On October the 25th, after shooting for the morning, Chris and I stopped in at a place called the FBI... The Fanny Bay Inn. Arturo had stayed behind at the rental house to do some online work. Chris and I were hungry for lunch, but also thought that the place might work for a possible BP Project location.
We noticed an elderly gentleman sitting in the corner, and thought he would be the perfect subject. We spoke to the waitress, a young lady named Starr, and told her about our Beer Parlour Project and asked if the gentleman was a regular. We also asked if it would be OK to talk to him about getting his photograph taken, and bringing our camera gear into the pub.
Starr was really excited about our project and thought it was a great idea. Chris went over and spoke to the gentleman, but he declined getting his photograph taken. We accepted his decision and reluctantly finished up our lunch. Starr came over to check on us and asked if we had been given permission. She was very disappointed when we told her that the elderly gentleman... Ken... had declined.
Much to our surprise Starr went over and talked to Ken and managed to convince him to let us photograph. The big camera came in and I got it set up and soon we were the center of attention. Everyone in the place was really excited about what we were doing. I shot a couple of portraits of Ken and then another younger guy, heavily tattooed, who was also a regular, joined Ken for a couple more photographs. The younger guy was a Polish immigrant named Sebastian. I think I got a couple of great shots of both of them. All the while Chris was rattling off some digital shots with his camera.
Ken really opened up to us and began to visit. It turns out he was not your typical mariner, as his look suggested. He was actually from Olds, in central Alberta and had been out on Vancouver Island for many years. He was a steamfitter by trade, and was long retired. I can't recall his exact age, but it was around 90, and Chris took a bunch of notes that will confirm this.
Ken insisted on making a $20 donation to our project and would not take no for an answer. Eventually I graciously accepted it, but before we left we bought Ken a beer, and then put the 20 on his tab.
We went outside and took a couple more of the typical exterior shots that accompany all of our BP project outings. The owner noticed us from his residence upstairs in the old hotel and came out to see what we were doing. When he learned about the project he was also thrilled, and gave us his blessing to continue.
When we were done, and as I was loading my camera gear back into the truck, the strap broke on my backpack. This would make the remainder of our trip somewhat difficult as it made the pack very awkward to carry. Fortunately there was no serious damage to anything in the pack except for one filter that was smashed.
So this episode in the Beer Parlour Project, which is now officially BP8.0 was pretty short and sweet. But it was a lot of fun and Chris and I enjoyed it immensely. In the future we will have to make a point of making quick unannounced stops and see if we can catch lightning in a bottle again.
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