B & B Day

B & B stands for Butterfly World and Butchart's Garden - two amazing places for a photographer. 

Boomer Day II

Last January I had the opportunity to shoot a client's seven month old Yellow Lab, Boomer, at Esquimalt Lagoon. Boomer was a typical energetic pup at seven months and a great model! I was pleased with the pics but knew they weren't as good as they could have been with better glass.

So I jumped at the opportunity when I had a chance to do a repeat shoot with him at the same location but with way better camera equipment. What a difference top quality equipment makes!

There was also an opportunity to photograph his canine neighbour, Chevy, a fourteen month old long haired German Shepherd. Since GSDs are my breed, it was a real treat to shoot the young dog. He is a gorgeous dog with an atypical male shepherd head - gorgeous!

Victoria Classic Boat Festival '07

Photographers dream....if there were a few less people of the wharves! Next year I have to make a point of getting there early in the day to catch the sunrise and beat the crowds because its a little nerve wracking being jostled about when you are carrying all your camera gear. Oh well, amazing event well worth attending!

Queen Alexandra Hospital Car Show and Fund Raiser

This summer I seem to have developed a bit of an obsession - car shows. They are great to practice your photography skills because they don't move and yet are challenging because of the highly reflective bits (I ruin more then a few shots by having my image reflected back at me).

This particular show helps to raise money for an excellent cause - the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children. My first exposure to the QA was volunteering for a summer somewhere around grade six with a bunch of kids from neighboring schools. It was quite the summer - we went everywhere with the kids most of which were wheelchair bound. It taught me a ton about the frustration of physical handicaps and the limitations of being stuck in a wheelchair. Granted, this was the late 70's and as far as I can remember, things were not quite as handicap friendly back then. At least society has evolved a bit since then!

The show was on the waterfront grounds of the hospital - a beautiful spot near the University of Victoria. The cars started on Clover Point, however, and convoyed along the waterfront drive to the QA where they were parked according to marquee. I spent a few hours there with a fellow photographer capturing what I could of the vehicles and a German Shepherd puppy that caught my attention (of course).

Shanti's 3rd Birthday

My friend Duane, who I share, Shanti, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever with hosted a birthday party for her and invited a couple of her friends over for the afternoon. Murphy, the Lab, and Lewis, a Shih Tzu cross, had a wonderful time but I think enjoyed the hamburger birthday cake the best. It was a fun day but why do we wait until a birthday to have a few of our canine friends over with their parents? Seems silly although maybe half the fun is dressing the dogs in birthday hats....

Conquering Acrophobia in Colorado

Honestly, I am not afraid of heights but if I ever was, my recent trip to Montrose, Colorado for the Solihull Society's National Land Rover Rally would have either cured it or put me in the funny farm. With elevations topping 12,800 ft and ledges just wide enough for a Rover, this was not an event to take lightly. For proof, have a look at the pics.



It was a great weekend and as usual, the Solihull Society did an amazing job of keeping 160 odd Rovers and 320 people organized. Next year at Moab, UT, they are planning on 400 rigs for the 60th anniversary of Land Rover and most of us LR enthusiasts already have the dates blocked off on our calendars (Sept 16 - 20th).



For more on this year's event, pic up the December issue of Land Rover World or keep an eye on this Blog for more stories and information.



Note: LRW's September issue has the article on SCARR that I covered in April. I haven't seen it yet so I have no idea what it looks like or if they edited it down at all so be kind please!

