0:00

Welcome back to the podcast, everybody.

0:03

I'm Robert Massey. This is the travel and adventure

0:05

photography school. And today on the podcast,

0:07

we have a super special interview

0:09

with the incredible Sam Reid.

0:12

Sam is a local content creator,

0:14

short form video specialist, adventurer,

0:17

athlete, storyteller. Sam's

0:19

just an incredible person to hang out with

0:21

and we went out for a hike on Tunnel Mountain

0:24

in a torrential downpour

0:26

to talk about creating short form

0:29

video content and using the stories

0:31

function on Instagram and how to really help

0:33

enhance what you are already doing

0:35

in your work by creating short form video

0:37

and some tips and tricks for doing this with a really

0:40

minimalist setup so you can move fast.

0:42

All right, let's get out on

0:45

the trails of Tunnel Mountain, just

0:47

at the edge of Banff. Awesome.

0:56

All right. Welcome back everybody.

0:59

I'm Robert Massey. This is the Travel and Adventure Photography

1:01

School. I am with Sam Reid today.

1:04

Hey, say hi, Sam.

1:05

Hi, everyone.

1:06

We are on Tunnel Mountain Trail right now.

1:08

We had other plans, but the weather got a better of us, but

1:11

a rainy hike in Banff. It

1:13

is not the worst thing in the world, especially to go up to

1:15

a nice, beautiful viewpoint at the top.

1:18

Yeah, welcome back. This is gonna be a

1:20

lot of fun. So, Sam, do you want to introduce

1:22

yourself to everybody?

1:24

Yeah, sure. My name is Sam,

1:26

or Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam. I

1:29

originate from Australia, but I've been

1:31

living in Banff for five years now. And,

1:35

yeah, I have a lot of passion when it

1:37

comes to social media, short form video

1:40

so that's, my main form of content, that's

1:43

kind of it.

1:44

Okay, Sam's underselling herself, as she

1:46

typically does. Sam is a remarkable

1:48

creative, especially when it comes to like stories

1:50

and short form video and I think

1:52

has probably explored. 80 percent of

1:54

the trails in Banff at this point and

1:57

does some like remarkable, remarkable

1:59

things. And on top of that Olympian.

2:02

Oh yeah.

2:03

Remarkable human being. Don't undersell

2:05

yourself.

2:06

Sometimes I forget about that. I am, I am a two

2:08

time Olympian. Very out of my comfort zone

2:10

in the mountains. I was a synchronized swimmer. So

2:13

water based. But yeah, now I spend all my free

2:15

time adventuring in the Rockies.

2:17

So let's start a little bit about. What

2:19

do you work on right now? What do you do in the content

2:21

creator sphere?

2:23

Yeah I would say, if

2:26

we're talking platforms, my primary

2:28

platforms are Instagram and TikTok

2:30

and yeah, I have a Oh,

2:32

I'm getting out of breath, Robert. We need to slow down

2:35

The problem with us, we go a little too fast.

2:37

I know, we feed off each other. Yeah,

2:39

so I would say, my primary

2:41

focus is the short form video space. So I really,

2:44

really enjoy creating videos. I feel like

2:46

I enjoyed it before

2:49

Instagram came out with Reels and that sort

2:52

of thing. Prior to Reels, I

2:54

used to always make stories on Instagram,

2:56

and they were always little video clips. And

2:58

so when Instagram released Reels, I

3:01

was super stoked. And I also had like hundreds

3:04

of hours of video already. And

3:06

so I was able to like jump right on that new

3:08

feature. And I think that's sort

3:10

of, yeah, where I was able to really

3:12

start growing in that space. I'll

3:14

dabble in photography every now and then. But,

3:18

yeah, I definitely prefer the short form video.

3:20

Feels a little more, like, casual and just

3:22

easier for me to create, I find, if we're

3:24

talking photography. I love doing it, I

3:26

love getting a beautiful shot, but I

3:29

spend a lot of time overthinking it. And

3:31

I hate spending my time overthinking things, and

3:33

so, I just find short form video a

3:35

lot easier for me to create. And,

3:39

you know, I love having these little memories of all the adventures

3:41

that I go on. And I think video

3:43

is a really, really good way to document that.

3:46

I think that's a great place to jump into one of my favorite ways

3:48

to go back and look at things is, what

3:50

is that first adventure that you really remember

3:53

creating short form video or that you captured

3:56

on your phone?

3:57

Oh! I mean, I

3:59

will remember the first reel that went viral.

4:02

I just posted this pan of

4:04

Lake Louise. Honestly, nothing

4:06

special. It was a beautiful day. There was a beautiful reflection.

4:09

But I think it was like two weeks

4:11

into reels being released and

4:13

the video just went viral. Over a million

4:15

views. And I was just like, what the hell is

4:17

happening? And so I was

4:19

thinking about that. It's pretty crazy. But then

4:22

following that, I went on some really great backpacking

4:25

trips that summer and I just clipped them

4:27

all together. And made quick 15

4:29

second videos out of them. Stuck it

4:31

with a good song. That's one of my favourite parts, is finding

4:34

the perfect song to go with the videos.

4:36

I really enjoy that when you find something that you're like, oh,

4:39

it's so good. I just think it adds

4:41

so much value. There were two backpacking

4:44

trips I went on that summer. They were both

4:46

out in the Purcells. So out near

4:48

Bugaboos, that sort of thing. There's lots of

4:50

great backpacking out there. And, it's fairly

4:52

untouched compared to the Rockies, so, yeah,

4:55

I did some great trips out there, and

4:57

got some great videos!

4:59

That sounds wonderful, and the bugs are absolutely

5:02

stunning! So, we'll get into,

5:04

talking short form, talking all that kind of stuff.

