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Whitecourt Airshow 2014 from Sean on Vimeo.

Every two years Whitecourt hosts an airshow in honour of its Home Town Heroes. This was 2014's. All footage was shot by volunteers, I just edited it.

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983A3632.MOV from Sean on Vimeo.

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evening covers youtube version from Sean on Vimeo.

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Helicopter Spraying Black Hawk Helicopters Inc from Sean on Vimeo.

I spent a summer spraying cut blocks all over Alberta for the summer of 2015 using R44 helicopters.

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Hay River beach on the Great Slave Lake last spring. Beautiful part of the world #lake #beach #spectacularnwt #nwt

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#ptarmigan chillin in the snow #NWT #birds #wildlife

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Polar Pond Hockey and an Ice Fishing Derby in Hay River

March is the busiest month on the calendar in Hay River and probably throughout most of the Northwest Territories. After the never ending winter we are finally starting to get some day light back. I'm writing this at 9 pm and there is still just crack of daylight on the horizon. The temperatures are heading in the right direction.  Or at least they were a week ago then just for fun we were plunged back down to minus 30 and of course it always feels so munch colder after a plus 4!

As well as the K'amaba Carnival I blogged about a week or so ago Hay River also hosts the annual Polar Pond Hockey Tournament and the Ice Fishing Derby. Both are events attended by people from all over the NWT and beyond. Many hockey teams make the drive up from Alberta each year to play. The weather might not have been perfect but the atmosphere was fantastic. There's a giant inflatable tent (with heating of course)  to keep everybody warm in between games, with live music, beers and great food. You can chow down on delicious whitefish caught fresh from the Great Slave Lake.

Which leads us nicely into the following weekend and the Ice Fishing Derby run by 2 Seasons Adventures here in Hay River. I was lucky enough to be in the air training with the Civil Air Search and Rescue at the same time so we made a couple of passes overhead to get some photos. Unfortunately nobody caught a fish this year. Still I'm sure everybody had fun and the 16ft Lund boat up for grabs was given away in a draw so somebody had a great day.

Well I hope Spring is in the air wherever you are!

Cheers! 

This photo comes from Adam hill Studios! 

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Short clip of that freezing Yellowknife winter wind. As if the Northwest Territories wasn't cold enough we need this on top. Filmed at North Arm Park about an hour outside of Yellowknife.

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K'amba Carnival

Every year the K'atl'odeeche First Nation holds the K'amba Carnival here in Hay River. This was the 30th year and It's still a fantastic event full of Dogsled Racing, Dene hand games, competitions and even talent shows.

It's a culture I never thought I'd get to see let alone have it on my doorstep. Another bonus to living in the Northwest Territories. I only managed to see one day of events but that kept me busy editing for a week afterwards.

On the way to the start line me and Adam Hill drove past three Ptarmigan. Fitting start to the day considering K'amba means Ptarmigan in Dene.

The start line of the Dogsled Races is incredible. It's so noisy and seems to me to be complete chaos. The second the dogs are out of the truck they want to race. There's a hundred dogs barking, trucks idling, loud speakers and snowmobiles whizzing around all over the place. It's deafening but caught up in the moment you don't notice until you leave or the dogs are let loose on the track.

After the dogs started it was a quick drive down the road to the Pine Point bridge just outside of Hay River where the teams would make the turn and head for the finish line. We pulled up and joined the other dozen cars parked on the bridge and waited for the first team to round the corner, make the turn and head home.

Once again it was back in the car to head back down the track. This time we picked a spot about halfway down the track to get some close up shots of the sleds heading home. The race was so close at times two teams tangled leading to a dogsled pile up. Luckily there is always plenty of volunteers to jump in and help out.

Next it was back towards the start line for the 6 dog race with a quick stop in to see the Dene hand games. I wish I could tell you the rules but I can't. Essentially it is a guessing game with one team member hiding a small object and the other team trying to guess where it is. There are all kinds of tactics and hand signals to try and get the upper hand. One day I'll get it.

It's a great day and if your ever in Hay River or nearby somewhere in the Northwest Territories for the first weekend of March I really recommend stopping by. You won't regret it!

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North Arm Park nwt from Sean on Vimeo.

That Yellowknife wind

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Frozen Water Falls in Hay River, Northwest Territories

Well this is a looooong over due blog post but I have been in a transition stage. Trying to rebrand is a lot more complicated than I thought (should have known!) but I am finally starting to see the end of the tunnel.

Back in February me and three others made the long hike between Louise Falls and Alexandra Falls near Hay River. It's become some what of a tradition now started by fellow photographer Adam Hill . It's the third time I've been and this was by far the most spectacular. If you'd like  to see it in HD check out the video Craig Kovatch made.

To reach Alexandra Falls isn't exactly easy but as a Northwest Territories photographer you get used to making an effort to get anywhere. Parking on the road and trail blazing our way through a foot of snow to reach the trail between the falls. It's amazing how much such light fluffy powder can slow you down and make those leg muscles you never knew you had burn. Part of life in the Northwest Territories.

Eventually you reach the spiral ice covered staircase that drops off the side of the gorge and the first big decision comes. Take the snowshoes off or try and scramble down sideways with them on? Six of one, half a dozen of the other!

After that the path takes you to the gorge edge and it's the last plunge down to reach Louise Falls and that marks the end of the beaten path. The last people to walk from here was us a year ago. As you can guess congestion in Hay River isn't really a concern.

How much gear do we lug around on this trip? Well the above is just what Craig brought! Worth the effort though. Above you can see Craig getting the fist ever HD footage of Louise Falls while Adam admires the gorge, if you keep going long enough you'll eventually reach Hay River and the Great Slave Lake.

Now there is nothing left but the grind up to Alexandra Falls and once again it's up to us to blaze that trail. It's an amazing site when you first round the corner and see the frozen Alexandra Falls standing tall. It looks so close but you soon realise you're nowhere near. In fact only about half way. Break time!

Ok so this is a photo from near Louise Falls but you get the idea.

Another break!

Refreshed it's time for the final push for the reward. 

I've no idea how long we spent walking up and down this frozen wonderland. In the end the spray from the still flowing water starts to chill you to the bone. Thats our cue to start the whole process in reverse except this time the end of the walk is up a frozen hill. Not fun after being out for some 6 hours already. Still, will I be there next year? You know the answer.

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Another first blog post

At long last my new website is up and running. As always this technology stuff took far longer to organise than I thought it would. Computers make life so much easier but only when they work.

It's been a busy few weeks in Hay River. We had the K'amba Carnival last weekend with days full of dogsled racing, Dene handgames and much more. A blog post to follow on that very soon as well as a very long overdue post about hiking on frozen waterfalls.

This weekend sees the 6th annual Polar Pond Hockey Tournament here in Hay River. It's also the first time that I haven't been stuck at work so at last a few photos of this outdoor hockey spectacular will appear on my blog.

Thanks for all your support everybody!

Sean