This one is going to be a long one - enter at your own risk.

Part I - New Addition

I’m not what you would call an Early Adopter. As technology evolves, I usually wait to see where it’s going and whether it’s worthwhile to make the change. If you’re anywhere near my age, you have seen audio change from record albums to 8-Tracks, cassettes, CD’s (throw laser-discs in there too around the cassette era), mp3’s (there’s been others, but this was a big one) and finally into streaming. That evolution led to not owning music anymore. Is that good? Not in my books, but here we are.

Movies went from TV to Beta to VHS to DVD to Blu-Ray (also throw laser-discs in there around the beta era) and now to streaming as well.

The last thing you want to do with any of these is dump all of your media and change every time the standard changes - besides being aggravating, it’s terribly expensive. Cameras are no different. There has been so much advancement in camera technology over the years that when DSLR cameras were finally dropped in favour of mirrorless, I really wanted to make sure I was ready to make the switch and that the switch is worth it.

My current camera was a Canon 5D Mark III - A beast for it’s time. I have put it through a lot of very difficult conditions, including leaving it out on subarctic ice overnight to shoot an aurora time-lapse. And through all of it, it still performs very well. But I will say that I’ve had some concerns lately. Its shutter count is growing higher and it has developed a lot of hot pixels. Not something you’d notice in regular daytime photography, but in the night, it has become a bit problematic. And that was all the excuse I needed to move into the mirrorless realm.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I recently retired from work; and in my final months, I had been putting money away in anticipation of upgrading my camera body. I already knew what I wanted, but I needed to take more time to make sure that it was what I needed - those are often two different things. I don’t like wasting money needlessly because when it comes to cameras, the cost of more features don’t come cheap. In the end, I decided that what I wanted was exactly what I needed, and with that, my new Canon R5 Mark II joined the family.

The appeal of this beast was a combination of so many things - first, I need a full frame camera body, second, a high frames-per-second shutter, low light handling and more confident autofocus.

Now, it’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of AI for a hundred different reasons. But most of all, it makes us lazy. No more need to think, let AI do the work. There are features built into this little beast that rely on AI and at this point I just don’t think I want to turn them on. But the one thing I do like is that it has the ability to recognize much of what it is looking at and using that to decide what you probably want to focus on. And I have to admit, it does a good job of it. If it’s a person, it focuses on the eye. If it’s an animal, it finds the animal and focuses on it’s eye. I can do that myself, but when it comes to wildlife, moments matter and animals don’t stay still for long. For the camera to see and focus automatically on it, that’s a major value added. So yeah, that’s staying on.

Is this camera going to make me a better photographer? If only. Arguably, the “best” photos are made by the one who knows the most about photoshop - and today, AI beats everything. This little baby is going to help me reduce the odds of missing the shot I want. In-body image stabilization, 30 frames per second, insane quality at high ISO - all the things that make me drool. Alright enough about that.

Part II - Exploration

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a bicycle and this is what took me farther and farther from home, often without a safety net. When I was a kid, I didn’t ride with gear, I didn’t have water bottles, a backpack, a cell phone, spare tubes or anything else. I might have had a $5 bill folded in my sock, but that’s about it. I just rode and discovered. My favourite rides are known as ‘out and back”. Essentially go as far as you can, then turn around and come home. The next ride, I’d see how much farther I could go, and probably every single time, the answer was ‘a lot farther than I thought’. Great!!

Wonder has been the thing that inspired me to try lots of things, and trying things has led to trying other things. When I was 20 I bought my first motorcycle from a friend. He had two of his own and one day, he casually dropped the idea in my head that I should buy one of them. I’d never given it much thought before that moment, but it was all I needed - If other guys can do it, why not me? I had my friend bring it to the shop to get certified while I applied for my learner’s permit and then I taught myself how to ride that thing from the shop on the way home. Sure I stalled it 50 times as I made my way from downtown Toronto to home, but I did it!

That bike eventually led to a muscle bike, which led to a sportbike, to a supersport bike. But now that I’m out here in the mountains, I’ve come to an inescapable realization that supersport isn’t exactly adequate for these roads. So, I’m returning to my roots and taking a leap into yet another one. A 2008 Honda Goldwing will be mine as soon as I can go pick it up. It will be perfect for touring the mountains or crossing the country! I wonder what adventures await!

It’s a screenshot from the Facebook ad. She’s dusty, has a few scratches and needs a good wash, but for me, that’s absolutely 110% what I want.

Where I’m likely to kick myself later is, my truck is starting to show its age. A new camera and new motorcycle aren’t going to make payments on the next vehicle any lower. But for now, that will be a tomorrow problem.

Part III - Into the Unknown

One of my favourite things to do is see where the road takes me. Zero thought of destination, just a wonder of what might lie ahead. A funny thing about Alberta, if you’re not in town, or on a main road, you probably won’t have a cell signal. I really need to keep maps with me because I’m going to get in trouble one day.

