Uncomfortable, Broke, and Inspired: My Roadtrip to Banff National Park

A golden morning on 35mm film walking the road to Lake Louise - a famous sight known for its blue waters, snowy mountain peaks and iconic hotel alongside the lake.

Let yourself be uncomfortable. Everything works out in the end. This last summer I ended up in Canada - BANFF national park, with no more than $50 in my bank account, sleeping in the back of a mini van in a grocery store parking lot. Sound insane right? It was, but when I give you the details of the situation, you'll hear how it actually ended up being one of the most fulfilling and creative experiences of all of my photography travel this summer. Let's get into it.

As you know, my main profession is a photographer - I shoot everything from elopements and weddings, to fashion projects and real estate communities. My brand is built on my versatility and lack of a niche. You could say that my niche is not having a niche. Well after traveling to Seattle on a roadtrip to shoot a wedding and then stopping in Glacier for an engagement shoot in the mountains, I found myself back in Salt Lake City, Utah for a few days betwen trips, which I had been calling home for the past few months since returning from my work away visa in New Zealand. One night out, I happened upon my close friend Isaac at a fun night life hangout spot downtown. We got to chatting and catching up, and he informed me how he had planned to drive back to Raymond, Alberta next week, his home town, to trade out cars and pick up some things from his parents home there. I half jokingly told him that I would happily join him if he needed a roadtrip buddy - the drive was something like 15 hours after all. To my surprise, he told me that he would love it if I came along, and gave me the info on when he was leaving and returning.

Before I knew it, the two of us were loading up a mini van and driving the long haul across the border and into the Canadian Rockies - a roadtrip with plans to stop in Waterton National Park and trek over to BANFF and spend a few nights there. Long story short, the two of us were able to explore a few scenic and beautiful national parks in the Alberta area - and what made the trip extra special was the content and connections that came with it. On this particular trip, I decided I needed a break from my digital camera, and opted only to bring my film camera and really focus on getting some well framed, quality exposures of our trip. After some insane hikes and other experiences - skinny dipping in Crypt lake (a world famous alpine reservoir at 12,000 ft), riding a ferry across the blue waters of Waterton, waking up for sunrise at Lake Louise, etc. I had spent some real time capturing little moments that I felt were worth remembering and freezing in time in the form of a 35mm film photo.

A few of my favorites included a shot of two hands helping to scoop a white butterfly out of an alpine lake after almost it almost drowned, the view of the Prince of Wales hotel from the ferry across the lake, framed between the heads of the boat passengers, among other memorable shots. I really tried to be intentional, and slow down the process of what I thought an artful photo would look like.

My favorite shot of the trip - two hands scooping a fallen white butterfly out of the alpine waters of Crypt Lake in Waterton National Park, Alberta, Canada.

We hadn't booked a campground in BANFF, because our trip was so spontaneous, so we ended up sleeping in a grocery store parking lot in the back of the mini van. And because I had traveled so much, and was waiting for payment from many of my photoshoots from the summer - I quite literally had $50 in my entire bank account by the time we were driving home. Now thats character development. In my mind, the wealth of experience far surpassed any amount i could have had in my bank.

It's those risky moments when we put ourselves in uncomfortable and even scary situations, which push us to reach, generate, and create big things in the world. The photos from that trip ended up helping me earn a collaboration with one of my favorite brands, earn the attnetion and collaboration with the instagram account of my favorite film stock, and lead to many more shoots and content peices being attracted to me.

Its beautiful how the world works like that.