Sunk 1880
Length: 92ft
Depths: 100ft
Location: Main Duck Island, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
GPS N43 55.906 W76 44.269
The Olive Branch was built by W Redmond of Picton Ontario, in 1871. Enroute to Portsmouth (Kingston) in 1880 with a load of coal the Olive Branch was caught in a storm and capsized drowning all five of her crew members. Located in 1888 efforts to raise her were abandoned and she was forgotten about till 1961, when Willis Metcalfe & Guenter Wernthaler relocated her.
I ventured outside today tending on visiting Adam but a flash flood on the 401 caught my attention so took some photos which got featured on the nightly news tonight.
Published again
So the publisher of “Amazing Stories: Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes” contacted me for more photos for the book in particular this time the George A Marsh.
So these are some of the ones I sent this time, Thanks to Chris, Kevin, Harold, Sean for the modeling these past summers hopefully many more coming soon.
More Pool Sharks on the way
New Year and a new training cycle for area divers, David gets the first one out of the way this weekend with a 6 OW and 3 Rescue students for me to train in everyone’s pools sessions. I keep forgetting how much I hate chorine and time and time again I put my self into it. Almost daily actually.
Lately I have been run down and the dr. thinks my thyroid needs adjustment but wants to do more tests, low thyroid problems is a product of side effects from Depression drugs, so yet another present to remind me that being normal is a job and a half on behalf.
In the pool I tried out the 28mm lens I got to get it dailed in for underwater mosaics, which is going to take some work but I think it’s going to be doable in good vis conditions. After the pool we hit the Oarsman like normal and hosted a pint.
Photo shoot at the waterfront
So Adam called today and wanted to take a photo tour so haven’t been hanging and banging with him off we went. We started at the Fort from RMC and then off to the Marine Museum for some construction shots. After waiting sometime for the diver to come out of the water we headed to NTD for a bit. We then got sidetracked due to the Fire Department doing some rescue training.
All in all a good day with the exception of the Dr calling and ordering more blood work so I hope that I can get out and do more photo shoots in the coming weeks.
More shots here.
Drydock Construction keeps moving
Once upon a time everyone that dove Kingston made a dive at the marine Museum. Before I stopped logging dives I had over 300 dives there. Bottle hunting got some good ones, training dives, checkout dives, ice dive, I learned how to scooter properly there, and even test ran almost every piece of gear I owned there.
New Years day dives netted 30 people and pizza and Hot Chocolate afterwards. We ran lines to the wreck, and naval anchors. One Year friends of mine raised an anchor and placed it into a car and thats when it all started to unfold. The community fell apart and went 5 different ways to sunday and now hardly anyone dives at the Marine Museum anymore. Now No one will see the ghastly appearance in March under a little of ice and all the chains hanging down from the boat markers, the big carp and pike that cruise the dock for easy pickings. And the easy in and out for those with handicaps. Tonight they drain her for the last time and the Alexander henry will be no longer in water and dry-docked.
Progress I guess, I will still have memories of diving under the ice for the first time, finding a rum jug, friends finding swords, rifles and many many bottles. Hopefully they will do something about shore access as for at least 5 years its been fenced off and only those illegally dumping garbage use the site. But there’s other sites to use and enjoy I guess and they will have to do. I will also look forward to the finish product and be one of those guys that say “remember when”
Happy Birthday Sir John Eh
Well it’s the 1st PMs birthday today and the city celebrated with a ceremony at the statue, then revealed some new signs to go on the highway. It’s about time as Canadians we start celebrating our forefathers, the americans have been doing it for ever and ever. While we don’t do squat. Hooray
Next thing the city is going to do is restore and house the train that bears his name in front of city hall and the reconstruction of the dry dock. A good day for heritage and history in Kingston and with out the normal bitching first from the the vocal minorities that seem to run this town.
I will get some pics once the drydock finishes draining this week. Again happy 195th John
Published in Kingston Life
I went to the racetrack and was met by the guy that is in charge of the removal of everything and got the grand tour. He explained to me that they tried to put a box on the roof level and it broke the back of the structure. With that and the amount of upgrades needed they decided it was not worth it and turned it into a training ground for the Ottawa Raceway horses.
Kingston Life had this to say at the shot and location
Recently retired after 27 years with the military, Tom Rutledge, photographer for Left Behind, now enjoys photography — above and below the surface of the water — as a full-time passion with his wife, Polly. He specializes in underwater photography in the Kingston area, as well as urban and rural decay.
Kingston Park Raceway
(formerly Frontenac Downs)
On McAdoo’s Lane in the north end of the city, Kingston’s horse racing track lies dormant, but the grandstand, scoreboard and scattered harnesses that remain call to mind the once-popular site opened in 1971. Currently owned by the Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa and used as a training facility, the track hasn’t seen live horse racing since the Kingston Park Raceway was forced to close. In January of 1995, then-owner of the facility, former television newsman Dick Trotter, announced he was temporarily cancelling the live racing program due to an ongoing shortage of horses, but would continue to broadcast races onsite via satellite. With listed debts of around $300,000 and a mandate from the Ontario Racing Commission to develop a solid financial plan before live racing could resume, Trotter lost the track a few months later and the mortgage holder, McAdoo Auto Parts, sold the property. In April of 2000, the general manager of racing at Rideau Carleton announced intentions to revive the facility and schedule races on the track by the summer. The idea received the support of city council, but the application to the racing commission was never carried out.
Using the above photo
Churches in Town
Found most of them closed today, I guess there’s a high rate of crime :p
more here. I will add more in the coming weeks
A day on the Rideau
Before my latest tattoo appointment I took a ride out to the Rideau for a looksie and found this old cottage at the end of a side road that was marked Cottage for Rent. I think the cottage is further down the unplowed road or someone has a sense of humour.
At one of our wintering diving holes I spotted this red squirrel having a snack at the Lockmasters home on top of the hill then down to the lock for this picture.
Taking pictures in white snow at mid day presents a challenge, and I figured out that using the flash actually brings the white out a little more but I had to adjust the ISO and EV offset as well as they were getting blown out. Perhaps tomorrow I will venture out to some of the downtown churches. Tonight after group maybe some night shots.
A New Year and the dive counter starts again
After 293 dives last year it’s going to be hard to top that but I am sure that Chris will be up for the task. 
. So today we did the deed and first dive, at first I thought it wasn’t going to happen as everyone was either working or skiing today. At 9 am I got the call and 4 more shortly afterwards so I was diving today.
Off to Richardson’s beach and to the wreck that lays about 10 mins from shore. The strange thing was with the visibility and grace of those that made it all away out the wreck looked totally different then previous visits.
Large fish were out in force and I kept thinking that John came diving today instead of fishing his loss maybe, but the vis made up for everything.
