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Two local artists going Far North

By KyleWith on May 3, 2012 in People

Two well-known Yellowknifers, artist Robbie Craig and photographer Dave Brosha are heading to Baffin Island, Nunavut in July 2013. They will be going to the Auyuittug National Park for a 2-week “art exploration”.

Baffin Island and Auyuittuq National Park specifically are places that Canadians and the world rarely sees. These two talented artists will be capturing breathtaking imagery and artistic renderings.

There is so much land in Northern Canada, including Mount Asgard, that is untouched that these two want to capture it to show to the rest of us

Dave and Robbie have hinted at the trip for sometime now calling it “Far North”. A Facebook Page has been created where they will share their adventure, leading up to it and after, so go like it.

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Talks with Creative Yellowknifers

By KyleWith on December 1, 2011 in People

I wont shut up about how creative the people of Yellowknife are. In so many avenues as well, we got photographers, graphic designers, interior designers, artists, musicians, crafters and more. If you want to shop local for a gift there is bound to be something produced right here in Yellowknife.

Several months ago, after much planning about how I was going to do it, I started to interview some of these creative people. Primarily photographers, but also a designer, so far, and what I would do is call them up on Skype and just chat about what they do and how they got where they are.

I’ll be honest and admit I’m not very creative, but what I lack in creativity I try to make up in showcasing those who are. I consider featuring these great folks my creative outlet. So please follow the below links to listen to great conversations with some great creative people.

KyleWith: Alexander Legaree
KyleWith: Photojournalist Pat Kane
KyleWith: Designer Janet Pacey
KyleWith: Photographer Dave Brosha

And also

KyleWith: Photographer Karl Johnston – NWT Photographer based out of Fort Smith
KyleWith: Nancy Zimmerman – Canadian Money Coach

I would also like to extend my offer for recommendation for people who you think would be great on my little show. So please leave a comment with your recommendation or shoot me an email. Also to keep up to date on these conversation please subscribe to the show on iTunes.

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Interview with Sam of Evaporating Water YouTube Video

By KyleWith on January 19, 2011 in People

As you know a local Yellowknifer has gone viral on YouTube because of her video of her throwing boiling water into cold Yellowknife air. Her video on YouTube is about to pass 1 million views.

I was able to email Samantha this morning and ask her some questions about the video:

What is the story behind why you made the video?

A couple of friends from Australia were visiting me in Yellowknife over Christmas in December 2009. I had heard about this experiment from a friend and had wanted to try it out. I knew it would be “cool”, so I had them record the experiment to get their reaction so we’d have something to share to our friends.

How long and have many views did the video have before it started to go viral?

A couple of friends from Australia were visiting me in Yellowknife over Christmas in December 2009. I posted this video just after their visit on You Tube and, until now, it only had about 25,000 hits.

How long did it take to go viral?

In the past five days it has skyrocketed to currently 850,000 views on You Tube alone! I’m blown away at how this has picked up worldwide and gone viral. Everyday I receive hundreds of comments on the video, messages, tweets, retweets and hear of websites and blogs it’s been embedded on. It’s been featured everywhere…it’s just amazing.

You said it first went viral in India, any idea why?

My thoughts on India is it was embedded on a website there and gas just taken off. They’ve been really active about tweeting it etc.
The top ten countries where this has been viewed in the last week have been India, United States, Pakistan, Canada, UK, United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

Now that your one video has become viral, do you plan on making any others?

I am actually looking forward to creating a few video responses and keep this buzz going. Science is a wonderful world…now that I have their attention, imagine how they would react to seeing Aurora images, or the northern lights dancing in the sky!

The video is almost at 1 million views and has been featured on blogs all over, how does this make you feel?

I can’t believe it’s about to hit one million! I’m really excited about this and will be adding this to my resume for sure! I couldn’t have done it without the help of my Aussie friend Kristen though. As she would say “that’s amazing!”

Any other comments?

To solve the debate on whether it’s evaporating or freezing, it’s called the Mpemba Effect (where hot water freezes faster than cold). When the water vapors freeze, it turns into ice crystals and “evaporates” because of the dry air we have in the north. If the air was more humid, it would stay in the air longer. The same effect happens behind airplanes (contrails or condensation trails). It’s a cool trick and I hope people try it at home.

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Tour Cyclist visits Yellowknife

By KyleWith on July 12, 2010 in People

I’m sure most of us, at one point or another, get tired of our jobs. We don’t enjoy it anymore, it makes us miserable, it is too easy or we just get too comfortable. Well that is exactly what happened to 32-year-old Dave Conroy when he turned 30.

He was living in Vancouver working in the Information Technology industry and worked from home. His commute in the morning was a mere 15 steps. He said when he turned 30 he needed a change. In his words he needed to press the reset button. That’s when he took up biking. With minimal research he said he got a bike and one thing led to another and soon enough he was biking across Canada, then possibly the world.

It didn’t just happen over night though. For a little more than a year and a half a lot of planning and prep was put in place. While sentimental items might have been put in to storage, most of it was sold. Eventually the bed and house were sold as well. That is when Dave knew it was real.

Dave first came on my radar back when he first left on his journey in April, from Vancouver. He had mentioned Yellowknife as a possible destination, which came up in a Google Alert. I looked through his website, TireofIT.ca, which has a lot of his stats, reviews, video and blog posts. It was interesting, but no date was mention as to when he might me in town, so gradually I moved on. That was until, I got an email from Dave, and I jumped at the chance to hear about his journey of a life time.

We got together one afternoon and created the videos below. The one thing that I think will interest a lot of people is Dave’s take on bicycling to Yellowknife. I often think Yellowknife is missed on tours of all kinds, just because we are the end of the road and so far away from anything. Bicycling to Yellowknife presents several risks, due to the lack of services and people and places. It is also a real downer to think you have to travel back the same road you came on. That being said, I got the impression that Dave was glad he came. He said “the reward at the end of the road was greater than expected”. Mentioning that within only being in town for a day or two he had found a place to sleep and was invited to a traditional fish fry. To top that, Yellowknife made such an impression on Dave, he will be flying back for a visit in the coming weeks.

Watch both video below to get a full idea of what it is Dave is doing and why (If you can’t at work, bookmark for later). Make sure you follow Dave on his website, Twitter and on Facebook.

Part 1:

Part 2:

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Aurora Photographer on the Rise

By KyleWith on March 23, 2010 in People

I made a point to find the time Saturday afternoon between Caribou Carnival events to head down to the Snow Castle to see Karl Johnston. Karl is a young photographer from Fort Smith who specializes in photographing the Aurora Borealis. This was the first time I’d met Karl in person, although we have talked on occasion through Twitter and Facebook. At the age of only 21 he has exploded in to the norther photography scene.

The reason for his weekend visit to Yellowknife was to display his photographs at the Snowking’s Snow Castle, which is where I caught up with him. He said the day was going well and he had already sold one of his prints. Although at the time of my visit the castle wasn’t to busy, it was expected to pick up as other events took place.

Karl’s photographs are also on display in the Northern Images Art Gallery and have been for a couple months now. So if you missed him down at the Castle, be sure to check them out there.

He also told me he is planning on launching a new website in the near future to better suit his customer. Be sure to watch for the new site at www.KarlJohnston.com.

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