5:06

Giving advice to actual people in a minute,

5:08

but my favourite part about all this is, the stories

5:11

that come from the adventures that we have, and the travels

5:13

that we have. And so, we've talked a lot

5:15

about, like, your love for Banff, and

5:17

your love for being in this place. What

5:19

is it? What, what drives you

5:21

into the mountains the way that you do?

5:23

Oh! I don't know, I always

5:25

try and think about this, because, yeah,

5:27

I grew up in Aus we have, I

5:29

hiked a bit, but not a lot. And

5:32

then, when I finished competing

5:35

I was kind of, seeking out ways

5:37

to fill my time, because all of a

5:39

sudden I had all this free time that I used to spend training.

5:42

I was going to school, but in the holidays I like,

5:45

started traveling and the first

5:47

big trip I took after Synchro, I, I

5:49

traveled a lot with Synchro, but the first big

5:51

trip I took after Synchro was to

5:53

Nepal. And so I went to the Himalayas.

5:56

I didn't actually hike in the Himalayas. I just took

5:58

this trip to Nepal, but we spent time

6:00

in the foothills and I did this flight

6:03

over Everest and it

6:05

was amazing. In that moment, like fell

6:07

in love with the mountains, no specific mountains,

6:09

just mountains in general. And I

6:11

went home to Aus and started

6:13

hiking a lot more than I had been. And

6:16

it's mainly just rainforests and waterfalls

6:18

and not big peaks, but

6:20

it was still a great way to spend my

6:22

time. And then, when

6:25

I finished university, I took

6:27

a year off and went traveling and on

6:29

my travels I came to Canada. My

6:32

parents had actually said to me years

6:34

before they'd come to Banff and they were like you would love

6:36

Banff. I always say I feel like they'd

6:39

eat those words nowadays. I

6:41

don't think they ever thought I'd come here and never leave. But

6:44

because they mentioned it I had to come to Banff

6:46

and I planned this trip from Vancouver to

6:48

Calgary. 10 days, I think I hiked

6:51

8 of the 10 days. Did these

6:53

like epic hikes in Glacier National Park.

6:55

And then into Banff. Did a

6:57

bunch of big hikes as well and I

7:00

just loved it. Just thought it was one

7:02

of the greatest places on the planet. And

7:04

yeah, then I went home and then

7:06

I moved back out here a couple years later.

7:09

And I don't know, I think

7:11

the thing about Banff is You

7:13

feel so privileged to live here. So many people want

7:15

to visit and we get to live here, which

7:18

is crazy in itself,

7:21

but it also means that it can be super busy.

7:23

But I always find on my weekends

7:25

in the summer if you pick the right trail and

7:28

you're willing to go far enough, you can

7:30

get these trails all to yourself. And

7:32

I think that's something that I find so

7:34

special about Banff is, you

7:37

know, there's so many people here, but you can hit the trails.

7:39

And feel like you're all alone. Like, you're

7:41

just out in the wilderness. And

7:44

I don't know, I think that's something I seek out more than I realize.

7:47

Just having time in nature.

7:49

It often comes with, you know, 25

7:53

kilometers of suffering. Whatever. But

7:55

those blissful moments when everything feels so

7:57

peaceful and quiet. It's just, there's

8:00

something really special about it.

8:02

That's beautiful. It's so totally true,

8:04

right? Yeah, everyone's like it's so busy,

8:06

but it's also a place of

8:08

extreme beauty and quiet and yeah, you

8:10

go at the right time. Like, we

8:13

had most of the trail to Castle to ourselves

8:15

last year. Yeah. Until the summit, where there was

8:17

five

8:17

other people? Yeah. Like, It's like, it's

8:19

crazy. Absolutely

8:21

amazing. That is coming down

8:23

now. So, you remember

8:25

that moment you had your first, viral video? Did

8:28

you ever imagine

8:30

wanting to get another one of those, or grow

8:32

that into something else? Or was it just... You

8:34

loved doing it and you just wanted to keep producing it. What

8:37

kinda happened there?

8:38

Yeah, I guess it's funny when you sort of really

8:40

try and think about it, because there is something,

8:43

even if you try and deny it, when

8:46

you get that many views,

8:48

that many comments, that many likes,

8:50

there's something that just feels really, I

8:53

don't know, I think, like gratifying? Even

8:55

though it's like, you don't want to base your

8:57

worth on numbers and things like that, like, it's

8:59

just this. Crazy space in social

9:01

media. What does it really mean? But

9:04

it definitely makes you feel a certain

9:06

way and it's like really exciting. I

9:08

really try and make sure that when I When

9:11

I'm going out to shoot content that

9:13

it's not the primary purpose for me being out

9:15

there. I really try and find balance

9:18

and I always try and ask myself

9:21

like Would I be doing this even

9:23

if I didn't have my phone to capture video? And

9:26

most of the time, I'm pretty sure

9:28

it's yes, I would be. I mean,

9:31

who really knows, but that's how I like to look at it.

9:33

And so I really try to find and keep that

9:35

balance. It's really important to me. Especially,

9:38

I work a full time job, so social

9:41

media isn't my primary

9:43

income, it's only a very small part of

9:45

it, and so, when

9:47

I go and shoot videos, it's on my,

9:49

like, downtime, it's on my weekends, and,

9:52

so I want to make sure that I'm not

9:54

putting a whole lot of pressure on myself to

9:56

the point where the weekends become work. And

9:59

so, that's kind of how I

10:01

try to approach... Videos and content

10:03

creation, but then sometimes I do take

10:06

on partnerships, which is obviously

10:08

work And so I

10:10

I do give up some of my weekends for it. But

10:12

I still try to be really

10:14

selective with the partnerships I take on to

10:16

make sure that they do really just fit into my lifestyle

10:19

and I don't have to go out of my way

10:21

to get the content needed for it

10:23

If that makes sense.

