Creator & Influencer Sam Reid on Using Authenticity and Short Form Video to Build an Audience

Welcome to the podcast!
This week, we are talking to creator, influencer and short-form video specialist Sam Reid (@SamanthaLReid) about creating content, staying authentic, and how you can make the best short-form videos. Sam is a 2-time Olympian in synchronized swimming turned mountain athlete and content creator with an incredible journey from Australia to Banff. Tune in to hear all of her tips for creating the best content, staying passionate and finding a balance between the side hustle and the full-time job.

Show Highlights:

• Learn how Sam has used short-form video to drive engagement, grow an audience and build brand partnerships.
• Delve into the best tips for making short-form videos (including music choice and scene selection).
• Understand the differences between TikTok and Instagram and how to create content for both platforms.
• Explore Sam's decision-making process when considering brand partnerships. Learn why authenticity and alignment with her lifestyle play a crucial role in her choices.
• Discover how Sam balances a full-time job, her influencer side hustle, and ensures that she can still have time to hike and explore the great outdoors.
• Hear Sam's top secrets for capturing the best content no matter where you are in the world, even in a busy place like Banff National Park.

Follow Sam:
Instagram: @SamanthaLReid
TikTok: @SamanthaLReid

Join us bi-weekly as we explore the world through the lens, uncovering hidden gems, and sharing insider tips to elevate your photography game. From capturing breathtaking landscapes to immersive cultural portraits, each episode is packed with practical hacks, creative ideas, and inspiring stories to fuel your wanderlust and unleash your creative potential.

Subscribe now and join our global community of adventure seekers and photography enthusiasts on the Travel and Adventure Photography School!

Find all the show notes and connect with Robert:
Website: robertmasseyphotography.ca
Instagram: @robertmasseyphotography

Transcript

Robert: 0:00

Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. I'm Robert Massey. This is the travel and adventure photography school. And today on the podcast, we have a super special interview with the incredible Sam Reid. Sam is a local content creator, short form video specialist, adventurer, athlete, storyteller. Sam's just an incredible person to hang out with and we went out for a hike on Tunnel Mountain in a torrential downpour to talk about creating short form video content and using the stories function on Instagram and how to really help enhance what you are already doing in your work by creating short form video and some tips and tricks for doing this with a really minimalist setup so you can move fast. All right, let's get out on the trails of Tunnel Mountain, just at the edge of Banff. Awesome. All right. Welcome back everybody. I'm Robert Massey. This is the Travel and Adventure Photography School. I am with Sam Reid today. Hey, say hi, Sam.

Sam: 1:05

Hi, everyone.

Robert: 1:06

We are on Tunnel Mountain Trail right now. We had other plans, but the weather got a better of us, but a rainy hike in Banff. It is not the worst thing in the world, especially to go up to a nice, beautiful viewpoint at the top. Yeah, welcome back. This is gonna be a lot of fun. So, Sam, do you want to introduce yourself to everybody?

Sam: 1:24

Yeah, sure. My name is Sam, or Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam. I originate from Australia, but I've been living in Banff for five years now. And, yeah, I have a lot of passion when it comes to social media, short form video so that's, my main form of content, that's kind of it.

Robert: 1:44

Okay, Sam's underselling herself, as she typically does. Sam is a remarkable creative, especially when it comes to like stories and short form video and I think has probably explored. 80 percent of the trails in Banff at this point and does some like remarkable, remarkable things. And on top of that Olympian.

Sam: 2:02

Oh yeah.

Robert: 2:03

Remarkable human being. Don't undersell yourself.

Sam: 2:06

Sometimes I forget about that. I am, I am a two time Olympian. Very out of my comfort zone in the mountains. I was a synchronized swimmer. So water based. But yeah, now I spend all my free time adventuring in the Rockies.

Robert: 2:17

So let's start a little bit about. What do you work on right now? What do you do in the content creator sphere?

Sam: 2:23

Yeah I would say, if we're talking platforms, my primary platforms are Instagram and TikTok and yeah, I have a Oh, I'm getting out of breath, Robert. We need to slow down

Robert: 2:35

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

Sam: 2:37

I know, we feed off each other. Yeah, so I would say, my primary focus is the short form video space. So I really, really enjoy creating videos. I feel like I enjoyed it before Instagram came out with Reels and that sort of thing. Prior to Reels, I used to always make stories on Instagram, and they were always little video clips. And so when Instagram released Reels, I was super stoked. And I also had like hundreds of hours of video already. And so I was able to like jump right on that new feature. And I think that's sort of, yeah, where I was able to really start growing in that space. I'll dabble in photography every now and then. But, yeah, I definitely prefer the short form video. Feels a little more, like, casual and just easier for me to create, I find, if we're talking photography. I love doing it, I love getting a beautiful shot, but I spend a lot of time overthinking it. And I hate spending my time overthinking things, and so, I just find short form video a lot easier for me to create. And, you know, I love having these little memories of all the adventures that I go on. And I think video is a really, really good way to document that.

