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I want to start this post by saying, “Welcome to my new website!” If it is your first time here, or you are one of my friends I constantly harass to view it, I want to thank you. This has been my brainchild for the past couple of months and I am excited to say I am proud of how it looks. My website is no longer a weak link in my online presence.  Feel free to explore my new pages and don’t forget to tell your friends!

 

Now let us discuss the meat and potatoes of this post, the video. This video is a compilation of three different trips to Golden Ears Park over the span of about a month and a half. It is amazing to see the change of environment, especially the drastic changes in water levels of Gold Creek Trail and Alouette Lake itself. I hold this park in very high esteem, for my early summer memories of the Lower Mainland stem from afternoons spent with my family jet skiing from one side of the lake to another. As the years have past I still continue to come to this park at least once a month as a day trip with friends or somewhere I can go to clear my head. Late last year I even got the two Golden Ear mountain peaks tattooed on my arm to remind me of so many fond memories.

 

The first trip I took out to Gold Creek Trail with my camera gear was a solo mission. I woke up one morning on my day off from work and it was just too beautiful outside to pass up the opportunity. Being late winter, early spring in British Columbia you don’t stay inside on days that the sun happens to make a presence, for it will be another week before you will have a chance to see it again. By the time I reached the park it was early afternoon and not a soul was in sight. After the summer rush of families and young adults clustering to the area it was nice to have some peace and quite along the river again. It gave me a chance to play around with my new camera stabilizer and plan out future shots along the trail. As I ended the 1km hike to the beach I was greeted by the blazing sun just getting ready to set behind the mountains. I had the entire area to myself. It was perfect. I was in a creative slump, trying to figure out the logistics of my website still very much so under construction. The view and rhythmic sound of the soft ripple of waves against the smooth pebble rocks let me center myself. It is amazing how much peace I find in being alone.

 

My second trip to the park was with a dear friend of mine that I hadn’t seen since I had left Dubai in 2007. We had both attended The American School of Dubai for part of our elementary years and had tried to stay somewhat in touch since we had left. Previously in the week, I had noticed that they had changed their education section of their Facebook page to show attending VFS, which is an accredited film school in the area. I sent a message and we organized for a meet-up. I drove to the downtown core where they are renting a condo with some of their classmates and upon getting in the car told me that we could go wherever I wanted. I jumped on the opportunity to go to Golden Ears because I believe there is no better place to take someone new to the area, plus the drive meant we had plenty of time to catch up. I am glad I got the opportunity to reconnect with an old friend who I know I will continue to involve in my upcoming projects. It is refreshing to talk to creative minds similar to yours.

 

My last and most recent trip to Golden Ears was also my most productive. After two previous trips and fail editing processes, I knew how I wanted this video to look. I took my good friend Stephanie with me, and it was her first time helping to film a video. I knew she would be a good candidate for the job having worked closely with her in the service industry for the past 2 years. We laughed as I directed her and got the shots that I needed. I am starting to see things with a different eye recently, as well as editing my video to a specific music track instead of finding a random song to overlay at the end. I plan on continuing to develop as a creative and make these videos more engaging for the viewer. Even though it was torrential downpour today with major power outages I know the warmer weather is just around the corner and with it comes new opportunities to explore and release content for you!