Changing Perceptions Pt. 2 - Tour of Duty

I said I'd be back didn't I?

Behind the Scenes:

Whether it was a vendor's table or a photographer's lens between them and the action there were people backing up this event from all sides.

Photo Courtesy of Foxymama Photography
Baller: Jay "Monk" Hebert of WCP Paintball

One of the things that some ballers don't realize is just how much work goes into being a field photographer. Every time a 'camera jockey' comes out to an event they're risking hundreds, usually thousands of their own dollars in gear or potentially lost revenue and travel costs in order to make us look good and to be there in case we need us. 

This article's all about these unsung heroes who help to make these events worthwhile and who keep driving business to our favourite fields. I should note that the images I'll be showcasing in this article will be almost exclusively material from the lens of Darlene St. Georges of Foxymama Photography however if I take an image from another source I will reference them in the caption. In case you didn't catch that, all photos are property of Darlene St. Georges / Foxymama Photography unless otherwise stated.

Photographers:

Okay, I jokingly referred to these action artists as 'camera jockeys' earlier but I need to stress the respect I have for them.

Underground Rejects

When I go on the field I'm risking my health only so far as a couple of scrapes, bruises and paintball welts. When PHOTOGRAPHERS go on the field they risk all of this and then hundreds, more typically thousands in high-end camera equipment in order to do what? Give us paintballers a way to tag ourselves on Facebook and capture our insane memories on film.

There are a number of photographers I've seen on the fields but two in particular have stood out to me and I'm proud to call each of them friends.

Darlene "Foxymama" St. Georges: Foxymama Photography

Foxy actually had a part in my very first paintball game ever.

I was gearing up to go on the field and fire my fire paintballs, shaking like a leaf, when Darlene came up to me and asked if I had any gloves to wear and I said not really and held up the $0.99, one-size

Photo Credit: Unshakable Media

fits all gloves from the Canadian Tire bargain bin and well, she wasn't having any of that. "Here ya go kiddo" she says to me as she hands me a pair of armoured, half-finger gloves so I wouldn't get my hands all blasted up my first time out.

It's not just her caring attitude that earned my respect, it's also that she does AMAZING work on the field even when she's injured and SHOULD be taking it easy on the sidelines... Yeah, but try telling HER that. I'm sure she'd walk through fire and brimstone to get to the paintball field and she'd even nab a few wicked pictures of her trip for good measure.

I can say with a great deal of certainty that the majority of the photos of me you'll see paintballing are going to be taken through her lens and I'm honoured to say that. The fact that she can make an intimidated and unsure rookie paintballer like me look as good as I do in her photos? Now THAT takes skill. As an example, look at my latest Facebook page photo, taken this past weekend at the Tour of Duty charity game, or to the left here at my current Facebook profile photo. Darlene could make the 'Elephant Man' look like Brad Pitt... Okay, that's a stretch, but you get the point.

I hope to keep playing and keep earning space on Darlene's SD cards because she doesn't shoot anything less than what she thinks looks bang-on. That's not to say she's some elitist, she's just not another Joe-average taking a photo of their food and calling it art. She puts thought and effort into getting her shots and for that I'd like to extend a huge thanks to her.

Keep on shootin' Foxy!

Blake "Arson" Goshinmon: Match Strike Digital Productions

You COULD say this guy's on fire... But that would be a terrible pun.

Okay no, to clarify, Blake wasn't present at the Tour of Duty event on the weekend however he HAS been instrumental in helping me get paintball-involved and he's done anything in his power to help me find deals on gear, advice on dealing with my marker and well... The guy shoots some pretty mean material. 

Baller: Erin Klar

He manages his own small business in Match Strike Digital Productions and the work I've seen from him is nothing short of fantastic. He shoots all manner of subjects from bikini-clad models to paint-slinging backyard warrior types like myself but some of his best work has to be what I've seen of his speedball shoots. As a little exemplar I'd like to direct your attention to the following photo he shot and edited not too long ago.

I loved this shot the second I saw it, and Blake's got many more where this came from. Now his work involves a great deal of after-effect, editing and so-forth but I don't want ANYONE thinking it's all just smoke and mirrors. You need a proper foundation for any editing to be worthwhile and Blake's shots are always some choice cuts of meat.