Robert: 3:46

I think that's a great place to jump into one of my favorite ways to go back and look at things is, what is that first adventure that you really remember creating short form video or that you captured on your phone?

Sam: 3:57

Oh! I mean, I will remember the first reel that went viral. I just posted this pan of Lake Louise. Honestly, nothing special. It was a beautiful day. There was a beautiful reflection. But I think it was like two weeks into reels being released and the video just went viral. Over a million views. And I was just like, what the hell is happening? And so I was thinking about that. It's pretty crazy. But then following that, I went on some really great backpacking trips that summer and I just clipped them all together. And made quick 15 second videos out of them. Stuck it with a good song. That's one of my favourite parts, is finding the perfect song to go with the videos. I really enjoy that when you find something that you're like, oh, it's so good. I just think it adds so much value. There were two backpacking trips I went on that summer. They were both out in the Purcells. So out near Bugaboos, that sort of thing. There's lots of great backpacking out there. And, it's fairly untouched compared to the Rockies, so, yeah, I did some great trips out there, and got some great videos!

Robert: 4:59

That sounds wonderful, and the bugs are absolutely stunning! So, we'll get into, talking short form, talking all that kind of stuff. Giving advice to actual people in a minute, but my favourite part about all this is, the stories that come from the adventures that we have, and the travels that we have. And so, we've talked a lot about, like, your love for Banff, and your love for being in this place. What is it? What, what drives you into the mountains the way that you do?

Sam: 5:23

Oh! I don't know, I always try and think about this, because, yeah, I grew up in Aus we have, I hiked a bit, but not a lot. And then, when I finished competing I was kind of, seeking out ways to fill my time, because all of a sudden I had all this free time that I used to spend training. I was going to school, but in the holidays I like, started traveling and the first big trip I took after Synchro, I, I traveled a lot with Synchro, but the first big trip I took after Synchro was to Nepal. And so I went to the Himalayas. I didn't actually hike in the Himalayas. I just took this trip to Nepal, but we spent time in the foothills and I did this flight over Everest and it was amazing. In that moment, like fell in love with the mountains, no specific mountains, just mountains in general. And I went home to Aus and started hiking a lot more than I had been. And it's mainly just rainforests and waterfalls and not big peaks, but it was still a great way to spend my time. And then, when I finished university, I took a year off and went traveling and on my travels I came to Canada. My parents had actually said to me years before they'd come to Banff and they were like you would love Banff. I always say I feel like they'd eat those words nowadays. I don't think they ever thought I'd come here and never leave. But because they mentioned it I had to come to Banff and I planned this trip from Vancouver to Calgary. 10 days, I think I hiked 8 of the 10 days. Did these like epic hikes in Glacier National Park. And then into Banff. Did a bunch of big hikes as well and I just loved it. Just thought it was one of the greatest places on the planet. And yeah, then I went home and then I moved back out here a couple years later. And I don't know, I think the thing about Banff is You feel so privileged to live here. So many people want to visit and we get to live here, which is crazy in itself, but it also means that it can be super busy. But I always find on my weekends in the summer if you pick the right trail and you're willing to go far enough, you can get these trails all to yourself. And I think that's something that I find so special about Banff is, you know, there's so many people here, but you can hit the trails. And feel like you're all alone. Like, you're just out in the wilderness. And I don't know, I think that's something I seek out more than I realize. Just having time in nature. It often comes with, you know, 25 kilometers of suffering. Whatever. But those blissful moments when everything feels so peaceful and quiet. It's just, there's something really special about it.

Robert: 8:02

That's beautiful. It's so totally true, right? Yeah, everyone's like it's so busy, but it's also a place of extreme beauty and quiet and yeah, you go at the right time. Like, we had most of the trail to Castle to ourselves last year. Yeah. Until the summit, where there was five

Sam: 8:17

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

Robert: 8:21

amazing. That is coming down now. So, you remember that moment you had your first, viral video? Did you ever imagine wanting to get another one of those, or grow that into something else? Or was it just... You loved doing it and you just wanted to keep producing it. What kinda happened there?