10:24

That makes total sense. How do you go about that decision

10:27

making process? Because it could be really hard If a brand like Google

10:29

approaches you. Here's this big, huge partnership.

10:32

But how do you decide if that aligns with

10:34

what you want to be doing and who you want to work with?

10:37

Well, I'm yet to hear from Google. But I think it would

10:39

be dependent on the brief. Cause

10:42

I find it really hard to create content when

10:44

it doesn't feel genuine to me. Like get

10:46

really stressed about it. I'll go back and

10:49

forth. I'll spend all this time that I don't need to be spending

10:51

on it. And then for me, I'm like, that was

10:53

not worth whatever they're paying

10:55

me. It's not a good use of my

10:57

time. I think if the brands

10:59

come with a brief and it's related

11:02

to the mountains and the lifestyle that I lead, and

11:04

it feels like a good fit and that I

11:06

don't have to do a lot to incorporate

11:08

it into what I'm already doing. That's

11:10

kind of how I like to approach things.

11:13

That's a good way to approach it though. Do you ever

11:15

struggle with that? Have you had a brand approach you where it's like,

11:17

maybe, maybe?

11:19

I think, yeah, when brands first

11:21

started approaching me, it was just really exciting. And

11:23

I would say a lot of creators go through this. It's

11:25

like, a brand approaches you and it's not

11:28

even paid, but they're going to gift you something

11:30

and it feels really good that a brand

11:32

wants to work with you and they see value in what you

11:34

create. And so, you know,

11:37

I definitely think at the start, they would have been small

11:39

things, but I would have accepted them and put

11:42

them in my channel and probably felt pretty

11:44

shit about it because I was like,

11:46

this doesn't feel genuine to me, but I've already agreed

11:48

to it. I've signed a contract. I can't get

11:50

out of it. And so you have to deliver. And

11:53

so I think I made that mistake

11:55

a handful of times and then. I have

11:57

been really, yeah, really

12:00

conscious of those decisions

12:02

ever since.

12:04

So what would you say to, there's a lot of new

12:06

creators, a lot of people breaking into the space who listen to

12:08

this. How would you navigate

12:11

those conversations now a little differently?

12:13

I think... Especially if it's

12:15

not paid, not that there's anything wrong

12:17

with that. I think it is a good

12:20

way to get experience and sort of break into

12:22

the industry. If it's an exchange of product

12:24

and there's a similar value, if you're like,

12:26

okay, I'm gonna create a reel for you,

12:29

I would charge this much for a reel.

12:31

Your product is worth equal. Then

12:34

maybe that is a good exchange. But

12:36

if you're getting a product that's

12:39

worth nowhere near the value of what you're delivering

12:41

for them, then really think about

12:43

that and really think, is this

12:45

giving me value as much or are they just

12:48

taking a whole lot of value out of this and

12:50

I'm not really getting much as a result. But

12:53

then you know, early on you

12:55

want to build a portfolio. And so.

12:58

It is important to take opportunities,

13:01

but I would just be selective with them

13:03

and I'm very grateful that

13:05

I do get offered some amazing partnerships,

13:08

just from what I believe to be, is

13:11

being genuinely myself and I think that's

13:13

something that a lot of brands seek out these days

13:15

because consumers see a lot of value in

13:17

genuine people. They trust

13:19

people more than they trust brands. And

13:21

so you can just be true to yourself

13:23

in any partnerships that you take on. Then

13:26

I think you'll sort of be successful.

13:29

I love that. That harkens back a lot to something we talked

13:31

about on the podcast, two, three episodes ago now,

13:33

which was taking on work for free versus saying

13:35

no to it. And so go back, give

13:37

a listen to that. I think that was episode 88. Yeah,

13:40

that's a good point. You need to find places that align with you, and

13:42

audiences that they have that align with you, that'll help you with your

13:44

future work, and there's all sorts of pieces

13:46

that have to go in there. So, that

13:48

ties in really well with what we should talk about next, which

13:51

is actually creating short form video. So

13:53

I think you're such a fabulous example of somebody

13:55

who makes really good short form

13:57

video that isn't just a bunch

13:59

of random pieces that are strung together, but

14:01

there's a story arc, typically,

14:04

within everything that you're posting,

14:06

which is really difficult to do in, what,

14:09

10 to 15 seconds? So...

14:11

If someone's looking to start making short form content

14:14

right now, where do they begin?

14:16

What would be your suggestion for a point to start,

14:18

because it looks really intimidating

14:21

from the outside.

14:22

I would just say, when you

14:24

go out and you go to take a photo, take

14:26

a video. The way I kind of tell stories

14:28

is not in every piece

14:30

of content, but I will share, like

14:33

a hike, and I'll share it

14:35

from start to finish, so you can

14:37

sort of take them on the journey. But I like

14:39

to incorporate, it's not just beautiful scenic

14:41

vistas, it's also, feet walking

14:44

across the trail, and all those little

14:46

pieces as well I think is what brings it together

14:49

and tells a story. Because, I mean

14:51

don't get me wrong, there's definitely value in shooting beautiful

14:54

vistas. Like, when you get a beautiful

14:56

sunset or something like that, just that single shot.

14:59

can be all you need and, I love sharing

15:01

things like that and they

15:03

can do really well on social media. But

15:06

yeah, I also love to share a journey

15:08

that I've been on. And then I

15:10

can look back at it and be like, Oh my god, that

15:12

hike was so fun. And then I also love,

15:15

like I love love, doing, like,

15:17

wrap videos, so, an end

15:19

of summer video, or an end of fall video,

15:22

or an end of the year video, where

15:24

I, to some extent, chaotically

15:26

piece together a ton of

15:28

videos to a really fun song.

