This Is Why You Have To Go To Alaska
There are 50 states in the United States of America, and Alaska is the largest. In fact it is so big, it is three times the size of the next biggest state of Texas.
For a long time, I’ve wanted to visit Alaska but never knew where to start. There was so much to choose from and so much to see, it was overwhelming.
Working with the tourism board brought a lot of perspective, and they were able to work with us to come up with an affordable, attainable, and extremely scenic summer road trip.
The one big problem with seeing a lot of the most scenic and adventurous communities along the Pacific coast, is that access is difficult from the mainland. To drive to Valdez from Anchorage, for example, would take you 10.5 hours round trip; and to see Cordova, the mountains are so high and impassable, the only way to access the community is by plane or ferry.
Thankfully the ferry system is amazing, in fact the coastal communities absolutely rely on it. They call it the Alaska Marine Highway System, and it is what we used to make our trip many times better than it would have been without it.
What we did is take a big loop, driving from Anchorage to Valdez through the mainland, with several life-changing stops, then took the ferry from Valdez to Whittier, which is only an hour from Anchorage, completing the loop.
The details of this are what made the trip seem so attractive to me as a summer road trip idea.
From Vancouver BC, we took a direct flight three hours to Anchorage, picked up our rental car then got straight on the road.
Our first stop was at Knik River Lodge, just under an hour from Anchorage. We spent two nights here, and since it is also the home base of Alaska Helicopter Tours, it was the perfect opportunity to see the Knik Glacier and other surrounding areas by helicopter.
Helicopter is definitely the best method of visiting the glacier because you can actually land on the glacier, get out and walk on it, and drink the runoff from the source as it’s being created.
Part two of the trip had us drive from Knik River Lodge to Chitina, where we boarded a small plane for a 30 minute flight to McCarthy. There is a road to McCarthy from Chitina, but it is an extra 6 hours round trip, and although I haven’t seen it for myself, I’ve been told it’s one of the bumpiest roads around.
We arrived in McCarthy and felt like we were transported back a century. Our first stop was at Ma Johnson’s Hotel which is a 100 year old hotel, restored to be exactly as it was originally, and I’d say they hit the mark, it was fascinating.
McCarthy serves as an adventure hub for the Wrangell-St. Elias mountains and is home to two certified guiding services who have full permission to guide anything and everything inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the US.
St. Elias Alpine Guides took us onto the Root Glacier for their half-day option, and it rained sideways, but it didn’t matter because of how mesmerizing it was to be on the glaciers exploring the different features, plus we knew we could head back to town to warm up and grab a hot bowl of soup any time.
We woke up the next day, caught our plane back to Chitina and carried on to Valdez.
Valdez is a coastal community with tons of fishing, waterfalls, hiking, and of course like many other places in Alaska, glaciers.
Stan Stephens Cruises is based here, and we opted for the Columbia Glacier cruise. You hop on the boat in town and head out through Prince William Sound passing all sorts of wildlife. We saw seals, otters, eagles, and at least a couple thousand sea lions.
At this point in the trip, we’ve been on the road six days and it’s time to complete the loop. We woke up early at our hotel in Valdez and went straight to the ferry terminal. The next 6 hours were much more relaxing and scenic than the alternative, which would be driving back the way we came.
All things considered, Alaska was one of the best trips of our lives so far. The word “vast” does not even begin to describe what it felt like having been there. Can’t wait to get back and see even more of this amazing state.
My Whirlwind Trip with Visit Saudi
Looking back on my recent trip to Saudi, I can say with complete certainty that it wasn’t just one of the best “tourism” trips I’ve been on - it was one of the top 2 or 3 trips I’ve even been on in my life; and I say that being fully aware it was only four days long. Our days were packed full of adventures, education, meeting with local people, and being introduced to the culture and customs of this nation and region.
June 5th, 2022 - Red Dunes
The culture of Saudi is unlike other countries I’ve visited before, even countries in the Middle East. The people surprised me more than anything. Everywhere I went, I was welcomed with open arms and greeted with traditional Arabic coffee or a meal. It was surprising and exciting to discover that the country is filled with rich heritage, vibrant culture and breathtaking natural beauty.