Wet Weekend for the Toller Specialty

It poured all weekend! Everything got wet and considering the event was held the last weekend in July, it was freezing! Even the Tollers looked forlorn and tired of the wet by the end of the four days.
Okay, first off, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (NSDTR) is one of Canada's four national dog breeds and as you can imagine, were developed as a rather unique little bird dog. These medium sized retrievers are an unusual red colour with white toes, blaze, chest and tail tip. Tolling is a way of luring ducks closer to the hunter. In the wild, a fox scampers along the shoreline of a river or marsh attracting the curiosity of the ducks and as they come in for a closer look, he pounces and has a wonderful dinner. Tollers do the same thing for the hunter by mimicking the colouring and antics of the fox. Once the hunter blams the bird, the Toller then retrieves the prize.
For non-hunters, Tollers excel at pretty much anything their handler wants them to do. You will see them in the confirmation ring, agility, obedience, flyball, Rally-O, tracking, freestyle and the list goes on. They are a high energy, high drive and extremely intelligent breed that will become bored and destructive if they are not challenged both physically and mentally each day. These are not dogs for the first time owner nor are they a smaller version of a Golden Retriever! Unlike Goldens, their bloodlines have not been watered down (pardon the pun) - these are still pure hunting dogs that require a 'job' to preform.

With that said, onto the Toller Specialty! On Wednesday night, Alison 'Mrs. Toller' Strang held a seminar on judging the NSDTR. As the breed is relatively new to the international scene, many judges will not have seen more then a handful in their rings at one time. Judging seminars are the best way for them to learn what the breed is all about and what constitutes a good example of the breed versus a not so good one.
Thursday we hit TNT Kennels for the field trials. A great day for the dogs although it did seem as though the ducks were a bit 'off' as most of the dogs did not pick them up and complete the retrieve so there were many failures amongst the group.

On Friday we all met at the Hazelmere RV Park for a day of agility and obedience. Great day all in all but the weather could have co-operated a bit better.
The confirmation portion of the Specialty was held on Saturday and what an event! One hundered and forty six Tollers were entered - the largest grouping of these little red dogs in the history of the breed and when Roy Strang piped in the Parade of Tollers, there was hardly a dry eye amongst the handlers. An incredible experience and one that for once I was glad to be a part of versus hanging out on the sidelines taking pics.
Saturday night finished up the official part of the Specialty with the banquet, speeches, and awards.

However, for those not yet Tollered out, there was more confirmation, agility and obedience trials on the Sunday and a picnic on the Monday.
Six great days of Toller fun and it was ready for a break for the dogs and their handlers!

Land Rover Heritage - Top Gear

Okay, this is enough to make any Land Rover fanatic weep nostalgic tears of utter joy - especially when they drop a Series rig from an aircraft!

Bowler Nemesis debut launch at Land Rover World Show 2007

This is the Land Rover World Show at Eastnor Castle that I was supposed to attend but fell threw at the last minute. Sniff, sniff, sniff...maybe next year...

Skipper does Agility

The Tyee Kennel Club held their annual dog show over the weekend in Mill Bay and I took the opportunity to head up there to watch Skipper, my very favourite male Toller boy, do his thing in the ring. Skipper is Shanti's litter brother who lives with his parents, Bill and Janis McNeal, in Belfair, WA. I only had time to see one of the four runs he did that day and since I know next to nothing about agility, I have no idea how he did officially.
Unofficially, I thought he was wonderful!
Also a lesson in why you lug your good lenses everywhere with you no matter how much they weigh and annoy the heck out of you at times...the pics could have been something special but instead, they are just not. 
Oh well! At least the boy did a great job!

ACD Pup Time

I had a chance to shoot a litter of eight 5 week old Australian Cattle Dog pups on Sunday - what a scream! Visit my gallery to see a handful of the pics and there are more to come once I get a minute to process them all.
It was a wonderful hour and gave me the puppy fix I've been needing - nothing like getting mauled by a litter of pups to brighten your day!
Contact me for more info on the litter - looks like a few still need homes that understand the Heeler temperament ;-)

The Infamous Margarita Machine

Here is the margarita machine that Jerry built - I especially like the camo paint job!
Good job, Jerry and looking forward to seeing you at Montrose!
PS If any of the Texas Rovers are wondering why I haven't posted anything to their forum - like a thank you (oops!) - I am not only unable to log in, I am now blocked from my two IP readily available addresses so I can't even view the site! Don't know what I did to offend the internet gods but it is driving me nuts! Any suggestions?

