Everyone loves a good story. And everyone loves trains. Combine the two and you get the Battle River Railway story.
Basically CN Rail was planning on shutting down the longest stretch of straight line track in Alberta. This would leave many towns and farmers without a railway which would cost money for the farmers and hurt the small towns along the tracks.
Instead of giving up, a co-operative was formed to purchase the tracks and a train engine and run the railway themselves.
It’s a nice David vs. Goliath kind of story that hits close to home if you grew up in the prairies like me.
I overheard Journal reporter Marty Klinkenberg and an editor talking about this story and jumped on it as I knew it would be a perfect opportunity to use a new storytelling technique I’ve been working on.
Think of it as a truly multimedia slide show incorporating stills, video, audio 360-panoramas and educational interactivity. You can play the interactive tour here. It works great on desktop and iPad but there are still some bugs with iPhone FYI.
Ever wanted to drive a train? Journal photographer Ryan Jackson has created an interactive tour of the Battle River Railway story. Take a seat at the controls of Engine 5353 and learn how to drive a train! The tour works on your desktop or mobile device. Go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/BRR
Will Munsey, volunteer Engineer for the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo in Forestburg, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Battle River Railway Engine 5353 transports grain near Galahad, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Ken Eshpeter, Chairman and CEO of the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo in Forestburg, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Peter Wetmore, Forestburg-area farmer and railway conductor for the Battle River Railway, links two grain cars near Galahad, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Peter Wetmore, Forestburg-area farmer and railway conductor for the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo near Galahad, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
If you can remember exactly where you were standing when you shot an image you can just use Google Maps to find the GPS position afterwards.
Go to http://maps.google.com and zoom into the area you took a photo. Then Right Click (CNTR-Click on a Mac) at the exact spot you want and then select “What’s Here?”. The GPS Longitude and Latitude will appear in the search box.
Method #2: Just take a picture with your smartphone at the same location as your D-SLR.
Upload the image to http://regex.info/exif.cgi and it will tell you the embedded GPS info.
Once you have this Info you can map it with Google Maps.
You can then embed the gps location into your D-SLR picture by using exiftool.
Add “-overwrite_original” to the command or else it will create a backup copy of the image.
You can find exiftool for Mac or PC or Linux here. Also try googling “Exiftool GUI” if you want a graphical user interface.
Method #3: Sync a GPS route from your iPhone/Android to a batch of images.
This is the method I have been using lately and I like it. Mainly because I find the app to be very reliable.
Simply launch the EveryTrail app and run it for the day that you are taking pictures. At the end of the day you can sync all your photos with GPS Photo Linker.
How does it work?
Basically the app creates a “.gpx” file which contains data like this: Date, Time, Lat, Long, Date, Time, Lat, Long, Date, Time, Lat, Long, etc.
GPS Photo Linker looks at the time each of your photos was taken and correlates it to the closest GPS point.
What you need:
1. Use the free GPS Photo Linker program on your Mac or GpicSync for PC to sync your photos with the GPS track.
2. Buy the EveryTrail Pro app for you iPhone or Android phone.
EveryTrail.com is a cool online trail mapping site. It has a lot of cool features but we are only interested in creating creating a GPS route of our walk.
You can make a GPS route of your trip and then upload a .GPX file to the web to download and sync with your pictures.
Here’s the process:
Download and install the app. I think you need to buy Pro version because the Free version doesn’t let you upload the .GPX files.
Setup an Account in the App.
Go into settings and change your GPS precision.
Click “Start Tracking” under “My Map”
When you are done, Select “Pause” and then “Finish”
Upload the Trip to EveryTrail.com
Now go to EveryTrail.com and log in with the username and password you setup.
Click on “My Tracks”
Scroll down the page and you’ll find a link to “Download GPX for your GPS”
Now launch GPS Photo Linker or GpicSync and sync your photos with the .gpx file. The program will automatically embed the GPS longitude and latitude in the photo’s EXIF info.
Here is another tutorial on this process.
This may seem like a lot of work but you will thank yourself in a month, year or decade when you wonder where you took that beautiful picture.
This process is also a HUGE time saver when you are shooting aerial photos and need to figure out what you were shooting after the fact.
Edmonton Journal reporter Elise Stolte and I got to take a trip down the North Saskatchewan river with Glen Isaac who is the Executive Director of the North Saskatchewan River Keeper. Basically his job is to ensure the river is kept clean, respected and enjoyed by people. An important job.
Isaac’s friend and fellow River Keeper member Doug Boyer took us out for a tour of the river on his jet boat. However after two hours, something went wrong with the impeller on the boat and we could only move 3 km/h. It wasn’t a bad thing though because it allowed me to make this beautiful portrait.
