random
Tucked into the base of the Gatineau hills is a small town called
Chelsea. Ottawa residents looking for a quick escape from the city
are frequent visitors to the town, and to the lakes and wooded trails
that surround it.
This photo was taken on a rather wet, grey day. I was alone in this
section of the park, save for a slightly sodden wedding party getting
their picture taken under the leaves of a golden maple tree. I found
the fallen leaves more interesting, myself.
At the end of a project conference, I asked some friends
of mine from the northern Banks Islands group to perform
a kastom dance for the attendees, and to make kava for us.
Kava for commercial consumption is generally washed in a
cement mixer and passed through a sausage grinder before
being sieved through a woman's slip. The kastom method,
on the other hand, consists of grinding the kava with a
decidedly phallic-looking coral stone, then
several times through a filter made of coocnut fibre.
No sooner did my friend Stephen announce that he was driving
across Tanna to see the volcano, than we found ourselves hosts
to about half a dozen passengers travelling to various villages
along the road.
This young man from White Sands and I joked and laughed all the way
down the (very) rutted road. I'm frankly amazed that a photo
taken one-handed in the back of a speeding truck could have worked.
I decided the try shooting the view from the back of the truck
because it represents most of what an island traveler ever
sees.
Imagicity | Photography - exotica, mundanity and wonders | © Dan McGarry
