Aerial Views of Red Rock Coulee

The incredible Mars-like surface of Red Rock Coulee in Alberta is only made more dramatic when seen from above with the help of a drone. After filming some material for another project in the area earlier this year, I stopped off at Red Rock Coulee to shoot some aerial photography and footage of this amazing landscape. Here is a short highlight reel.

Majorville Medicine Wheel in Alberta

On top of a grassy hill overlooking the Bow River in Alberta, the Majorville Medicine Wheel is an archaeological site of the Blackfoot Nation that dates back over 4500 years. I visited the site last summer while filming the Spirit of the Badlands campaign for the Canadian Badlands, and took part in a peace pipe ceremony with elders of the Piikani Nation.

The Majorville Medicine Wheel is located south of Bassano, but is quite literally in the middle of undisturbed prairie. Getting to the site requires some off-roading and unmarked navigation, but once you arrive you are rewarded with a view free of roads, power lines, buildings, or any other markings on the land besides the Medicine Wheel itself. The storied history, the ceremonial offerings of sweet grass and tobacco, and the notable company I was with, only further emphasized the spiritual significance of this unique landmark on the Alberta prairie.

Piikani elder and Tom Jackson speaking at the Majorville Medicine Wheel.

Spirit of the Canadian Badlands Campaign

As someone who has spent a lot of time capturing, documenting, and sharing iconic visuals all over Alberta, the Canadian Badlands have been a particularly special place to explore for as long as I can remember. Having grown up here, it was a privilege to be part of a travel campaign that allowed me to rediscover, film, photograph, and ultimately showcase some of the amazing people and places of this vast and diverse region.

After two weeks of filming throughout the Canadian Badlands last summer, accompanied by actor Tom Jackson and a handful of other talented creators, I was tasked with creating a series of vignettes and an overall promotional showcase of the experience we had in the Badlands. 
 

What was so great about this project was that we weren't setting out to stage a commercial, but instead allowed the experiences we were having to dictate the direction of the finished work. As a result, the videos are comprised of numerous candid clips and raw moments that were captured while in the midst of meeting new people and being thrown into new experiences.

I think we all have our own definitions / explanations of what we think the 'Spirit of the Canadian Badlands' really is - particularly if like me, you've been surrounded by it for most of your life. Sometimes it just takes a fresh set of eyes to remind us of how amazing our little corner of the planet really is. Explore more of my work around Alberta here.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

Located in the prairie grasslands of the Milk River valley, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is home to one of the most spectacular landscapes in Alberta. Featuring hoodoos, extensive trails, and epic vistas of sandstone monuments, Writing-on-Stone is noted for having the largest concentration of First Nation petroglyphs (rock carvings) on the North American plains.