15:31

But for me, when I watch it back, it's just this, like,

15:33

beautiful memory of that point

15:36

in time. And I

15:38

get a lot of joy out of that, and that's

15:40

the, the main thing that's important to me. Because

15:43

it brings you joy, it's something that you're, you're going

15:45

to want to post significantly more. Yeah. I

15:48

like that.

15:49

So we have a starting point now for people. It's, when you're

15:51

headed out, it's not about looking for a perfect moment. That's one of the traps

15:53

that I fall into as a photographer. Yes. It's like,

15:56

this has to be... Perfect,

15:58

or it's really not worth doing, which is not

16:00

at all what short form video is.

16:02

Yeah, and that's what I love about short form

16:04

video, because I completely agree.

16:06

When I try to take photos, you get caught

16:08

up in making sure everything is just

16:10

right. But if it's a video, and,

16:14

you know, maybe you only need half

16:16

a second of that video, you've got

16:18

the shot. And also, some of the least

16:21

perfect moments make for the most

16:23

fun videos. I always love

16:25

it, every single winter, I'll share a

16:28

like, cross country skiing fail video.

16:30

Personally I think it's hilarious. I started

16:33

cross country skiing, Oh, this will probably

16:35

be my third season now, and you

16:37

know, huge learning curve to start. I think I fell

16:39

over every single time I went out, and

16:41

I'm pretty good at it now. But yeah, I think it's finding

16:43

a balance between you know, getting

16:46

those perfect and imperfect moments. Another thing

16:48

with me is I do just

16:50

genuinely spend so much

16:52

time outside and because short

16:54

form video is just on your phone, I always

16:57

have it with me and so I might

16:59

be out for a 6am

17:01

sunrise run before work and it could

17:03

be the most spectacular sunrise you've ever seen

17:05

and I was out at Vermillion Lakes because it's just

17:07

what I do and so it means I am

17:10

able to get some really epic content. Almost

17:12

by accident. But the cool thing about short form video,

17:15

you just whip your phone out of your pocket, in

17:18

the moment, and it's something you didn't

17:20

expect, but it's like this

17:22

incredible, incredible,

17:24

moment in time that you were able to capture,

17:27

because. You were running, you weren't running

17:29

with your camera, and so, you can just quickly

17:31

snap something and it

17:33

might, might be something totally incredible.

17:36

That is a very good point because

17:39

I do find that it a little bit of a trap here where, you

17:41

know, we're in Banff So you can kind of make easy content

17:44

no matter where you are Yeah, but you

17:46

can kind of do that anywhere in the world. You

17:48

just have to be out in it Yeah,

17:50

you have to be actually experiencing something You can't sit

17:52

at home waiting for the perfect

17:54

moment to come upon you. You actually have to be out in the thing

17:56

Yeah to have it happen.

17:58

And absolutely, the Rockies are incredible

18:00

and it does feel like, sometimes I'm like oh, it's

18:02

easy, look where I live, but also we're hiking

18:04

in the rain right now, like, those perfect

18:07

conditions, they don't come

18:09

often and so, you

18:11

know, and you can't plan them so,

18:14

yeah, I think just spending a lot, if, if

18:16

you enjoy it, which I really do, spending

18:19

a lot of time outside is,

18:22

A great way to get really

18:24

great content.

18:25

What's your, what do you find working right now when

18:27

you shoot that short form video when you build it?

18:30

Trending songs. I think are a

18:32

big thing on Instagram. I actually

18:34

don't know how to find trending songs on TikTok

18:36

anymore. I feel like it used to be easy, it's not

18:39

anymore. But you'll see, like, the same song

18:41

come up again and again. But it's super easy to do

18:43

on Instagram. When you see the little song at

18:45

the bottom, it has a little arrow pointing

18:47

on an angle. That means it's trending.

18:50

And using trending songs, especially

18:52

if they've only been used

18:55

a handful of time already it

18:58

can be super valuable because as

19:00

they get more popular. People click into

19:02

them. If you were early on the trend, and

19:04

it did quite well, you'll be at the top of the

19:06

feed. And so, more

19:08

people will click. They'll see your video, they'll click through

19:11

and then you just gain traction that

19:13

way.

19:14

That's a huge piece of advice.

19:15

Yeah, and I mean, honestly, I find the trending

19:18

songs are great, majority of the time.

19:21

They're trending for a reason. I'm also a sucker

19:23

for a catchy pop tune. So I'm

19:25

always happy to get behind a new trending song. I've

19:28

definitely noticed that having TikTok

19:30

and Instagram, they're two very different platforms,

19:32

and there's really a lot of value in both of them. But

19:35

you create very similar content for them. I

19:38

wouldn't say create exactly the same. I'm

19:40

a lot more relaxed on my TikTok. Even

19:43

though I have a similar following size to my

19:45

Instagram, I just feel like there's less

19:47

eyes on me on TikTok. Less pressure

19:49

than what I feel when it comes to Instagram because I've

19:51

had that platform for so much longer And

19:54

I feel like people have an expectation of me on

19:56

there. Were as TikTok. I'm like, I

19:59

don't even know who these people are. My mom's

20:01

not on here. I don't need to worry about what

20:03

she's thinking And so yeah,

20:06

I definitely would say if you're creating short form video,

20:09

do it for both platforms

20:11

Oh, hey, we're here. This is

20:14

definitely the wettest I have ever come up Tunnel

20:16

in. Beautiful view of town. Absolutely stunning.

20:19

Ok yeah, yep, I'm good. I

20:21

feel like that's a good point to switch

20:23

back over to talking about the other

20:25

piece that you really like, which is stories. And

20:28

what it is about them that you really enjoy

20:30

and how you use them versus using

20:32

your short form video pieces and why people should, should

20:35

dig into stories.