Sam: 8:38

Yeah, I guess it's funny when you sort of really try and think about it, because there is something, even if you try and deny it, when you get that many views, that many comments, that many likes, there's something that just feels really, I don't know, I think, like gratifying? Even though it's like, you don't want to base your worth on numbers and things like that, like, it's just this. Crazy space in social media. What does it really mean? But it definitely makes you feel a certain way and it's like really exciting. I really try and make sure that when I When I'm going out to shoot content that it's not the primary purpose for me being out there. I really try and find balance and I always try and ask myself like Would I be doing this even if I didn't have my phone to capture video? And most of the time, I'm pretty sure it's yes, I would be. I mean, who really knows, but that's how I like to look at it. And so I really try to find and keep that balance. It's really important to me. Especially, I work a full time job, so social media isn't my primary income, it's only a very small part of it, and so, when I go and shoot videos, it's on my, like, downtime, it's on my weekends, and, so I want to make sure that I'm not putting a whole lot of pressure on myself to the point where the weekends become work. And so, that's kind of how I try to approach... Videos and content creation, but then sometimes I do take on partnerships, which is obviously work And so I I do give up some of my weekends for it. But I still try to be really selective with the partnerships I take on to make sure that they do really just fit into my lifestyle and I don't have to go out of my way to get the content needed for it If that makes sense.

Robert: 10:24

That makes total sense. How do you go about that decision making process? Because it could be really hard If a brand like Google approaches you. Here's this big, huge partnership. But how do you decide if that aligns with what you want to be doing and who you want to work with?

Sam: 10:37

Well, I'm yet to hear from Google. But I think it would be dependent on the brief. Cause I find it really hard to create content when it doesn't feel genuine to me. Like get really stressed about it. I'll go back and forth. I'll spend all this time that I don't need to be spending on it. And then for me, I'm like, that was not worth whatever they're paying me. It's not a good use of my time. I think if the brands come with a brief and it's related to the mountains and the lifestyle that I lead, and it feels like a good fit and that I don't have to do a lot to incorporate it into what I'm already doing. That's kind of how I like to approach things.

Robert: 11:13

That's a good way to approach it though. Do you ever struggle with that? Have you had a brand approach you where it's like, maybe, maybe?

Sam: 11:19

I think, yeah, when brands first started approaching me, it was just really exciting. And I would say a lot of creators go through this. It's like, a brand approaches you and it's not even paid, but they're going to gift you something and it feels really good that a brand wants to work with you and they see value in what you create. And so, you know, I definitely think at the start, they would have been small things, but I would have accepted them and put them in my channel and probably felt pretty shit about it because I was like, this doesn't feel genuine to me, but I've already agreed to it. I've signed a contract. I can't get out of it. And so you have to deliver. And so I think I made that mistake a handful of times and then. I have been really, yeah, really conscious of those decisions ever since.

Robert: 12:04

So what would you say to, there's a lot of new creators, a lot of people breaking into the space who listen to this. How would you navigate those conversations now a little differently?

Sam: 12:13

I think... Especially if it's not paid, not that there's anything wrong with that. I think it is a good way to get experience and sort of break into the industry. If it's an exchange of product and there's a similar value, if you're like, okay, I'm gonna create a reel for you, I would charge this much for a reel. Your product is worth equal. Then maybe that is a good exchange. But if you're getting a product that's worth nowhere near the value of what you're delivering for them, then really think about that and really think, is this giving me value as much or are they just taking a whole lot of value out of this and I'm not really getting much as a result. But then you know, early on you want to build a portfolio. And so. It is important to take opportunities, but I would just be selective with them and I'm very grateful that I do get offered some amazing partnerships, just from what I believe to be, is being genuinely myself and I think that's something that a lot of brands seek out these days because consumers see a lot of value in genuine people. They trust people more than they trust brands. And so you can just be true to yourself in any partnerships that you take on. Then I think you'll sort of be successful.

Robert: 13:29

I love that. That harkens back a lot to something we talked about on the podcast, two, three episodes ago now, which was taking on work for free versus saying no to it. And so go back, give a listen to that. I think that was episode 88. Yeah, that's a good point. You need to find places that align with you, and audiences that they have that align with you, that'll help you with your future work, and there's all sorts of pieces that have to go in there. So, that ties in really well with what we should talk about next, which is actually creating short form video. So I think you're such a fabulous example of somebody who makes really good short form video that isn't just a bunch of random pieces that are strung together, but there's a story arc, typically, within everything that you're posting, which is really difficult to do in, what, 10 to 15 seconds? So... If someone's looking to start making short form content right now, where do they begin? What would be your suggestion for a point to start, because it looks really intimidating from the outside.

