LIFE-STYLE | TRAVEL | AERIAL
Photographer/Videographer specializing in Life Style, Travel, and Aerial Imagery. FAA 107 Certified for sUAS flight operations throughout the US. Fully insured. Videography work is limited to Aerial productions.
Based in Maine (May-December) and SWFL (Jan - April). Available for travel year round.
I had the privilege of meeting up with John Connelly as he transitioned out of the Canadian Maritimes and into the beautiful waters of Down East Maine. John is on an amazing trip, covering more than 1500 miles by Canoe and Kayak. It is worth checking out his site and his IG feed. Best of luck John and hopefully our paths will cross again.
A quick grouping of shots, nothing special, enough to begin giving you a feel of what this little camera can do. There are definitely some nuances in how to shoot this thing, not too mention, the challenges of keeping the lens clear. To solve that issue, I opted for the 'Spit', 'Dunk', 'Shoot' philosophy...
I have the new Nikon AW1 arriving tomorrow just in time to shoot the annual Autumn Gales kayak event in Stonington Ct this coming weekend. This is my 3rd year in a row attending and photographing the Gales. The event is hosted by Greg Paquin of Kayak Waveology, and marries together the holy trinity of kayak events -- great coaches; challenging waters; and great students. Last year the weather was perfect for some serious misadventures, and my images got the cover of the paddling magazine Ocean Paddler!
The Nikon AW1 is Nikon's modern day reincarnation of the venerable and legendary Nikonos underwater camera. Built around the 1 system, Nikon has put together a small interchangeable lens camera that is shock, freeze and water resistant. A perfect combination for a small and rugged adventure camera.
Shooting from Kayaks is incredibly challenging and I think this piece of kit will perform brilliantly. I have been shooting the small Nikon V1 and am getting fantastic results from the little camera, so my expectations for the AW1 are very high. I will be posting my thoughts, and image samples as the event rolls on so stay tuned.
I have been a huge fan of the Nikon 1 series since they were first released. There was only one issue with them in my opinion, and that was price. Due to current market conditions, Nikon V1s can be found for an absolute steal. I was able to acquire a vintage V1 with the little 10/2,8 lens for less than $300 including shipping.
I have some very specific goals and objectives for this little camera. As many know, I am a devout Nikon D800 shooter and Zeiss lover. However, the weight of that kit is very limiting when traveling light. It is also an expensive system and one that I am not willing to jeopardize while out on the water in the Kayak. The little V1 fills a very specific niche in my opinion. It is small in size, takes great images with a very film like capability and more importantly, has the best AF of any mirrorless camera available.
My intention is to pair the V1 with an Outex cover and use that setup as my hand held kayak camera. The reach of the 1" cropped sensor along with the snappy AF system should provide me with plenty of capabilities while shooting on-water events.
On the bike, my intention is to use this as my go to 'grab' camera. The one that is rugged and reliable and capable of shooting super slow motion video, fast hand held shots and other quick grabs where I might previously have used a GoPro. The fact that you can get these bodies so inexpensive, doesn't make them throw away, but it does minimize the risk associated with using the camera in this manner.
As I go through the process of learning the camera I will share my thoughts and images. For now, here is a series of images, shot today, straight out of the camera in B&W. The only processing applied was light sharpening when they were exported from LR. I don't know, they look pretty nice to me.
As spring approaches one of the great things for us UL travelers is that we get to put away the big (relative) white gas and propane stoves and bring out our lovely little alcohol stoves. If you are not familiar with Alcohol stoves, they are small, uber lite, and run on denatured alcohol or some other derivative. For three season camping where all you are doing is heating water for coffee and tea, or boiling some water for pasta or soup, these stoves just cant be beat.
While many opt to make super lite versions out of assorted types of aluminum cans, of which there is a plethora of You Tube directions, I prefer the strength and stability of the Trangia. Trangia is a Swedish company that builds a complete cook system around their little stove, but for those wishing simplicity, you can simply purchase the burner without all the pots. These are wildly popular in Europe for good reason. They are just bomber little devices. I use the base Trangia unit paired with the little Trangia Triangle which forms a windscreen and pot stand when in use and folds flat when you are done with it.