20:36

If I go out in the morning before work and go for

20:38

a run, I'll throw a story up from that. Sometimes,

20:41

you know, when the days are longer, I'll go for a full hike before

20:43

work. And so, that's like midweek content,

20:45

and then on the weekends, pretty much guaranteed

20:48

I'm out Saturday and Sunday doing something.

20:50

And so I'll post a story set from

20:53

each of those adventures. And...

20:56

Yeah, my family watches them. They

20:58

get to see what I'm up to. Lots of other

21:00

people get to see what I'm up to. Hopefully

21:02

inspires people to, you know, spend

21:05

lots of time outside. I enjoy

21:07

posting them. They're pretty easy to post.

21:09

To be fair, I say that when I do like

21:11

a full day adventure, it probably does take me

21:13

like an hour to post, which sometimes I'm

21:15

like, whoa, that time went really quickly. You

21:17

kind of lose track of time. But yeah,

21:19

I don't know. It's, it's like, it

21:21

lets me relive what I just did. And I feel like

21:24

it cements it in your memory a bit more. Ooh,

21:26

chilly.

21:27

Yeah. That's really great insights for people to understand

21:29

kind of the way that like, Instagram does it, but if you

21:32

if you have a story to tell, don't cut yourself off.

21:34

Yeah! Right? Like, I know they say

21:36

five, and it's great, and that's what people watch, but honestly,

21:39

I click through like, if there's a ton of them there

21:41

and it's an interesting story to tell, do

21:43

it.

21:43

But I mean, in saying that, if I post

21:46

a single story clip,

21:48

just one, it probably gets four times

21:50

the views than if I post a whole series.

21:53

Oh, so people just watch the first one.

21:55

No, no, no, like if I just post one

21:57

individual story. When

21:59

you think about the story sets, there's still way

22:01

more views there, but like the one individual

22:04

story compared to the first slide

22:06

of like a set, the individual

22:08

one would be like four times more views than the

22:10

first slide of a set.

22:12

Oh, interesting. Okay.

22:13

I definitely think there is value in keeping

22:16

stories light but I just don't want to do

22:18

it. Do what feels good for you.

22:20

But still being, judicious in that storytelling

22:22

piece where maybe don't show that same clip of somebody

22:24

walking on a trail for two minutes.

22:26

Yeah, exactly. I'm a little conscious

22:28

of it, but I'm not going to cut myself

22:30

short just because Instagram

22:33

says you should only do five slides. It's

22:36

getting slippery.

22:37

Yeah, it's getting slippery, it's getting cold.

22:39

There's a lot about Instagram and stories and

22:42

trying to talk about the social side of things. But

22:44

that's not the only thing that I really like about coming and having

22:47

people to talk to on these. I also really love

22:49

our stories of adventure and travel because, while

22:51

I enjoy capturing the content and the video and the photos

22:53

and all that kind of stuff, half the reason I'm out there is to

22:55

meet people and do cool shit.

22:57

Yeah. Me too!

22:59

I was like, it's great to have that byproduct and it enables

23:01

us to do cool things, but

23:03

let's talk about your adventure stories. Like what's...

23:06

What's your moment that kind of sticks out to you in

23:08

your brain in Banff? What's your favorite story to tell people?

23:11

Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna riff off that a bit

23:13

in something that you said and that you love doing

23:15

these things because you get to get out there and you get to

23:17

meet people and so one of my

23:20

my favorite things to do is, I

23:23

love, love going trail

23:25

running. I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it, but

23:27

I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. And

23:30

like I was saying earlier, I love the peacefulness

23:32

that comes with the mountains. And so, I love

23:34

trail running with friends. But, I

23:36

also really enjoy going

23:38

by myself and whenever

23:40

I go by myself I'll pick a trail that I know

23:43

I won't be the only person out there and

23:45

I have an in reach and, you know,

23:47

I plan and I tell people where I'm going, I try

23:49

to take all the safety measures, but still I don't

23:51

want to go somewhere totally remote by myself

23:54

and find myself in trouble. And so I

23:56

tend to go on trails where I know I'll run into a few people

23:59

and, I don't know, one of, one of my favorite things

24:01

when I'm out trail running by myself is you're

24:03

kind of like a silent ninja. So you have to

24:05

yell at people when you're approaching, and

24:07

then usually you scare them because they think you're a bear.

24:10

But I try to give them as much notice as I can.

24:12

And then normally I'll pass them and I'm like, oh, I'm so

24:14

sorry, and you'll normally end up chatting with

24:16

them a little bit. And, you know, I think one

24:18

of the things I love the most is people always seem

24:21

surprised. They're like, what is this small Australian

24:23

girl doing all the way out here in the

24:25

Canadian Rockies?

24:27

And what's she doing creeping up on me suddenly at

24:29

a high rate of speed?

24:30

And they always seem kind of impressed and I'm like,

24:33

oh, honestly, it's not that impressive. But usually

24:35

I am on like a multi day trail and they've

24:37

got their backpacks and I'm running it by myself.

24:39

So I guess maybe it's a little bit impressive. You

24:41

end up in a conversation with them and, I don't

24:43

know, I think a lot of people don't realize that living

24:46

in Banff, it is a reality for people. I think

24:48

for a lot of people it feels like a fairy tale.

24:51

A big thing I love is just meeting people

24:53

on the trail and getting to chat with them and

24:55

just sort of exchange stories. But

24:58

yeah, if I'm thinking about

25:01

Oh, my biggest, best

25:03

adventure. You can't put me on the spot like this.

25:06

Oh, you have so many. Okay.

25:08

I'm going to, I'm going to bring one up for you that I think you

25:10

should tell. It's my favorite. And

25:13

it's your bear moment.

