STEPHANIE

Meet Stephanie;
She’s called Revelstoke home for over a year now and it was so much fun to photograph her in our very short autumnal window.

Stephanie hails from Bohol in the Philippines, with it’s population of about 1,313, 500 I couldn’t help but wonder how she felt about living in a small Canadian mountain town? She absolutely loves it saying, "I've been to amazing places here! It’s quite different than home, because it's way colder here. I’ve been able to meet some awesome people, take in some amazing scenery and I look forward to making the ski hill my playground this winter.”

Stephanie moved to Revelstoke about a year ago to study, she’s taking the Tourism Management Diploma at Okanagan College here in town and likes it a lot.

I met Steph while working this past year and her bubbly personality and humor are what helped us through some interesting shifts at the start of the pandemic!!

If you want a good laugh, make friends with your co-workers and ask them to do a hair flip for your photography page!!!

ANDREA UNFETTERED [SHELTER BAY]

After a brief 40 minute drive south in the car from the town of Revelstoke, you will have reached Shelter Bay; the port situated on the Upper Arrow Lakes surrounded by both the Selkirk and the Monashee Mountains. From here you can access the free ferry taking you across the lake to Highway 23 & 31 South in British Columbia.

If you want a day trip this is the route to embark on, because not only will you encounter a sandy beach at the day use area but you can also see some of the most striking views while crossing the ferry, or you can choose to have a picnic at the camp ground by the boat launch.

Nestled between captivating mountains, unreal water tones, fragrant forest and scorching sunshine was the location for this photo shoot with Andrea.

You wouldn’t believe this mama isn’t a model, for she was natural through and through and up for all sorts of ideas during the shoot.
The forest met our senses and we came alive as we wandered the bank of the river, clambering over rocks, taking twigs out of our hair and even a splash into the (freezing) waterway for (the brave soul) Andrea !!!

OHAKUNE - NEW ZEALAND

2008 - The year I learned to put chains on vehicles for my job as a Guest Service Agent while working for Turoa Ski Field. I never imagined I’d be able to revisit the wonderful wee town on the North Island of New Zealand.

A weekend away in a bach was all I needed for the memories of that winter to come flooding back. We had lived on Arawa Street, a short wee wander to the town central, and if you were to simply pass by this town you may not know the gem that it is.

In the winter folk from all over New Zealand come visit for the annual Mardi Gras celebration and to ski the active volcano. From my experience while living there for a ski season the mountain was closed more than it was open, but that didn’t dampen our time. The people make a place and we had many nights cooking for the ski bums and travellers spending the season with us.

If you get the chance to head to this nugget of a town you must make a stop at the Chocolate Éclair Shoppe, take a wander to the Giant Carrot and make sure to walk to Old Coach Road, a lovely trail that will take you around the outskirts of the town along a river to see the beauty of the area.

Make sure you get a night in watching the rugby at The Powder Keg, and stop in to see the folk at Volcano Coffee Roasters along the railway, they not only have fab coffee but they host many Kiwi made articles that you wont be able to walk away from without at least adding them to a wish list!!

Once you’ve meandered around you must take a trip up the Tongariro National Park to the highest mountain on the North Island of New Zealand, don’t let the encroaching cloud turn you off, the weather can change in an instant and you wont want to miss the views from the top!!

After you have done all the adventuring you can muster make sure to stop in for a mouth watering hamburger at the Blind Finch and let your taste buds discover what a true kiwi taste can do to your hunger cravings. You also won’t want to miss buying a pie at the local dairy.

Ohakune isn’t just for winter lovers; you can for sure visit this adventure destination in summer. There are heaps of walks, hikes and mountain biking trails to catch your adventure seeking cravings.
Ohakune may seem like a small stop on the NZ map, but it sure holds a big place in my heart and I love that I got to re-visit it this year and reminisce over the wonderful winter season I had with some friends I still love to this day!

ABERDEEN - ONCE HOME [SCOTLAND]

Aberdeen, a city layered in grey granite tucked away at the North East end of one of the most beautiful countries one could lay eyes on, Scotland.
Once Home and now a memory I pull out when the urge to pack bags and hail the next airplane to anywhere a new adventure awaits starts to stir.
The difficulty lies in trying to place letters together to depict my time spent living in the stone-encased city by the sea. Even after you read my words you will never gain the experience I had, stumbling over cobblestones and learning my way around the narrow streets; and you will never quite grasp how many times the accent escaped me or how I learned that being ‘fit’ had nothing to do with physical appearance but everything to do with how I felt that day (fit-like?), or that being ‘on your Todd’ did in fact have nothing to do with a guy named Todd, but being on one’s own.
I managed to immerse myself in a culture once foreign, which slowly became familiar and now seems so distant to where I find myself at present.

I have never lived so close to the sea but did enjoy the 45 min walk from my flat-share to watch the waves dance across the sand and the sun rise early in the morning. I gazed at ships that came into the harbor and sat with all their might at the dock awaiting their cargo, while dodging sketchy Scottish sailors and hiding my food from the malicious seagulls.
As I strolled through Fittie admiring the wee lodging that had held many a story through the North Sea’s life span I snapped photos and longed to share the memories with family and friends who eventually did come from near and far to experience the places I had set foot and had soon become home.
I navigated my way to and from college or work in the sometimes atrocious Scottish downpours by foot; a memory I will hold at bay and I hope to never again have my jeans so soaked and my skin so cold from the elements. Yes, it’s true you should not bother with an umbrella whilst living there, for the rain and wind will tear it to shreds and wont allow for you to keep dry. They say that the weather isn’t bad, you just need proper clothing and this is true, yet many a day was spent looking out the window at the dreich weather and longing for a season change.
My whole time there, did in fact, feel like the longest season of ‘Spring’ one could have, (a rainy spring, a winter spring, a sunny spring, no other season felt like it came while I lived in Aberdeen).

The purpose of my time was to learn photography, but as you do, I ended up learning a lot more about myself as I took in the new culture around me and embraced all the challenges that came from living abroad and being on an adventure.
 
I miss seeing castles at the top of the street or walking home late in the evening and seeing the ludicrous night scene the city holds, or the contoured faces of girls trying to impress all the lads while stumbling home from night out.
There are no double decker buses where I live now or lochs to explore where misty climates make for the best moody photos, sheep don’t call out to lead you along the way while hiking a Munroe and highland coos don’t get in your way on the road here.

The folk I met at college and work are missed and the wee chimneys will always have a special place in my heart.
And one day I’d love to return and retrace my steps, walk along union street and past my flat and wonder at who lives inside there now or who has my corner office window at work, or see what my lecturers are getting up to and who they are currently inspiring now to take epic photos. Until that day I am beholden to my time away and cherish Aberdeen in my mind and it will always be Once Home.