Again I'm going to point out that no, Arson wasn't workin' it at the Tour of Duty weekend as he's a BC boy however he does good work and he supports Noobs like myself and that's good enough for me to give him a shout out.

Again folks, these guys an gals behind their cameras risk a LOT in setting foot on that field and they do it out of a combination of their love of the sport, a passion for photography, and a desire to help us look our best which goes towards making the sport look good. If it wasn't for them how would you prove that you gogged that guy that time? Or that you mercied the bunkered-down baller? And sure, sometimes they capture us getting our butts handed to us but that just means someone else got a wicked memory-maker photo so give these artists the respect they deserve.

Wrapping it Up Again:

Well folks we've come to that time once again... I'm exhausted, I've typed too much and I've yet to cover the vendors... Well I guess that makes this a trilogy doesn't it?

Be patient and round three'll be published before you know it! Until then...

Keep calm and throw paint!

Changing Perceptions - Tour of Duty

Plain and simple, paintballers don't get the credit they deserve.

The Problem:

There have been too many people doing too many irresponsible and utterly stupid things in the past that have caused society to look down on this sport. Sure, the tournament style of play gets TV airtime and big corporate sponsors and it's all flashy and easily marketable, but what about the woodsball and scenario crowd? Who has their back? I'll tell you who... Cro Wakd of Wakd Ops.

The Solution:

How do you get from point A to point B? As the Cro flies ;)

This is the second year that Cro's run the Tour of Duty and this year's event at PRZ Paintball in Prince Edward, Ontario was nothing short of spectacular. The man's humble to a fault, saying that he's only a mirror and that he simply reflects the energy and image we send out but he's so much more than that. He put together this scenario and convinced Camp Trillium, a support camp for children with cancer, to allow us to hold the event with them as the beneficiary. That might not seem hard to some, getting a charity to let you give them money, but you need to remember that there have been SO many misconceptions about paintball that almost anyone not directly involved with the sport has a bad taste in the mouth before even getting near it. Cro's efforts have resulted in a GIANT leap away from that sort of public image.

This is Cro alongside Carrie of Camp Trillium as he presented to them a commemorative paintball jersey to signify that "we will fight on" against cancer and how it affects the lives of so many. There's not a doubt this will be the start of a very long, and very beneficial friendship for all sides with Erin's Army and Cro organising these events, and Camp Trillium working to improve the lives of child cancer patients for years and years to come.

Although I don't think Cro needs to be QUITE as humble as he is, what with the amount of effort he puts into everything he does and the devotion he shows for the causes he supports, I WILL agree with him on this fact... There's so many people to thank for their parts in making the Tour of Duty event happen, without whom it never would've been the success that it was. Having already thanked Cro for his involvement I'd like to move on to the rest of the supporters from the weekend.

The Ballers:

Plain and simple this wouldn't have been anything more than a pipe dream if no one had shown up to play, and for that I'd like to thank all of my fellow ballers who came out to support Erin's Army and Camp Trillium. There are a couple of people I'd like to mention who really displayed what I believe to be the TRUE spirit of paintball, and these are my Prestigious Paintballers from Tour of Duty: Insertion 2.

Rob Vance:

This guy was an absolute juggernaut of energy and encouragement out on the field. You only had a couple of mags for your pistol? Here's a vest-full so you can load'em up and shoot all day. You're pinned down and need covering fire? Let me throw a few pods through the "Warhammer" at that window so you can break from cover and get to a better position. You're too tired to play? You want to quit? Let me pick you up and bloody-well CARRY you onto that field because you know you love it and if that's what it takes to make sure you keep enjoying yourself by God I'll do it.

This man kept me in the game when the 'night fight' came around. I wanted to retire to my tent, throw in the towel and he just turned to me and said "I'm here to wreck shit tonight, and I need you to help me do that. Now are you withe me or not?"... Well you can probably guess what happened to my motivation after that. I went out on that field and pushed the line up wherever I could. Rob doesn't know the meaning of quit and won't let anyone else quit either. Is it because he's some hard-ass guy who demands too much? HELL NO! He just knows how to motivate you and has the utmost confidence that you can do so much more than what you THINK you're capable of.