As with all stoves you have to carry liquid fuel, and while the big bottles sold by MSR work great for the highly toxic white gas they carry, I prefer something more simple for the trangia. I have discovered over the last year that the folding bottles from Platypus work amazingly well. I can take .5 liters of fuel on a trip in one of the collapsible bottles and as the fuel is consumed, the bottle gets smaller and smaller, taking up less and less space. If you are simply going for a one or two day trip and don't need that much fuel, you can start out with the amount you need and the bottle will shrink to a very manageable size. With regards to durability, I have had fuel stored in one of these bottles for the past 5 months with no apparent degradation to the bottle or the cap.
At my presentation the other night a student picked up the little Platypus bottle and asked why my water bottle said 'TOXIC' on it. I told him it was not water and that instead was my way of insuring I did not accidentally drink my fuel. Apparently it works!!
Trangia Triangle, Trangia Burner, Platypus .5L Fuel Storage
The little Trangia Burner
This was one of the last posts I made on my Inside Passage trip. It is fun to look back as I begin a new year of adventure travel and a path of simple living. Enjoy!
I have been off the water now for about a week. The first several days of my exit were spent in the suburbs of Seattle. Warm, friendly, woods, water, fall, winds, chill, water, all things that come to mind when I think of those few days. They were nice and slow, giving me an opportunity to begin some level of readjustment from life on the water, alone with nature for 147 days. See, even the suburbs of Seattle carried a sense of warmth that permeates that entire area. A certain level of slowness and peacefulness with nature. People willing to help a perfect stranger get done what was needed.
I left Seattle 3 days ago via air for the busy city of Chicago, wow, what an adjustment. People, cars, noise, more people, TSA, lines, waiting for things versus waiting for nothing, new friends, anxiety, anticipation, all sending the senses into overload. Re-uniting with family is beautiful but bound by small mine fields. Expectations flowing both ways; change occurring both ways; a constant dance all amidst an environment not conducive to peace. Breathing is interpreted as sighs; Silence for issues; The list goes on... It is all good but perhaps requires a 24K topo map of it's own
People are busy, rushing by. Cars go fast, coffee shops are loud. Dog parks replace the wild. Trees are in concrete boxes, flowers in pots. Cement replaces sand and trains replace the shrieks of the Ravens. Where are the birds and the otters and the seals and the whales and the gulls and the .....
Challenging to say the least, finding center is difficult. The wild allows you to sit, it encourages your silence. You are rewarded for being one with the moment in the bliss that surrounds you. I do believe that these things can exist in the city, but it requires work and effort. In the wild, it just arrives if you are open to it. The simplicity of the paddle, the serenity of the water, the stillness of the air and the ebb of tides. All serve to reinforce the openness and one-ness that exists amongst all of us.
There are those that say it still arrives in the city if you are just open to it. I believe this, but the challenge is great. You spend so much time in the wild and you come back to the chaos and you can see why people are so stressed, you can breath in the negative energy. Why smiles on the street are returned with down turned heads or an ever so slight recognition.
Beautiful time with my amazing daughter. I am so proud of her and her accomplishments. She is an amazing woman, I am so proud of her it brings tears to my eyes. I will spend a few more days here, searching for center, relishing time with her, then on to other family and new challenges. Lake Michigan tomorrow with friends, and then on to warm southerly waters for a bit.
The water calls, I hear my paddles vibrating. My boat soon to arrive, I look forward to time on the water.
Peace & Love,
G-
Issue #33 is hitting the newsstand and I have a series of images from my Atlantic Odyssey that will be part of a feature story on Cumberland Island. Be sure and check out either the print or digital version. This is a great magazine with some amazing photography.
There is something ever so special about floating on the water, fog all around, in the early morning hours. I think the words that come to mind are Peace and Solitude, two things that we all need and treasure.
Yesterday was a nice sunny day, temps in the low 60's, water temps in the mid 40's and a stiff wind from the South. Playing in the chilly waters of the Flood I was able to work on my rolling and bracing with my skinny stick. While I spend a good deal of my time paddling with a traditional Euro blade, there is just something so organic and so natural about using a Greenland paddle. I don't know why, but I feel much more connected to the water when I use this blade than anything else.
I don't mean connected in the technical sense, but more of a spiritual connection to the water. The smooth surface of the carbon fiber paddle just feels so good in the hands and it works its way through the water in an effortless fashion. Hi angle, low angle, ... it doesn't matter, it just works. Using the blade for rolling means I can really focus on my body technique, working the roll with my legs and my hips and not the paddle. The extra extension allows me a few more seconds to use technique over power. The same is true with bracing; the long paddle allows you to use the floatation of your PFD to take the impact, then using hips and legs to drive the boat back up saving much wear and tear on your shoulders.
