Posts Tagged ‘Go Huge Experiences’
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
Yesterday some of us from the New River Academy went to the Lachine Rapids in Montreal. The Lachine Rapids are a series of huge wave trains that flow through the center of Montreal. Being there is a strange experience because you are in this huge city on a huge river that has no business being there. The reason we were there wasn’t to run the river however, it was to play. One wave in particular, called Big Joe, was perhaps the greatest wave that I have ever been on. Standing around ten feet tall with a four foot foam pile on top it’s a very intimidating wave, but once you’re on it its a nice easy ride and so much fun. It was such an easy surf, head coach Tino literally stayed on for 20 minutes, but it was big enough that you could throw the biggest tricks ever or just party surf with your friends. After you flushed though you had to either walk/ferry back up or pull yourself up using a series of ropes. While this usually took around ten minutes to get back to the top, it was worth every minute to get to this amazing wave. All in all, this may have been the most fun I have ever had paddling.
Jason
To see more of Jason’s photography click here
Jason Terry’s Blog
- Lorenzo surfing Big Joe
Big Joe's size is demonstrated here as Nick, Jacob, Caleb, and Lorenzo all surf
Sometimes party surfing can be dangerous, like right now when Errik and Tino collide
Nick pulling himself back up to the top
Tags: Go Huge Experiences, go huge kayaking, Jason Terry, Kayaking, lachine, Lachine Rapids, montreal, new river academy, Playboating, Surfing, Tino Specht
Posted in Intructional, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography | 1 Comment »
Saturday, September 11th, 2010
For our latest photography assignment we took a short trip to Billy Harris’ backyard. Billy is a professional kayaker who lives in Beachburg. We chose his backyard because it is full of so much stuff that could help us tell a story about the kind of person Billy is. When we got to his backyard I was really impressed with the amount of stuff there and was excited to start taking pictures. There was so many things that I didn’t know where to start. Here is the story I pieced together to tell about Billy:
Billy Harris is a professional kayaker and also a really nice guy with a great dog to play fetch with.
Billy and his dog playing fetch
He has this open shed that is just jam packed full of hundreds of articles of kayaking gear. Honestly I haven’t even seen this much kayaking gear in an outfitters shop.
Just a tiny amount of the full collection
Not only did he have dozens of dry tops, pfds, helmets, and so on; but he also had a lot of boats and paddles.
Billy's Star and Werner Paddle, just two in a collection of many
When Billy isn’t paddling he enjoys gardening and has a very extensive garden full of invasive squash, for the whole squash story you are going to have to ask him. I hope this gave you some insight on the nice person Billy is.
Jason
To see more of Jason’s photography click here
Jason Terry’s Blog
Billy's huge garden, notice the broken paddle that is used to mark rows
Tags: Billy Harris, Go Huge Experiences, go huge kayaking, jackson, Jason Terry, Kayaking, new river academy, Photography, pictures, squash, Werner
Posted in Academics, Intructional, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography | Comments Off
Friday, September 10th, 2010
Today in photography we did a photo shoot of the small town of Beachburg, the city right next to the Ottawa. We all got lots of great shots that told great stories about the city; here are some of mine.
Jason
To see more of Jason’s photography click here
Jason Terry’s Blog
The road sign for the road to Keenerville
John Mason's Mailbox, his house doubles as the Mountain Surf headquarters
The road to the Ottawa put-in
Some local kids getting on the bus. Permission for this shot was given by parents
A local flower shop, The Hen House
Another photography student, Mackenzie Hatcher, relaxing in a tree
David inspecting some pumpkins
Tags: beachburg, David Hughes, Go Huge Experiences, Jason Terry, John Mason, Mountain Surf, Photography
Posted in Academics, Intructional, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography | Comments Off
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
All this week in photography class we have been learning how to take face shots of people in an attractive, unique, and pleasing way. Doing this requires knowledge of several basic fundamentals that change people’s pictures from amateur to amazing.
The Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is the most basic, but surprisingly important, lesson that we learned. It incorporates the fact that the eye is naturally drawn away from the center of the photo. If the subject is captured at the intersection of two thirds then the eye is instantly drawn there and the picture is much more pleasing.
Hunt Jennings, a student here, at the Pan-American Games
Leading the Eye
Another very important lesson is leading the eye. This is where an object or even the subject leads the viewer’s eye to something that the photographer wants focus on. This is a more advanced technique, but when it is used the results give the picture tons of quality depth of field.