The Canuck attends SCARR '07 - Part Four and Final Part

Writing on this blog is some of the most entertaining writing I do and yet it always takes a backseat to the stuff for clients so I am sorry it has taken me 10 days to finish this up!
Before I forget - Emily Watson and Africa doing the obstacle course Saturday afternoon.
After sleeping late because I had the gall to trust a hotel alarm clock - I finally got back out to Barnwell in time to be put in a front end loader and raised I don't know how many feet in the air to take the group shot. This a first for me and a little unnerving to say the least - the up wasn't bad, it was the tipping the bucket forwards to make sure it stayed even that felt a little odd. I now have a much greater appreciation for how smooth some operators tip their bucket - I am sure it wasn't as bad as felt but it felt pretty incredibly jerky from inside the bucket!
I am still waiting for someone from the group to send me a pic of me in the bucket to add to my collection of 'Odd Photoshoots I have Survived'. It should look good beside the one of me on top of some guys Disco at Moab last October on the 'Top fo the World' trail (if you've been there, you know the spot!) trying to organize a cover shot for the magazine. Amazing how bossy you can get when its 35 degrees Celsius at 8000 ft up with no shade on top of a very reflective silver Disco - great place for a red with no hat to spend an hour or two...
After the front end loader ride, I felt pretty safe in Clay Templeton's Disco II even though he classes himself at the 'insane' level of driving experience and the trails he took the group on are some of the most challenging at Barnwell. Don't believe me?!? See the pics - visit my gallery and click on the Saturday morning (Sat. am) shots! Judge for yourself! This was a photographers dream shoot - thanks go to Clay for letting me ride along!
We got back to the camp area around 1pm - just in time for the obstacle course. The rules were that anyone with under one years driving experience could do the obstacle course as you would expect - sighted. Anyone with over one years experience had to do it blindfolded with a navigator directing them from the passengers seat...yup, you read that right...needless to say the spot I picked a to photograph the event from had a nice thick tree between the trail and me and I was ready dive at any minute. Ended up not being me that nearly lost their life - have a look at the vid a few posts before this one and you will see what I mean.
The banquet was amazing - my first taste of Texas bbq and now I know I will have to come back and after dinner came the requisite raffle ticket draw. I have never seen so many raffle items donated - the generosity of the sponsors was something else! And I don't know if it was rigged or not but one guy of the Arkansas guys would have had trouble fitting all the stuff that he won into his rig to get it home.
Ever seen a homemade margarita machine?!? This was new for me too. It involved a brand new Garbarator and one of those huge drink cooler that you see being dumped over coaches heads after football games. And I think a generator was in there somewhere too. Anyway, made great margaritas and I wish I had taken a moment to take a picture 'cause I don't think anyone back here in Canada believes me!
Along with the bucket ride earlier in the day, I had yet another new and rather white-knuckling experience - off road driving at night. It took a little to relax and I don't know if it was the margaritas or the driver's skill but Scott Hildreth, who offered up his passenger seat to me, proved it didn't have to be as scary as it sounds. Most of the time. It had its moments. Next year I will have to bring a tripod and night shooting stuff to catch some pics as it looked cool with all the lights in a row bouncing all over the place.
We had to finish up driving for the night at 10pm and at this point I figured it was a good time to get back to the hotel to pack and download pics etc. Good thing I did 'cause it was still after 1am before I got to bed.
Sunday was a sad day with everyone packing up to head home. Christopher Pullen and his two boys drove me back to the airport - thank you Christopher! From there the real adventure began with flights two hours late, running for connections and ending up arriving in Vancouver in the middle of the night with no luggage. People ask why I never check my camera equipment and why I am more paranoid about losing my discs of the backed up pics then my passport ;-)
See ya' next year, Texas Rovers and thank you for making this Canuck feel so welcome!

