14Feb

Exploring Japan

Exploring Japan

 

As the videographer on Semester at Sea I get the privilege to join course field labs in different countries. In Japan I joined the Intro to Anthropology class on a visit to a textile facility where they use ancient techniques to manufacture kimono, traditional Japanese garments. Students also had the opportunity to try on various styles of kimono. It was very interesting to see how much kimono has influenced Japanese culture.

I also joined the International Business class on a visit to Yokohama’s Nissan Plant, while I was not allowed to shoot video inside of the plant I managed to get some footage in the museum. After students met with a US  representative from the US Embassy in Tokyo. She shed light on to a number of interesting dynamics going on in Japan’s economy, one of them being the push to get women back into the workforce.

28Jan

Hawaii’s Big Island: Paradise in the Sky

Our first stop on the Spring 2014 Voyage was Hilo, Hawaii. With only 1 day in port on the biggest island in the Hawaii chain it was tough narrowing down what to do. After catching an 8 pound bonefish on Oahu this October I was determined to catch another. Oahu has expansive flats with ample bone-fishing opportunities while the Big Island is better for off-shore fishing. I was able to connect with a local fly-fishing guide Don Memmer. Don is a school teacher as well so I was not able to fish with him but he was super helpful by pointing me in the right direction. I spent the morning throwing flies to bonefish cruising the shoreline of a saltwater pond near the town of Hilo. I had no luck hooking up but as always, casting to cruising fish is fun regardless.

That afternoon I joined a Semester at Sea field program on a trip up Mauna Kea. This massive volcano is the largest mountain in the world when measured from the sea floor. Rising up from sea level this 14,000 ft peak is an astonishing place to visit. In addition to its height the dormant volcano lies in the middle of the pacific ocean which creates little to no land turbulence and is also known for 300+ clear nights a year. These factor creates one of the best places to star-gaze conduct astronomy research in the world. Therefore, 10 countries worldwide have some serious telescopes on the summit.

10 students and I traveled to the top of the summit where we only had about 30 minutes to take pictures and enjoy the sensation of being on top of the world. It was quite different from being on top of a fourteener in Colorado. The fact that you were looking out to sea level made it feel unreal. Unfortunately we were not able to star-gaze from the top. On the trip down, with some convincing, our tour guide let us stop at the visitor center, which sits at 9,000 ft, to star gaze for about 5 minutes. Although it was 5,000 ft lower, this place still yielded an amazing view of the crystal clear sky. It gave me enough time to take a couple still photos of the night sky.

In this video, astronomy professor Iain Campbell takes us on a journey from sea level to the summit of Mauna Kea. His Scottish accent and deep appreciation for the unknown really made working on this piece interesting and fun. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did producing it.

 

18Jan

Semester at Sea – Spring 2014 – First Thoughts

I was fortunate enough to travel on Semester at Sea as a student in the spring 0f 2006. After a life changing voyage I made it a goal to somehow experience this unique way to see the world again. Well, here I am, back on the ship as the videographer for the Spring 2014 voyage. Its quite interesting being back as a staff member and not as a student ready to take on the world. This time around is definitely different. The excitement is still there it just comes in different forms. For example, as a student you can’t wait to meet new people and experience new things. As staff, those feelings are still there in essnce but its more about accomplishing goals and making a difference in peoples lives. The videographer position is the perfect vehicle to make this come to fruition.

Please enjoy the first video we produced on the Spring 2014 voyage.

01Jan

Black-Footed Ferrets

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been working with United States Fish and Wildlife Service to help restore one of the most endangered mammals in North America, Black-footed ferrets.  This video highlights the reintroduction and monitoring efforts.

25Oct

Abel Reels – From the Factory to the Field

A promotional piece for Abel Reels

 

17Sep

Hunting Colorado’s Public Lands

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s video production crew (Dennis and I) have traveled the state for the last two years capturing footage from the peaks to the prairies. We have organized this footage in a way that is hopefully helpful to those looking to learn more about hunting Colorado’s public lands. We broke down the state into ‘life zones’ and have identified the game animals that live in each zone. It is an interesting way to look at finding your next hunting spot. To be able to decipher each life zone’s habitat and where the animals will be during which times of the year can give hunters insight as to where to hunt. We have also provided information on the different land management agencies such as Colorado’s National Forests, BLM lands, State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Lands For more information on hunting in Colorado visit HERE.

19Apr

Pow Day 2013

07Mar

Belly Boat Bassin’

On a normal year late winter and early spring means open and ice free water on front range ponds and gravel pits. This time of the year can yield successful days on this type of water for anglers on a personal watercraft. In this 2 part series Jeff Nielsen takes us through what it means to be an angler and how he went about becoming an accomplished one with his belly boat on Colorado’s front range small reservoirs, ponds and gravel pits.

25Feb

Colorado Fishing Atlas

Colorado is a mecca for many different types of fishing. The Centennial State is filled with fishing opportunities from the peaks to the prairies. For years, former Colorado Division of Wildlife (now Parks & Wildlife) has maintained THE COLORADO HUNTING ATLAS which is a valuable mapping tool for hunters.

Get excited anglers because CPW has now released the fishing version of this very useful mapping device: THE COLORADO FISHING ATLAS. Whether you ice fish, fly fish, bait fish, troll, or just want to find a place to take your family the atlas can be a great resource to help you find a new fishing spot, look up the regulations, print maps, and more.

CPW’s video production crew recently put together a tutorial to help you get started with the Colorado Fishing Atlas:

06Feb

Colorado River Salmon Flies

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife video production crew teamed up with a couple great guides out of Cutthroat Anglers in Silverthorne, CO last May, 2012. Mitch called me up early the morning we planned on heading up to float Pumphouse to Radium. He said the forecast for wind was not good and considered canceling the trip. We had been up there the week prior to film the giant stoneflies and knew the hatch was going on. Coming from Denver we were already to Floyd Hill so Mitch said “screw the wind, lets go for it.”

We ended up having a great day on the water – while it was windy, we managed to land some nice fish as well as some getting some great instructional stuff from Mitch and Ryan. (We shot the close up of the bugs on a different day as you may notice its not windy during the bug segments)

For more info vist CPW’S FISHING PAGE
FISH EXPLORER COLORADO RIVER PAGE
BUY A FISHING LICENSE
Cutthroat Anglers FISHING REPORT