Our guide Samir. (a couple trips before us he was the personal tour guide to Leo Messi, wild)
Arabic coffee in and of itself was a trip highlight for me. In the world of coffee, there are two central strains of bean: arabica and robusta. Arabica, of course, originates in the Arabic world, and is the predominant bean used in coffee all around in the world. The major difference between Saudi coffee culture is in the roast, as well as in the serving and consumption techniques. Saudi coffee is about the lightest roast in the world, the beans ground alongside cardamom seed, and served by a traditional Arabic style coffee pot into small glasses several times smaller than mugs found in the west.
Sergio from Barcelona trying Arabic coffee for the first time
During the four days we were in country, we visited over a dozen key locations and equally split our time between the inland capital city of Riyadh and the coastal city of Jeddah.
Riyadh from the Skybridge June 4th 2022. In two years time there will be towering buildings to the horizon.
Riyadh is a bustling metropolis; one of the youngest cities in the world by age, and fastest growing cities in terms of population. Rising out of the centre of the an-Nafud desert, this city formerly known as “Hajr” is home to an impressive 7.7 million people, almost 3 million more people than my entire home province of British Columbia.
Addis from London - Red Dunes, sunrise
Being among the desert as it is, it was so impressive to see a city emerging. It speaks to the resilience of the Saudi people in a tough environment, and the creativity of construction methods used. And of course being so close to the vastness of the desert sands created opportunities for us to get out and enjoy dunes hundreds of metres tall.
A small part of our team of desert SUVs
Brand new 2023 Toyota Fortuner. Fully built for long days in the sand.
We were picked up at 3am by a convoy of SUVs and headed straight for the desert in search of the largest dunes we could find. After about 1 hour of driving from central Riyadh, we came to dunes the size of small mountains and drove straight up. Witnessing sunrise among this vast desert was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen, and was starkly unlike so many of the landscapes I have photographed in my life. This one spot would be worth the whole trip there and I certainly plan to return to the desert of Saudi, as well as the mountains.
Smiles aren’t forced out here
After our action packed time in Riyadh we hopped on a short flight and headed for the coastal city of Jeddah, along the eastern shores of the Red Sea. We checked into the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at, House Hotel Jeddah, and used it as a home base to explore the city.
House Hotel Jeddah - yes it has a cappuccino bar in the lobby
The light and colours in here are unbeatable.
If you have seen a nicer swimming pool in your life, let me know. I haven’t.
The history of Jeddah struck me even more than Riyadh. We visited several historic sites and buildings and only scratched the surface of what is available. Many of the older buildings are built on foundations of coral stone, a method I never expected to be possible even after my long career in the construction industry. And some of these coral stone structures are hundreds of years old now and still standing perfectly. You can see them for yourself at the Al-Balad UNESCO Heritage Site. Al-Balad is also home to the oldest mosques in Saudi, with roots as far back as the 13th century.
The buildings of Al-Balad carry so much history. I have never seen this style of architecture anywhere else.
Roof top tea to end a long day of exploring the old city of Jeddah.
Additionally to the history and scenery of Saudi, my trip was made enjoyable and exciting by the amazing team I was with.
Our team from top left to bottom left clockwise: Nathaël (@northernelg), Dalia (@daliaaadel), Nikita (@nikitabathia), Natalie (@mygreatescapes), Cili (@cilibling), Akash (@a_mehta), Addis (@addismiller), Sergio (@sergiocarvajal7), me, Kimie (@kimiefrengler), Kinga (@kingasawczuk), Olek - Bella - Lily - Ula (@herewegoagain.blog), and the top row is the general manager of @thehousehoteljeddah and beside him (in white) is our tour guide Samir (@samir.komosani)
Kimie
Dalia
Kimie and Dalia work with the agency that created the whole trip. Being part of their 21st trip to Saudi, it was absolutely clear to me they are amazing at their jobs, know how to create a thriving team, and love the Saudi culture. It was an absolute privilege touring this amazing country with them.
All in all, Saudi blew me away and I can’t wait to go back. Four days was great, but I want to return for much longer.
The Start of Summer in New Brunswick
Having never been out to this part of Canada before, Tiana and I were beyond excited to check out New Brunswick. After almost three years of not traveling, it hadn’t been on our radar, but when I received the itinerary from Destination NB, I realized it should have been.
