Canadian Running Magazine January / February 2010 Issue. Double page spread photo by Kamil Bialous.

I'm always excited to see my work published. In the current issue of Canadian Running Magazine which is now on news tands, you can find a trail running photo that I shot a few months ago in Toronto. It's a double page spread across pages 12 and 13. Although Toronto isn't as green as some other cities, there are many opportunities to hit the trails still within the city limits.

The day had a funky vibe to it. It was warm (ish) but the sun hiding behind the clouds and a tiny bit of moisture on the vegetation really created a great mood and glow to the colors. I love shooting stuff like this to shed light on an everyday side of running. There are many ads that showcase the picturesque, sunny day, dry and warm trail run, but few magazines run photos that depict the everyday, perhaps less pretty side of it. I believe that photos with a little bit more grit and personality than the "sunny and happy" should be what brands and advertisers should be using to support their products. It has more approachability and relativity than the unconditionally and perpetually ideal and unrealistic image of perfect conditions.

If you're and advertiser or a running brand, let's talk! Lets get together with your vision and mine and create some real images!

Thanks to Canadian Running for running the image. Here' the issue's cover:

Cover of the Janurary / February 2010 issue of Canadian Running Magazine.

Cheers,

Kamil Bialous

Tags: advertising, canadian, double page spread, Editorial, magazine, photo, photograph. trail running, real running images, running, running ad, running brands, toronto.

A kayaker learns to roll his boat in Toronto as part of MEC Paddlefest 2009.

For all my photos from this event visit my portfolio site here.

Although we are far away from the mountains - and it pains me to see no snow here yet, and conversely a tonne out west (as I've mentioned before), at least we have the Great Lakes. Oh god, what would we be without them? Saskatchewan I guess. But I digress. The few Great lakes and many other small great and remote lakes and rivers throughout Ontario allow us to chase raging rivers, tour in sea kayaks for weeks, and portage with canoes for miles, or kilometers in the metric language.

The 2009 Paddlefest event was held on Lake Ontario at Sunnyside Park in downtown Toronto.

To celebrate these many exceptional benefits to being a paddler in the east, Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) will be hosting it's annual Toronto Paddling Festival affectionately dubbed Paddlefest, on June 12, and 13, 2010. The event which runs Saturday and Sunday sees several tens of on-water seminars, featuring kayaking, and canoeing, stand up paddle boarding, dragon boating, white water instruction for both canoers / open boaters and whitewater kayakers. The courses feature instruction by some of North America's best and most experienced instructors. In addition to water courses, there will also be land-based instruction on all things paddle sports related including selecting boats, planning extended trips, gear and boat repair, among many others. And that's just the instructional side of things. It is after all a FESTIVAL on a beach, so bring your sunscreen and come enjoy many of the exhibitors and paddling brands that make their way from across North America to be at this event.

A kayaker attempts to learn rolling a kayak from an experienced instructor at MEC Paddlefest in Toronto.

If I sound like I'm preaching about this, it's because it's one of the rare events in Toronto that is very accessible to the public in a downtown core location. Accessible both literally and in the sense that courses are very inexpensive and allows people of all shapes, sizes, and culture to come and have an intro to paddlesports in a safe environment.

A kayaker discusses techniques for self rescues before trying them on his own.

I have photographed this event for MEC for the past 4 years and I can safely say that it's steadily grown in size. I remember standing on the beach last June (2009) and wondering if this is the biggest paddling festival in Canada? It's got to be up there in numbers, I thought. Hundreds, (if not thousands) of people pass through, and if it's not the biggest by number, it's definitely the most multi cultural. Definitely a reflection of Toronto.

I hope you enjoy these photos I shot last year for the event. And of course, if youv'e got an event of a similar nature that you'd like me to cover, don't be a stranger - drop me a line using the Contact link above or at the following email and we'll discuss the details. contact (at) kamilbialous (dot) com

More photos below - remember to check out my portfolio for all the images from the event.

Cheers,

Kamil Bialous

SKILS instructor Michael Pardy teaches a kayak course as part of MEC Paddlefest 2009 in Toronto.

Kayak instructor / famed paddling blogger David Johnson ( http://www.paddlinginstructor.com ) preps a class before hitting the water at MEC Paddlefest.

Kevin Callan himself with all his tricks and treats speaking during a course about his personal equipment that makes the outdoors just a tad more comfortable.

Tags: 2009, 2010, adventure, aquabound, beach festival, boat repair, camping course, canada's biggest, canoe, canoeing, co-op, courses, demos, downtown toronto, dragon boating, event, event photographer, fest, festival, instruction, june, kayak, kayaking, kelly blades, Kevin Callan, kid active, kinesys, kokatat, lake ontario, learn to kayak, learn to roll, level six, mark kelly, MEC, Michael Pardy, Mountain Equipment Coop, outdoors, p and h, p&h, paddle, Paddlefest, paddler coop, paddling, park, photography, pyranha, p[addle boarding, seaward, SKILS, stand up, summer course, sun, sunnyside, SUP, teva, things to do, toronto, toronto beach, tourism, travel, water courses, white squall.

Trail running in autumn on the Don River trails in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

So unfortunately I have nothing witty or funny to say this time around. What I do have are some trail running images I shot recently around Toronto. The fortunate thing about living in the east is that the fall colours last a heck of a lot longer than out west. (I understand that there are a tonne more benefits to living out west nonetheless, such as the 80 inches of fresh on Mt. Baker in mid November) So to take advantage of what remains, I used the Don River trail system in Toronto as the setting for this trail running shoot.

Enjoy the photos. Here are some more in the portfolio section.

As always, let me know what you think. Shout me a holler home skillet. Is that how you spell it?

Cheers,

Kamil Bialous

Trail running in autumn on the Don River trails in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Trail running in autumn on the Don River trails in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Tags: adventure, autumn, colors, don river, fall, patagonia, photo shoot, run, runner, running, toronto, trail, urban escape.

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.