Week 11 Labour day week in the cfl

Four games in six days...

When I type that it doesn’t seem possible….but it happened!

Toronto, ON

to Montreal, QC

to Regina, SK

to Hamilton, ON

They were all exciting, all intense.

Labour Day Weekend is like no other in the CFL.

It’s usually a good battle for division standings, and it’s always between two teams that aren’t exactly fond of each other.

First up was Montreal.

The REDBLACKS and the Alouettes have a great rivalry going between each other this season.

and a lot of Ottawa fans made the 2-hour trip down.

Honestly felt (and sounded) like a REDBLACKS home game!

I had a really good time shooting this game, the crowd was so into it and the backdrop at McGill Stadium is gorgeous.

We also had some rain that always makes for great shots...

but I’ll let you be the judge.

Next up was the Saskatchewan-Winnipeg game.

Anyone who knows this league knows that this is the marquee game of the weekend, potentially the whole season!

Winnipeg may have won that game but the real winner of the weekend was a guy named Eric Mitchell. As I was boarding in Montreal to head to Regina, a guy a few people ahead of me in line stopped to ask if my last name was Jutras. “Yes”, I said. “Oh my god! I love your work; I have your book! I don’t know if you can tell but I’m a big Blue Bombers fan.”

He was decked out in a jersey and hat so I could tell. ;)

So I made a friend on the plane. Our rows were across from one another and we ended up chatting and he told me he had something he wanted the flight attendant to read…. This is why I love this league!

I managed to cover the whole thing on my Twitter feed.

I got to Regina a day before the game and had a chance to go out for the traditional dinner with all of the reporters from both teams at the Golf - a great steakhouse restaurant - and it just so happened that my plane friend was at the same restaurant. I brought him over and introduced him to everyone, then just as he was leaving, Mike O’Shea came by to say hi to the table...the look on Eric’s face when he got to meet the coach of his favourite team was a great to see. He’ll probably never forget that. Too bad I ain't got a picture of this moment!

Game day was intense! Amazing; busy; stressful; surreal. Pretty much everything at once. Haha!

If you haven’t been to a Riders game, my description won’t do it justice. It’s so loud that you can’t hear yourself think, you can’t hear your own breath. It’s incredible.

Fans arrive hours and hours before the game, everything is green and white...with a little blue this time!

One thing I love about the CFL is the bonding between fans. I think that’s something that is so unique to this league. Riders fans partying with Bombers fans, there’s never any disrespect between anyone, it’s always just love for the game. Pure and simple.

That feeling of the game transcending the field, that’s what I try to capture at games like this.

I really like the photos I took in Regina. There’s was so much raw emotion from the fans and players that it made my job a lot easier and lot of fun! Plus the colour and lighting at Mosaic were amazing. The clouds acted like a natural softbox and I didn’t have to worry about glare or shadow. It makes the detail really stand out in each photo.

Next up, it was back to Hamilton for the battle of Ontario between the Ticats and the Argos.

I haven’t been able to spend a ton of time in Hamilton this season…and I almost forgot how loud it is!

Their fans are honestly some of the most involved and vocal I’ve ever seen, and it’s absolutely awesome.

It was cool to experience a Ticats/Argos game as a travelling photographer for the Toronto Argonauts. Last year I was shooting on my own, but after spending the season travelling and working with the Argos, it really gives you an inside understanding of just how big these games are and how much they mean to the players.

Last year, on my last trip to the Hammer I got the chance to head up in a helicopter and snag a sunset pic of the city and stadium. I made a cool spread with them in my book, but never used it before on social media and thought after the game was the perfect time to use it on my Instagram feed. Really happy I did!

Photo by Johany Jutras / All rights reserved.

Back home now and editing a few hundred photos or so. Can’t wait to share them all with you guys! Lots of cool recaps coming your way today. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more of this.

See you next week!

Johany

Created By
Johany Jutras
Appreciate

Credits:

Photos by Johany Jutras / All rights reserved.

Made with Adobe Slate

Make your words and images move.

Get Slate

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.