It was the first travel adventure I ever filmed, and it was on a family cruise to Alaska in 1998. Pooling what little money I had saved as a kid, I finally had enough to purchase an old used video camera just one year prior. I was still a few years away from going digital, but even back then I knew I was hooked on being behind a camera.
Sailing from Vancouver, the cruise to Alaska included stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and a visit to Glacier Bay. It was from Skagway that we rode the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, a historic stretch of track that was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Between the excitement of riding through narrow mountain passes and the unforgettable sound of calving glaciers, this is one of those early trips that I've grown to appreciate even more as I've gotten older. These are a brief collection of visual highlights from the experience.
After years of travel shoots and a photography series around the United States, it was starting to seem a bit strange that 'this Canadian' didn't have a similar series to showcase all of the content I've shot around Canada. In recent months, all of that has changed. I've begun compiling some of my favourite shoots and preparing all new content for my brand new Hey, Canada travel photography series. Consider this your first sneak peek at the new collection. Explore the growing collection of new photo shoots here.
What makes these edits significant, besides the beautiful and epic Alaska scenery, is that it's some of the earliest footage I ever shot. It was 1998 and I was 14 years old. With my parents matching half of the money, I purchased a used 8mm Sony Handycam at the age of 12, and from there made a wealth of now embarrassing short films and projects.
A family cruise to Alaska in August 1998 proved the perfect opportunity to make my first vacation video - and real home video for that matter. By this point, the film Titanic(1997) was an international box office smash and I couldn't help but think about the movie throughout the trip. Standing at the stern and watching the wake of the ship, looking out across endless ocean, and a trip into Glacier Bay to see larger than life ice, made it seem like My Heart Will Go On was the only thing missing (that, and a nude girl to draw, but I digress).
In the days before I had a digital video camera or editing software, I did my editing on the VCR. So needless to say, the original version of my Alaska video was pretty rough. There was no music added besides the clips of hand made titles that I interspersed between days of the trip. I was also in the frame of mind that more was better, and not wanting to cut out anything from the trip I was left with over an hour of mostly raw footage. Oh, how I've grown up.
In 2003 I cut a brand new version of the video from the original footage titled, North to Alaska. It was far more enjoyable to watch, and by that point I was able to burn DVD copies for the family. By 2006 I decided to cut down all of my vacation footage further and created a series of video postcards, including one for Alaska.
Me with my camera on the deck on the cruise ship leaving Vancouver, BC.
Now over a decade after the trip to Alaska, I still have a special affinity for the footage and the project. It's not just being able to see my early work and style, but also the renewed appreciation I have for what it was I was actually witnessing - it really was an adventure. Highlights can now be viewed in four clips - the original Alaska postcard, Vancouver, Glacier Bay, and the White Pass & Yukon railway.
Part of getting older is realizing how important it is to appreciate the here and now. It's something I wish I would've said to myself back then, because my memories of 14 are pretty scattered and random. It's for that very reason that I've become so enamored with documenting my experiences and travels. It's not as good as being there again, but for me it feels close.
Take a moment to check out my now classic edits below. Alaska Postcard (1998) Vancouver, BC (1998) Glacier Bay (1998) White Pass & Yukon Railway (1998)
This was the first vacation I ever recorded. It was 1998, I was 14, and I was on an Alaskan cruise with my Mom, Dad and sister. I shot a lot of great footage on that trip, but some of the best was from the afternoon that we spent on the White Pass & Yukon Railway. The trip took us from Skagway, Alaska through the northern tip of BC and into the Yukon territory. It was the definition of a scenic ride.
What makes the White Pass so incredible is that the rails are literally on the edge of mountains, which in turn allows for some incredible views and maybe a bit of vertigo too. It was used back in the gold rush to transport workers and miners, but now, and for obvious reasons, it has a lot of tourist appeal. I don't think any video could ever really capture what the experience and views are actually like, but it's certainly fun to try.