Claims of “the warmest saltwater beach in Canada” at Parlee Beach, or “the highest tides in the world” in the Bay of Fundy seemed fake; but after having been, we can confirm that it is 100% fact.
We began our trip in the city of Moncton, and the very first thing that struck me was the history of the area. Yes, it is in the same country where I was born and raised, but the history is so much greater than back home in British Columbia. Where I currently live, it is rare to see a building 80-100 years old, but in Moncton, as well as the other towns and cities in New Brunswick, it is commonplace to come across a building which is 200 years old.
Close by to Moncton is the Atlantic Ocean, and the coastal communities of Shediac and Pointe-du-Chêne.
Tiana heading down to the shore with the lighthouse at Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf behind.
Shediac is home to Parlee Beach, which boasts of the warmest saltwater beach in the country. We went in and yes - the claims are accurate - it is definitely that warm. Quite a lot of people go there to swim because it is so warm, and thankfully it is miles and miles of soft sandy beach, so no matter when you go you will be able to find a spot all for yourself.
A nice lady saw we were taking photos of each other and offered to take one of us.
Pointe-du-Chêne was our personal favourite though, especially the Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf. It is $3 to enter, but what it gets you is absolutely worth it. The wharf is filled with restaurants, ice cream shops, a small harbour, and lines of benches facing the ocean. We ended the day with dinner and a sunset on the deck at Captain Dan’s and filled ourselves to the brim with fresh affordable seafood. If you happen to find yourself there, we recommend the Mixed Platter; it’s scallops, prawns, lobster, and haddock with your choice of sides for $33. Something like that would cost over double, perhaps triple, out here on the west coast and probably wouldn’t be fresh.
The small harbour at Pointe-du-Chêne.
The mixed platter at Captain Dan’s. Just about the best thing a person could eat.
After our time in the Moncton area, we packed up the rental car and went for a drive, but not just any drive. Our route to Saint John took us the scenic route, via Hopewell Rocks and the newly built Fundy Trail Parkway through Fundy National Park. We saw the towering cliffs shrouded in beautiful fog, as well as under clear blue skies before emerging. For your visit we recommend starting with the brand new Walton Gorge Overlook, as well as viewpoints numbers 2, 6, and 8.
The sea stacks of Hopewell Rocks.
Heading east to west through Fundy had us exiting the parkway into the small town of St. Martins, a small little fishing village on the Bay of Fundy. We actually visited the harbour here two days in a row, both at high tide as well as low tide, and found out just how high this tide really goes. It truly blew me away. Ships that were almost touching the roadway on Tuesday were sitting flat on the harbour bottom on Wednesday. This is something I have not witnessed anywhere else I have travelled to in the world. If you don’t quite believe me, look up “Bay of Fundy timelapse” or “Hopewell Rocks timelapse” on your search engine of choice. It really is spectacular.
Visiting the charming little oceanside village of St. Martins had us wanting to stay forever. The sun was out and the artisan shops were open, and it was clear the townsfolk had made an effort to make this place as wonderful as possible. If you ever find yourself there, visit Octopus Ice Cream right there on the harbour and tell the owner Mary we sent you.
Carrying on the from the Bay of Fundy, we made our way north to the small town of Kingston and checked into the Ridgeback Lodge to stay in one of the domes. I have stayed in many different types of buildings before; all sorts of tiny-homes, yurts and cabins, but nothing quite like this. A “dome” is exactly how one might describe it, but the technical term is a “geodesic dome tent”. They are becoming increasingly popular, especially in the countryside of New Brunswick, and I can see why. Our dome in particular had its own kitchen and washroom, was entirely secluded, looked out at the forest, and best of all, had a wood fired hot tub. Realistically, the hot tub is where we spent the majority of our nights while staying at Ridgeback.
Our dome home acted as a base of operations while we explored the area. A highlight just 10 minutes away was Moss Glen Falls. There is an upper and a lower falls, and although the upper falls is quite scenic, the lower falls drains out into a large pool directly feeding the Kennebacasis River. There is a rope swing for the adventurous among us, as well as several easier routes into the water.