Just a couple of days ago, I chose a road to see where road goes. It was only a couple of minutes later when I was greeted by a sign warning that chains were mandatory (in winter) from this point on - You’re not in Kansas anymore! Pressing on, I enjoyed the rolling hills on what would turn into a gravel road for the next 30km or so. Not much to see really, but still that lingering reminder of how different this part of the country is from the world I knew so well. Land here comes in hundreds of acres. But at the same time, things are looked after. The roads, the properties, the forests, everything. You can’t drive down a major road without finding garbage and recycling bins for public use. The pride really shows and I love it. Back home it was common to see garbage everywhere. This isn’t that.

As I slowly came to the end of the road, I surprisingly found myself at Highway 1 - the Trans Canada Highway. I decided to make use of the small bridge under it and continued on. It wasn’t much longer before I noticed something in the distance on a fence. As I drew closer, my heart leapt as I discovered this Great Grey Owl sitting on a fence post. The excitement was short-lived as I realized that I made a conscious decision that I didn’t need to bring my camera with me. Because I’m stupid.

The great thing about these guys is, they will tolerate humans. I probably spent 20 minutes shooting him from different spots, slowly closing the distance and capturing some video. I really just enjoyed the moment. At one point, he flew within a few feet of me, landing in the tall grass, lingered there for a minute or so before returning to an even closer post where I got this shot.

Fun fact about cell phones, they have 2 ways of shooting. One is with its optical zoom, the other is digital zoom where quality goes down and the need for AI goes up. This guy was close enough to stay in optical zoom range. Thank you buddy! I didn’t bother processing this image as my own personal punishment to always bring my camera with me. Yes I know it is oversaturated. Blame the phone. At least it’s sharp.

Part IV - Shutting Down - Mostly

Retirement has been good for me. It’s given me the time I need to shut down and shut off. Stresses that come from work life are gone, but also really missed. Especially the people I spent so much time with. That’s something I know I’m going to grapple with for a while, but something I guess we all have to do. Being on my own is a great time to think about all those good times. And the harder times. I’ve watched a lot of really good people come and go over the years and that really took a toll (I still hate you all!). But I’m also thankful I got to be the one to say goodbye to some really good people. The sendoff was incredible and I think about that all the time.

But when I’m not reminiscing, I’m just happy to be taking in what’s around me. The opportunities that await, the adventures, and the endless amount of discovery. Even yesterday as I drove that same route again in hopes of finding my little feathered friend (I didn’t), I found myself deep in the back country, cell signal an hour behind me, on roads with no signs. There comes a time where I wonder, if this road doesn’t come out someplace soon, do I know how to get back? There’s only so many turns I can keep straight in my head. Back home, you really can’t get lost. I typically just followed the sun and knowing that a major road was north/south/east/west, I’d just head that way. That doesn’t really work here so well in the back country. I guess it’s back to maps!

Part V - Footsteps in Kananaskis

Jumping back a bit, Shaunna and I got up at 4am last weekend for another animal search. Our goal is always bears, but I’d be thrilled with moose, wolves, cougars or any type of raptor. It’s hard to not love something that’s top of the food chain. We were able to enjoy the beautiful sunrise colours before we caught a quick glimpse of a black bear as she took off into the woods. No photos worth mentioning, but spirits were high!

As we continued through the mountains for another half hour or so, we did everything we could to manifest a better encounter when Shaunna suddenly uttered the word we’d been wanting to say. “BEAR!!”

She quickly pulled to the side of the road and sure enough, there stood a beautiful 300ish pound grizzly - and she was slowly making her way closer! Perfect!! Finally we’ll get some pictures!!

As she closed the gap, it was clear that she was very happily eating dandelions along her way near the treeline. Closer and closer she came, sadly displaying the massive tracking collar around her neck. Anytime she turned away, all photos were ruined by it. Thankfully I managed to get this shot and a couple of seconds of editing, removed what was left of that monstrosity. What an experience though, listening to her huff quietly and she lumbered past us on the hill and eventually back into the woods. Whatever power sent her our way, thank you!

At this point we had been out for a few hours, checking every camp area, park, ravine etc along the way and we decided it was probably time to head back. We had been lucky in the past to see some bighorn sheep and even got some shots of a few while they lazily wandered the road, but they do nothing to capture the spirit of the animal. Who wants animals on see pavement?

This time I believe it was me who spotted these guys up in the hills and we were able to stop and get some shots of them climbing hills with absolute ease. It really is incredible that they think nothing of scaling a sheer wall with virtually nothing to hold on to, but its just what they do.

Bighorn sheep in a setting that suits their lives

Part VI - Louder for Those in the Back

I know I said it in my last blog, but I’ll say it again. Never lose your sense of wonder. That’s the thing that gets you out of the house and trying new things. Setting your alarm for crazy hours and exploring new places. The world looks very different, regardless if it’s first light or moonlight. Or maybe it’s moving across the country (You know who you are) and starting a new life.

It isn’t without it’s challenges, but oh my god, we haven’t begun to see the end of the rewards. Every single day we go out of the house, we greet the mountains, we wonder what that is over there and we add it to the list of things we need to see. The coast is 12 hours away - that will be a great adventure, but other places like Revelstoke, the Okanagan are even closer. And Jasper? I can drive there and back and still have plenty of gas in the tank. Let’s not forget the western United States. Jaw-dropping.

Please don’t forget your dreams. You only get one life.

Until next time.

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