Tell a Story
Arguable the hardest technique we have learned yet is telling a story with our pictures. It’s easy to get action shot, you simply have to be at the right place at the right time; but when you try to tell a story with a photograph, things get a lot harder. This is very important because telling a story not only gives a picture more life and culture, but it also makes the viewer have a sense of wonder of where the story was going. We have been practicing telling stories here for two weeks and it is still very hard. When telling a story you must capture a subject at a time where they are doing something that gives the viewers an idea about the persons character.
That’s the gist of what we have learned here so far in photography class, and we really have a long ways to go, but we are definitely on our way.
Jason
To see more of Jason’s photography click here
Jason Terry’s Blog
David Hughes, the founder of the school, relaxing on a hammock. Notice how his gaze leads you to the serene background.
Wayne Poulsen, a student at NRA, studying for math near the river.
Tags: David Hughes, Go Huge Experiences, Hunt Jennings, Jason Terry, Kayaking, Photography
Posted in Academics, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography | Comments Off
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
Saturday was the first ever Pan-American games set on Push-Button on the Ottawa River. They were a huge success and drew a pool full of some of the most skilled kayakers in the world, including four-time world champion Eric Jackson, along with his daughter Emily and his son Dane. In all there was around 50 competitors including seven kids and one coach from the New River Academy.
The games started on a bright, sunny day in the middle of the Ottawa River with the C1 category. Competing in this category was Dane and Eric Jackson, Francois, and our own Jordan Poffenberger. From the start it was obvious that it would be down to the wire between Dane and Jordan. After the three rides Dane came out ahead but Jordan came in a close second.
Jordan Poffenberger in the C-1 finals where he placed second
After that was the Jr. Women’s finals, which Taylor Cote had some solid rides in. Then came the Jr. Men’s Prelims that Alex Anderson, Nick Simpson, Hunt Jennings, Jacob Slobodian, Jordan Poffenburger, and myself competed in. Everyone had great rides but only Jacob made it to the finals where he placed fifth.
Then came the Pro Women’s Finals, and after that the Pro Men’s Prelims where our head coach Tino Specht competed in making it all the way through the prelims, semi-finals and scoring fifth in the finals. By this time the weather had turned a little sour and the island was being pelted with wind and rain but that wasn’t enough to stop Stephen Wright from scoring a winning score of 635. All in all it was a great day and we saw a show of some of the best kayakers in the world.
Jason
To see more of Jason’s photography click here
Jason Terry’s Blog
Taylor Cote throwing a massive air loop
Jacob Slobodian throwing an blunt in the Jr. Men's Final
Dane Jackson going huge on his winning ride
Tino Specht, head coach here, in his Men's Pro finals run
Tags: Dane Jackson, Go Huge Experiences, Jason Terry, Jordan Poffenberger, Kayaking, Ottawa river, Pan-American Championships, Push-button, Steven Wright, Tino Specht
Posted in Academics, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Friday, May 14th, 2010
This has been an amazing year and we have had many opportunities to take beautiful photos. We’ve been given assignments that involve us taking portraits, abstract things, leading lines, and many other things. Our most beautiful landscape photos definitely came from Chile though. This photo essay takes us through our whole school year. Where we first met all these new faces, some seemed nice right away and others a little crazy. Then, it continues on on our first adventures together in Canada. Afterwards, it moves us onto second quarter in Chile where we began to experience even more mind-blowing things. All these things drawing us closer together, helping us begin to become a family instead just a bunch of individuals. All the photos in Chile you can see the group begin to grow and transform into stronger people. In that beautiful country, the time began to blow by us and before we knew it our time there was done. Now, we end back up in this last quarter. Where we went a little abstract with our photos and also were finally able to show our stuff at the NOC Shoot-out. Lastly, our final photos leave us ending in Canada, with leading lines as my final assignment.
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Tags: chile whitewater, Go Huge Experiences, Huge Experiences, Kayak School, new river academy, ottawa canada, taylor cote, whitewater country, whitewater kayaking, whitewater photography
Posted in Academics, chile whitewater rivers, Culture, Kayak Gap Year Abroad, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography, Whitewater Countries | Comments Off
Friday, May 14th, 2010
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This is a photo essay. Basically a compilation of photos that share a basic theme. My photo essay details our journey through this year, starting in Ottawa first quarter, and ending in West Virginia. I tried to end each section with a night photo, but that was a little difficult. I would like to point out that even though the last shot is not of anyone in our group I feel it describes how we as a group are.