If you ever see Rob on the field you need only know two reactions.

1. If he's on your team, get a hand on his shoulder, let him know you're there and willing to follow him to the gates of hell and back, cause he'll get you there safe.
2. If he's NOT on your team, GTFO or prepare to get lit-the-eff up. Heads down or hands up are your only options once he sets his sights on you.

Rob, if you get to read this, thanks for the encouragement man, and for not letting me quit. I'd have regretted not being on the field for that night game.

Connor "Casper" Andrews:

A young baller after my own heart, this little dude's essentially my neighbour... If you count adjacent cities as neighbours haha.

Small, agile, and fearless, Connor's honestly twice the baller that I am, and I've got no problem admitting that. It's not going to be long before this kid's getting invites from scenario teams left right and centre because boy can he EVER move out there. It doesn't matter what the objective is, how many people are guarding it, he wants a piece and wants it bad.

I have yet to meet a baller with quite so much energy as Casper's packing, even my friend and mentor Dylan "Joe Dirt" Swann might have a difficult time keeping up to young Connor. It didn't matter what you put in his hands whether it was a speedball gun, down to a pistol or even a pair of knives, he was going to get shit done.

Casper my little buddy, never lose that competitive fire, or your fearlessness. It was a HUGE help having you on our team.

Zach O'Leary:

I met Zach at the onset of the night game and I'm glad that I did. Although I never found him during the day on Sunday his actions during the night game MORE than earned him kudos on the blog.

I linked up with him as we were about to assault the warehouse. He needed someone with a flashlight, I needed backup and no one else seemed to have a better plan than forcing in the front doors... not exactly the best way to stay alive. So Zach and I cooked up the idea of working the boundary line, passing through an ignored back route and breaching through the kitchen. To say we found success in our plan would be a serious understatement. Zach nailed a few guys from the right corner while I took to picking off targets in the warehouse's sniper tower. Probably about 10 guys painted on our first strike and a couple more the second time around.

The best part of Zach's gameplay was that, when I suggested we work the outside and come in behind them he made sure we asked the head ref if it was acceptable considering the boundary rules. For maintaining a ridiculous amount of energy and for focusing on fair play and abiding by the rules, Zach gets a well-earned place on this list.

The Wrap Up:

Well I can't write all day... Or, I could but then no one would ever finish my articles.

There's not much that I want out of the sport to be honest, my aspirations are fairly simple. First I'd like to just have fun and I've accomplished that every time I've taken to the field. Second? I'd like to make as many new friends as possible and I'm also on track for that one. Third is my most important goal though... I want to help this sport grow. I only set out originally looking for numbers 1&2 but the second I got off that field I just knew that I needed to do more. I want to grow the sport and the only way to do that is to expose the brighter, better side of paintball to offset the negatives that people have been misinformed about over the years.

That's why I write this blog folks, to expose the misconceptions and to try and help prospective ballers get involved in the sport by providing information to answer the questions they may have and to make their entrance into the sport that much smoother. If my posts help even one person get into the sport then I'll be happy.

Until next time folks,

Keep calm and throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - The 'Noob' Baller

P.S.

There is a post on its way for the photographers and sponsors who were at the event working their butts off. It's just a lot to put into one post when done properly :p

From All Sides - Socially Surrounded

A friend of mine gave me some pretty decent advice yesterday... He said to me, "you... are a newsie. Do what you do". Well, here's me doing what I do.

Personal Failing:

Yup, I have them and I'm not ashamed of it I just try to make up for them as quickly as possible and this one's pretty simple.

I wrote my Paintball Police article without doing something that any good current events writer should do before publishing a story... Check EVERY side. I took the information I could see in the video, added to it my interpretation and opinion, weighed the thoughts of a few acquaintances and paintball regulars but I never went to the horse's mouth so-to-speak... I never actually contacted the Akimbo Assassin page to inquire about the now 'infamous' video.

