On The Fly | Adventure Lifestyle Photography

Stefan Dalberg gliding across a patch of glass on the Ghost.

On Sunday I drove out to the Ghost Reservoir to photograph a friend of mine and his ice sailing boat as he prepared for an upcoming project of his own. Stefan Dalberg is the real-deal when it comes to adventure and living. Stef is passionate about a lot of things including speed and putting 100% into whatever he does. It's never dull watching him rip it up on the ice at the Ghost and it always gives me something great to shoot.

I'm just coming off of holidays down on the island where I had to force myself to slow down so this may be the reason my brain hadn't come back up to speed yet. I had envisioned some big production lighting set-up for a sunset shoot with Stef and the boat but when I drug all my gear out on to the ice, the conditions had changed quite a lot. After a few test shots I realized that without some good over head clouds, my sunset would be quick and fairly undramatic.

The sun started to dip below a band of storm clouds on the Foothills to the West and Stef was now blasting by me on every run. I try not to limit my vision too  much when on location as even with a great plan, there is always something serendipitous that could happen if you keep your mind open and keep looking around. I noticed the smokey band of high cloud in the sky was glowing and dropping my exposure by a stop, I was able to pull a lot of detail out of the sky and the ice while the boat was on my up-wind side.

It's important for me to put a lot of pre-production and planning into a session but part of that is leaving room for "something magic" to happen. Especially now that I am using the 5D Mark III I am able to get closer to my ideas and even when creating on the fly, capture more of what I see before it quickly disappears.

Thank-Full | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

There are only a few weeks left in this year (and if you believe the Mayan calendar, just a few days) and I have already started into next years workload. I actually finished everything on my schedule last week and didn't quite time it with Christmas. However I will still be taking a few days off to be with family and enjoy the holidays.

I went through this last years work to try to pull out some of my favourites and it really made me think of how diverse the work was and how great it was. I spent a lot of time writing and even published a few magazine articles and interviews. I met some amazing people and even made new friendships. I grew as a photographer and a part of the business community. I learned a lot, mostly about myself, and feel that I am even closer to living my passions and what I was created for.

This coming year will be a milestone year for me. I am turning 40 this year and am on track to having an amazing year. I am starting it with a huge project, I am back into filming, I am in the best shape I've been in for 10 years, my family is great, and there are lots of cool things planned. I'm pretty stoked to say the least.

I am grateful for my awesome clients this year, so many great people that I have become friends with who are now friends. I am also thankful to be friends with some of the most amazing and talented photographers in North America (the world?) and feel honoured to have worked with some (even in the least) on their projects and been given advice and critique by them. These photographers have been selfless and are doing great things for the photography community. I am blessed to have close friends who are extremely generous, who have helped support what I do and allow me to be myself. These friends have been here for our family, have taken care of our kids like they were their own, and some of them have even let me be a part of their goals and dreams. And not the least I am grateful for my crazy family who lets me be me and seems to also enjoy the ride.

Its been an adventure this year, I thank God for being so blessed. I am looking forward to this coming year and sharing the new adventure with you guys. Merry Christmas and have a great start to your new year!!!

Kurtis

Here And Now | Canadian Adventure Photographer

Patrice Bance breaking trail in the here and now.

On Thursday my back country partner and I skied into the Rae Glacier as a recon trip and to see if we could get the kites out for a little rip. It had snowed about 8" inches the days before and that morning it was cold and still snowing. We were more than happy to get out anyway and a bad day in the mountains is still better then a good day in the city.

We didn't have much trouble getting up to the Glacier except for some loose rock and pretty much just took our time. It was blasting up near the glacier so we turned back fairly early but the day was far from a write-off. It was so amazing just skiing through the tall timber all covered in snow. I felt at one point like I was out looking for a Christmas tree and with all the fresh snow coverage being out here took me back to when I was a kid. That's all I needed, a good workout, chance to get away from my work and the busy life, and energize my emotions and spirit.

