Downtown Burning

Brandonites watched in horror and shock on Saturday as fires tore through several downtown buildings, destroying the Christie's Office Plus building on Pacific Avenue, and severely damaging the Massey Manor residence across the street, as well as a former night club and beer vendor on Rosser Avenue across from The Brandon Sun building.

Brandon Sun managing editor Matt Goerzen, reporter Michael Lee and others took these images from that devastating afternoon.

Beauty vs Brawn

On Tuesday, skaters hit the ice at the Keystone Centre in two very different competitions. At Kinsmen Arena, figure skaters performed during Skate Brandon's Rockin' the 80's year-end ice show. Not far away, at Westoba Place, the Brandon Wheat Kings defeated the Saskatoon Blades 5-3 in WHL action. (Photos by Tim Smith)

Dig those dance moves

The annual Brandon Festival of the Arts has been showcasing the wonderful performance skills of participating dances, speech artists, instrumentalists and choirs from our region since mid-February. Last week Brandon Sun photographer Tim Smith took in various dance performances at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. Here is a sample of what he saw through the lens.

Olympics Day 6

Canada added another gold to its collection with a first-place finish in speed skating by Ted-Jan Bloemen, who set a new Olympic record in the men’s 10,000-metre speed skating event. It was one of three medals on Day 6 of the games in South Korea. The second medal, a bronze, for Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in pairs figure skating. Canada also won a silver in luge in the team relay event. On the ice it was a good day for Team Canada's hockey teams as the women's team defeated the United States 2-1 while the men defeated the Swiss team 5-1. It wasn't the best start for Team Homan, however, as her curling team lost their first two games to Korea and Sweden.

Olympics Day 5

Kevin Koe and his curling team hit the ice in South Korea for the first day of the team curling event at the 2018 Olympics. Canadian doubles lugers Tristan Walker and Justin Snith didn't land on the podium. Sitting in fourth after the first run, the pair lost speed halfway through their final run and had to settle for a fifth-place finish. They'll get another shot at the medal on Thursday.

35 must-see photos from the Olympics so far

Canadians Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris took home Canada's third gold in mixed doubles curling after defeating the Swiss pair 10-3. Lawes and Morris dominated the match from the first stone. It was over in just six ends.

Check out more photos from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

SINGING IN THE RAIN — By Tim Smith

École Secondaire Neelin High School's production of Singing in the Rain ran through a dress rehearsal at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Wednesday. The play opens Thursday and runs until Saturday.

HITTING THE ICE — By Tim Smith

During a three-day stretch last week Brandon Sun photographer Tim Smith shot plenty of action on the ice. First, local figure skaters hit the ice at the Kinsmen on Nov. 23; that was followed by a AAA hockey game on Friday at the Sportsplex; and on Sunday, Smith took photos of wheelchair curling in Brandon, as well as, action at another hockey game at the Sportsplex.

DAY IN THE LIFE

On Nov. 1, The Brandon Sun blanketed the city for a 24-hour photo essay capturing both the many routine and irregular events that take place throughout the day in Brandon.

The following 85 photos document a typical day in the life of Brandon residents beginning with the first shot at 12:40 a.m. and concluding with the final shot which was taken just prior to midnight at 11:59 p.m. Between those times, photos range from Mayor Rick Chrest and his wife, Karen, getting ready to start their day to kids getting geared up for hockey practice at the Sportsplex; and ballerinas taking part in an open audition to a mother and her newborn baby who was born one day earlier at the Brandon Regional Health Centre's maternity ward.

Maid in the Shade — by Matt Goerzen

Westman journalists had a rare chance on Tuesday morning to get up close and personal with a rare piece of avian history.

For the next several days, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum will play host to a B-25J, nicknamed "Maid in the Shade." Currently owned by the Arizona-based Commemorative Air Force, this particular American bomber flew 15 missions in Italy and Yugoslavia during the Second World War, though it was only in service for a few months in 1944.

On Tuesday morning, myself and a few other journalists, along with two local military veterans, were given the chance to take a short flight in this historic aircraft.

It's one of those things that I can cross off my bucket list — took a flight in a military bomber from the 1940s. I'm just glad I had a camera in my hand for what turned out to be a perfect August morning.

Exposure: Home Hardware Canada Cup of Curling

Bruce Bumstead: Two decades in the Sun light

It’s hard to believe that I will be walking out the side employee door at the Brandon Sun for the last time. For the past two decades, the Sun has been like home. I first walked through the doors at the Brandon Sun in the fall of 1996, having worked for just over a year and a half at the daily newspaper in Moose Jaw. A short stint for the this Ontario boy, figuring I would only be at the Sun for approximately the same period of time. I never imaged that I would have fallen in love with the Wheat City and form such a foundation for a career lasting 20 years. I arrived in the Wheat City a day late having been stranded at the Saskatchewan border. A mid-October blizzard forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway. Not an unusual experience in Western Canada. An understanding boss and supportive colleagues made me feel right at home, and as winter turned to spring, all thoughts turned to the Canada Summer Games. I couldn’t have timed my moved to Brandon any better. To be a part of this exciting event, on the ground documenting the joy, triumph and heartache was such an amazing experience. And the excitement continued with events like the World Junior Hockey Tournament, the Olympic Curling Trials and the Memorial Cup. Things sure have changed since my early days at the Sun. To start off with, the photography department still used film to capture images. Manual focus cameras, film processing and print making were still the order of the day. However, as quickly as technology changes, so did the means by which we recorded images at the Sun. Darkroom printing made way for digital film scanning. Film processing was phased out for digital cameras. Today, social media and constant updates, posts and tweets from smartphones are common place. So where is the future going? Well, it hard to say. But what I can say is working at the Brandon Sun has been an amazing ride. And all rides must come to an end. Yesterday, I walked out the very same doors I entered nearly two decades to begin a new page in my life as a teacher. Starting this fall, I will be part of a new team working at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School as a vocational teacher in the photography department. I welcome this new adventure and look forward to the challenge ahead. As I write this last Exposure text, I have tears in my eyes. I will truly miss all the wonderful and talented staff at the Sun and my colleagues who have mentored and supported my career as a photojournalist. A photograph is simply a moment in time, and here are a few moments from the time I have spent with the Brandon Sun.

Exposure: Countries clash at the Quidditch World Cup

The contact, co-ed “Muggle” version of the sport, which contains elements from rugby, basketball and dodgeball, was inspired by J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels. There are seven players on each side: three chasers who use a deflated volleyball, known as the quaffle, to score by putting the ball through one of three hoops, which is defended by a keeper; two beaters, who use dodgeballs called bludgers to disrupt the game by “knocking out” opposing players; and seekers, who chase after a runner, who has the snitch, a ball attached to the waistband of their shorts, in order to end the game. Myself and co-commentator Suraj Singh followed the Canadians throughout the tournament in Frankfurt last month and during our breaks I snapped photos of some of the games. More than 20 countries participated in the event, including teams from Brazil, South Korea and France. Canada ended up placing fourth in the tournament after losing to the United Kingdom. In a nail biting final, Australia caught the snitch to beat Team USA and take home the gold medal.

Exposure: Powwows dance through Sioux Valley and Rolling River

Exposure: Canola and Clouds

A slow news day creates opportunity to hunt the country-side for eye catching images. And nothing says Manitoba in July more than canola fields and clouds. Albeit lately, it seems more like stormy weather and soggy fields. While cruising around the city limits, I came across a series of canola fields which seem to paint the horizons in a sea of yellow. I even came across other admirers doing the same thing. Imagine what the passengers on the daily WestJet flights see as they approach the sea of canola blooms upon landing at the municipal airport.