From the Horse's Mouth:

AA's FB Page Picture

Well readers, that all changed late last night when I sent a message to AA outlining my thoughts and concerns as listed in the previous blog post, and I did so in the most reasonable and respectful way possible. Now I'll say this, Akimbo's a bit of a character. The way he phrases what he says comes off with a certain level of self-investment and showmanship but, being perfectly fair, everyone's got their linguistic quirks etc. What I'm trying to say is I could note how his phrasing could pester some people or cause misinterpretation of his mood behind the keyboard. In any case, I received a fleshed-out reply which was much more than the short and possibly insulting message I had been expecting from what I'd heard of his interactions with critics re: the video up to that point. 

There wasn't much fluff to his response, it was straight to business and here's the gist from Akimbo's point of view. Essentially, he feels that the personal attacks (which I agree are different compared to simple "I don't like this video" comments) were brought against him first. He also noted that there'd been some spin done to frame the video in the worst way possible. Honestly? I can agree with that to a point, since the first exposure I had to the video was in a less-than-friendly format shall we say. He also moved to explain that had he been looking to actually harm the other player that he could just as easily have shot him in the neck, in the ear, or he could've been a true duke of douchebaggery (my term, not his) and emptied the entire magazine. Looking at it in that way, being fair about my judgement call, I suppose that even though the shot placement could've been better, it also could've been handled much worse.

The real issue addressed in his reply was of the censorship that happened regarding posts on his page. He noted that it was within his rights as a page admin to delete comments etc and that's again, true. He's allowed to delete comments when he feels like it the same as any of us would be free to do with our own pages. Do I think this makes it right? Still no, I'm not one for totally censoring people simply for negativity but I've been in his position and it's easy to just hit delete and I'll admit that I did it a few times with my first blog.

AA DID note that another person came to him with an initially respectful tone but that his attitude changed when he felt that the other person became disrespectful after Akimbo gave a response that didn't seem in-line with the particular critic's opinion. He didn't provide a name, but I never pushed the name issue so it's on me for not clarifying but personally I think naming names at this point in the game wouldn't do the situation any favours.

As a last note on the conversation with Akimbo Assassin, he pointed out that he'd had his pistols chrono'd at 239 and although it's not shown in the video we as readers have no justification for believing otherwise and personally, I didn't feel as though he was trying to 'sell' me on anything, just that he was explaining what happened through his lens.

Things're Getting Clearer:

Just to clarify, I'm still not a fan of Akimbo, his style just doesn't jive with my tastes and there's nothing wrong with that but I feel as though there's going to be a few keyboard crusaders (not an insult btw, I consider myself one) who'd say "oh, well you're just jumping onto his bandwagon for the press". Folks, I've been a Toronto Maple Leaf fan since the day I was born... "bandwagoning" holds no place in my soul.

Now I'd like to point out a few things hearkening back to my original article.

1. I still don't agree with the video's posting nor the actions contained within it. It's my right to have an opinion on that AND to voice it through whichever media form I find fitting.
2. I still think the censorship of comments isn't RIGHT, but it's not illegal or necessarily wrong. It was within his rights and power to do so and it's true that if you don't like something on the internet you have the ability to go to a different site.

However! (Isn't there always a 'however' with me?) That means we also have the right to voice our opinions on OUR pages, groups etc so I suppose that draws to a stalemate. He can't force us to stop criticising or in some cases attacking him unless it's on his page and we can't force him not to post things WE don't agree with unless they're posted on OUR pages. Fair enough?

Words Of:

In the end this boils down to personal choice, human error, and the necessity for us as people to take an issue with a grain of salt, change what we can, accept what we can't and hope for the wisdom to know the difference and that's something I'm sure we can all agree on.

Here's something else I think we all need to take away from this whole ordeal... It will be much easier to change how people on the 'outside' view paintball by working our hardest to demonstrate the good rather than devoting quite so much energy to attacking the bad. The darkest shadow can be defeated with the right amount of light so focus on illuminating the sport in the public's eye with good actions and rest assured knowing that in time, negative influences will dwindle so long as you uphold the good in your heart, and teach those closest to you to do the same.

As always guys, represent the sport well... Always get as many sides of a story as you can before you try to put the puzzle together and as always...

Keep calm and throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - The 'Noob' Baller

Paintball Policy - The Paintball Police

Well here I go... Getting into paintball politics (yippee).