The Canuck Attends SCARR '07 - Part Three

I better hurry up on this or I'll forget everything I did over last weekend! Or no one will care anymore....
Before I forget, I have started uploading pics to my gallery and boy, did I forget how how long it takes to deal with this many pics!
So last we left SCARR, I think JB was about to be sent to the registration desk and I got to go play on the trails with Arto Pullinen in his Disco, Sean Sweeney (thanks JB!) in his Range Rover Classic and Trigger (do we need any more than that?!? To me it is a name that says it all!) in his Defender 90.
This was my first real taste of Barnwell Mountain Rec Area and its incredible concentration of trails. In the matter of just a few hours, I saw more obstacles then at any other event I have attended in the same time frame. The idea of having a specific area maintained by various groups of off road clubs is an exciting one - this can't be the only one but it is definitely the largest I have ever heard of in North America.
Of course, they do everything big in Texas...
The afternoon was great fun and I think I took more pics of Arto's Disco then any other rig at the event. The Rutland Red is very photogenic!

After a few hours, we found JB again and as I had to head back to the hotel to download pics and recharge my camera batteries. Imagine my surprise when he handed me not only a beer but also the keys to his P38! I guess he didn't want to be my official driver anymore but whatever, a Rangie as clean as his is a treat no matter what!
That was it for Friday unless you want me to talk about the construction/oil rig workers who partied until midnight and then were up again at 5am...they were fun ;-)
Saturday started off as every Land Rover event day should start - an unexpected meeting of why these events exist...plus she gave the best quote of the weekend!
I was trying to find a cup of coffee worth drinking when a woman entered the breakfast room of the motel. Funny, she didn't look like a typical Land Rover enthusiast - she was older, a grandmother and had bought the Disco after seeing a Julia Roberts movie where she did the 'soccer mom' in a one. 'Africa' soon had rack, bush bumper, 2" lift and winch.
Quote of the weekend...."Every Grannie should have a winch!"
Definitely set the tone for the day!
Which I guess will be Part Four of this - time to watch the second period of the Canucks vs Anaheim game.

SCARR 2007 Blindfolded Challenge

The dreaded obstacle course...right well, it was entertaining. For drivers with under a years experience, they did the course like you would expect. For drivers with over a year, they did it blindfolded with a navigator in the passenger seat telling them where to go...this was entertaining to say the least. I spent the afternoon drinking beer and taking photos. Near the end, I couldn't hold it any longer and had to go to the little girls outhouse and I missed this near wipe out! I can't believe it!!!

The Canuck Attends SCARR '07 - Part Two

Okay, part two...just to keep JB happy...


Previously in 'The Canuck Attends SCARR '07', we left Edward and Turner Cook at Twister, the infamous frame wrenching obstacle, with young Turner attempting to conquer the trail in his '95 Classic Range Rover.


After a few harrowing minutes that thankfully his mother did not witness, Turner backed away and admitted defeat. With little coaxing on our part, Edward hopped into his Defender 110 to see if experience and rear lockers could complete what his young son could not.


He walked up it as expected.


Edward's 110 is a pretty sweet rig. A NAS (North American Spec) Defender 110, the rig is in perfect condition inside and out. Edward even pulled the stock manual transmission and installed a more efficient automatic to make this one formidable Land Rover.


Just to impress us further, JB hopped into his completely stock 2002 P38 and again, the formidable obstacle was conquered (boy, I should write commercials or something else just as tacky!).

One of the more memorable quotes of the weekend was hollered right about this time when Edward bellowed at his son something along the lines of "Go get that damn truck and finish this trail!".