At this point we are at Day 5 of 6, and after already having seen so much, there is still a lot more to see. This day has us travelling from Saint John, in the south of the province, all the way up to Miramichi, over four hours north, and making stops along the way. Our first stop is in the capital city of Fredericton where we found some espresso at The Tipsy Muse, and continued on our way. Next up is Fall Brook Falls, 30-35 minutes outside of Boiestown. We ventured off the highway in search of the falls, and after paying our $10 road use fee (bring cash), made our way to the trailhead and began the short hike. Side note: if you are not in a 4wd car, just make sure not to drive down the steep hill which is at the far end of the parking area.
Fall Brook Falls felt like a destination in itself rather than just a pit stop along the way. I think this is because it is a decent ways from the main highway, and also because it is such a cool spot. We could have spent a lot more time here given the opportunity. The falls are 30 meters tall and run constantly year-round. The water was nice too, so I went for a dip and was even able to jump off the surrounding rocks into the water. All things considered, this is a good little hike, but a top notch swimming hole.
Continuing on up the road, we came to the little town of Doaktown and stopped for lunch. I don’t have any photos of our simple quaint lunch spot, but it was certainly a trip highlight, at least as far as the culinary aspect of the trip is concerned. The restaurant is called Village Family Restaurant, and you’ll have to write that one down since we didn’t take any photos, and they don’t have a website.
Right around this area is also the longest suspension bridge in New Brunswick, the McNamee-Priceville Footbridge, named after the two town it connects. Before cars were prevalent in this part of the world, the bridge served as the primary route of commuting between the two towns.
Once we arrived in Miramichi, we checked into our hotel for the night at the Rodd Miramichi River. Our room was right on the ground floor, 20 meters from the shore of the Miramichi river, and had its own patio. Just out of curiosity, I looked up what the room cost, expecting around $280-300 per night. To my shock, it was $122. Unheard of for the part of the world I am from.
Yes the reality of flying into New Brunswick is that the flight might cost a bit more than other destinations in Canada, but once you actually arrive in the province, other things become more reasonable and it offsets the price, ultimately resulting in visiting the beautiful Canadian maritimes without breaking the bank. I would highly recommend it for your next vacation, either with your spouse, the whole family, or even as a solo road trip.
Ethical Alternative to Diamonds - Zen Moissanite
When Tiana and I were first looking into rings, we came across a classic game-changer. I didn’t know there was a more affordable, more ethical, just-as-durable alternative to diamonds; but it turns out there is one. And it is called “moissanite”. Let me introduce you to what it is, and why we chose it.
Are Diamonds Ethically Sourced?
When it comes to purchasing engagement and wedding rings, it should be a simple process: find out what fits your price range and looks good, then go ahead and buy it. BUT, like a lot of things in life, there’s more to the issue. Many diamonds on the market wouldn’t be there without first being dug out of the ground by a slave of some kind. When we asked ourselves whether or not we could purchase a real diamond and also remain true to our ethics - ultimately the answer was: no.
Price Control in the Diamond Industry
Diamonds mined in the western world typically guarantee to be conflict free, but ultimately what happens is that ALL diamonds, no matter where they are mined, are price-controlled. The methods by which the global diamond supply is provided to the public is questionable at best. If you want to know more about this, Google the history of the company “De Beers” and you’ll know what I mean. At their peak, they controlled 85% of the total international diamond supply chain, from mining, to distribution, to sale. If there are too many diamonds on the market, causing the price to go down, they release less diamonds into circulation, causing the price to go up again, ultimately causing the average hard working person to lose money unnecessarily. The effects of De Beers on the market are still evident, and a leading reason why we decided to opt-out of buying real diamonds altogether.
Alternatives
Is there anything other than a diamond that I can buy for my partner to show them how special they are to me? If I can’t buy them diamonds, then what will I buy? Thankfully we live in a bright future where we can use our dollars for social good, and receive a premium product in exchange for those dollars. Alternatives to diamonds DO EXIST, and one alternative we found is particularly impressive. It’s called moissanite.
Moissanite isn’t the only alternative to real diamond, but when we considered long-term value, it was the best choice. Moissanite lasts impressively long (longer than can be reliably tested), looks enough like a diamond that only a trained professional can tell the difference, and although it is not as hard as diamond, it is hard enough that under normal circumstances will not be damaged. We figured we wouldn’t be putting it through hard use anyways (my wife takes her rings off for most physical tasks).