Sam: 14:22

I would just say, when you go out and you go to take a photo, take a video. The way I kind of tell stories is not in every piece of content, but I will share, like a hike, and I'll share it from start to finish, so you can sort of take them on the journey. But I like to incorporate, it's not just beautiful scenic vistas, it's also, feet walking across the trail, and all those little pieces as well I think is what brings it together and tells a story. Because, I mean don't get me wrong, there's definitely value in shooting beautiful vistas. Like, when you get a beautiful sunset or something like that, just that single shot. can be all you need and, I love sharing things like that and they can do really well on social media. But yeah, I also love to share a journey that I've been on. And then I can look back at it and be like, Oh my god, that hike was so fun. And then I also love, like I love love, doing, like, wrap videos, so, an end of summer video, or an end of fall video, or an end of the year video, where I, to some extent, chaotically piece together a ton of videos to a really fun song. But for me, when I watch it back, it's just this, like, beautiful memory of that point in time. And I get a lot of joy out of that, and that's the, the main thing that's important to me. Because it brings you joy, it's something that you're, you're going to want to post significantly more. Yeah. I like that.

Robert: 15:49

So we have a starting point now for people. It's, when you're headed out, it's not about looking for a perfect moment. That's one of the traps that I fall into as a photographer. Yes. It's like, this has to be... Perfect, or it's really not worth doing, which is not at all what short form video is.

Sam: 16:02

Yeah, and that's what I love about short form video, because I completely agree. When I try to take photos, you get caught up in making sure everything is just right. But if it's a video, and, you know, maybe you only need half a second of that video, you've got the shot. And also, some of the least perfect moments make for the most fun videos. I always love it, every single winter, I'll share a like, cross country skiing fail video. Personally I think it's hilarious. I started cross country skiing, Oh, this will probably be my third season now, and you know, huge learning curve to start. I think I fell over every single time I went out, and I'm pretty good at it now. But yeah, I think it's finding a balance between you know, getting those perfect and imperfect moments. Another thing with me is I do just genuinely spend so much time outside and because short form video is just on your phone, I always have it with me and so I might be out for a 6am sunrise run before work and it could be the most spectacular sunrise you've ever seen and I was out at Vermillion Lakes because it's just what I do and so it means I am able to get some really epic content. Almost by accident. But the cool thing about short form video, you just whip your phone out of your pocket, in the moment, and it's something you didn't expect, but it's like this incredible, incredible, moment in time that you were able to capture, because. You were running, you weren't running with your camera, and so, you can just quickly snap something and it might, might be something totally incredible.

Robert: 17:36

That is a very good point because I do find that it a little bit of a trap here where, you know, we're in Banff So you can kind of make easy content no matter where you are Yeah, but you can kind of do that anywhere in the world. You just have to be out in it Yeah, you have to be actually experiencing something You can't sit at home waiting for the perfect moment to come upon you. You actually have to be out in the thing Yeah to have it happen.

Sam: 17:58

And absolutely, the Rockies are incredible and it does feel like, sometimes I'm like oh, it's easy, look where I live, but also we're hiking in the rain right now, like, those perfect conditions, they don't come often and so, you know, and you can't plan them so, yeah, I think just spending a lot, if, if you enjoy it, which I really do, spending a lot of time outside is, A great way to get really great content.

Robert: 18:25

What's your, what do you find working right now when you shoot that short form video when you build it?

Sam: 18:30

Trending songs. I think are a big thing on Instagram. I actually don't know how to find trending songs on TikTok anymore. I feel like it used to be easy, it's not anymore. But you'll see, like, the same song come up again and again. But it's super easy to do on Instagram. When you see the little song at the bottom, it has a little arrow pointing on an angle. That means it's trending. And using trending songs, especially if they've only been used a handful of time already it can be super valuable because as they get more popular. People click into them. If you were early on the trend, and it did quite well, you'll be at the top of the feed. And so, more people will click. They'll see your video, they'll click through and then you just gain traction that way.

Robert: 19:14

That's a huge piece of advice.