Turner followed the lines already set out by his father and completed Twister - thank gawd or those of us with RRC would have to had to hide our faces for the rest of the weekend!
A word about JB and his stock P38: the previous month, his wife with a Rover full of passengers, rolled his Discovery II. From what I gathered, his insurance company paid out the cost of the rig and a while later, his local dealer called him up to tell him about an '02 Range Rover that had been traded in. Great time to have friends in high - or at least Rover - places. With SCARR so soon after purchase, he had no time to do anything on the new Rangie nor had he taken it off road before attending the event.
In true Land Rover fashion, the Rangie took to the trails and made her new owner proud while impressing the heck out of everyone else at the event! I would love to have a minute with the previous owner as the Rangie is clean enough that there was no way it was ever taken off road and it would be way too much fun to show just how capable of a vehicle their old rig was even if they were not. What a waste to only do highway miles in any Land Rover and never experience what the designers of the original Rangie had in mind way back in 1973 when the first prototype left Solihull and the world was introduced to the very first Sport Utility Vehicle.

Part Three coming soon to a blog near you!

The Canuck Attends SCARR '07 - Part One

Last October when I was at the Solihull Society's National Rally at Moab, Utah, I met a couple of the guys from the Texas Rovers group. Jim Edson and his wife Vangie invited me to the clubs annual Land Rover event - South Central Area Rover Rally - held at Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area near Gilmer, TX this past weekend.
Texas is amazing and the people even better. There was more then a little stress about the event on my part. It is a strange feeling walking off a plane someplace you have never been, hopping into a vehicle with a near stranger and driving into literally the middle of nowhere.
Event Coordinator Jon Button - JB - did a great job of alleviating my stress. Combo tour guide/babysitter (yes, I do need one those periodically), he showed me such exciting things as the drive thru 'Beer Barn' and three hours of the backroads of Texas before dropping me at my motel in Gilmer.

Eastern Texas is a beautiful part of the US and well worth visiting. It had rained heavily the previous week so everything was lush green and in bloom - perfect for a photographer!

Friday morning was my first taste of the Barnwell Mountain Rec Area. Traditionally an iron strip mine and then the 'old picnic spot' near Gilmer, Barnwell is 1600 acres of trails. I heard both 70 miles and 200 miles of trails wind their way around the mountain so I am not sure which to believe but I wouldn't be surprised if there were at least seventy miles.

Barnwell is cooperatively maintained by a bunch of the local off-road organizations with each one having specific trails to maintain as well as their own camping area. It is a truly unique area and I think the guys got sick of listening to me go on and on about how great it is to have a place like this were all your trails are within a few hundred meters of each other. Hopefully they at least realize how lucky they are even if they did get sick of me talking about it!

Another completely unique aspect of Barnwell is the erosion factor. Normally this would not be a good thing and whenever there is erosion damage to a trail or gravel road in British Columbia, the trail is closed and the environmentalists get on our case about destroying our natural areas (I agree with them part way but figure BC has enough wild area that I am sure we can all share. Don't believe me? Look at a satellite picture of the province and you'll see it is pretty much 90% uninhabited if not more).
In Barnwell, the erosion is intense - a trail can completely change after one good rainstorm. It keeps the trails a challenge for the local clubs as you never know what may be different which is kinda' cool when you consider that there are only so many trails to begin with - seventy miles of them but only so many...
Barnwell is famous for its red dirt that, from what I have been told, never comes out of your clothes and is near impossible to wash off your Rover. All I now is that I am still blowing it out of my camera and even after washing, my once white socks are an interesting shade of beige.
After registration and paperwork was complete, JB and I went for a drive so he could show me a bit of the place. We didn't get very far before we stumbled upon Edward Cook and his son Turner. Turner was attempting Twister - a frame wrenching, suspension stretching bit of trail in his '95 Range Rover Classic...look for Part Two soon!

Finally I can post to my blog again!

