On the other side of the shutter

If you were fortunate to make your way to the free stage at times throughout the fair you would have seen some pretty astounding talent.

One act that was rather impressive and at times suspenseful and other times hilarious was that of Mike and Mitchell of Saskatoon Canada, who go by the name of "Double Vision."

I was enjoying the show with my wife Susan and son P.J. when the unthinkable happened. Crowd participation.

Typically if you see a guy with a camera, you leave that guy alone because well he is taking photos of you. Typically, the only thing performers do is wait 'til the end of the show to ask for pictures. Not these guys.

They were going on about Houdini and his escapes and then looked throughout the crowd for a participant.

I stand out like a bloody knuckle, so they look over at me and ask me to help out with an escape trick. This put me up in arms because though I have been on plenty of stages, I don't typically like that kind of attention.

I, having my camera in hand, decide that I would hand it off to a person in the crowd and thusly after taking over a 50,000 pictures in my life, I am the target!

The trick itself, which included me handcuffing Mike, who wore a suit blazer and had to set himself free while Mitchell and I held a curtain was amazing and entertaining.

I do not know how they did the trick, but it was entertaining and I was well amused.

I have to say, I'm glad that I went on stage because at times being behind the camera you can't just sit down and enjoy the show. The camera gives you tunnel vision at times and in that split second that the shutter clicks, you can miss a lot.

It reminds me of when I first joined the PCN as a sports writer.

For years, I bet Curtis and Bonnie Starr couldn't just go to a basketball or football game and simply enjoy it together as a couple. When they hired a young chocolate stallion of photography and aspiring sports writer, it was cool to see them enjoying the 2013 Northern B Divisional basketball games together.

It was equally awesome to see Mark and his daughter Sophia enjoy parts of the rodeo together at the fair.

Sometimes it's nice to just soak in the sights.