25:14

Yes. Oh my

25:16

goodness. So it was my

25:18

first season in the Rockies and

25:21

I just hit the trails with

25:23

Everything I had. I hiked so much that

25:26

summer. I just did a bunch of stuff

25:28

that I had no experience in, had

25:30

no gear when I first got here, but I just

25:32

hit the ground running. And towards the

25:34

end of the season, I went with two of my friends,

25:37

and we went to Kananaskis, we wanted

25:39

to hike Smutwood Peak. And it was in the fall,

25:41

it was probably late September,

25:44

and we knew there would be snow on the trail.

25:47

But we kind of ended up in a, a bit of a blizzard.

25:49

It was, it was pretty cold. I

25:51

had the right gear. And we were hiking

25:53

up and we were just about to get to the pass,

25:56

where you then go over and catch your first glimpse

25:58

of the lakes that lie below Smutwood. And,

26:01

yeah, we were just below the pass, my friends were ahead of me,

26:04

I was going a bit slower than them, it was freezing,

26:06

I had my head down, I had my poles in my hand, I

26:09

had like four jackets on with all the hoods

26:11

over my ears so I couldn't hear anything, it

26:13

was also windy as hell, and I'm

26:15

just trudging along, I'm like, I just gotta get

26:17

to the pass, we'd already decided we'd turn around

26:19

just because of the bad weather, we were in

26:21

a blizzard, and so anyway, I

26:23

know I'm nearly at the pass and I look up

26:25

at my friends to see how far ahead they are, And

26:29

I pause and I'm looking at them and one

26:31

of them is like motioning towards

26:33

me, like come towards me and I'm looking

26:36

at him. I'm like, I don't need your encouragement to get up

26:38

here. I'm sorry. I'm a bit slower. I was

26:40

kind of annoyed about it. And then I look

26:42

closer and I'm like, Oh.

26:45

Wow, he has bear spray in his hand. Okay,

26:48

okay, this changes things. Now I

26:50

understand what's happening. There is something behind

26:52

me. And I was like, I'm

26:54

not going to look because I

26:56

don't really want to know until I'm with them,

26:59

which to me was my only real safeguard.

27:01

Safety in numbers. I have to get to them

27:03

and then I'll see what's behind me.

27:06

And so I put my head down and move

27:08

as fast as I can and I catch up with them and

27:11

then they're like, pull out your bear spray and my hands

27:13

were so cold, they were like claws, I couldn't pull

27:15

out my bear spray. But they both had theirs and

27:17

in that moment I look behind me and there's a mumma

27:20

grizz and a cub, probably,

27:23

at this point, 20, 30 meters behind

27:25

us, just coming up the trail, straight

27:27

behind us. And so we were

27:29

like, Oh, what do we do? And

27:32

we're like, maybe they don't know we're here, maybe

27:34

it's really windy. They haven't heard us. So

27:36

we yell, we yell and yell until they

27:38

react to just make sure that they know

27:40

we're there and they look up at us. The mom

27:42

looks up at us and then she just puts her head down

27:45

and keeps going like she could not care.

27:47

And we were like, okay, so they're using

27:49

the trail. We're on the trail. We're like, get off the

27:51

trail. And so we, we

27:53

just make a beeline off the trail, but. It

27:56

snowed so much, and the snow

27:58

is so soft, I get two steps

28:01

off the trail, and then I sink, waist deep

28:03

in the snow, and my friends have to haul

28:05

me out, and and then we sort of

28:07

keep going, and we get far enough away,

28:09

and I had my camera on me and

28:11

my friend goes, I think you can probably take

28:13

a photo, I think we're safe enough. And so

28:15

I pull out my camera and I turn around

28:18

and I take this photo as they're going up

28:20

and over the ridge. And it

28:22

is probably still one of my favorite

28:24

photos of all time. It's just this beautiful.

28:27

Two bears, in the snow, just

28:30

this moment, and this moment that had

28:32

so much chaos before it. And

28:34

it could have turned out so horribly but

28:37

we were just grateful that it was

28:39

fall they were pretty fat, I don't think

28:41

they were looking for food, they were just going

28:44

on their way, but, they were really not

28:46

bothered by us, and so we let them go

28:48

on their way, and we went back the way we came.

28:51

And then I remember this as

28:53

well, as we were hiking out, there was a rainbow.

28:55

I was like, Oh wow. And then as

28:58

we were driving to leave you drive past

29:00

Engadine Lodge and that big field in front of it,

29:02

and there was a moose and her calf

29:05

in the field. And we

29:08

were just like, what is this day? And so we never

29:10

made it to Smutwood Peak, but it is

29:12

100%, I'm glad you brought it up, one

29:15

of my most memorable days in the mountains.

29:18

That is magical. And this view is spectacular

29:20

right now

29:21

I might be frozen but at

29:23

least there's views.

29:24

And so worth it. Even a view we've seen

29:27

a lot is still super cool like

29:29

this.

29:29

Oh, I was just gonna say, again, I do

29:31

often see a lot of bears and wildlife, and

29:34

I put it down again to just the amount

29:36

of time that I do spend outside, and I love

29:39

early mornings. Which is when wildlife

29:41

is most active and people are not.

29:43

So I go out in the morning to avoid the people

29:46

and it often means I get some, pretty incredible

29:48

wildlife encounters to go with it.

29:50

That was actually, it's something we haven't talked about much yet,

29:52

but some of the tips you have for

29:55

capturing, the best moments

29:57

and seeing wildlife, doing anything

29:59

like that, what would be your top three you would give to somebody?

30:02

Okay, so, in Banff, there's some really

30:04

cool webcams. And I think I'm

30:06

possibly their number one user. I

30:09

live in a basement. So it's hard for

30:11

me to know what the weather is doing outside

30:13

without me actually getting out and leaving my house.

