Trying out my new time-lapse rig, using a Creative Live! Socialize HD Webcam
Just over 2.5 hours to print and surprisingly sturdy!
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Our first full day in Alaska had us going on a 6+ hour catamaran boat cruise with Kanai Fjord Tours of the Kanai Fjord National Park.
Apparently, they rarely get sun in Alaska as the crew kept (jokingly) apologizing for the amazingly warm weather. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt but also brought a rain jacket and fleece as instructed.
Heading out from the surprisingly beautiful Seward harbour, we headed out for open water.
Then the trip started to feel like a put on. Kind of like how a cruise like this would be at a Disney resort. “And over here we have our friend, the sea otter, playing in the water” – and presto, a sea otter appears and does many little rolls in the water for the adorning crowds on the boat:
Then, as if on cue, we had our first (of many) whale spottings:
I wasn’t able to get any ‘good’ shots of the whales (there were at least two at this location) other than lots like this as they never really broke the surface…at least from my vantage point.
The wildlife highlight of the trip (for me) was definitely the half hour visit we had with these dolphins (I forget their exact name) which looked like mini-orcas. This was shot from the bow of the ship and apparently there were lots along side the ship as well:
I’m not sure exactly how many there were but my guess was at least a dozen (they are hard to count!). Even the ship’s crew commented they haven’t seen that many at once before (usually only 3-4 at a time). They probably tell all the tourists that.
If you want a sure fire way to make over a hundred people really, really happy, invite dolphins to the party…everyone was euphoric during and after this encounter.
We then headed toward the main event: glacier ice on the water:
I’d never seen a glacier up close like this before and it was spectacular:
The sounds the ice makes as it breaks up is unbelievably loud…like being front row for a thunderstorm.
This guy shot photos and video of the whole cruise with just his Blackberry Playbook:
After spending a fair bit of time at the glacier, we headed out again and then came across a ton of stellar sea lions:
We weren’t as close to these guys as I got during my zodiac tour earlier this year but close enough to hear them fighting each other for prime sunbathing spots.
Then, after a brilliant day at sea, we headed back to Seward harbour. I still can’t believe the amount of wildlife we saw on the cruise…the brochure really didn’t lie as others on the same trip which took the same cruise the following day confirmed the amount of wildlife they saw as well.
I had heard good things about cruises in Alaska but really wasn’t expecting them to ‘deliver’ in this way…it was an incredible experience. One tip though – you may want to bring some gravol with you. Out of the 6 of us in my party, apparently, I’m the only one with the stomach for the Alaskan seas as everyone else was a little green for parts of the trip. I guess I can submit my application to the Deadliest Catch now!
Here’s a slideshow of all the photos I took during the cruise:
Disclosure: GM Canada paid for this activity as part of the media tour of Alaska that I was on.
I just got back from spending the better part of an amazing week in Alaska as part of a media tour for the launch of the new Chevy Volt electric vehicle which will be available in Canada this fall. But more on that part of the trip in a future post.
One of the activities our group chose to do was glacier ice hiking. This involved meeting up with Exit Glacier Guides in Seward, Alaska where our guide, Julian, outfitted us with crampons, trekking poles and backpacks and gave us some introductory tips for hiking on the glacier.
We then took a van (powered by bio-fuel!) to the local airstrip a few minutes away where we got on a helicopter for a 7 minute flight up to the Godwin Glacier.
Much to my delight, Sean, our helicopter pilot already had a GoPro mount on the front of the helicopter and offered to let me shoot footage of our flight up to the glacier…so enjoy the breathtaking scenery in Alaska:
I also had the GoPro mounted to my helmet the entire time we were hiking shooting still photos so here’s some of the best shots combined with ones taken by my Nikon D7000:
View the full photoset on Flickr.
My huge thanks to Adria, Veronica, Garry and Lisa for making this trip possible and the rest of my hiking crew Kathy, Alex, Jason, Garry and our excellent guide, Julian.
The guys at Exit Glacier Guides were fabulous and I can’t recommend them enough if you every want to check out this experience for yourself.
Definitely the trip of a lifetime!
Disclosure: GM Canada paid for this activity as part of the media tour of Alaska that I was on.
This weekend, Volkswagen kicked off their cross Canada Freedriving Tour in Coquitlam, BC at the local mall which just happens to be a few minutes from my house.
It’s a fun twist on the traditional vehicle test drive where you’re able to get behind the wheel and take any VW for a spin on a closed course and really push it while being instructed by a professional driver.
I documented my drive in a 2011 Tiguan by sticking my GoPro camera to the hood. VW already had one inside the car (I’ll post the footage in a few days once they post it) to show your reactions to some of the maneuvers they get you to try.
