Moving into Queen's Residences

Every year brings with it thousands of new students to Queen's University, and on the Saturday before labor day they simultaneously move into residence. The result of this is a massive semi-organized chaos.

Around the bend. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

My favorite aspect of this event is not being directly involved. The second, less cynical favorite part is how the parents interact with the frosh. There are so many curious relationships melting together at the same time, often at high stress levels. You can see the parents who do everything for their kids (including move all of their belongings for them) and those that lake the hands off approach, families of all socio-economic backgrounds, frosh who want to get away from their parents, and those that can't bear to see them leave.

Easy Does It. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

This is the fifth year I've come back to Queen's but it hasn't been since my first year that I've been able to see all of the frosh move into residence. I've lived out in the aptly named "student ghetto" all of the other years, but this year I decided to live in a house that is directly on campus, between a few of the residences. The frosh move in has taken me back to another world it seems, I'm overhearing conversations of "I wonder if the bars here are tough to get into," and "I wonder if my sister's ID will work." Makes a guy feel old, all right.

Hustle Bustle. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

However, there is a silver lining to being surrounded by the frosh is get to relive moments from my own frosh year, and I will be to witness all of the frosh learning how to live. It reminds me of how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same, since I was back in first year.

Frec. Crossing. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

Strut. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

One of the most unique things about Queen's frosh move in are the engineers. They are bold and brazen shouting slanderous comments to both the arts and science frosh, as well as to their own engineering frosh. The tradition is for the engineering frosh leaders (called Frec's) to go around campus, causing as much mayhem as possible. They slam their school jackets (called Golden Party Armour or GPA) on the roads in front of cars yelling at everyone, parents included. Needless to say, after the first couple of hours of their taunting and mockery, everyone around campus is ready to throttle them.

10am. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

Honk, Honk. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

The joy of beginning the year, being back with friends after a four month furlow brings out some pretty funny upper-year characters as well. Inevitably someone shows up with a megaphone and drinking begins on a not too distant lawn. This year featured a cliche group of students; a large muscle car parked awkwardly on the front lawn, picnic tables set up to play drinking games, and a color commentary by two men watching the move in efforts and preaching the virtues of being wasted. At one point one of the group bounded into the street, laid down on the pavement in front of a student constable, and the men on the mic created a calamity shouting about constable brutality, all done in good fun.

Security. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

Eventually, as the day wore on, the frosh finished moving in, mothers said teary eyed goodbyes, and the fathers, with a courteous nod and a firm handshake, got back in their cars and drove off leaving the frosh to wonder what they had gotten themselves into.

Walk down to the Lake. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

Traffic Cram. Canon 30D - 28-135 - f8

Oh yeah, The photography. I accidentally spent most of the day with the exposure compensation set to 2+, so most of my pictures ended up blown out and blurry due to longer exposures. Rookie mistake! The ones that were sharp, I corrected in Lightroom with exposure control. I spent the day in aperture priority mode, at f8 or f11. I chose to shoot this way because I knew that the action around me left me needed quick exposures, and I needed the depth of field to be great enough to allow the AF to keep up with me, without worrying that the wrong element of the photo was in focus. Altogether, it was a decent day of shooting. A number of photos that I was excited about were ruined by exposure compensation, but others turned out alright.

Next Post, Frosh Week.