I spent the 2011 Easter long weekend travelling, eating and drinking my way through northern Washington state and the San Juan Islands. In a word - amazing. I've never imaged little towns with so much character in such a remote part of a state. But anyway, a blog post will surely describe that trip in the near future.

For now, check out some of these images I made 2 years ago during my most memorable Easter ever. I was working on a documentary project in Peru and on the advice of friends, we travelled to Ayacucho for Semana Santa. I won't attempt to write about the experience because words won't be able to explain the emotions, excitement, adventure, and spontaneity of that trip. So for now, these photos will have to do. I was motivated to share these after checking out some images from Spain of Semana Santa, which reminded me of my great trip. This place is not to be missed. A must-do on your life list.

Enjoy.

Tags: ayacucho, celebration, documentary, easter, images, peru, photojournalism, santa, semana, travel, travel photographer, vancouver.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

So I had a great escape to Idaho and Wyoming once again. Glad to have it work out so well, and timed it almost perfectly for one of the biggest powder dumps of the year. On top of all the great skiing I managed to shoot a few frames of the excellent skiers who dragged my sorry butt up and down the mountain for 8 days straight.

Here are some photos to ease mid-winter blues (mine especially since I'm back in Ontario), and a big cheers to more big dumps coming in February and March, and excellent corn skiing in the spring.

Cheers,

Kamil Bialous

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Skiing in Wyoming. Grand Targhee. Photo Kamil Bialous.

Tags: alpine, backcountry, grand targhee, idaho, images, photography, powder, sidecountry, ski, skiing, telemark, wyoming.

Moon-een on McCaul at OCAD. Kind of a cloudy surreal petting zoo.

Scotia Bank Nuit Blanche to many people is an event that is not to be missed. I never really plan on going until the last minute - something about being elbow-to-elbow with thousands of people for many hours - but in the end, I always give in. Don't get me wrong, it's cool and interesting, so attempts should be made to at least check out something that night. Having said that, it's a little difficult to do anything else in the city on Nuit Blanche night, and it does provide some cool opportunities for street photography, so I got together with my buddy Trevor and hit the (crowded) streets for a few hours of weaving through traffic and exploring the "art".

I never really formulate a plan for Nuit Blanche, unlike others who are probably way more efficient than I am at seeing all the installations, and I simply roam the streets, following crowds, with my little info book in-hand. I brought my camera long with a 50mm lens to keep things light and simple. There were quite a few people with cameras out on the streets because it is kind of a big carnival road show.

Most interesting to me was the human interaction element between the art pieces and the public crowd. There was really no invisible wall between performer and audience, and often times the public was equal part to the exhibit. I converted everything to black and white because it looks better to me this way, again, simplifies things.

If I had to pick my two favourite exhibits from the night, they would be the Vodka Pool and the Bouncing Bride. You can check them out in the photos below.

Enjoy the photos.

Ghost Chorus - Dirge for Dead Slang, on Bay St. A kind of ghost chanting orchestra, if you will.

An on-looker at City Hall in Toronto.

Beautiful Light: 4 Letter Word Machine. Suspended in the air over City Hall in Toronto.

Rabbit Balloon, also known as the silver bunny, was flying high inside Toronto's Eaton's Centre.

Speed Shift, a pulsating LED wave strip below Toronto's Eaton's Centre.

Wild Ride, a carnival theme park with rides located on Bay St in Toronto, right in the heart of the financial district.

Vodka Pool, (and wishing well?) inside the Lobby of Commerce Court West in Toronto's financial district.

On the way from downtown Toronto along King St. west to Liberty Village. Not an art installation, but perhaps should have been? A sign of the economic times, perhaps?

Take Shelter, a take on the homeless situation as well as creation of home from non-permanent things, Liberty Village.

The Apology Project, 55 paper-bag wearing people apologized for to anyone who ventured close to them, Liberty Village, Toronto.

The Apology Project, 55 paper-bag wearing people apologized for to anyone who ventured close to them, Liberty Village, Toronto.

And I saved my favourite for last: The Bouncing Bride!

The Bouncing Bride: What Goes Down Must Come Up, a dance party in a court yard where people we encourage to get up and bounce with a bride on top of a gigantic cake. Surrounded by dancing brides - pretty cool actually. Music Gallery Court Yard in Toronto.

The Bouncing Bride: What Goes Down Must Come Up, a dance party in a court yard where people we encourage to get up and bounce with a bride on top of a gigantic cake. Surrounded by dancing brides - pretty cool actually. Music Gallery Court Yard in Toronto.

The Bouncing Bride: What Goes Down Must Come Up, a dance party in a court yard where people we encourage to get up and bounce with a bride on top of a gigantic cake. Surrounded by dancing brides - pretty cool actually. Music Gallery Court Yard in Toronto.

The Bouncing Bride: What Goes Down Must Come Up, a dance party in a court yard where people we encourage to get up and bounce with a bride on top of a gigantic cake. Surrounded by dancing brides - pretty cool actually. Music Gallery Court Yard in Toronto.

End. KB.

Tags: art, black and white, images, nuit blanche, Nuit Blanche 2009, photography, photos, photos from the night, scotiabank, toronto.