Gemstone Hardness
Durability really comes down to just one factor: hardness, which is measured on the Mohs scale. Diamonds are rated at a 10, and Moissanite is rated at a 9.25. For reference, this is actually harder than a sapphire, which is generally rated around a 9.
Engagement Ring Costs and Life
The large majority of engagement rings are purchased by young couples who are just starting out. It is so easy to spend too much money on rings and weddings. Many young couples go into debt to make all this happen. It only happens once right? But more often than not, that debt lasts decades and puts strain on the relationship.
We are so glad we looked for ways to not over-extend ourselves. And for Tiana’s rings, we are so happy with the choice we made. If we were to invest in the same style, clarity, cut, and size of ring, made out of diamond instead of moissanite, it would have cost 3-4x as much.
Why We Picked Zen Moissanite
Tiana had a very specific idea in mind for her engagement ring, and to be honest, I’m glad she did because I would not have been able to pick on my own. Zen Moissanite is Canadian-based, which was very important to us, and they deliver a premium product with the option for a custom design. We opted in for a custom design, which adds time and a bit of cost so they can draw up the CAD file, but it was worth it. Zen Moissanite actually ended up using Tiana’s wedding band template and released it on their site as a non-custom option titled the ’Iris.’ Head over to their website here and take a look.
2021 Porsche Taycan 4 CT in The Northwest
Earlier this year I woke up to one of the most exciting emails I’ve received in a long time. Porsche Canada invited me to test drive the all new 2021 Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. A few weeks later, the car arrived here in Vancouver and I had the great pleasure of taking it out for a solid adventure all over the Pacific Northwest. This is how it went.
2022 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4 - Cypress Mountain, Vancouver BC Canada
Pacific Northwest weather is characterized by rain and fog, and yes we did get a lot of that, but thankfully we were able to experience the Taycan 4 CT in warm sun, and some cold weather situations as well. It performed as well in the mountains as it did in the city, and was just as comfortable on the freeway as it was in the backcountry.
The power delivery was like nothing I’ve experienced before. I would say it was the smoothest power band I’ve ever felt. There is zero lag time between the application of the pedal and the real world effects of 469hp. You hit the ‘gas,’ and are immediately launched in what feels like a spaceship.
The panoramic moonroof extends from the windshield to the hatchback, and appears as an opaque gloss black as seen from the exterior of the vehicle. Viewing from the inside, on the other hand, the sky is crystal clear.
There are pages of impressive features I could mention, but my favourite feature was the panoramic moonroof. It made the driving experience everything I would hope for in a Porsche with off-road capabilities. The driver's seat is surprisingly spacious, and from any point in the interior of the Taycan, we looked out at the vast scenes of the Pacific Northwest.
Chilliwack River Valley at dawn.
As with any Porsche, the unexpected details make the car. We arrived at one of our destinations past sunset. When we were exiting the vehicle, each of the four doors projected the Porsche logo onto the pavement. Hands down, operating this machine was the most fun I’ve had in an automobile in quite some time. I can’t wait for the next adventure.
Working With the Brand New Fujifilm X-Pro3
Photo of me by my friend Tyler McKay, Nov 23rd 2019, Cascade Falls BC Canada // iso1600, 8mm, f2.8, 1/60
My start in photography was by no means ideal - and it’s not what you see online. The reality is I did construction work for 10 years, which hurt my back really badly. I didn’t even choose to leave construction; my doctor told me I had to stop immediately or risk significant injury. Part of the rehab for my back was walking, so my best friend let me borrow his camera as something to pass the time. I didn’t think much of it then, but I ended up falling in love with photography from this and through an incredible turn of events, this kind gesture from a good friend initiated what would become the adventure photography career I have now.
Never once did I dream that I would have such a great privilege of doing this for a living. And I certainly didn’t think I would ever be sponsored by a camera manufacturer like Fujifilm. It’s incredible looking back on the past few years and seeing that I’m now part of the Fujifilm team.