A lot of fuss has been made over a video recently posted by a Youtubing paintball personality who calls himself the Akimbo Assassin.  For those of you who haven't seen it, here's the link to the video:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151652925538999&set=vb.501088998&type=2&theater

If the link doesn't work I'll break down the video for you. A player's engaged in a small firefight, claims to have hit a guy at-range with a pistol and yells "you're out!". He then climbs down from the perch he was in and goes to a window where he proceeds to aim out at the accused cheater's feet, then pod pack, then decides to shoot him in the back of the head instead. The range? Maybe 4 feet.

The REAL Mistake:

Here's how I see it.

We've all had moments where we could've sworn we shot someone out but didn't, and I think we've also all seen our share of wipers. The issue here is that some of us don't seem to realize that we're not refs, and when a ref isn't around it's up to us to call when we've been hit honourably. When there's a dispute about the 'honour' of a player's actions however, some people insist on playing as judge, jury and in this case, executioner and that's simply not our job as players. This Akimbo Assassin character made the wrong decision in shooting an opponent point-blank in the back of the head when he had other options for tagging his target.

That was a mistake, an in-the-moment lapse in judgement and I think we've all had those. Maybe we've not gone to that extent, but if you've ever 'bonus balled' someone then you're guilty to some level here. The REAL issue I have is this... He posted the video to Facebook as a sort of chest-thumping, dick-waving display of... Machismo? Douchebaggery? Surely by the time you've gone home, cleaned your gear, transferred the video from your camera and cut the clip you've mellowed out enough to no longer have the "it was in-the-moment" excuse and this is where I have the biggest problem with his behaviour.

Ramifications:

Now that I've explained what my main issue is with AA's behaviour, I'd like to point out WHY I his actions deserve this post, and the level of judgement I've passed upon it.

Our sport has it bad enough with the United States DOHS claiming terrorists use paintball to train an the neighbourhood kids who go around 'hobo hunting' because they think it's cool without people LEGITIMATELY involved in this wonderful sport giving it a bad names to mums and dads of little Johnnys and Becky-Sues around the world who go online to 'research' paintball and find this sort of display.

Imagine this, you're a parent of a 13 year old (boy or girl, doesn't matter) who wants to try paintball. You go online to look up video of the sport to get a better feel for it and see something like this:

Okay, the title says it all folks... Stupidity, teenagers, and paintball. This is NOT the publicity that we need in the sport. It's a couple of kids acting like utter fools and getting hurt doing it. This is what Mommy and Daddy are going to think their kids are being put at risk for when they go out on the field to play... Okay, so maybe Mom and Dad can figure out the "Stupid Teenagers" part, but what about videos that OBVIOUSLY show pain in-game from actions that, to those IN the sport are obviously taboo but might appear as 'typical' to those without paintballing experience? 

Personally, I'd rather these prospective paintballer parents see videos like this one that glorify the sport, show a level of professionalism and team play. Yes, I know it's not legit, it's obviously scripted and been edited to unholy hell but let's face it... It's worth a view.

Honestly one of my favourite balling videos I've ever seen, mainly because of the wicked parkour moves (I'm not a fan of speedball... No offense intended, it's just not my vibe) but again, it shows a side of humour, athleticism, and energy that this sport holds above most.

The Wrap-Up:

So here it is guys, the issue, my reasoning, now all that's left is for you to make your decision. Personally I think we need to call out bullshit when we see it because if we don't, who's preventing paintball's image from being ruined by wannabe badasses and chronic Youtubers who're only out for self-advancement. When paintball wins, we all win so it's about time we focused less on an individual and more on the sport.

I realize the irony of that paragraph's message, let's stop focusing on individuals when I'm just another individual posting about their views however... I'd like to think that I'm doing this for the sport. Sure I enjoy seeing the pageview counter go up, but that's about all the gratification I get. I don't get paid for this, I don't make any money off of this blog nor am I sponsored by any companies. I play the game for the love of it and nothing more. I write about it because I want to see more people getting involved so that paintball can start getting the recognition it truly deserves. And THAT, is MY message.

So as always, please try to root out asshat moves wherever you see them (but for the right reasons and with due consideration for human error and emotional situations) and...

Keep calm and throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - The 'Noob' Baller