30:15

And early in the morning, I'm

30:17

sometimes a little hesitant. If I've looked at the weather

30:20

night before and it could go either way. And

30:22

so I check the webcams. And you can

30:24

get this, almost real time sense

30:26

of what's going on outside. And

30:28

the gondola one for me is, my favourite for

30:30

just around Banff. Because at

30:33

night you can see the northern lights in it.

30:35

In the morning you can see what's, how

30:37

sunrise is starting to gear up. And,

30:40

I'm able to do those things without having

30:42

to get out, get dressed. But,

30:44

if I see something good, you've never seen

30:46

someone get dressed so quickly. And I'll be out

30:48

the door. And so, I find the webcams are really

30:50

good. The one at Lake Louise is also great.

30:52

And there's a really great one at Emerald Lake if you're, planning

30:55

to head out there. Cause the thing with the Rockies is

30:57

the weather varies so much between Banff,

30:59

between Lake Louise, between Emerald Lake. It

31:02

could be a totally different thing. And

31:04

so, I always check the webcams before

31:06

I go, just to get a sense of what's going on. What you're

31:08

in for. So I find that to

31:10

be a really great tool. And then

31:12

yeah, early mornings is probably my

31:15

number one piece of advice in

31:17

the summer when I say early, it's really bloody

31:19

early. The days are really long. So

31:21

sunrise is 5am. But

31:23

you want to be out before that to get the really nice light.

31:25

And so yeah, you'll often find

31:28

that means you're granted a place

31:30

all to yourself because you're the one who has

31:33

gone to the effort of waking up at that ungodly

31:35

hour but I often find it pays

31:37

off. And then if I was

31:40

to give a third tip, I think,

31:42

yeah, just think about the things

31:45

that you enjoy doing. And

31:47

capture content through those things, like

31:49

I said earlier, I try not to go out

31:52

of my way just to get content.

31:54

I mean, I will always in the winter on

31:56

a minus 40 day go out and throw boiling

31:59

water in the air so I can make snow. I

32:01

definitely am guilty of going out just to capture

32:03

content for that. But I also think it's really cool.

32:06

But yeah, thinking about what you like

32:08

to do, what you enjoy doing and just

32:11

capturing content when you do those things.

32:13

But, but also at the same time,

32:16

you don't want to go out and

32:18

do something that you love doing, but then spend your whole

32:21

time capturing content that you don't really have a

32:23

good time. And so that's why

32:25

I like short form video because

32:27

you can go out, you can capture something.

32:30

It could be the first five minutes. You

32:32

stop, you take a quick video and

32:34

then you run or you hike, and

32:36

then you don't take another one until another

32:39

few hours later, and again, it's 30 seconds

32:41

of your day to catch the next video.

32:44

You don't have to spend all this time setting up the perfect

32:46

shot. You can just capture them as you

32:48

go. But don't spend your whole time

32:50

just capturing content, cause then you've gone

32:53

out to capture content, rather than do the thing that

32:55

you wanted to do.

32:56

Does that mean that when you're out, you're not actively

32:58

always looking for something like that? Or is that always

33:00

something that's kind of niggling at your brain of Oh, this would make

33:02

a great video. Or are you able to shut that off and go,

33:05

These are the times I'm going to do it?

33:07

I like to think yes. And I

33:09

also think that I have been

33:12

shooting these tiny little clips for so long

33:14

that it's kind of become a second nature

33:17

that I can just whip up my phone and grab

33:19

something and I can look back at it later

33:21

and be like, Ah, sweet, I got something good. And

33:24

it didn't take me 50 shots to get it. I

33:26

kind of try and get it really quickly. And

33:28

I think it depends on what

33:30

I'm doing as well. If it's a really long

33:32

day, then yeah, I like to keep

33:35

shooting to a minimum because you don't want to lengthen the

33:37

day even further. One of my

33:39

favorite trails to do is the Little Beehive.

33:42

I know people are like, what about the Big Beehive

33:44

and the Devil's Thumb? Also great, Little

33:46

Beehive, low effort, amazing

33:49

view. And so often I'll go up

33:51

and do that after work, and I'll

33:53

go up and I'll probably want to

33:55

catch the sunset in a video. And

33:57

I'll wait for that moment. But then before

34:00

and after, I'll have just sat and

34:02

enjoyed the sunset.

34:04

And you know, often after I always

34:06

like to try and consciously take some time

34:08

to just enjoy the moment. So

34:10

it's not just about capturing content.

34:13

You're able to reflect a little and breathe a little

34:15

and not just always have your brain racing with recording.

34:18

Yeah.

34:19

That's beautiful.

34:19

Yeah.

34:20

Little Beehive, Big Beehive, all those are

34:22

hikes in Lake Louise that you hit by going

34:24

up towards the Lake Agnes Teahouse. Yeah.

34:27

And they're beautiful. Little Beehive is a super

34:29

doable little hike for people who are of a moderate fitness

34:31

level.

34:32

Yeah, definitely say still moderate, but the effort

34:34

verse reward on that one is

34:36

like, it's, it's almost

34:38

unbeatable in Banff, I think.

34:40

We're coming close to the end of the hike. I feel

34:42

like it's a good time for us to kind of wrap

34:44

things up for people. What gear

34:46

do you use? Because I love that you have a

34:48

super minimal setup.

34:50

I literally do. I have

34:53

an iPhone 11 Pro. So not the new model. I am

34:55

thinking about upgrading because the stabilization

34:58

in the iPhone 14, is pretty

35:00

good in the 11, but it's way better in the 14.

35:02

And there's also like, better night modes

35:05

for, I'm not very good at capturing

35:07

the northern lights, but I'm obsessed. And I think

35:09

with the new phones, there's a night mode in

35:11

time lapse. And so, maybe

35:13

one day soon I'll upgrade, but the 11 Pro

35:16

does me well. So that's, yeah, mainly

35:18

my main piece. And then. I do have a

35:20

camera that I'll shoot with occasionally. I've had it

35:22

for many years and it's been all over the world with

35:24

me. It's an Olympus

35:28

OM D E M5.