It was a little wet on the morning I did my drive but that only added to the fun. As I write this, there was still some spots left to take the tour in Coquitlam this weekend and then VW takes everything to the next town on their tour.
Thanks to Volkswagen for having me out and Frank for being my backseat cameraman.
I’m embarrassed to admit it’s be years (possibly 15) since I visited the Aquarium in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Fortunately, I was able to correct that oversight recently when I was invited to check out the new summer exhibit, Birds Up Close which runs until September 5th.
Aside from the regular attractions at the Aquarium, such as the belugas:
the jellyfish:
the spinnaker dolphins:
and the super cute sea otters that hold hands:
Birds Up Close give guests a chance to see a number of birds, um, up close like this great horned owl:
Bald eagles:
and turkey vultures:
It was pretty amazing to see so many animals and birds right in front of you (up close even)…I can’t imagine it will be years before I return to the Aquarium again. Thanks to Jonah Lewis and the Vancouver Aquarium for inviting me down to check it out.
You can view my full set of photos and videos from Birds Up Close on Flickr.
I spent last Friday afternoon doing something I’ve wanted to do forever – skydiving! Well, in this case, it was simulated in a vertical wind tunnel but as you’ll see, it’s pretty close to the real thing:
Out in Delta, Fly Zone Body Flight, gives visitors a chance to experience the feeling of free fall skydiving, without having to get onto a plane:
After a short session in a classroom, Rebecca (Miss 604) and I donned our jumpsuits, goggles and helmets and headed to the wind tunnel which was outside. It’s actually on a flat deck trailer that can be moved to various locations.
Here’s me flying around inside the tunnel on my first run:
Here’s Rebecca doing her full first flight:
Watch as the flight instructors strut their stuff after our first lesson:
One thing I wasn’t expecting was the amount of drool I had blown all over my face from being in the tunnel…I’m pretty sure it was due to the giant smile on my face as the turbine spun below.
Last year, I happened upon a strange ‘structure’ that didn’t have any context. I assumed it was part of a movie set but there was no cameras or people or really anything around it:
It turned out to be the set for Final Destination 5 which was shot in Vancouver last fall. It also turns out that the structure I came across was part of the Lions Gate Bridge set which gets destroyed in the film:
Note the yellow/orange truck beside the bent railing and their position in both images.
Here’s the full trailer so you can see the complete bridge destruction:
I’ve been really enjoying the GoPro HD camera I bought a few months ago. But one thing that I’ve been waiting for and that has been lacking for it is the newly released, LCD BacPac which gives the GoPro a much needed rear LCD screen:
The GoPro by itself is tiny and great for all kinds of action photography and video but sometimes it would be really helpful to see what kind of framing you have, especially in tight spaces. The BacPac addresses that shortcoming very well, without adding much bulk and for a reasonable price.
The LCD comes with a speaker for playback and an additional button for navigation. It easily attaches to the GoPro by clipping it into place:
My GoPro required a firmware update to work with the LCD BacPac but was painless to upgrade.
The LCD BacPac has another interesting benefit: it makes the cryptic mode codes usually found on the front of the GoPro completely understandable by using the full descriptions of each mode:
There is also a new mode for playback that you access by holding the LCD button down for 2 seconds. It let’s you playback video and photos as well as adjust the brightness:
A nice bonus is that the BacPac comes with a box of alternate back plates for the various types of mounts, including waterproof and non-waterproof versions for the regular housing and the wrist mount:
I recently purchased the Wrist mount and used it with the LCD attached while surfing in Ucluelet:
The BacPac is a little hard to see in full sunlight but it’s good enough to be able to frame up your shot and do a quick review (with sound) in the shade when you’re done shooting. There is also a hit to your battery if you use it a lot but it can be turned off by simply pressing the LCD button anytime. To me, it’s definitely a must buy if you have a GoPro.
As of right now, it’s only available directly from GoPro.com but shipping was only a couple of days from California to Canada. I did have to pay HST on the $79.99 price when importing it from the USA.
The title of this post is a question I’ve been asked a lot lately…and yes, I do still have a day job. I’ve been fortunate enough lately to be able to take some vacation time off and do quite a bit of traveling with more to come. I thought I’d post an update on some of the things I’ve been getting up to.
A few weeks ago, my pal Rebecca asked if I could fill in for her on a tour of Vancouver Island as she was unable to attend do to some last minute passport & visa issues related to her then upcoming trip to Africa.
So before I knew it, I was on a plane to the Comox Valley for a 5 day media tour of Vancouver Island. I’ve lived in the Vancouver area for 25 years and never made it further than Duncan so it was all new to me. Probably an ideal way to explore it anyways.