Ibex, Dubai Desert, November 18th 2019 // iso1250, 140mm, f2.8, 1/4000
These past few months Fujifilm has challenged me to put the X-Pro 3 to the test all over the world. In the Dubai desert, the French Alps in Chamonix, back home in Canada in the fog, and this past week on the south coast of Iceland where we’ve been dealing with some pretty rough weather, including the whole country being shut down for 140km/h wind and blizzards. Thankfully, the X-Pro3’s body is made of titanium, is weather sealed and scratch resistant making it one of the most durable cameras that Fujifilm has to offer.
Since I do most of my work in bad weather, I was worried it simply wouldn’t be able to handle it, but here we are 3 months in, tens of thousands of images and countless heavy weather days later and I couldn’t be happier with the results. The reduced weight has meant I can bring more focal lengths with me to a location. Right now, over 4 lenses, I have everything between 8mm and 400mm in my bag at all times, and still run under 25 pounds all-in.
Hidden cave waterfall along the south coast of Iceland. Dec 10th 2019 // iso2000, 8mm, f2.8, 1/75s
The incredible mountains of Chamonix in the French Alps, looking toward Switzerland. If you look really closely you can see the Matterhorn. Sep 29th 2019. // iso500, 80mm, f4, 1/8000s
Bald eagle hunting for breakfast along the upper Chilliwack River, Chilliwack BC Canada. Dec 15th 2019. // iso800, 400mm, f5.6, 1/240
Putting the X-Pro3 to the test in the fog. Golden Ears Provincial Park, Maple Ridge BC Canada. Dec 3rd 2019. // iso800, 8mm, f2.8, 1/60
Want to know more about the X-Pro3? Here are some quick specs:
New OVF/EVF Combination - impressive hybrid viewfinder ensures you are always fully immersed in the moment you want to capture. OVF provides a true-to-life view of what is in front of you, and EVF offers a fast and high-quality representation of exactly how your image will look for amazing clarity
Hidden 180-Degree Tilt and Touchscreen - 1.62M-dot, tilting LCD Touchscreen. When the LCD is closed, all that you can see is a mini-display showing essential settings, reminiscent of shooting with film
Incredible Sensor, Processor, and AF Performance - 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and X-Processor 4 combination
Unparalleled Colour Reproduction and Film Simulation Modes: Fujifilm's colour reproduction is unmatched. The X-Pro3 comes with two exciting new additions to the Film Simulation mode collection: CLASSIC Neg. and MONOCHROMATIC Colour
Click here for even more information on the new Fujifilm X-Pro3.
Ben's Guide to Losing All Your Photos
I’ve been riding that fine line of potentially losing my entire portfolio for 3 whole years now. Not good.
So yesterday I got real with myself about my shortcomings and posted a story to my Instagram page asking photographers what they use for cloud storage and why. I thought there were only a couple valid options, but turns out there are several - each one of them caught lacking in their own special way. Let me explain:
I assumed that cloud storage was the fancy new way for photographers to secure their images and save cash in 2019. As it turns out, like usual, I was dead wrong. Everything considered, at the end of the day you pay the same amount of money for cloud-storage, if not more, and then run into three key issues: accessibility, security, expenditure, and content isolation. Ok, four key issues.
PART ONE: PROBLEM
Accessibility
Without quick access to your photos, what’s the point? Right - there isn’t one. There are two main problems with cloud storage as it pertains to access. 1) First of all, even among the most expensive cloud storage platforms, you run into the issue of having to download the RAW files to a computer before you can edit them or send them to a client. 2) Secondly, among the cheaper cloud storage platforms, or “cloud backup” platforms, it is quite common to lose access entirely and spend weeks in retrieval. See some examples of this by clicking on the words “caught lacking” in my first paragraph.
Security
In the words of my buddy Joey, the internet is the internet, and if you have the right link, you’re in. Of course you can pay for higher security measures and encryption, but all that costs money. For example, your banking operates online, but you and everyone else you know pays the bank enough money to have a huge budget for data encryption - in fact their entire business model relies on it. The same isn’t true with mass data storage, so to get the security and peace of mind that myself and other professionals require, you have to spend just as much money as you would on physical hard drives. See next section for what I mean.