I paddle with both types of blades and I love both types of blades, but there is definitely something very special about the Greenland style of kayaking.
A perfect roll with my Northern Light blade. Oops, I left my glasses on.
I was working my way down the canal paths on my Salsa Fargo the other day in the small town of Bedforshire, when I stopped to watch the rowers coming down the river. There was a chill in the air as I stood by the water and took a couple of pictures of the tandems (or whatever rowers call them). While the images were ok, none seemed to capture the mood I was feeling. I think often about this when photographing, because for me photography is such an emotional outlet. I often find that I am trying to balance what I see with my eye with what I feel in my heart and soul.
On this evening the crisp images of rowers was just not cutting it. Then, in the distance, I saw a single rower working his way down the river. I knew instantly that I somehow wanted drama from an image where none existed. I knew that I saw this as an abstract scene and that drama could be induced by slowing down the rower into a blur. I dragged my shutter and slowly panned the camera as he went by, all the while trying to steady my arms so the blur came out somewhat clean and crisp.
I reviewed the images and knew that I had gotten what I wanted. For me, I see many things in this image. I see colors and I see solidarity. I see hard work and independence. I see the juxtaposition of fierce independence and a sense loneliness felt by all solo travelers. As someone who has traveled long and far by myself, I felt a strong sense of connectedness with this one lone rower.
It was late in the evening and perhaps most of all I saw dedication, perseverance and commitment to a goal -- all traits that I greatly admire. As I move forward with my life, I still try and apply these principals to whatever I am attempting to achieve. It does not matter that I may only be riding a bicycle or paddling a kayak or simply taking a photograph, these are all traits that can help move us down the path we follow each and every day.
I had an opportunity this weekend to go paddle on the river Thames in London with my good friend Harry. Harry manages a waterfront community center that works with high risk kids using adventure as a way of helping to inspire them. It is organizations like these, all throughout the world, that make such a tremendous difference in the lives of kids. Here are a few pictures that I really enjoyed. More can be seen on my Flickr feed.
It is always a challenge to beat jet lag, especially when travelling east. For this trip I attempted to just jump right into my normal daily activities and schedule in hopes of fending off that dreaded feeling that comes from loosing 5 hours of time.
The short playboat with Richard in the backgroundDay two, I woke fairly early, ate a good breakfast and then headed out to the river for a nice morning paddle. Richards club is made up of canoe polo boats, racers, and little play boats. I had never paddled a play boat, let alone anything less than 16ft, so it was quite a sight as I attempted to paddle strait. Needless to say, while a beautiful setting, the pain of zig zagging and looking like a complete 'bloke' wore a bit on my ego. Here I am on my first little outing with Richard, whom I am going to do some big and epic trips with, and I look like a complete and utter newbie!!
After struggling to keep up and go straight, we made it back to the club, cleaned up, and headed off for our next adventure. I finished putting the Salsa Fargo back together and making all of my final adjustments, including attaching all of the Porcelain Rocket frame bags. 
Fargo and Porcelain Rocket Frame BagsI brought my 3 Salsa Anything cages to attach, but I will hold off on them for the time being. With the first generation Fargo, you really should not mount the cages to the forks using the existing mounting holes. The reason is the cages and whatever you put in them gets a little too close to the tire/frame and can create a bit of a safety issue. The current version of the Fargo and the Enabler Fork has corrected this issue by moving the brazeons outwards. Since I am running smaller tires on the bike, I am able to get by with using the existing mounting points.
The warm setting sun lights up a fieldWe geared up and headed out for a 2 hour ride through the countryside. The route was along streets and then off into the footpaths that run along the river. The day was a bit chilly with blue skies and some dark storm clouds off in the distance. I love those types of views because as the sun sets everything gets a bit dramatic. The warm glow of the sun setting against the distant black clouds was absolutely stunning. As we worked our way back to the house, the sun had set and rode with only a single light, me following the outline of the path as Richard led the way. Tomorrow we will go through gear,sort out all of our lights and cold weather gear, as the temperatures are set to drop down to the freezing mark.
Richard leads the way as dusk settles in
It struck me once again, as I was riding along these paths and through the countryside, just how amazing the two wheeled bicycle is. Here I was, in a foreign land and yet the Fargo provided me with comfortable transportation and the ability to just go wherever I wanted to go. I could easily have bivy camped out in these woods and had a beautiful night under an open sky. The power of a bike is nothing short of amazing. When Salsa chose the tagline 'Adventure by Bike', they really nailed it.