The media tour was jam packed with outdoor activities and culinary experiences. It was called the Snow to Surf tour and it included snowshoeing on Mt. Washington, caving in Horne Lake, surfing in Ucluelet and a zodiac boat tour in the Pacific Rim National Park.
I had a chance to really see some fantastic sights in my own province…it really made me think about all the trips I do outside the province and what I’m missing in my own backyard.
As soon as I got back from Vancouver Island, I literally had a few hours to do some laundry, sleep in my own bed for one night and then jump back on a plane and head to Whitehorse to cover Hockey Day in Canada. I had a chance to experience the Yukon for one day during the 2010 Winter Olympics as part of a media tour they had setup and when I found out Whitehorse was hosting the Hockey Day event, jumped at the chance to go back. Thanks to Travel Yukon, I got that chance.
So from surfing in Ucluelet one day to standing in the middle of town in Whitehorse the next.
Rebecca & her husband John were also supposed to go (and were unable to make the media trip during the Olympics), with Rebecca covering the event for Scotiabank, one of the event’s sponsors. Unfortunately, due to a last minute family emergency, they had to stay home so I offered to pick up the slack to help them out since I was already going. I was able to post a few things on a daily basis on Rebecca’s site (Gearing up, Gala Banquet and the big day) and tweet a lot of photos during the events over four days in Whitehorse.
I shot hundreds of photos during the event and got to meet and talk with so many hockey legends, frenzied fans and excited kids.
A little behind the scenes of the filming of Hockey Night in Canada:
The night I arrived in Whitehorse, I was given a ticket to the Stolen from a Hockey Card show at the Yukon Arts Centre. I really had no idea what to expect and it was a very special event that I’m still thinking about weeks later.
The format was a short film festival with live musical performances by Sarah Harmer, Kim Barlow, Buck 65, Geoff Berner, Dave Bidini, CR Avery, Mathias Kom and John K Samson in between the films – all with a hockey flavor. There was also some fun intros, stories and banter from various hockey celebs.
The highlight was definitely the music with six different acts performing new works, specifically written for or about hockey. I got introduced to a number of performers that I was unaware of and was happy to find out the one of my favorites from the evening is from East Vancouver, CR Avery who I got to chat with later on during the weekend:
CBC Radio 2 will be is streaming the concert on their Concerts on Demand site very soon now. If you’re a fan of hockey or great Canadian music, you’ll want to have a listen. They even used (with permission) a number of my photos from the event.
The true highlight of the trip though, had to be the flight home. Not because I was tired from all the travelling, but because I was fortunate enough to be seated on the plane home beside an icon in Vancouver broadcasting, Jim Robson:
Jim was such a treat to talk to and shared some great hockey stories with me on the way home.
It truly was a great way to end a fantastic, hockey lovers weekend away in Whitehorse.
So what’s next?
As regular readers of this site will know, I’ll be heading to Austin, Texas soon to attend the 2011 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference in mid-March. I’m not speaking this year (my panel wasn’t accepted) but it’s shaping up to be a fantastic event.
This year however, there is a little twist to my trip: I’m driving from Vancouver to Austin. Chevy is sponsoring 10 teams from around North America to drive to Austin from their home cities, while competing in challenges along the way against the other teams. We don’t even know the route we’ll be driving yet, as it’s a closely guarded secret. I’ve got a rockstar team assembled to help me with the driving and the challenges. We’ve named ourselves The Eh Team and plan on documenting our adventures along the way. You can follow along on our website that we’re just getting set up – expect a lot to happen on there once we’re on the road beginning March 7th. We’re going to be online in the vehicle as well so will be updating as we drive (and have 3G service).
UPDATE: You can read about the roadtrip here.
My recent trip to Whistler was filled with good times including getting to be on hand for the 2010 FIBT World Cup bobsleigh and skeleton events at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
I never had a chance to visit the Sliding Centre during the Olympics (I couldn’t be everywhere at once!) so it was especially cool to have media access to the start and finish lines.
As you might imagine, the Sliding Centre really brought back Olympic memories for me…the whole event had an Olympic feel to it and many spectators were wearing their red mittens.
As someone pointed out – look at the feet in this shot (they aren’t touching the ground!):
Definitely a highlight was getting to see Jon Montgomery win the World Cup for Men’s Skeleton right in front of me in the same place he won the Gold Medal for Canada just nine months ago:
Being up close for the events really brought home just how insanely fast this sport is.
Prepping the sleds for competition:
I was told that starting early next year, the public will be able to actually ride in a bobsleigh and there will be a school where people can learn to bobsleigh and skeleton. I’m hoping to get to check those out myself!