Sam: 19:15

Yeah, and I mean, honestly, I find the trending songs are great, majority of the time. They're trending for a reason. I'm also a sucker for a catchy pop tune. So I'm always happy to get behind a new trending song. I've definitely noticed that having TikTok and Instagram, they're two very different platforms, and there's really a lot of value in both of them. But you create very similar content for them. I wouldn't say create exactly the same. I'm a lot more relaxed on my TikTok. Even though I have a similar following size to my Instagram, I just feel like there's less eyes on me on TikTok. Less pressure than what I feel when it comes to Instagram because I've had that platform for so much longer And I feel like people have an expectation of me on there. Were as TikTok. I'm like, I don't even know who these people are. My mom's not on here. I don't need to worry about what she's thinking And so yeah, I definitely would say if you're creating short form video, do it for both platforms

Robert: 20:11

Oh, hey, we're here. This is definitely the wettest I have ever come up Tunnel in. Beautiful view of town. Absolutely stunning. Ok yeah, yep, I'm good. I feel like that's a good point to switch back over to talking about the other piece that you really like, which is stories. And what it is about them that you really enjoy and how you use them versus using your short form video pieces and why people should, should dig into stories.

Sam: 20:36

If I go out in the morning before work and go for a run, I'll throw a story up from that. Sometimes, you know, when the days are longer, I'll go for a full hike before work. And so, that's like midweek content, and then on the weekends, pretty much guaranteed I'm out Saturday and Sunday doing something. And so I'll post a story set from each of those adventures. And... Yeah, my family watches them. They get to see what I'm up to. Lots of other people get to see what I'm up to. Hopefully inspires people to, you know, spend lots of time outside. I enjoy posting them. They're pretty easy to post. To be fair, I say that when I do like a full day adventure, it probably does take me like an hour to post, which sometimes I'm like, whoa, that time went really quickly. You kind of lose track of time. But yeah, I don't know. It's, it's like, it lets me relive what I just did. And I feel like it cements it in your memory a bit more. Ooh, chilly.

Robert: 21:27

Yeah. That's really great insights for people to understand kind of the way that like, Instagram does it, but if you if you have a story to tell, don't cut yourself off. Yeah! Right? Like, I know they say five, and it's great, and that's what people watch, but honestly, I click through like, if there's a ton of them there and it's an interesting story to tell, do it.

Sam: 21:43

But I mean, in saying that, if I post a single story clip, just one, it probably gets four times the views than if I post a whole series.

Robert: 21:53

Oh, so people just watch the first one.

Sam: 21:55

No, no, no, like if I just post one individual story. When you think about the story sets, there's still way more views there, but like the one individual story compared to the first slide of like a set, the individual one would be like four times more views than the first slide of a set.

Robert: 22:12

Oh, interesting. Okay.

Sam: 22:13

I definitely think there is value in keeping stories light but I just don't want to do it. Do what feels good for you.

Robert: 22:20

But still being, judicious in that storytelling piece where maybe don't show that same clip of somebody walking on a trail for two minutes.

Sam: 22:26

Yeah, exactly. I'm a little conscious of it, but I'm not going to cut myself short just because Instagram says you should only do five slides. It's getting slippery.

Robert: 22:37

Yeah, it's getting slippery, it's getting cold. There's a lot about Instagram and stories and trying to talk about the social side of things. But that's not the only thing that I really like about coming and having people to talk to on these. I also really love our stories of adventure and travel because, while I enjoy capturing the content and the video and the photos and all that kind of stuff, half the reason I'm out there is to meet people and do cool shit.

Sam: 22:57

Yeah. Me too!

Robert: 22:59

I was like, it's great to have that byproduct and it enables us to do cool things, but let's talk about your adventure stories. Like what's... What's your moment that kind of sticks out to you in your brain in Banff? What's your favorite story to tell people?

Sam: 23:11

Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna riff off that a bit in something that you said and that you love doing these things because you get to get out there and you get to meet people and so one of my my favorite things to do is, I love, love going trail running. I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. And like I was saying earlier, I love the peacefulness that comes with the mountains. And so, I love trail running with friends. But, I also really enjoy going by myself and whenever I go by myself I'll pick a trail that I know I won't be the only person out there and I have an in reach and, you know, I plan and I tell people where I'm going, I try to take all the safety measures, but still I don't want to go somewhere totally remote by myself and find myself in trouble. And so I tend to go on trails where I know I'll run into a few people and, I don't know, one of, one of my favorite things when I'm out trail running by myself is you're kind of like a silent ninja. So you have to yell at people when you're approaching, and then usually you scare them because they think you're a bear. But I try to give them as much notice as I can. And then normally I'll pass them and I'm like, oh, I'm so sorry, and you'll normally end up chatting with them a little bit. And, you know, I think one of the things I love the most is people always seem surprised. They're like, what is this small Australian girl doing all the way out here in the Canadian Rockies?