Day 1 - December 7th-8th, 2011
I have spent the last several weeks planning and preparing for my upcoming winter adventure in Europe. This trip is going to be an opportunity for Richard and I to hone our adventure skills in a number of disciplines, including kayaking, biking and skiing. We have been plotting for years to find a way to come together and now it is finally happen.;)
As part of our Spare Seat expedition that will take place in NY this coming spring, we had one of the tandem Feathercraft kayaks shipped to me in FL where I was visiting my mother. My first task upon its arrival was to open it up, and make sure all was well. There was also the issue of making sure it was treated as a used item and not as an import when I arrived in the UK. I therefore dilegently opened the two boxes weighing over 120 pounds and proceeded to pull things out and get them a wee bit dirty. Everything looked in order and was then re-packed in the appropriate bags.;)
Planning and packing for a multi month, multi disicipline trip is a bit of a real challenge. I needed to carry kayak gear, bike gear, cold weather clothes and moderate temperature clothes. I needed my bike helmet and shoes, walking shoes, lounging shoes, and my trusted five finger shoes. I needed to choose which parts of my ultra-light camp kit to bring and which parts would be provided by our sponsors. Needless to say, the whole packing thing was a pain, but eventually completed.
Next up was to break down my trusted Salsa Fargo and pack it up in its shipping box. Having done this several times now, I must say I am getting pretty good at it. Still, breaking down a bike to fit in a box is definitely a bit of a pain. I can see why people spend the money to get S&S couplers added to their bikes. What a joy that would be... perhaps on some future 2 wheeled steed.
The great thing about bike boxes is there is generally extra room for miscellaneous kit, and my box was no exception. I tossed in a few bits of camp kit; my Porcelain Rocket frame bags; and my two Northern Light 3 piece Greenland paddles. Wow, these paddles are so nice. I love paddling with them, and I absolutely love the fact that they break down into such a small travelling package. Broken down and tucked into their protective bags they fit perfectly in the bike box. I now use an old neo-air sleeping pad as extra padding. Just a few quick breaths and it provides one more layer of protection for the bike and the paddles.
All in all I had 4 large bags, 3 of which weighed right at the 51 pound weight limit and the 4th, the one that contained the structure of the tandem, weighed in just shy of 65 pounds. Talk about not going light... This type of packing definitely drives my ultra-light sensitivies up the wall. Having triple checked everything, there was nothing else to eliminate so I gave in and loaded up the car; off to the airport we went.
Flying British Airlines was a breeze and everything made it safely to the UK. A bit of in depth conversation with the customs official was required about the amount of gear I was carrying and the amount of time I was spending in the lovely country of Great Britain. Eventually he let me pass, and so the adventures begin.
To say I am excited, and yet nervous is an understatement. A new land, a new family, and new challenges will all conspire to test my belief in Spirit. I am ready, and definitely stoked, to begin a series of micro adventures throughout Northern and Central Europe. Richard and I have some amazing plans and I am so excited to share them with you as they occur. We will be working hard to photograph and video almost everything that we do as a way of sharing our passion for adventure and the environment with each and every one of our readers. (Note that at this time I am having some computer issues, so pictures are forthcoming once those issues are resolved)
In the coming days I will post an overview of the upcoming adventures and talk about the challenges that we will confront. We will be ranging across climates, travel mediums, and temperature -- all of which will be real tests of our abilities. Each of these micro-adventures will also help build up a key set of skills that we will need to complete some of our bigger adventures planned in the future. These include snow biking the frozen Yukon River March of 2012 and skiing/biking/kayaking across the northern territory of Canada in winter of 2013.
Epic adventures to come; new friends to make; memories of a lifetime to create! Let the fun begin now.
Set your intent and then manifest the life you envision
2011 is rapidly coming to a close and it has been a fantastic year at that. I was able to pedal my Salsa Fargo more than 7,000 miles around the US this year. Not quite as far as I had hoped, but all in all, pretty darn good. This was the 3rd year in my quest to travel more than 50,000 miles all by human power. So far I have kayaked to Alaska; kayaked up the Atlantic Coast; and bicycled around most of the US. Combine those three trips and some of my smaller adventures and I have now crossed the 12,000 mile mark for human power travel.
