People of the Polar Bear Plunge

coldclimbcoldclimb Registered Users Posts: 1,169 Major grins
edited January 25, 2008 in People
The Polar Bear Plunge is an event held locally here and a few other places to raise money for the special olympics. The gist of it is, people donate money to the cause, and somebody jumps in the lake, in the middle of January, in Alaska. :rofl I showed up with the weekend duty crew of firefighters and we joined our fellows on the water rescue team to watch and support the fun. Being in bunker boots and turnouts instead of a drysuit and PFD this day, I figured I was more useful as photographer, so here's what I got.



A few birch trees to set the scene.
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One member of the Mat-Su Water Rescue Team, ready for the party to start.
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The first plunge. She totally slipped and bellyflopped! :rofl All in good fun!
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Mid-jump, from another angle.
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One cool customer.
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Icy underwater sandals, property of the tuxedod fellow above. :D
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An Alaska state trooper stepped up to the challenge, complete with ticket book in hand.
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Buffalo Man and Gal, contemplating.
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And going for it! :D
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Evidently over 10,000 dollars was raised at this event. People are sure interesting, sometimes. :rofl :scratch
John Borland
www.morffed.com

Comments

  • PineapplePhotoPineapplePhoto Registered Users Posts: 474 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    You people are crazy... headscratch.gif
    Body: Canon 1D Mark II N | Canon 30D w/BG-E2 Flash: Canon 580EX II | Quantum T4d | Strobes & Monolights
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  • Moogle PepperMoogle Pepper Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    I can feel severe shrinkage from just looking at those pictures. eek7.gif
    Food & Culture.
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  • Mrs FMrs F Registered Users Posts: 164 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    Great series! I loved the shot of the trooper with the ticket book.
    C and C always welcome.
  • CuongCuong Registered Users Posts: 1,510 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    At least it's done for a good cause. Cool BEFORE and DURING pics, any AFTER pics?

    Cuong
    "She Was a Little Taste of Heaven – And a One-Way Ticket to Hell!" - Max Phillips
  • SloYerRollSloYerRoll Registered Users Posts: 2,788 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    That one of Dudley Do Right is awesome. He's stil holding his ticket book! Is he gonna give a fish a ticket?:D
  • coldclimbcoldclimb Registered Users Posts: 1,169 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    yukio wrote:
    At least it's done for a good cause. Cool BEFORE and DURING pics, any AFTER pics?

    Cuong

    You know, I got a couple of awkward shots over people's shoulders of jumpers crawling up the ladder out of the water, and a few blurry shots of running back to the lodge, but I wasn't able to make anything good of it... lol. Someone else got a shot of one of the tuxedo jumpers coming UP after the jump, which is with this article: http://frontiersman.com/articles/2008/01/21/local_news/doc4792e9ae761d0544143472.txt I was generally bummed with my after shots, but oh well, that's how it goes sometimes. ;)

    Thanks for the comments everyone!
    John Borland
    www.morffed.com
  • Deadeye008Deadeye008 Registered Users Posts: 168 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2008
    I love the "superman" dive shot of the lady! Great shots!
    www.hamblinphoto.com
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,957 moderator
    edited January 23, 2008
    ha ha! That's one tough set of customers you got there.

    Nice work.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • SenecaSeneca Registered Users Posts: 1,661 Major grins
    edited January 23, 2008
    rolleyes1.gif Crazy people out there.
  • gluwatergluwater Registered Users Posts: 3,599 Major grins
    edited January 23, 2008
    These are great images of a Polar Plunge. A friend of mine is doing one of these to support the Special Olympics Illinois in March and I want to take a couple snaps while there. I've never been to one but from what she says it's a lot of fun and the costumes are great.
    Nick
    SmugMug Technical Account Manager
    Travel = good. Woo, shooting!
    nickwphoto
  • PilznrPilznr Registered Users Posts: 262 Major grins
    edited January 23, 2008
    Great Set of Shots. Love the trooper. That's a great catch. And I have to agree with everyone else, that those are some CRAZY people. :ivar
    M@

    www.MattPilsner.com | FACEBOOK
  • coldclimbcoldclimb Registered Users Posts: 1,169 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2008
    Pilznr wrote:
    Great Set of Shots. Love the trooper. That's a great catch. And I have to agree with everyone else, that those are some CRAZY people. :ivar

    Thanks again all for the comments and compliments! :D The trooper was actually two jumps after a guy that splashed pretty big, so I had to salvage some of the shot, especially the guy up on the left, and some people in the background, they were all under water droplets on the lens. rolleyes1.gif It kinda ruined the marine who jumped before him.
    John Borland
    www.morffed.com
  • mmtorunommtoruno Registered Users Posts: 183 Major grins
    edited January 25, 2008
    Love the set. Great cause and looks like fun. Thanks for sharingthumb.gif
    Marvin J. Toruno
    http://www.torunofamily.com
  • TravisTravis Registered Users Posts: 1,472 Major grins
    edited January 25, 2008
    I guess the real question is....did your 200mm turn into 18mm by days end???? rolleyes1.gifGreat shots and I agree - the trooper is priceless!
    Travis Owney Photography
    My Images | My Lessons Learned and Other Adventures
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