Expenditure
Let’s run the numbers. Dropbox Business Advanced is $99/month. That works out to a yearly spend of just under $1,200 per year. That’s a number I want you to remember. Obviously the amount of data used per year differs from photographer to photographer, but for the purposes of this blog we can use me as the test dummy. These are the statistics of my RAW image creation as a lifestyle photographer:
Photos taken in entire career: 475,339
Video clips taken in entire career: 8,258
Data stored in photos: 13.5TB
Data stored in videos: 2.75TB
Total data stored: 16.25TB (and growing)
2016: 65,004 photos taken, 1.7TB used
2017: 67,958 photos taken, 1.8TB used
2018: 262,641 photos + 5,225 video clips, 8.7TB used (after going full-time late 2017)
2019 (Jan 1-Mar 5): 79,736 photos + 3,033 video clips, 4.04TB used (on track for a 12TB year)
What this information shows me is that I could back up the large majority of my current hard drives by the purchase of one RAID that costs far less than $1,200, and bypass the cloud storage issue entirely.
You’re probably thinking that I could set myself up long-term by biting the bullet and giving into cloud storage, and in a sense you would be right. The 12 days transfer time would be well worth it, you would say.
calculation courtesy of this website
But the only problem is, I live in Canada, and way up here in the frigid snowy north, our cabins and igloos are rationed out to an embarassing 1TB/month of wifi. All of the sudden, my upload would take 16 months, not 12 days. And this does not include the time it would take to remove it all, and re-upload to a different cloud storage platform if my workflow ever required a change in service. If my business scales, which it is already doing, I would need to upgrade services, but it would be near impossible to do so - and that is our next issue, the issue of content isolation.
Content Isolation
Pretty much, once it’s up, it’s up. If you want to change services, even with my measly 16.25TB total storage requirements, it would take a minimum of two weeks (over an unlimited wifi plan, which is very expensive in Canada ($300-500/mo)) to switch platforms. Factoring in for portfolio growth, this could be 4 weeks within a year, and 6 weeks inside of two years. Incase you don’t know what this implies, it means a whole computer dedicated to a transfer task for 2-6 weeks straight.
PART TWO: SOLUTION
I’ve talked to several high-profile working professionals - those people who have performed the ultimate in trial-by-fire, and they told me what I should do. So I made this very intricate diagram explaining the process:
@tommy.stokes sorry for using your house to hypothetically store my RAWs
The plan is this: 1) working hard-drive on the desk, 2) backup RAID on the shelf, 3) backup HDD’s in Tommy’s garage, and 4) a portfolio of my best images on Google Drive to pull from at will for clients, IG, or updating the website.
I’ve decided to go this route based on the advice of RJ Bruni, Callum Snape, Renee Hahnel and Daniel Ernst. Each has a system that in some effect operates like the above diagram. All three of these people are long-time professionals in the industry, at the highest levels, and as such I feel completely safe basing my workflow off of theirs.
I hope this helps make your decision. But PLEASE, do your own research.
Thank you so much to everyone who replied to my Instagram story, and last night’s post educating me on the subject. Each one of you helped me arrive at a solution that is perfect for my current application, and even more importantly, you guys helped me tee myself up to be successful long-term with my data management.
As my business continues to grow and we do more video work, my storage needs will begin to change very quickly and I may have to adopt a strategy like that of Joel Schat and his video production team. More on that at a later date.
Thanks for reading!
© 2019 Ben Prescott - @itsbigben
“Goes to Hawai’i Once, Becomes Ocean Photographer” - Oahu Winter 2019
In February of 2019, Tommy and I picked up some tickets to Oahu on a whim. Everything fell perfectly into place. Amelia flew last minute across the continent. Ben and Shannon guided us on a dive through some of the clearest water on this planet. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend three days.
amelia diving off the coast of oahu - feb 24 2019
I thought our underwater shoot with Ben and Shannon would be just another good photo shoot - but I didn’t go in thinking it would be as fun as it was. And I didn’t expect after getting out of the water I would feel this urge to drop everything and throw myself completely at underwater photography. Yet here we are.
