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I get a lot of joy showing people around BC that are not from here, so when Coldsmoke Co hit me up to shoot a look book for them in Tofino, I was ecstatic. These guys make technical outerwear from some of the best materials in the world, made in LA. It’s not like this group hasn’t travelled but none of them had been to this special place on Vancouver Island…
See more on the Coldsmoke Blog
Ever since I shot my first roll of film in 2009, I have been obsessed with finding old film cameras. Sometimes I get lucky and a relative or friend will drop off a box of old cameras for me to rummage through, but often enough, there aren't any treasures.
As the technology advances, and digital imagery becomes more popular, it's becoming harder and harder to find what I'm looking for. There's really an art to keeping film alive, and one of the best ways is the second-hand market via Kijiji.
Kijiji is nice and easy to use, I was able to search for various cameras and quickly find what I was looking for... this was a surprise as the cameras I am after are becoming more rare. I was able to set up a deal for the camera and a lens at a fraction of the price of finding one at a used camera store, and the best part was picking it up off a seasoned photographer who was retiring and had bought the camera brand new.
The treasure I found is a high-end film camera from the 90's called a Mamiya RZ67Proii. This camera was often used by celebrity photographers like Annie Leibovitz and remains a sought-after film camera for artists and professionals looking for a high-quality image with the beauty of film.
Here are a couple of shots from the first roll of film I shot down at the beach.
Creative ruts can happen to anyone, not just creatives. You could be in a job for too long, where your opportunities for growth are dwindling. You could be at the top of your game as a snowboarder but can't land any new tricks... It can, and will happen to everyone at some point or another, but overcoming it can sometimes prove to be the challenge itself.
There is no single solution for breaking it up, everyone's brains work in different ways. However, there is perhaps a simple tool that can help you break it.
I was recently listening to a NPR podcast featuring legendary climber and entrepreneur, Yvon Chouinard. There were a lot of great things that Yvon spoke of, but one of the things that stood out the most is "take a step forward and see how that feels, if it feels good, take another step, if it feels bad, I step back."
& perhaps it really is that simple...
Taking a step forward, in any direction is better than being planted on your feet. In my case, I have spent the last 3 years pursuing outdoor photography. The last year I haven't been motivated, i've lost interest and now I have to take a step in a different direction. It doesn't necessarily mean that you won't end up back on that same road, but maybe you will have a different perspective.