This has been nuts! Its been over a month since Blogger has allowed me access to this blog...not that much has gone on I guess...well, no, that's not true at all - its been a heck of a month and I don't even know where to begin!
Let's travel backwards in time to start with the Pacific Coast Rover Club's Spring Women's Run on April 7th in Portland, Oregon. Pamela Petroff organized the event and as with everything Pamela does, it was a well-organized and fun day. Some pics of the day are on my gallery and eventually an article will be in Land Rover World (if I do my homework tomorrow!).
Backwards isn't working I guess - let's talk about SCARR '07. On the 19th I am off to Dallas, Texas for the South Central Area Rover Rally. This promises to be an interesting event for this little Canadian chickie and I have been assured that if the Dallas Stars don't win at least one game against the Vancouver Canucks between now and the 19th, I won't be getting picked up at the airport...pressures on and I guess it would not go over so well if I wore my jersey ;-) Anyway, again I am putting this together for Land Rover World and I am really looking forward to this event. I met a few of the members at Moab in October 2006 and I am excited about the opportunity to meet more of them before this year's Solihull Society's National Rally in Montrose, Colorado - the more the merrier at these events.
Oh, and in June I am heading to England for Land Rover World's Annual Show at Eastnor Castle! The truly exciting part is that John Carroll, the editor of the LRW, is going to arrange an opportunity for me to test drive the new Defender! Hard for non-Land Rover fanatics to understand maybe but the Defender has not even been released in the UK yet and the chance of it ever coming to North America is pretty slim (NA is getting way to regulated when it comes to the specs necessary to meet for importing vehicles).
This will have to be continued tomorrow - too much to write about for one day! So tomorrow expect to read about C.A.A.R.F. and B.A.R.F., pet food recalls and much much more!

Camel Trophy

Added ust for fun! This is the well put together Camel Trophy doc. No, I do not own a one of these Rovers...unfortunately!

Great Divide

Documentary on the 1989 Land Rover Great Divide Expedition through Colorado that featured the calssic Range Rover. This is the adventure my new 1991 Great Divide Edition Range Rover Special Edition was based on.

50th Land Rover Anniversary

50th anniversary Land Rove montage

Oh My Dog Supplies

A month or so ago I started writing for a specialty dog stuff site out of San Fran called Oh My Dog Supplies and I am pretty impressed with not only the products offered, but also the people behind the site. Their products are unique - stuff you are not going to find at the local PetsMo or where ever you shop right now.
Personally I wish I knew there was such a thing as a 7' orthopedic dog bed with a headrest when Sable was still alive - she would have loved it!

Oh My just posted some new products on their site - really cool feeders and dog bowls that fit any style or taste.
I put together their monthly newsletter - great fun and I love keeping up with all stuff doggy! They are a treat to work with and I love that they can find products that no one else carries. Good job, Eric and all the people behind Oh My Dog Supplies!

My New Rangie!

I am now the proud owner of a 1991 Great Divide Edition Range Rover!

On Monday I flew from Victoria down to Portland, Oregon where I was met by Doug Shipman, owner of Ship's Mechanical. The Rangie has been stored at his shop for the last few months and he went over it for me with a fine tooth comb. After some new bits and pieces, he deemed it not only fit for me to pick up but more importantly a fine example of a classic Range Rover! And take my word for it, if Doug says its good you can believe it! His shop specializes in Rovers and both he and his wife are avid off-road drivers as well as members of the Pacific Coast Rover Club.
Doug and Jean showed me around Portland a bit then took me to Henry's 12th Street Tavern for dinner and a couple of pints. It is an incredible place located in the 100 hundred year old Henry Weinhardt's original brewery building. It is the perfect place to take visitors as it combines both the history of the area with the modern upscale feel of the recently rebuilt oldtown Portland. Te food was amazing and the beer even better! And the billiards room - I do not have words to describe the billiards room, you have to see it to believe it! The room made me wish I wasn't completely hopeless at billiards...maybe I will practise before the next time I vist the city.
I left Portland after a few final adjustments to the Rangie Tuesday morning and headed north to Glacier, Washington. My friend Stuart had borrowed the keys to a friend's cabin at Snowline - a peaceful community near the base of Mt. Baker. The cabin was perfect and the hot tub even better! It was probably good for me to be away from both my cell and internet access for 48 hours although I was getting a bit twitchy by the time I could download my email to my cell (yes, I am that much of a geek...).
Customs went smoothly and we dropped the new Rangie off at Silk Cat Automotive for the provincial inspection. Keep your fingers crossed!
Sadly I did not take a single picture of Portland, Glacier or my Rangie - I guess when I take a couple of days off my brain decides that even photography is included in that. Stuart thankfully did take a pic of Kelsey, the white GDE Rangie beside Buttercup, his yellow '97 Trek Rangie in front of the cabin.
My heartfelt thank you to Doug and Jean Shipman for a wonderful evening and putting me up for the night, for George Balzer for loaning us the cabin, for Stuart for helping me get Kelsey home and Greg at Silk Cat for hopefully completing the provincial inspection!