Robert: 24:27

And what's she doing creeping up on me suddenly at a high rate of speed?

Sam: 24:30

And they always seem kind of impressed and I'm like, oh, honestly, it's not that impressive. But usually I am on like a multi day trail and they've got their backpacks and I'm running it by myself. So I guess maybe it's a little bit impressive. You end up in a conversation with them and, I don't know, I think a lot of people don't realize that living in Banff, it is a reality for people. I think for a lot of people it feels like a fairy tale. A big thing I love is just meeting people on the trail and getting to chat with them and just sort of exchange stories. But yeah, if I'm thinking about Oh, my biggest, best adventure. You can't put me on the spot like this.

Robert: 25:06

Oh, you have so many. Okay. I'm going to, I'm going to bring one up for you that I think you should tell. It's my favorite. And it's your bear moment.

Sam: 25:14

Yes. Oh my goodness. So it was my first season in the Rockies and I just hit the trails with Everything I had. I hiked so much that summer. I just did a bunch of stuff that I had no experience in, had no gear when I first got here, but I just hit the ground running. And towards the end of the season, I went with two of my friends, and we went to Kananaskis, we wanted to hike Smutwood Peak. And it was in the fall, it was probably late September, and we knew there would be snow on the trail. But we kind of ended up in a, a bit of a blizzard. It was, it was pretty cold. I had the right gear. And we were hiking up and we were just about to get to the pass, where you then go over and catch your first glimpse of the lakes that lie below Smutwood. And, yeah, we were just below the pass, my friends were ahead of me, I was going a bit slower than them, it was freezing, I had my head down, I had my poles in my hand, I had like four jackets on with all the hoods over my ears so I couldn't hear anything, it was also windy as hell, and I'm just trudging along, I'm like, I just gotta get to the pass, we'd already decided we'd turn around just because of the bad weather, we were in a blizzard, and so anyway, I know I'm nearly at the pass and I look up at my friends to see how far ahead they are, And I pause and I'm looking at them and one of them is like motioning towards me, like come towards me and I'm looking at him. I'm like, I don't need your encouragement to get up here. I'm sorry. I'm a bit slower. I was kind of annoyed about it. And then I look closer and I'm like, Oh. Wow, he has bear spray in his hand. Okay, okay, this changes things. Now I understand what's happening. There is something behind me. And I was like, I'm not going to look because I don't really want to know until I'm with them, which to me was my only real safeguard. Safety in numbers. I have to get to them and then I'll see what's behind me. And so I put my head down and move as fast as I can and I catch up with them and then they're like, pull out your bear spray and my hands were so cold, they were like claws, I couldn't pull out my bear spray. But they both had theirs and in that moment I look behind me and there's a mumma grizz and a cub, probably, at this point, 20, 30 meters behind us, just coming up the trail, straight behind us. And so we were like, Oh, what do we do? And we're like, maybe they don't know we're here, maybe it's really windy. They haven't heard us. So we yell, we yell and yell until they react to just make sure that they know we're there and they look up at us. The mom looks up at us and then she just puts her head down and keeps going like she could not care. And we were like, okay, so they're using the trail. We're on the trail. We're like, get off the trail. And so we, we just make a beeline off the trail, but. It snowed so much, and the snow is so soft, I get two steps off the trail, and then I sink, waist deep in the snow, and my friends have to haul me out, and and then we sort of keep going, and we get far enough away, and I had my camera on me and my friend goes, I think you can probably take a photo, I think we're safe enough. And so I pull out my camera and I turn around and I take this photo as they're going up and over the ridge. And it is probably still one of my favorite photos of all time. It's just this beautiful. Two bears, in the snow, just this moment, and this moment that had so much chaos before it. And it could have turned out so horribly but we were just grateful that it was fall they were pretty fat, I don't think they were looking for food, they were just going on their way, but, they were really not bothered by us, and so we let them go on their way, and we went back the way we came. And then I remember this as well, as we were hiking out, there was a rainbow. I was like, Oh wow. And then as we were driving to leave you drive past Engadine Lodge and that big field in front of it, and there was a moose and her calf in the field. And we were just like, what is this day? And so we never made it to Smutwood Peak, but it is 100%, I'm glad you brought it up, one of my most memorable days in the mountains.

