Midwest Foresters' Conclave

Brad, a member of the
Purdue Society of American Foresters,
takes a break during practice
for the yearly SAF regional conclave

Remember Brad from way back when?

I grabbed this picture of him while taking a break from practicing for the Underhand Chop competition at the 2010 Midwest Foresters' Conclave.

This year the conclave was held at Purdue and, while I wasn't able to grab any sweet stills like you see here, I did get the opportunity to shoot some video during the actual competitions.

I wasn't able to stay all day, however I did make it in time to film the Underhand Chop - one of my favorite events of the day.


So here it is - The Underhand Chop

Underhand Chop | 2011 Midwest Foresters' Conclave from Michael Carney Media on Vimeo.

150 Competitors from nine schools gather each year to challenge each other in traditional lumberjack games at the Midwest Foresters' Conclave. This year was the first year the event was held in the spring and was hosted by Purdue University during their annual Spring Fest and Bug Bowl.

Riddle Me This:

What Do Pulitzer Prize Winners, Racecars, and Vaginas Have to Do With Each Other?

Yup, things I shot today. Brace yourselves, this is gonna be an epic post...

First off, we have Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Kavalier & Clay giving a free reading at Loeb Playhouse. Oh yeah, and that's totally an Obama pin he was sporting all evening.

Next up we've got Grand Prix Qualifications: Day 2. It was definately something new to shoot, and all the guys running the event were very cooperative when I asked to go on the track to shoot. Also, it smelled terrible....

Finally, I guess I'll end by posting some vaginas. There was a lot going on on Memorial Mall today, so it was a nice break between my interview and class. Many groups were putting on "Sex on the Mall" - an educational set of tables with displays etc. about safer sex practices. Tau Phi Sigma was letting people draw on tables and spraypaint sheets to raise awareness for Darfur. And last but not least, the Purdue University Chinese Student Scholars Association was passing out information about the summer Olympics in Beijing - and continuously asking me to give them my pictures. Oh, and a sign leftover from Spring Fest.