Glen Isaac, Executive Director of the North Saskatchewan River Keeper poses for a photo along the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton on October 1, 2012. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
I didn’t bring a flash with me but the single light at the end of the boat gave enough fill on his face.
The river was smooth as glass which also allowed me to make some pretty photos of Edmonton’s skyline from a different perspective than you normally see.
The Edmonton Skyline at night as seen from a boat on the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton on October 1, 2012. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Although it sucked to me moving so slow, I was able to make some pictures that I normally wouldn’t have gotten if we were moving 60 km/h.
We finally just docked the boat and got out and walked to catch a ride as it was faster than moving 3 km/h. Elise blogged about our adventure here.
We took all the information we got from Isaac and created an interactive map where people can submit their own pictures and information about the river.
Andrew Satter @asatter discusses innovative video techniques. Ryan Jackson @ryan_jackson talks about his 360-video projects and an open discussion on video with the audience happens at the end. Enjoy! Sept. 22, 2012 at Online News Association annual conference ONA12 in San Francisco. http://www.ryanjackson.ca http://www.asatter.com
Ashley and I are driving back to Edmonton from San Francisco and I have limited internet connectivity so this blog post will be fully updated with links and quotes in a couple days.P.S. If you ever get a chance to drive the west coast, DO IT!
This is a super duper quick list of the links I’ll be sharing at the #ONAunconf Unconference session at the 2012 ONA conference in San Francisco
Try to do something different. NOT TV. “make something worth talking about” – Seth Godin.
-Multimedia — use best tool to do the job. … sometimes video, sometimes sound slides, sometimes panoramas, sometimes interactives.
– I want there to be a holodeck like on Star Trek!
-I want to have the news beamed into my brain like in the Matrix or Simpsons.
PICTURE
-We’re going to get there before you know it
-28 mins of video here. people spent WAY more time on it than if it was just a normal linear video.
-think backwards. how do you wish you could watch long videos that are boring?
Immersive Video
-Best viewed on iPad.
-now this is cheesy but think of it as a little town. You could do panoramas of a small town or neighborhood and make it so you go to each section and talk to people.
-360 video on a Roller Coaster
-Start with one thing and build build build on it.
-i use KRpano.
-interfaces with VR headsets and game controllers.
-360 isn’t for everything
-A LOT OF TIME.
-must be super duper interesting topic to get good ROI
-must be something worth looking around for.
I photographed almost all the bottles at Sherbrooke Liquor. They have hundreds of brands available as single bottles so I didn’t have to open any boxes.
I setup two strip boxes and one strobe under the white background. It took about three hours to photograph all the bottles.
The only thing I like as much as making portraits is drinking beer. Portraits of people who make and sell beer? Perfect!
Journal business writer Lewis Kelly wrote this great news story about bribery in the Edmonton beer industry. Very interesting and it effects anyone who buys beer!
Neil Herbst, owner of Alley Kat Brewing Company, which is celebrating its 18th year in business with a $300,000 expansion. Canon 5D Mark-II, 16-35 2.8L lens @ 16mm, F7.1, 1/160. Four Alienbees strobes.I moved the red hose into the frame to make the image more dynamic and add colour.
Jim Pettinger, who carries hundreds of varieties of beer at Sherbrooke Liquor on St. Albert Trail, says inducements are an “open secret” in the industry. Canon 5D Mark-II, 16-35mm f2.8L lens @ 23mm, F18, ISO160.The beer cooler is super dark and I wanted all of the colourful bottles to pop so I used four strobes. Two on the background to shine on all the bottles and two on Jim.
Clayton Little is co-owner of Accent Lounge near Whyte Ave.
Canon 5D Mark-II, 24mm f1.4L lens, F11, ISO160.One Einstein strobe with a 22″ beauty dish and a grid on Clayton. One Einstein strobe with a 7″ reflector and grid behind him.
Craig Martell takes pride in exclusively selling micro brewed beer at Wunderbar on Whyte Avenue, which he co-owns. I wanted to bring attention to the colourful sign and also show all the beers that they offered. I put one Einstein strobe with a grid to shine on the sign and a second Einstein strobe with a grid to shine on Craig. Since the grid makes the light beam super narrow, the light only shines on the sign and Craig and the rest of the picture is dark.I used a 24mm Tilt-Shift lens to correct perspective and keep the lines straight as I was shooting from a high angle.
Here you can see my lighting setup for the portrait of Jim. Two background lights, an overhead umbrella and a ring flash.
This was my setup for the portrait of Neil. One 7-foot PLM reflector as the key light. An Einstein with a grid to the right for a rim light. Then two strobes in the background to make the tanks shine and pop.