Robert: 29:18

That is magical. And this view is spectacular right now

Sam: 29:21

I might be frozen but at least there's views.

Robert: 29:24

And so worth it. Even a view we've seen a lot is still super cool like this.

Sam: 29:29

Oh, I was just gonna say, again, I do often see a lot of bears and wildlife, and I put it down again to just the amount of time that I do spend outside, and I love early mornings. Which is when wildlife is most active and people are not. So I go out in the morning to avoid the people and it often means I get some, pretty incredible wildlife encounters to go with it.

Robert: 29:50

That was actually, it's something we haven't talked about much yet, but some of the tips you have for capturing, the best moments and seeing wildlife, doing anything like that, what would be your top three you would give to somebody?

Sam: 30:02

Okay, so, in Banff, there's some really cool webcams. And I think I'm possibly their number one user. I live in a basement. So it's hard for me to know what the weather is doing outside without me actually getting out and leaving my house. And early in the morning, I'm sometimes a little hesitant. If I've looked at the weather night before and it could go either way. And so I check the webcams. And you can get this, almost real time sense of what's going on outside. And the gondola one for me is, my favourite for just around Banff. Because at night you can see the northern lights in it. In the morning you can see what's, how sunrise is starting to gear up. And, I'm able to do those things without having to get out, get dressed. But, if I see something good, you've never seen someone get dressed so quickly. And I'll be out the door. And so, I find the webcams are really good. The one at Lake Louise is also great. And there's a really great one at Emerald Lake if you're, planning to head out there. Cause the thing with the Rockies is the weather varies so much between Banff, between Lake Louise, between Emerald Lake. It could be a totally different thing. And so, I always check the webcams before I go, just to get a sense of what's going on. What you're in for. So I find that to be a really great tool. And then yeah, early mornings is probably my number one piece of advice in the summer when I say early, it's really bloody early. The days are really long. So sunrise is 5am. But you want to be out before that to get the really nice light. And so yeah, you'll often find that means you're granted a place all to yourself because you're the one who has gone to the effort of waking up at that ungodly hour but I often find it pays off. And then if I was to give a third tip, I think, yeah, just think about the things that you enjoy doing. And capture content through those things, like I said earlier, I try not to go out of my way just to get content. I mean, I will always in the winter on a minus 40 day go out and throw boiling water in the air so I can make snow. I definitely am guilty of going out just to capture content for that. But I also think it's really cool. But yeah, thinking about what you like to do, what you enjoy doing and just capturing content when you do those things. But, but also at the same time, you don't want to go out and do something that you love doing, but then spend your whole time capturing content that you don't really have a good time. And so that's why I like short form video because you can go out, you can capture something. It could be the first five minutes. You stop, you take a quick video and then you run or you hike, and then you don't take another one until another few hours later, and again, it's 30 seconds of your day to catch the next video. You don't have to spend all this time setting up the perfect shot. You can just capture them as you go. But don't spend your whole time just capturing content, cause then you've gone out to capture content, rather than do the thing that you wanted to do.

Robert: 32:56

Does that mean that when you're out, you're not actively always looking for something like that? Or is that always something that's kind of niggling at your brain of Oh, this would make a great video. Or are you able to shut that off and go, These are the times I'm going to do it?

Sam: 33:07

I like to think yes. And I also think that I have been shooting these tiny little clips for so long that it's kind of become a second nature that I can just whip up my phone and grab something and I can look back at it later and be like, Ah, sweet, I got something good. And it didn't take me 50 shots to get it. I kind of try and get it really quickly. And I think it depends on what I'm doing as well. If it's a really long day, then yeah, I like to keep shooting to a minimum because you don't want to lengthen the day even further. One of my favorite trails to do is the Little Beehive. I know people are like, what about the Big Beehive and the Devil's Thumb? Also great, Little Beehive, low effort, amazing view. And so often I'll go up and do that after work, and I'll go up and I'll probably want to catch the sunset in a video. And I'll wait for that moment. But then before and after, I'll have just sat and enjoyed the sunset. And you know, often after I always like to try and consciously take some time to just enjoy the moment. So it's not just about capturing content.

Robert: 34:13

You're able to reflect a little and breathe a little and not just always have your brain racing with recording.

Sam: 34:18

Yeah.

Robert: 34:19

That's beautiful.

Sam: 34:19

Yeah.

Robert: 34:20

Little Beehive, Big Beehive, all those are hikes in Lake Louise that you hit by going up towards the Lake Agnes Teahouse. Yeah. And they're beautiful. Little Beehive is a super doable little hike for people who are of a moderate fitness level.