35:31

I don't even know what it is! Anyway, it's a mirrorless, right?

35:33

Yeah, it's a mirrorless. I think

35:35

Robert knows more than I do. But

35:37

it does me well and I've always got

35:39

the manual mode set to northern lights capture

35:42

because that's usually what I use it when I go

35:44

out to try and take photos of the northern

35:46

lights. But I have many friends that do a much better

35:48

job at that than I do. But I love, love

35:50

the northern lights. And, yeah, that's kind

35:53

of... Pretty much it.

35:55

Which I so love, to

35:57

be totally honest. As we're hiking today, because I didn't

35:59

know if we were going to do the video portion of this when we got

36:01

there, I have an SLR and, like,

36:03

two lenses and a tripod. Yeah. I have, like,

36:05

a 25 pound backpack on. Yeah. And

36:07

your kit is three pounds?

36:10

Yeah. Total? I actually, yeah,

36:12

so I actually, I had a really old

36:15

iPhone. I think I had like a five

36:17

or something for the longest time. And

36:19

when I went to upgrade it, I was like, okay, I'm going to

36:21

invest. And I'm going to get the newest one at the time

36:24

because I really wanted to get into trail

36:26

running. And I was like, I can't take my camera

36:28

trail running, but I know I'm going to go to these

36:30

beautiful places and I want to still be

36:32

able to, capture these scenes.

36:35

And so I was like, okay, I'm going to get the best

36:37

iPhone that I can. And so that was

36:40

three or four years ago now. It's still going strong. It's

36:42

been dunked in lakes and we'll go

36:44

into that, but they're pretty tough.

36:47

And, and so that was kind of what spurred

36:49

me. And then that, that kind of really shifted

36:51

me figuring out that I could still go

36:53

out and, you know, capture these places,

36:55

but be really lightweight so I could go

36:58

further on the trails. I try

37:00

to keep it light and then, if I am specifically

37:02

going out to shoot content, then I'll often take

37:04

my camera as well just to get some shots, but

37:07

I'm pretty terrible at taking photos.

37:09

You'll find on my iPhone

37:11

that I think I have, like

37:14

20, 000 videos and maybe

37:17

I still have a lot of photos, but maybe like 10, 000

37:19

photos? Anyway, But yeah, very simple, very

37:21

basic. You don't need anything crazy.

37:24

I shoot on my phone in

37:26

HD60. I don't shoot

37:28

4K because it takes up so much space.

37:30

Occasionally I will if I'm working with a brand

37:33

so, I just, yeah. HD60

37:37

you can switch your Instagram

37:39

to upload full quality videos, make sure you go

37:41

do that. And that's kind of... It.

37:44

I so appreciate this, Sam. Thank you for

37:46

coming out on a rainy, rainy,

37:48

rainy night. I am soaked.

37:51

As am I.

37:52

But yeah I really appreciate it and you're spectacular.

37:54

Where can people follow your content?

37:56

Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram

37:58

and TikTok. My handle is the same

38:00

on both. It's Samantha L. Reid.

38:03

R E I D. The important distinction.

38:06

Yeah. And yeah, I post

38:08

pretty regularly on those channels. So, yeah.

38:11

What can people kind of expect to see when

38:13

they come see you?

38:14

It's a lot of outdoor adventures.

38:16

Sometimes it might seem a little unreasonable. The

38:19

amount of things I do. I also think

38:21

it's a little unreasonable. I don't know how I do it. But

38:23

I am just always out getting after it.

38:25

And especially in the summertime. And

38:28

then in the winter I have to get a little more creative

38:30

in how I spend my time outside. I'm

38:32

still coming to love the winters,

38:35

I would say. I'm always looking for fun

38:37

ways to get out. Cause I'm less

38:39

motivated to get outside in the winter when it's cold

38:41

and snowy and just,

38:44

it's hard. You have to put a lot of clothes on. And

38:47

so, yeah, it's generally

38:49

all outdoor things. All my outdoor endeavors,

38:52

hiking, trail running, paddle

38:54

boarding, biking cross

38:56

country skiing. Jumping in lakes.

38:59

Falling into giant snow banks. Yes, seeking

39:02

out wildlife to look at from a safe distance.

39:05

Yeah, all that sort of good mountain stuff.

39:07

Oh, that's fantastic. Awesome. Thanks,

39:10

Sam.

39:11

Thank you.

39:19

Thank you so much for tuning in, everybody,

39:22

and Sam, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge

39:24

and insights with all of us. It is greatly

39:27

appreciated, and I had such a great time

39:29

hanging out on Tunnel Mountain Trail with you

39:31

in the rain. It was

39:34

a fabulous hike and a great night. If

39:36

you really enjoyed today's episode, definitely

39:38

let me know that. Reach out to me on Instagram at RobertMasseyPhotography

39:41

or through my website at

39:43

robertmasseyphotography. ca and definitely let Sam

39:46

know as well. Let her know how much you

39:48

appreciate the insights that she's sharing, the educational

39:50

tips, and she has some fantastic

39:52

stories and adventures that are up on

39:54

her Instagram and TikTok accounts. So definitely

39:57

go and give her a follow there and follow

39:59

along with these spectacular adventures

40:01

that she goes on in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

40:04

All right. Let me know if there's anything you want to

40:06

hear about or pieces of information that you would like to

40:08

learn more about. Reach out to me on Instagram

40:10

or on my website and yeah,

40:12

get out there, explore this big, beautiful

40:15

world of ours. Let's adventure.

40:17

Bye for now.