Shipwrecks

It is an eerie feeling as you approach a shipwreck. No doubt there is a harrowing story behind how it ended up there, trapped on land. 

On December 5, 2015, the winds rose to 90km/h, grounding the Pacific Sun King on the shore of Cadboro Bay in Victoria, BC. The 55 foot concrete vessel was home to Cyril Manuel, who used his last $600 to get it towed there only days before from another local harbour that squeezed him out. For some, live-aboard anchor boating can be a path to affordable housing, but it doesn’t come without its hazards. 

The Pacific Sun King lies partially buried in the sands of Cadboro Bay beach.

Wreckage of derelict boats is not uncommon after big storms. While there are the obvious environmental concerns of fuel spills, one recently grounded vessel in Victoria was responsible for dumping dozens of hypodermic needles onto the beach. Often the boats are unregistered, with their owners nowhere to be found. The multijurisdictional nightmare of vessel salvage often results in the remains sitting for long periods before they are removed. 

In an effort to rid the harbours of derelict boats and anchored live-aboards, the municipality of Saanich, BC has now passed a bylaw preventing boats from anchoring longer than 72 hours within 300m of the shore.

Stockwoods Snuggies

What’s better than dressing up an entire law firm in snuggies? Putting them in custom barrister robe snuggies, that’s what. This quirky holiday card idea for Stockwoods Barristers came to me from Danish Ehsan and Andrew Erskine over at Mackie Biernacki.

What started out as one large group shot quickly turned into three shots – it was too hard to resist a few more opportunities to style some snuggies.  We had the privilege of shooting in the 200 year old Campbell House, which I would definitely recommend for any snuggie lawyer portrait session. 

Thanks to Steph Mackie and Mark Biernacki for throwing this one my way, to Danish and Andrew for their imagination, to Gabe Nivera and Eric Cairns for hustling on such a small crew, and of course to everyone at Stockwoods. 

Supper With Syria

Right now we are constantly hearing news about the tragic state of the Syrian crisis. It is a desperate time. To break away from all the negative stories that dominate the media, Inna Gertsberg approached me to shoot a campaign for the Supper With Syria fundraiser that would speak to how our lives will be enriched by embracing Syrian refugees and their culture. I directed and edited these two spots that feature real Syrian Canadians, along with a series of 10-15 second spots that we shared on social media. 

Supper With Syria is a community fundraiser celebrating Syrian food, music and culture. Their goal was to raise $70K to sponsor two refugee families coming to Toronto. I am proud to say they have far surpassed their goal and brought in $100K and counting, and can now sponsor a third family.

Thanks to Lara Zahabi-Bekdash and Hind Kabawat for letting us into their homes, Lanny Bolger and all the crew who volunteered their time, Wafa Zaghal and the Canadian Arabic Orchestra for providing the music, Craig Samuel at S1 for donating the equipment, and most of all to the beautiful Syrian people who were brave enough to appear on camera. And a big thanks to writer and art director Inna Gertsberg, one of my long time collaborators, and a tireless source of creative inspiration.

Live Outside

We can all use a little more outdoor time, a chance to reset and get lost. To only think about what’s in front of you. To follow the road wherever it leads. You should really stop reading this and go get outside right now. But before you do, check this out...

Olympic National Park, Wilderness Coast

After a minor hiccup missing our ferry, we’re back on track and speeding down the highway of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. We’re on our way to meet our shuttle bus that will take us to the beginning of our thru-hike along a portion of Olympic National Park’s rugged wilderness coast – the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the lower 48 states.

We’re dropped off at the trailhead with our packs, and set out on foot for what will be 5 days traveling along the coast. We start out along a beautiful sandy beach, but before long we’re into the difficult rocky terrain this section of the route is known for. It’s a tough slog navigating the seaweed covered boulders, ubiquitous tidal pools, and gigantic driftwood logs. Each step requires total concentration, but after a while, we begin to find the rhythm. 

Our schedule is dictated entirely by the tide, as the route takes us almost exclusively through the intertidal zone. We must pass certain headlands before the water gets too high each day, or risk getting trapped by the tide in treacherous rocky terrain. In some cases headlands are only passable via steep overland trails with weathered and often questionably rigged fixed ropes. 

Along this stretch of remote coast there are zero amenities. We camp near water sources where possible, but drought conditions force us to ration our water when there are no streams to be found. As with many other wilderness beaches on the open ocean, there is an abundance of human garbage, washed in from far and wide. In some cases, beachcombers before us have put the trash to good use, fashioning some pretty functional setups.  

While it’s a lot of work to travel to these remote areas, nothing compares to the regeneration you get from being in the wilderness. Watching the sun dip into the Pacific Ocean every night is a welcome reward for our efforts.