It’s such a multi-faceted art. Every aspect has to be dialed, no matter how seemingly unimportant - your fins and booties have to fit perfectly, same with your mask; you have to rent or buy a waterhousing - all of which has to be sorted out before you hop in the water.
the reef is so alive that, when you’re diving, it is loud with the sound of fish biting off pieces of coral to eat
countless fish soaking up the warm morning sun as it hits the ocean’s surface. shooting this as a team was the best move. it’s 100x harder than you think, especially being both of our first time out. photo by tommy stokes
Once you’re in the water, you have to learn a bunch of things on the fly, such as how to de-pressurize your ears without blowing out your ear drums, how to shoot and breath and direct simultaneously, and then during the dive, how to orient yourself while floating in a blue void so you can actually lock focus on your subject and take your shot.
behind the scenes of ben and amelia shooting ben’s new print “the flipside” avaiable here
Even with all these variables mostly figured out, and professionals to guide us, Tommy and I (as a team) still came away with 67 useable images out of 2,000. Crazy. And despite all this, or maybe because of it, I can decisively say I am now hooked. I am shopping for a housing, a wetsuit, and a face mask so I can continue doing this once I get back home in Canada.
And yes, the ocean is incredibly clean here, but this is becoming an exception. There are plenty of resources to learn about the effects of pollution on our oceans. I’ve personally been most impacted on the topic by reading here, and can vouch for this information because of the abudant cross-referencing. Give it a read!
Enjoy the pics!
Ben
ps, I will be releasing a short video from hawai’i soon cause we did a couple other things too
In collaboration with:
Tommy Stokes - @tommy.stokes
Amelia Edmondson - @amelia.edmondson
Ben Ono - @silkymerman
Shannon Christerson - @shnooz
© 2019 Ben Prescott - @itsbigben
Starting the Year Off Right!
What's up guys! Welcome to my first blog post ever!
I've decided to start this blog to keep you updated with what I'm up to these days. This will also be a great place for me to showcase behind-the-scenes content that I wouldn't normally get to share on my Instagram page.
Thanks to everyone that has continued to follow my journey so far! I can't wait to show you some of the new things I've been working on!
LIFE UPDATE
2018 is going to be like no other year. At this point I've been a photographer for just over 2 years now and have more ideas to share and places to go than ever before. This year I’m planning on travelling to some sweet destinations and also working on some new projects; One of them being, the launch of my new YouTube channel in the coming months!
ALBERTA TRIP - JANUARY 2018
I thought about different ways to start this year on a high note, and couldn't think of a better way to kickstart 2018, than by taking a road-trip to the Albertan Rockies with my good friends Jon, Josh and Steven. One of the craziest parts about this trip was that it was only confirmed the night before, causing us to scramble to get our gear and agenda in order, since we weren’t sure where we were going or what we required!
For the most part, we did have a rough idea of locations and the gear/clothing we required, but by no means were we prepared for what we walked into. As it turns out, the week we embarked on this journey was actually the coldest week of the entire Winter. On our way there, we got stuck in the craziest blizzard delaying our arrival time by a few hours to our first destination. We spent nearly 3 full hours going 30km/h not being able to see much more than 10 feet in front of us.
The coldest part of our trip was experiencing -38° before windchill, while hiking the Athabasca Glacier with a really strong wind. We tried our best to get to the Glacier, but ended up having to turn back because the weather was just too harsh. The next day we stopped by the frozen Maligne Canyon. I have been here plenty of times in Summer but seeing it in Winter and being able to walk onto of the frozen river was something special. This was one of our favourite locations as you’ll probably see on most of our feeds.
On our last day before heading home, we stopped by Two Jack Lake for sunrise.
Even though it was cold and at times we couldn’t feel our toes, this trip was totally worth it! We got to take some of the best photos we've ever taken and had the priceless opportunity to become better friends through the process of overcoming the conditions we were dealing with. Here’s some more BTS shots from the trip!
And that's trip number 1 of 2018! Huge shout-out to my buddies for coming on this trip with me as well as all you amazing people for following my journey throughout the last couple years. We’ve got lots of adventures coming up, a few international trips in the works, and who knows what else! I've also never been more excited to get filmmaking more than I am now, so expect some YouTube videos soon!
Feel free to check out my buddies on Instagram below too!
Josh Tryhane | @joshtryhane
Steven Parker | @stevenofnorth
Jon Saldanha | @jonsaldanha
© 2018 Ben Prescott | @itsbigben