The Alberta Legislature building turned 100 years old this year and I was put on the fun project of profiling people who have worked at the Legislature for a long time. I also wanted to capture an epic image of the building from a different perspective.
The Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The building turned 100-years-old this year. This image was created by stitching three separate images together into a panorama. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
A view of the Alberta Legislature building from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
A view of the Alberta Legislature building from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
A view of the Alberta Legislature building minutes after a severe rain storm taken from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) This is a High Dynamic Range HDR image created from a single RAW image using PhotoMatix Pro.
Ruth Walkters maintains the plants in the building and decorates it for special occasions. She poses for a photo in the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 16, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) Shot available light. Canon 5D Mark-II. 85mm f1.2L lens. ISO160, f1.2, 1/200.
Ruth Walters maintains the plants in the building and decorates it for special occasions. She poses for a photo in the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 16, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Canon 5D Mark-II. 85mm f1.2 lens at f1.2. ISO100.
For this image I used strobes so that her watering can would pop more.
Judith Benson, a specialist in government documents as been a librarian at the Alberta Legislature for 26 years. She poses for a photo in the library of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) Camera: 5D Mark-II, 24mm f1.4L, ISO 160, F14, 1/200.
June Barker has been a tour guide at the Alberta Legislature for nearly 23 years. She poses for a photo in the rotunda of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) Canon 5D Mark-II, 24mm f3.5L Tilt-Shift lens, ISO640, F11, 1/13s. I used the 24mm tilt-shift lens to make all the lines straight. I used a slow shutter speed so I could get the background lights. The background is pretty overexposed but its better than the horrible tungsten lighting.
June Barker has been a tour guide at the Alberta Legislature for nearly 23 years. She poses for a photo in the rotunda of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) For this image I turned the strobes all the way down to 2.5 w/s and shot wide open f1.2 with my 85mm f1.2 lens.
Alberta Legislature maintenance supervisor Terry LeBlanc stands on the roof beside the building’s cupola on August 20, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)Canon 5D Mark-II, ISO50, F10, 1/200. Alienbees Einstein strobes.I used the Canon 24mm tilt-shift lens to correct perspective as I was shooting down low.
A panoramic view of the rotunda in the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on August 22, 2012. This image was created by stitching multiple pictures together. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
I used a GigaPan Epic Pro with a 5D-Mark II and a 50mm f1.2 lens for the Panorama.
Here is my camera mounted on the roof of the Annex building. I set the Canon 1D Mark-III with a 24-105mm lens to take three photos every five minutes. One normal exposure, one -1 stop and one +1 stop. The camera shot RAW and had a 32GB card in it. After three days I just picked the best photos.
Here you can see my lighting setup. I used a large octo-box to give a soft light on Ruth. I had a hair light behind her with a grid on it to narrow the beam. I had one more flash on the ground to pop a little light onto the watering can. This helps separate the can from her black pants. Also notice I got her to stand up on a chair. This was so she would be at the same height as the windows. Otherwise I would have to shoot down low which is unflattering for most portraits.
Here’s me in action. Photo by Karen Kleiss
Here you can see the Paul C. Buff PLM reflector in action. Notice how BIG and net NARROW the light beam is. Normal umbrellas spread the light in all directions where this reflector gives big light that is directional and falls off sharply.
Here is how the background lights were setup. Just normal reflectors on the strobes. Journal reporter Karen Kleiss helped move all the books.
Here’s me in action. Photo by Karen Kleiss. The PLM reflector is so big you can stand in front of it.
Here’s me in action. I LOVE the Paul C. Buff PLM reflector! Photo by Karen Kleiss.
Here is my lighting setup for the portrait of June. I hid the two background lights behind the pillars.
Up on the roof of the Alberta Legislature. One of my favorite things about working for the Edmonton Journal is getting access to cool places that are normally off limits.
For the portrait on the roof I just used two Alienbees Einstein strobes at full power to balance the sun.
The palm room in the main dome of the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on August 24, 2012. The trees are over 80 years old and no one knows exactly where they came from. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
For the 360-degree panorama of the palm room I suspended my 360-degree camera with three 20-pound-test fishing lines. The camera weighs less than five pounds so I had 55-pounds of safety.
I was so terrified to suspend my camera six stories above the ground but it payed off!
I wanted to shoot something a little different at Big Valley Jamboree this year and I noticed there were certain items that every reveler on the festival camp grounds used to keep the party going.
A multi-hose beer bong called Bongzilla. Why chug one beer by yourself when you can chug six beer with your friends?
A cooler full of ice and drinks. This is more important than a suitcase full of clothes. You can't drink clothes.
A gas-powered margarita blender. A lack of electricity doesn't mean you can't sip classy drinks.
Toilet paper. After three days of camping this becomes a form a currency. Use it to trade for goods and services.
