Kyle Thomas

The Website of Kyle Thomas (KyleWith)

How to take Aurora Photographs with only a Flashlight

Sometimes you go out to photograph the Aurora Borealis in Yellowknife and they just don’t show up. So you make your own aurora.

1. Practise circles. Start small.

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2. Go bigger. Make bigger circles.

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3. Focus really hard on the light.

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4. Turn yourself into light. Be one with the light.

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5. Think of winter. Maybe a snowman will help.

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6. Get Marcus to make a horse.

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7. Envision the great outdoors, and maybe a wolf.

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8. Pretend you are driving to the ultimate Aurora spot, in Yellowknife of course.

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9. Have Marcus set more of a scene with animals.

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10. Maybe a bigger animal.

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11. Okay we got it. Here it is THE AURORA!

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12. To be clear for people, spell it out. Make sure to spell it correctly.

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Done you have just created your very own aurora and photographed it at the same time.

What not to do before coffee while camping.

While camping you sometimes have to get inventive with how you rig something up or fix something. This is not out of the ordinary, it is just a way of camping.

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However there are something you shouldn’t do while camping, before you’ve had your morning coffee.

These things might included but are not limited too:

  • trying to make a mosquito coil stand on its own
  • packing a complicated tent up the way you found it
  • using spruce gum to fix sun glasses
  • just using a strike anywhere match in general

    • This is just a running list of some of the camp chores the are made hard to accomplish before caffeine has been injected into the system. There will be more added.

    Heading out on a #NWTRoadTrip

    It pains me to see that my last blog post was on May 18. That was more than a month ago. I went to Ontario and have come back since then. And I did lots of cool things in Ontario.

    I’m heading out in about an hour on a 13 day road trip through the South Slave and Deh Cho regions of the Northwest Territories. It has been sometime since I have been on a road trip, the last time I believe was to jasper in the summer of 2011. I have missed those days. I use to do a trip every year. Like the time I had my truck and camper in 2009:

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    This time we are seriously tenting it. Oddly even in the Northern Frontier of the NWT some Territorial campgrounds only have powered sites. It is annoying to think that the road trippin, tentin, cram all the kids, stuff and the dog in the car days are over. Then again I suppose those who don’t need power, don’t need a campground either.

    Possibly during my time meandering through the wilderness of the NWT I will be writing a series call Explore NWT on YkOnline.ca.

    Buffalo on the run!!!

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    NWT Border… which I wont actually be going to.

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    And of course my all time favourite camping photo to date. However on this trip it wont actually be getting dark. Just light, 24/7

    Camp Life

    When/if I do post things online you can follow #NWTroadtrip anywhere (Facebook, instagram, twitter) and see where I’m at.

    Food of Victoria, BC

    I was in Victoria, BC two weeks ago and got to try out some of the islands fabulous food. Here are some of the places I got to try. If you have recommendation, let me know I’ll be back in November.

    Bin 4 Burger

    The next time you go to McDonald’s and get a cheese burger I want you to look at yourself in a mirror with disgust. Bin 4 does burgers right, and they have so much selection. This ain’t your pop’s ketchup and mustard burger. These are “make your taste buds go wild” burgers.

    Oh and I can’t forget the greens. The salad I got, which will remain nameless because I don’t know it, was amazing. I credit the vinaigrette, I should have asked the recipe.

    http://instagram.com/p/ZB0vdYMAfn/

    http://instagram.com/p/ZCMe2dsAQs/

    Stage Wine Bar

    If I were to ever use the word “divine” to describe a dish of food, it would be a dish from Stage Wine Bar. It was simple divine. Each dish was small, with bite size portions. It was perfect for the tapas experience or for a foodie like myself.

    This scallop risotto was only one of 5 dishes we had. I would go back. I will be going back.

    http://instagram.com/p/Y_nWK_MAf4/

    West Coast Waffle

    WCW, as I’m calling it, is a bright, high energy, hip, west coast feel waffle joint located in downtown Victoria. From breakfast to dinner this place can serve up what you want on a waffle.

    I had the BBQ Chicken, and it was something else. The zing of the BBQ chicken with the cheese melted on top, all combined with the fluffy and slightly crunchy – fresh – waffle.

    http://instagram.com/p/Y_DM0oMAQm/

    Ali Baba Pizza

    This is my must go to joint in Victoria when I visit. Whether it is to sit in or to grab and head out. I love this pizza. It is exactly what I want my pizza to taste like. A good solid crust with just the right amount of ingredients with the right kind of cheese.

    http://instagram.com/p/Y6wFERsAWK/

    Where to next?

    Chasing Sunsets with a Flash

    Went chasing sunsets last night and it was awesome. We were afraid we were going to miss it but we found an awesome spot on the Prelude West road outside of Yellowknife.

    What I like about this photo is that I started to play with the off camera flash. Which I’m hold off to the right while the camera was on a timer. I used my pocket wizard triggers with one Nikon SB600. The settings I used were 1/50, ƒ/10, ISO 400, 24 mm

    Marcus' Sun