Which brings me to my favourite place as of late, somewhere I enjoy more and more. That place is NOW. That's right, the 'Here and Now' is what I'm talking about. I love spending time in this place, it is peaceful, secure, can't be taken away and is the only thing that is tangible. Sure the places I have been to and the things I have done are cool. And those things are important to me and who I am. Just like my ideas and dreams and goals are great too, I spend quite a bit of time there as well. However the only thing that matters is right NOW. You see the past is past and is just a nice memory. It can be sweet to look back on it and even still remember the tastes and touch but it can also hurt and continue to do so if you stay there. The future on the other hand hasn't arrived yet and as much as we like to imagine wonderful promises that it holds, it can also cause us a lot of anxiety if we spend too much time there. Worrying if things will happen good or not can not extend even one minute to our lives. So really the best place is here, right now. It's hard to say how big this place is or where it borders but as we move through time and space it is the only real thing we can be a part of.

That is why I am becoming so concious of this place and admire it so much. I used to move along in this place and most of the time my mind was in the past or in the future. Problem with this is that when there is something IMPORTANT flowing through (or bumping up against) this 'Here and Now', we need to be present to get the full experience from it. This to me is truly experiencing what God and His Creation have given us to be a part of. It's enjoying an amazing trip with a good friend, it is an intimate moment with someone you love, it is listening to your kid tell you about his day, it's about pushing your personal limits, and it's about changing your life. We all have it yet a good number of us don't spend time there. This place is paradise and this place is hell and it is everywhere in between. You can choose to spend time where ever you like, but 'Here and Now' is really all you can prove to me you have. Make sure you plan a trip there soon, you will be thankful you did.

Good Vision | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

The writer and Don Bell during a circuit in the Russian designed Antonov AN2. 

I am very grateful for the opportunities that come along my path as a photographer and (ametuer) adventurer. But as I sat with Don Bell; entrepreneur and co-founder of West Jet this afternoon (after an exhilarating flight), I was reminded that those who are passionate about life naturally put themselves in a position to connect with other passionate and interesting people.

Don is passionate about many things including flying some of his personal aircraft. Today we took a few short flights in his Antonov AN2 for an interview in a future issue of Airdrielife. This was my first time back up in a fixed-wing aircraft since the crash and in no time I was just so taken by the size and agility this kind utility aircraft had.

Again like I started this post by saying, I am extremely grateful for the amazing experiences and the opportunity to connect with some of the most interesting people on the planet. The life we are given is a chance to do something more, to see what we are made of, to make something great. The only limits are the ones we impose upon ourselves. Talking to Don today again confirmed that those who do great things are generally the ones who see their dream as the goal and the roadblocks as a challenge.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Driving | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

Front page of today's Calgary Herald Driving Section.

Nice to work with Greg Williams again. This time a few shots from my trip to Bonneville with Trillion Industries Calgary. It was great to be part of the team as this is another of my passions but to photograph someone or a company that is living their passions or doing great things, that is my passion. It's been a great summer and now looking forward to an awesome fall / winter in the Canadian Rockies chasing all sorts of cool people.

Maybe you are next?

On The Moon | Canadian Adventure Photographer

Roger Goldammer testing out his engine on the first day - Bonneville Slat Flats, Utah.

As those of you who have been following me for the last month know that I have been extremely overwhelmed with the Trillion Racing Team as both a fabricator / team member as well as covering the attempt on the Salt Flats. It has been a very busy month leading up to the BUB motorcycle races but it has also been an amazing experience. In the end the team did extremely well considering the bike was not complete and our Rider Derek Pauletto proved that he is capable of handling the LSR bike on the course.

It was hard to do too much photography of the event that didn't pertain to our attempt as I was just too busy at the pits and filming for our documentary. However I did get a few shots and will post them here from time to time. Next year should be smoother as the bike will be ready and we should have a few extra team members for support. The Salt Flats are an amazing place to photograph and I was lucky enough to catch it when it was wet. Having 1/2" and inch of water on the salt made for interesting reflections and shapes. The skies at night were also beautiful and the odd cloud cover turned everything into pastels in between times of blasting sun. I love this place and fortunate to be a part of the team. It's a different type of adventure but adventure non-the-less, it like being on the moon for a few days...

Couple Of Hours Left | Adventure.....

So it's been nearly a month since I posted here. Lots has been happening and very busy. Going out to finish my last job this month and start packing for our trip to Utah tomorrow. If you haven't been following me on Facebook or twitter, I have been working with one of my best friends on a Land speed record attempt with a vintage Triumph Motorcycle. Its been stressful few weeks (filming it as well as building it) but this morning the bike fired up and is running. Sounds like nothing but then again what we have done to the bike has likely never been done before. Details to come but below is a video from this morning. Will post when I get back next week. Salt Flats here I come.