Collapsible table. What, are you supposed to play beer pong on the hood of your car?
Bug spray. Keeps the 'skeeters away and doubles as deodorant. Hello ladies.
Cowboy boots. Show's that you are really serious about this country music thing. Uggs and rubber boots don't count.
Kiddie pool for cooling off in the heat. Just add epsom salts for a full spa experience.
Bottle opener and cork screw. Let’s face it. You're probably not drinking anything that requires one of these but it makes you look refined.
Bag of ice. Keeps your beer cold and magically turns into a handy bag of water for brushing your teeth the next morning.
Paint stick plunger for forced-pressure beer drinking. Probably best if you don't use it for painting first.
Pepto Bismol. Makes a great early morning fruit smoothy after a long night of drinking.
Ping-pong balls for playing beer pong. Can also be used for a popular sport known as table tennis as popularized in the 1994 film Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks.
Acoustic guitar. You don't even have to be good at playing it. Just know enough chords to pick up girls.
A flying disk and stake for playing beersbee. Finally all those years of intramural ultimate frisbee can pay off
Giant speakers. Why listen to the country music acts on stage when you can blare loud techno music to everyone around you?
Homemade beer bong. Shows that you are committed to to having a good time. Also comes in handy if someone needs a quick oil change.
Cowboy hat. The cheaper the hat, the more likely it is that you only wear it for Big Valley Jamboree.
Pre-made shooters. The ones with dairy go great in your morning cereal.
Collapsible lawn chair. Also doubles as an umbrella when the storm clouds roll in. Don't be the guy that forgets a chair.
Pirate flag. Use it to mark your campsite and scare away 16th-century Spanish treasure ships.
Red Solo cup. Cheap, efficient, red. Also works as a communication device when combined with string and a second cup.
To make these photos I simply borrowed a king-sized bed sheet from my hotel. I then got volunteers to hold up the sheet as a background. It was a bright sunny day so I shot on the shadow side of the sheet. When I exposed for the object (which is in shade) the sheet would blow out white. I then dodged any dark spots in Photoshop to make the background go pure white.
Afternoon party goers play flip cup on the roof of their bus on the camp grounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Eric Brousseau from Bonnyville, Alta. parties on the camp grounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Cody Huculak, 19, from Red Water, Alta. fills up his beer bong on the camp grounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Clockwise from bottom left. Karissa Jarema, 19, from Smokey Lake, Alta., Cody Huculak, 19, from Red Water Alta., Mark Zahacy, 27, from Red Water, Alta., Kori Wallan, 20, from Beaver Lodge, Alta., Larissa Sunshine, 20, from Grande Prairie, and Robin Kruhlak, 19, from Red Water, Alta. drink from their beer bong on the camp grounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
The second day of the Big Valley Jamboree sold out with an attendance of 25,000. Country Music fans watch Kellie Pickler perform on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Braden Paquette, left, and Tara Jackman dance to the music of Kellie Pickler in the beer gardens at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Left to right. Kelly Baier, Colin Peter, Chantel Naves, Teehan Naves and Penny Peter dance at their campsite surrounded by red Solo cup patio lanterns at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Stephanie Fleming, 18, left, drinks a beer from a paint stick with the help of Scotia Cline, 18, on the festival camp grounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Lighting strikes in the distance as Toby Keith performs on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Toby Keith fans wait for a thunder storm to pass and Keith to resume his performace on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Toby Keith fans wait for a thunder storm to pass and Keith to resume his performace on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Toby Keith fans wait for a thunder storm to pass and Keith to resume his performace on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Toby Keith fans wait for a thunder storm to pass and Keith to resume his performace on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Toby Keith fans wait for a coming storm to pass before he performs on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Fireworks go off after Toby Keith's performance on the main stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 4, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Ty Elliott flies off Cosmo Kramer during the bull riding event at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 5, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Warwick Kime crashes beneath Harrison Flat during the bull riding event at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 5, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Miller Lowe, 19, tries to keep out of the sun with his makeshift umbrella on the festival campgrounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 5, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Country music fans keep cool in a "redneck hot tub" on the festival campgrounds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 5, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
The Journal's Ryan Jackson has created a fun "choose your own adventure" style 360-degree panoramic tour of Capital Ex including 360-degree videos on a roller coaster and several other rides. You can eat corn dogs, play games and watch the fireworks. The game is especially neat on a gyro-enabled iPad2 or iPhone 4. Go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/capex360 (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
![Will Munsey, volunteer Engineer for the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo in Forestburg, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it's shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. [Note: Munsey is also the president of the Alberta Party. That is unrelated to the story] (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)](http://punkoryan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/rj_Battle_River_Railway_20121201_04-1024x682.jpg)
