City Daily Photo Theme Days: September Gallery - PINK!

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At the fundraiser known as the Special Olympics Polar Plunge at the Columbia River on February 9, 2013, a lady in black and white completed her look with a pink swim cap and bouquet of pink fake flowers.
 

Wearing a handmade silk banner emblazoned with references to Polar Bear and Polar Plunge 2013, the lady carries her bag of dry clothing which she must have put down on shore before entering the water. In this photo it looks to me like she heard that photographer say something that made her look back toward him. She turned to look, mid-step.
 

I know you're all focusing on how tightly clenched her toes are on her left foot as she put on the brakes!
 

Super Plunger flies!

A rather large group of people, known as Super Plungers, plunged into the cold, cold Columbia River every hour on the hour for an entire 24 hours. Here's one of them on his way for the next-to-the-last time, right at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 12. While it might be more exciting to start off with a photo taken as water splashes all around, I can't resist this one that caught this man in the split second that his entire body was off the ground, off the water. Super Plunger flies!


So, here he goes, plunging feet first into the current. There to the right of the photo, I have another Super Plunger flying. Although I missed the lower half of his body, surely nothing is touching the ground--look at how parallel he is with the river. Gee, if I had only pointed the camera just a little more to the south. Oh, well. Later on before the masses of teams plunged, beginning at 11 a.m., the event's announcer read off a list of safety rules, one of which was "Do not dive."


More Super Plungers ran into the Columbia River--these people raised a whole lot of money for Special Olympics Oregon, at least $4000 each. My favorite is the cheesehead. Go Packers!


The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Dive Team waited in the water, in case of an emergency, thank goodness. Here four members celebrate the success of this next-to-the-last Super Plungers' splashdown. I wonder how many times each one of these had been in the river throughout the entire 23 hours. I know for sure these four were in the water for the 24th and last Super Plunge, a little over one hour later.


I took the photos of the Super Plungers from this small boat. No, I didn't stand up in it like this MCSO River Patrol Deputy who is also on the Dive Team. I sat on the seat right in front of that green, upright thing with the Sheriff's badge on it. Once the Super Plungers all got out of the water, he took me over to the Liberty, the larger boat anchored in the Columbia.

Monumental Mt. Hood, in the distance ...

... beyond the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office boat, Liberty, anchored in the mighty Columbia River. I took this photo Saturday morning as I rode in a smaller MCSO boat towards Liberty, my station for the Polar Plunge. I had volunteered to take photos of that fund-raising event for Oregon Special Olympics. There on the right you can glimpse one of the Sheriff's dive team members and the floating border of the plunge area, created by those blue and white floats that have a rope going from one to the other.

Rain had been predicted but didn't show. A brisk wind did, however. I cannot imagine how those waiting to plunge and those wet with the 39 degree water felt in that wind. I thanked my lucky stars that the Liberty's bow pointed into the wind as I stood on the back to the right of that door, snapping one photo after another.

About the mountain, if you go by I-84, it is 76.3 miles from where I rode as I took this photo. Monumental indeed.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Polar Plunge Pix

I volunteered to take photos for the Oregon Special Olympics Polar Plunge fund raiser on Jan. 30. Lots and lots of folks raised lots and lots of money by splashing their way into the Columbia River at the 42nd Street Boat Ramp. That's where the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has a River Patrol office, and they let me ride on one of their boats to take the photos! How lucky for me because I had a splendid view. Plus I got to hear lots and lots of squeals as various folks realized just how cold the water felt.

Unfortunately I don't know the identity of any of the groups, but I can tell you that this is a shot of most of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office plungers, employees and family members I was told. See the man in the orange vest? He's the sheriff--I've seen him on TV.


More photos soon of costumes, splashes, and smiles!