There I was sitting in a cafe in Campbell River, sipping a freshly brewed coffee with the ocean no more than a stone's throw away. A paper map stretched over the table, eyes wide and looking for another small town to visit. That's when I noticed the name Zeballos in the middle of nowhere.
Read MoreIt turns out Martinus and Adrian grew up in Red Deer and during high school, Adrian already showed great interest in carpentry and after high school took a gap year and travelled to Australia. Martinus had other plans and went to film school in Vancouver but after struggling to break into the industry, he decided that wasn't for him and started his apprenticeship in carpentry as well; by this time Adrian was already in his 3rd year apprenticeship.
Read MoreAs I continue to catch up on blog posts from May of 2015 I leave you with a chance encounter from the British Columbia Kootenays. I met Raphael while taking a short pit stop in the town of Slocan which sits directly on the south end of Slocan Lake. If you ever get a chance to visit this part of Canada, I highly recommend driving HWY 6 between Upper Arrow Lake and Slocan Lake as the landscapes will leave you breathless. As I pulled into a gravel parking lot
Read MoreWhen you think of Canada you may think of hockey, cold winters, mountains, and really friendly people (or at least I do); you don’t think of surfing. Obviously Canada isn’t known for producing world-class surfers on the big stage, however our waves are starting to take notice especially in a places like Tofino. If you have ever visited Tofino
Read MoreI met Lyndon through Brian Henderson's son as he operates a tree-plating business working throughout the BC Kootenays. My intention was never to go tree-planting, it was more of an opportunity that presented itself while sharing stories over a meal with Brian and his wife. Then, in less than 36 hours I was up at 5am, following a small convoy of rusted pickup trucks down a busy highway, and turning off onto a hidden road that was only visible by a small gap of random trees
Read MoreI randomly met Brian Henderson through a series of introductions that all started with the wonderful Michelle Colley (previous blog post). After one introduction after another, a domino effect occurred and within 24 hours of arriving in Ymir, I felt as though I already knew half the town. This is how I came to meet Brian Henderson and his wife Sharon; they live just behind the town off a steep back road that hugs the base of the forest-covered
Read MoreWith the southern Saskatchewan stories wrapped up and a final blog post on Jim Commodore, I will have more adventures from southern British Columbia and Vancouver Island as I continue to photograph people from small town and remote areas across Canada. If this is your first time reading one of my posts on Back To The Land I'll give you a quick brief on how each trip starts. First, I do very little research on the places
Read MoreVal Marie is gem of a town that lies on the borders of the Grasslands Nations Park surrounded by some of the most stunning prairie landscapes with incredible morning and evening light I have never witnessed. I suggest if you're looking to explore some of Canada's unknown or less listed parks, this would be at the top of my list as it boasts wild roaming bison, camping, backcountry camping, hiking, informative seminars on the grasslands ecology,
Read MoreI recently sat down with Suzie to find out more of her life story. Suzie was born in Kingston Ontario then moved briefly to the UK and then back to Canada where she received a BA in Philosophy. From there she spent the next 10 years travelling all over the world as far as India, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Nepal. With her love for travelling she would return back to Canada every so often working in Banff in order to fund the next adventure halfway around the globe. When I asked Suzie about each of these places she visited, she had few words but looking into her eyes I could see the memories flash with expressions of joy and subtle smiles that revealed everything that words could not express…
Read More
