Mac's Hockey

Avery Gouw (right) of Medicine Hat Sports Hounds and Ellen Lind of the Saskatoon Stars battle for the puck at the Mac's AAA Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary on December 28. The Hounds won 4-2. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Goaltender Samantha Rupp of Medicine Hat Sports Hounds stops a penalty attempt by Rebecca Unrau of the Saskatoon Stars late in third period action at the Mac's AAA Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary on December 28. The Hounds won 4-2. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

I'm having a blast. The girls are rough, the boys are rougher. These kids make me wish I had played hockey when I was younger. Instead I swam and danced and played piano. Not to say I didn't do that well, but none of those are aggression sports the way hockey is. A couple more days to go!

Hockey Time

Winter, especially Alberta winter, means hockey.

I've been given media access to the Mac's AAA Midget Hockey Tournament. It's pretty well-known but still laid-back enough that they're fine with me wandering around the boards and chatting to the zamboni drivers. I have loads to edit, but for now, a quiet moment that you don't always get with the whole action and speed of the game.

Jodi Hickle of the Medicine Hat Sports Hounds waits in the makeshift penalty area of the Max Bell #2 Arena. The female divisions play on the smaller rink in the arena, with folding chairs as a penalty box and only a few rows of stands and thick mesh to view through. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

I'm excited for more!

Pyrogy Day

In my mother's well-splattered recipe book, they are spelt pyrohy. My Polish family members spell them pierogi. Canadian groceries stores tend to spell them perogy. In any case, one of the days before Christmas is usually dedicated to an assembly-line production of the tasty potato-based dumplings. This year, with just my parents and myself in town, the assembly-line was a bit smaller on Christmas eve. Nonetheless, well over 70 pyrogies were produced and subsequently enjoyed. Many are frozen so that they last longer than a few days.

Purple potatoes grown in my parents' garden are peeled and boiled not thirty feet from where they grew. The purple potatoes, or Royal Blue, are the official insides of the Psutka Pyrogies.

My mother chops onions for the insides of the pyrogies.

My mother uses a glass to make the circles that are the outside of the pyrogies. My mother is English and actually received the recipe, which is unique in that it uses a potato-based dough, from a Ukrainian friend. Her ability to make the eastern-European dish greatly pleases my Polish father.

Purple potato innards are mixed with cottage cheese and onions and are wrapped into the outer dough.

My mother fixes a flawed pyrogy that will otherwise explode in the boiling process.

My father minds the boiling pyrogies while my mother prepares the dough.

Boiled pyrogies are laid out on wax paper to prevent them from sticking while my mother brings over a tray of uncooked pyrogies ready to be boiled.

I wasn't much help this year, as I recently bought a new camera and am learning the tricks. My parents still did well. I'm hoping to have some more photojournalistic moments soon while in Calgary, but a short documentary on how to make pyrogies will have to suffice for now.

Belleville Bulls vs. Oshawa Generals

A staple of any photojournalism student's shooting experience while at Loyalist seems to be a Bulls game. The zamboni driver could tell I was a first-year simply by the way I held a lens (my wrists are sometimes sore, but this is mostly because I hold prime lens the same way I hold zooms. I know this is a habit I need to break.)

I shot the game with a 300mm f4 borrowed from the lens pool. I've used the 300mm f2.8 before and loved it, but I didn't think my arms and shoulders would like me hauling it around all night. No monopod opportunities at a hockey game!

Anyway, somehow I managed to make it until December to photograph my first Bulls game. Being from hockey-mad Alberta, I was pleasantly surprised to see the same types of fans out here. Without further ado, my three favourite shots of the evening:

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (08/12/10) - Belleville Bulls goaltender Malcolm Subban stops a third-period goal attempt by Oshawa Generals right wing Christian Thomas as fellow Bulls Steven Strong and Carter Sandlak watch on in a home game in Belleville on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. The Belleville Bulls finished off the higher-ranked Generals with a resounding 6-1 victory. Photo by Rachel Psutka. 

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (08/12/10) - A fight erupts between Belleville Bulls defenceman Bjorn Krupp (white, 4) and Oshawa Generals right wing Jeff Brown (blue, 19) in a home game in Belleville on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. Also joining in the melee are Stephen Silas and Luke Judson of the Bulls and Lucas Lessio and Andy Andreoff of the Generals. The Belleville Bulls finished off the higher-ranked Generals with a resounding 6-1 victory. Photo by Rachel Psutka. 

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (08/12/10) - Belleville Bulls left-wing Michael Curtis (white) tips Oshawa Generals centre J.P. Labardo's shot away from the net in the third period of a home game in Belleville on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. The Belleville Bulls finished off the higher-ranked Generals with a resounding 6-1 victory. Photo by Rachel Psutka. 

My biggest problem of the night was getting the right white balance. That, and following the puck! That thing goes much more quickly when you're staring down a 300mm lens.

The Nutcracker

It's the epitome of all things Christmas. This version even had the Grinch. I was so glad to take photos at this event, all thanks to the Quinte Ballet School of Canada and the dancers who didn't seem to mind that I hung out backstage in a cramped spot for the entire first act.

Girls on stage. Photo by Rachel Psutka. 

Main male dancer. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Clara celebrates with her nutcracker. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Arabian dance. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Sugar plum fairy and her cavalier. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Waltz of the flowers. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Sugar plum fairy, watched on by a teacher. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

What fun.