So, last night was interesting. Spent it photographing the goings-on at a fund raiser for a group here in town that works with kids at risk. It was founded by cops back in 1997 (I think), and they produce documentaries, take high school kids on walks through Vancouver's Downtown East Side (home to a lot of folks who've made some major errors over the course of their not-likely-to-be-long lives), and generally try to head off any kid who might wander down that path. Good work that's mostly thankless.

Now, I'm a cynic in a very big way, so last night's event was something of a source of conflict. Many, if not most, of the people at the benefit were, to say the least, well off. Why were they there? My thinking is that they never have contact with the people on the streets of the Downtown East Side (Feel free to go back in this blog to see some photos thereof). I would also think that they'd happily see those folks packed off to jail. They certainly wouldn't support taxes to try to treat them, or improve their lives in any measurable way. So, why would they give money to a cause that aims to prevent young people entering the numbers of the disadvantaged? And therein, of course, lies the answer. They're helping the advantaged avoid becoming the disadvantaged. They're helping "their" people avoid becoming "those" people. And making themselves feel pretty spiffy in the process.

Or am I just being too cynical? I'd really like to think that they're genuinely trying to be helpful, but...

Well, on a more politics-neutral point, the photo is of Holly Cole's piano player. He was darn good. So was my camera. Another miracle of modern technology. That's a hand-held shot, at 1/250th, at the rough equivalent of a 300mm lens, in 35mm terms (I was using a Nikon 70-300), at 1600 ISO. For a guy who used nothing but prime lenses and Kodachrome 25 for years, this is a modern miracle.

The modern miracle is not, however, without its drawbacks. Thanks to digital, I was able to take over 500 shots of the evening (and I mean OVER). Which I now get to plow through looking for the shots worth sending on to the event's organisers. Oh, gees.