A Sunny Saturday Photo Shoot

I love my job! On Saturday afternoon, I met a client and her 5 month old Yellow Lab puppy at the Esquimalt Lagoon for a beach photo shoot. It was an incredible day - blue sky, huge sun and crisp temperatures. Boomer was a great subject - visit my gallery for a look at the pictures. He is a happy, easy going pup with more character then he really knows what to do with at this time! And like all Lab puppies, he has more skin and huge paws to grow into but for now, that extra skin makes for some amazing action shots - enjoy!

Roverlander's Founder's Day Weekend

What an amazing weekend! The Show n' Shine Saturday night brought in fifty-two Land Rovers in total - the highest participation ever. There were tons of raffle prizes and the voting for the best Landy in its class kept the crowd content while raising funds for the non-profit society.
Sunday we headed west of Squamish for the Snowflake Run and again had incredible participation with seventeen Rovers and two Unimogs coming out to play in the snow. Snow depth was around two feet which made for great fun without too many vehciles getting stuck.
I lucked out and hitched a ride with Ryan Ulansky in his Defender 110. The night before, Ryan and his Rover won Best Equipped at the Show n' Shine but he should be getting used to the attention by now. At the Portland All British Field Meet, his 110 won Best in Show over 87 other Rovers - a huge win! For more information on that win and the meet, the April '07 edition of Land Rover World is running a full piece on the event.
One of the perks (or is it?!?) of being the official press mobile is that you and your Landy end up with more photos then anyone else -even when you get stuck in the snow...sorry Ryan, your secret is out! 
Oh, why did I put those two short videos up? I have my '04 Land Rover Freelander SE3 up for sale and I am constantly being teased by the Rover crowd that it is not a 'real Land Rover'. Anyone who questions whether the Freelander deserves to display the LR logo should have a look at exactly what these vehicles can do!

Land rover Freelander

land rover freelander

Land Rover Freelander Rally (TLRC)

Land rover Freelander Rally

Welcome!

It looks that 2007 will be the most exciting year yet for me and I want to invite you all along for the ride!

After leaving my full-time safety net job in the summer to build up my business as a freelance writer, designer and photographer has a had a few scary moments...ask any of my family or friends and they will tell you about the days of white knuckling it through an assignment. But what a kick it has been and I wouldn't change my life for right now anything!
So here is a quick itinerary for the next few months to help entice you all to come along for the ride...

On January 20th and 21st, the Rover-Landers of BC is holding their annual Founder's Day Truck Show and Shine from 4pm to 11pm at the Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds followed by the Snowflake Run on Sunday. This is the largest showing of Land Rovers in Western Canada with everything from the vehicle that started it all - the Series I - to the more modern Defender, Discoveries, Range Rover and even my Freelander (that is for sale). The show is open to everyone whether you own a Land Rover or just dream about it so come out and see what the legend is all about!
The next big trip is, again, a Land Rover Trip but this time to Europe and the UK. This is exciting stuff as I have never been to the 'old country' and we will be travelling in my friend Stuart's new 1976 Series III Carawagon (I will supply a pic I promise!). This Rover has travelled around the world and has done some incredible trips - Anchorage to Argentina I think being the most exceptional. We will be heading off in June for hopefully a month or so - more on that later!
I guess the last big trip planned so far for 2007 is the National Land Rover Rally in Colorado August 17th to 19th but again, more about that next time!