To date all of these trips have been long and solo, with all three of my major trips taking more than 6 months at a time. I would be lying if I did not say that as much as I love my alone time, it is time to mix things up and perhaps join some fellow travellers in pursuit of some epic trips. With that out of the way, I am dubbing 2012 as the year of the Micro-Adventure. For those of you not familiar with the term, it has really come into its own over the last year or two when describing trips ranging from days to weeks. I really love the term in that I think everyone can do their own Micro-Adventure right from their back yard.
You don't have to plan anything huge and epic, but you do need to get out there and Do It! Micro-Adventures are all about getting out into nature and experiencing the joys of grass, dirt, mountains, oceans, rivers, creeks, roads, etc. You get the point, it simply involves getting out there and really embracing adventure as part of your everyday life.
So, in 2012, instead of one large epic trip, I will be undertaking a number of smaller adventures, ranging from several days, to a week, to several weeks. Some of the adventures will be small in nature, and one or two will be Epic! I will do a number of my trips this year with my friend and fellow explorer Richard Harpham. Richard and I first met 3 years ago in a chance crossing in the middle of no where along the Inside Passage in British Columbia. We have stayed in touch over the years, followed each others exploits and talked long and hard about joining forces and doing some very cool trips.
Richard is based out of the UK which obviously creates some issues for me since I am in the US. To solve this problem, I have been able to scratch together enough change to get myself over to the UK for the winter where Richard and I will travel by bike, kayak, and skis through central and northern Europe. We will be working hard to share our stories, images, video and message to both our web followers and the younger kids of England. Richard has developed an amazing program called Inspired Life, where he uses the stories of adventurers and athletes to provide inspiring and uplifting messages to young children. It is an amazing program and one that I look forward to becoming involved in.
From Europe, Richard and I will migrate back to North America, where we will undertake one of the most difficult and challenging trips that either of us has attempted. Details will come soon, but it will involve two wheels, sub zero temperatures, and the Arctic Circle!!
So, as 2011 comes to an end and 2012 rapidly approaches stay tuned for details. As always, I will try and share my thoughts and emotions of life on the trail, coupled with a smattering of ever present gear and technique talk followed by lots of images and more video. I hope that my travels and life simplification can inspire you to make a change, however small, in your own life. We only go down this road once, so lets live it to the fullest.
Peace -
Glenn
This is the first tip in my new Weekly Adventure Tip Series. Here I hope to share the lessons I have learned over the course of my 50,000 mile human powered adventure. Each week I will post some small tidbit of advice in the hopes that it will make your adventure travels more enjoyable.
Weekly Adventure Tip: Buy Wool
There are so many different options for clothing that it can make your head spin. If you listen to the marketing wizards, you need specific gear for each sport or activity. While it may be true that each of your activities has some unique piece of gear such as a PFD for Kayaking or Bike Shoes for cycling, there is gear that can transcend everything you do.
Why is this so important? Well, for three key reasons. First, unless you have unlimited funds, buying gear that can be used across all your activities saves you a ton of money. Second, if you care about weight, as in travel weight, layering as a way to control your body temp is equally crucial. Lastly, durability, which kind of goes back to number one. If you are an adventure traveller, having gear that lasts and lasts and lasts, just plain makes sense.
All of this brings us to the miracle fabric known as Wool. Wool has been around forever, but it is only in the past few years that it has really seen a revival in the sporting industry. While the wool of old was heavy, thick and quite often itchy, the wool of today is soft, light, and super flexible. For me, no piece of gear has performed better than my Icebreaker Wool.
Icebreaker wool comes from New Zealand and is simply an amazing product. During the last three years I have travelled extensively with three pieces of Icebreaker gear. A long sleeve base layer top; a midweight long sleeve top; and a heavy weight pair of long underwear. I have worn this gear in temps ranging from a low of 10 degrees F, to a high of 85 degrees F. I have used it while paddling through frigid Alaska glacier waters and biking across the Arizona desert.
When layered, wool manages to keep you warm while still working hard to keep you dry. In hotter temps, the lightweight wool keeps you cool and dry, quickly drawing sweat and moisture away from your skin. In either scenario, wool never begins to stink, something critical as the days roll by.
From a durability standpoint, I have had all three of these pieces with me almost every day for three years, and I am just now in need of replacing the lightweight top and the heavy weight bottom. The bottoms are almost still useable other than the gaping hole in the britches from so much time in the kayak seat. The mid weight top looks and acts brand new.
If you are looking at what clothes to buy for your upcoming adventures look no further than Icebreaker wool. It will last you forever, keep you warm and dry, and pack light no matter how you are travelling. With a kit based around wool, you are set for any type of outdoor adventure activity.
