This year TIFF was trying to move more festival activities from uptown (Yorkville) to the downtown area around their new headquarters "The Bell Lightbox". The Lightbox was used for free screenings of older award winning movies and a few special events including a mavericks session with Ed Norton interviewing Bruce Springsteen. I hope this place continues to be used for side events only, as it doesn't appear to be a fan friendly venue for a gala screenings.
Another location that was popular for TIFF was the Elgin or Winter garden theater. Most of the bigger names were scheduled there for some reason? This is a very nice theater inside but it's a tough venue for fans trying to get a glimpse of a celeb or worse a photo. I only went there once and was so put off by the TIFF people running the carpet I never returned. I missed some of my favorites like De Niro and Eastwood, but didn't want to gamble getting no photos for my time spent waiting around. TIFF touts itself as being fan friendly, this location is anything but.

I also got a chance to talk to producer David Alexanian who was involved with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boormen's Long Way Round / Long Way Down TV series. Some of the best Television you'll ever see, if you like adventure and travel. Asked him if they are planning to do another trip, and he confirmed Ewan's last statement on the Long Way Down series "See you in South America". It seems the boys are starting their next adventure next summer (2011), Long Way Up appears to be a go, I can hardly wait!!
Had fun with the usual group of friends I've made over the years, it sure makes the time between photo shoots pass quicker when you have a gang of people to share stories with and compare schedules and guest lists. It seems more and more people are attracted to the rail by the red carpet each year, and more time has to be spent holding on to the precious real estate in the front row. I found that there was very little pushing going on this year, except maybe for "The Town" debut. Even then once the lady behind me figured out she wasn't getting between a friend and me she soon left to try and elbow her way in elsewhere.
The rail is a tricky place you never really know where a celeb is going to choose to sign some autographs. To get an image it comes down to luck and being able to find a clearing between the heads of security guards, body guards, TIFF volunteers and carpet organizers, carpet camera crews, the celebs' PR people and the rest of their entourage and the people we call "Money" the producers who often hang around the carpet. Once you find a hole, your camera also has to function properly. You must balance shutter speed, aperture and ISO and more often than not you rely on your flash going off properly. I find it very strange how often the 1/250th of a second I picked to take a photo is exactly timed with another photographers decision and our two flashes multiply and wipe out any hope for either of us getting a usable image. But that too is the fun of this type of photography, timing is often everything. Like the photo of Kelly Lynch who I'd ask to look over her shoulder and she winked at me while doing so, one of my favorite images of the year.
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