Tags: Academics, Chile, Chile Rivers, Freestyle Kayaking, Gap Year, gap year abroad, go huge, Go Huge Experiences, high school, Huge Experiences, Huge Move Of the Day, kayak, Kayak School, Kayaking, matt hill, new river academy, Photography, whitewater, whitewater kayaking
Posted in Academics, chile whitewater rivers, Culture, Kayak Gap Year Abroad, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography, Uncategorized, Whitewater Countries | Comments Off
Friday, May 14th, 2010
This amazing year is finally coming to a close, its so hard to believe we’ve made it through these 9 months so quickly. There have been the good times, the weird times, and the downright terrible times. But, we still all love each other to death. Basically, we’ve become like a big family. We’ve had so many fun experiences and adventures together in Chile, Canada, and the good ol’ USA. I’m pretty sure all the friendships everyone has made are ones that will last for a lifetime. I know that it has taken us to the end of the year to realize how much has actually happened. When I look back I realize how much knowledge I have actually gained and how much I’ve grown throughout this whole year. Actually, it’s pretty interesting to look at the portraits I took first quarter and compare them to the young adults we have here now. You can definitely see a big change, teens now ready to take on the world.
I remember when we first all arrived in Chile, this new location for everyone, even the most seasoned traveler out of us all, Matti. All our eyes wide with excitement just soaking in all the hustle and bustle from the airport. We hadn’t even reached the outside yet and we were already so giddy for this new adventure. After that it was us learning our way around a totally different country, speaking a totally different language. The first time we were in Chile the language barrier was definitely a struggle for all of us. But, the next quarter when we arrived the group was prepped and ready. We seemed like pro’s navigating around the city, getting the meal or ice cream we wanted, and finding the laundromat.
I think one of my peers that has grown the most is Zoe. I remember when she first arrived at the school second quarter, she was introverted and always questioned herself. Oh, but how that did change! If you look at this lovely girl now she’s extroverted, bright, and has gained so much independence. She does what she wants and never second guesses herself anymore. Its amazing how much confidence she gained in herself and it’s all because of her time here. I think she’s pretty proud of all the knowledge she’s gained here too.
Many of us have also gained more knowledge and confidence about ourselves through our year or semester here. This school definitely helps you grow no matter how set in your ways, or sure of yourself you are. I’m so thankful of the time I’ve spent here this year with this group of people and all the knowledge I’ve gained. I would’ve never had anything of this impacting stature otherwise. “And that has made all the difference…”
Tags: chile whitewater, go huge, Go Huge Experiences, Kayak School, kayaking canada, kayaking usa, new river academy, ottawa canada, taylor cote, whitewater, whitewater kayaking
Posted in Academics, chile whitewater rivers, Culture, Kayak School, Kayaking, Uncategorized, Whitewater Countries | Comments Off
Friday, May 7th, 2010
The past week and a bit spent on the Ottawa River was pretty great. Garb came in which was a real treat, but is kind of strange for the spring. Baby face, corner wave, and push button were also great practice. The week though was pretty hard academically as most of us were and still are preparing for the AP exams that we we do this week here at Tino’s house. It was also a little hard as Lorenzo was not in the country so his classes had to communicate over webcam. We took a field trip also to the Canadian Technology and Science Museum, and I am sure you have all read the essays that we had to do for homework. The week weather wise was not preferable as there was some rain and there were a few days that were a little cold. We closed the time out with a trip to Niagara Falls where there were helicopters ridden, attractions visited, and falls scouted. That was our time spent.
Tags: Academics, Freestyle Kayaking, Gap Year, gap year abroad, go huge, Go Huge Experiences, go huge kayaking, high school, Huge Experiences, kayak, Kayak School, Kayaking, matt hill, new river academy, Ottawa river, Photography, whitewater kayaking
Posted in Academics, Culture, Intructional, Kayak Gap Year Abroad, Kayak School, Kayaking, Uncategorized, Whitewater Countries | Comments Off
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
This past photo assignment we were able to choose what we wanted to do. It was hard to pick just one topic. Eventually, I decided to work with leading lines. There were many good examples of this all around us here at Keenerville. It definitely a fun assignment to pick what we wanted to do. It was also super cool to see what others decided to take pictures of and what they had decided their assignment was. Hope you enjoy!
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Tags: Go Huge Experiences, Huge Experiences, Kayak School, Kayaking, keenerville canada, new river academy, ottawa canada, taylor cote, whitewater, whitewater kayaking
Posted in Academics, Kayak School, Kayaking, Photography, Whitewater Countries | Comments Off
