When My Career Took Off (Literally)

Just a couple of days after starting work at Stream Media in June of 2008, my boss asked me if I wanted to accompany her on a helicopter ride to shoot aerial images of the city. Considering that just a few months before this I had been stressing myself out about how bleak I expected my post-university career options to be, this was the start of what only continued to be a series of 'I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this' moments with Stream.   

Agreeing to the helicopter ride was a no-brainer for three reasons.  One, I'd never flown in a helicopter before (let alone one with the doors removed so that we'd have an unobstructed view).  Two, I knew it would be a memorable experience and allow me to see the city I grew up in in a way I never had before.  And three, when would I ever get a more opportune time to joke, "look I can see my house from here" and actually mean it? I even found a screencap of us flying over the place I live now.  

Barb shot video and I shot stills. We hovered around Medicine Hat capturing different landmarks, development projects, and athletic facilities - really anything that we thought existing or potential clients might want to use in future projects. Needless to say, the views were awesome and surreal.




On one hand it was just a helicopter ride, but on the other, it marked a promising start to my life out of film school.  Professionally my work only continued to improve from there.  Although it's tough to beat a helicopter ride after only a few days on the job, the work continues to be unpredictable and spontaneous - if not still occasionally nerve-racking.  But, how's that for a symbolic start?

Good Night

Sleep rarely seems like a priority until first thing in the morning.  When I'm working and feeling productive, sleep isn't on my mind until I realize that I haven't left near enough time for it. So goes the circle of my routine.

When I moved into my new place in 2010 I upgraded everything in my bedroom to make it the perfect rest zone.  A new bed frame, mattress, lamps, alarm clock/sleep machine, and even 600 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets were all crossed off my wishlist.  And when I sleep, I sleep well.  Getting into my bed at a reasonable hour has still alluded me however.

Schedule is one thing.  Sometimes staying up late is the only way I find personal time to edit my own work, or blog, or just chill out.  Depending on what's going on between my jobs, sometimes I procrastinate just to trick myself into feeling balanced only to overwhelm myself later.

I've had this discussion many times in the past and what I've come to learn about myself is that I'm creative in spurts.  When the mood strikes me I can get a weeks worth of editing done over a weekend, but if it's constantly regulated and scheduled I freeze up.  It really is a dilemma for me to choose between getting more sleep or sacrificing what have almost always been the most productive hours of my day.  

And so I'm always left questioning how can I make this work?    

Medalta Potteries Historic Site

Known for an ample supply of natural gas and clay deposits, Medicine Hat, Alberta was quickly recognized as the ideal place for brick, tile, stoneware, and pottery production as shown by some of the very first industries established here. The low cost of energy was ideal for firing the kilns, and the high quality of clay in the area proved useful in numerous commercial applications. In 1912 the Medicine Hat Pottery Company was founded, but it changed hands in 1915 and the factory underwent renovation. Production resumed in 1916 as Medalta Stoneware Ltd. and by 1924 the company had reorganized again, finally settling on Medalta Potteries Ltd.

By this time Medalta had been shipping its stoneware crocks, jugs, and bowls all across Canada, and by the end of the 1920s they were producing 75% of the pottery in the country. However, production plummeted after the stock market crash in 1929 and the company struggled to stay afloat. The war effort from 1939-45 revived the industry as imports from Europe and Japan stopped, and the army demanded record amounts of stoneware. Medalta employed a large female workforce during this time, and even employed German POWs.

The end of the 1940s saw Medalta struggle with increased production costs and renewed competition from imports. By 1954 the company officially disbanded, but the history of Medalta has since remained a great source of pride for locals. Stoneware produced by the company remains highly collectible, and pieces produced for the railways, military, and restaurants are highly sought after.  

In 2010 I was fortunate to act as videographer with Stream Media for certain portions of the excavation and capture some of the archival work that was going on at the site. I witnessed them uncovering one of the original kilns that had long been buried under one of the factories concrete floors. Even walking around the site now you can still see countless pottery fragments buried in the dirt.

Medalta has now been largely renovated and restored as a national historic site and museum. It's also home to the International Artists in Residence facility providing studio space and access to equipment. I toured the outskirts of the original buildings in March to capture these photographs for this series. 

For more, view my images of the historic Medalta site in the throws of winter here, or have a look at some of the vintage machines scattered at the site. I also explored the interior of the Medalta factory and you can view those additional photographs here.

Medicine Hat Pottery Company ca. 1912-1915

A 1915 postcard showing local industries.  Medalta is shown bottom right.