Sam: 34:32

Yeah, definitely say still moderate, but the effort verse reward on that one is like, it's, it's almost unbeatable in Banff, I think.

Robert: 34:40

We're coming close to the end of the hike. I feel like it's a good time for us to kind of wrap things up for people. What gear do you use? Because I love that you have a super minimal setup.

Sam: 34:50

I literally do. I have an iPhone 11 Pro. So not the new model. I am thinking about upgrading because the stabilization in the iPhone 14, is pretty good in the 11, but it's way better in the 14. And there's also like, better night modes for, I'm not very good at capturing the northern lights, but I'm obsessed. And I think with the new phones, there's a night mode in time lapse. And so, maybe one day soon I'll upgrade, but the 11 Pro does me well. So that's, yeah, mainly my main piece. And then. I do have a camera that I'll shoot with occasionally. I've had it for many years and it's been all over the world with me. It's an Olympus OM D E M5. I don't even know what it is! Anyway, it's a mirrorless, right? Yeah, it's a mirrorless. I think Robert knows more than I do. But it does me well and I've always got the manual mode set to northern lights capture because that's usually what I use it when I go out to try and take photos of the northern lights. But I have many friends that do a much better job at that than I do. But I love, love the northern lights. And, yeah, that's kind of... Pretty much it.

Robert: 35:55

Which I so love, to be totally honest. As we're hiking today, because I didn't know if we were going to do the video portion of this when we got there, I have an SLR and, like, two lenses and a tripod. Yeah. I have, like, a 25 pound backpack on. Yeah. And your kit is three pounds?

Sam: 36:10

Yeah. Total? I actually, yeah, so I actually, I had a really old iPhone. I think I had like a five or something for the longest time. And when I went to upgrade it, I was like, okay, I'm going to invest. And I'm going to get the newest one at the time because I really wanted to get into trail running. And I was like, I can't take my camera trail running, but I know I'm going to go to these beautiful places and I want to still be able to, capture these scenes. And so I was like, okay, I'm going to get the best iPhone that I can. And so that was three or four years ago now. It's still going strong. It's been dunked in lakes and we'll go into that, but they're pretty tough. And, and so that was kind of what spurred me. And then that, that kind of really shifted me figuring out that I could still go out and, you know, capture these places, but be really lightweight so I could go further on the trails. I try to keep it light and then, if I am specifically going out to shoot content, then I'll often take my camera as well just to get some shots, but I'm pretty terrible at taking photos. You'll find on my iPhone that I think I have, like 20, 000 videos and maybe I still have a lot of photos, but maybe like 10, 000 photos? Anyway, But yeah, very simple, very basic. You don't need anything crazy. I shoot on my phone in HD60. I don't shoot 4K because it takes up so much space. Occasionally I will if I'm working with a brand so, I just, yeah. HD60 you can switch your Instagram to upload full quality videos, make sure you go do that. And that's kind of... It.

Robert: 37:44

I so appreciate this, Sam. Thank you for coming out on a rainy, rainy, rainy night. I am soaked.

Sam: 37:51

As am I.

Robert: 37:52

But yeah I really appreciate it and you're spectacular. Where can people follow your content?

Sam: 37:56

Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram and TikTok. My handle is the same on both. It's Samantha L. Reid. R E I D. The important distinction. Yeah. And yeah, I post pretty regularly on those channels. So, yeah.

Robert: 38:11

What can people kind of expect to see when they come see you?

Sam: 38:14

It's a lot of outdoor adventures. Sometimes it might seem a little unreasonable. The amount of things I do. I also think it's a little unreasonable. I don't know how I do it. But I am just always out getting after it. And especially in the summertime. And then in the winter I have to get a little more creative in how I spend my time outside. I'm still coming to love the winters, I would say. I'm always looking for fun ways to get out. Cause I'm less motivated to get outside in the winter when it's cold and snowy and just, it's hard. You have to put a lot of clothes on. And so, yeah, it's generally all outdoor things. All my outdoor endeavors, hiking, trail running, paddle boarding, biking cross country skiing. Jumping in lakes. Falling into giant snow banks. Yes, seeking out wildlife to look at from a safe distance. Yeah, all that sort of good mountain stuff.

Robert: 39:07

Oh, that's fantastic. Awesome. Thanks, Sam.

Sam: 39:11

Thank you.

Robert: 39:19

Thank you so much for tuning in, everybody, and Sam, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and insights with all of us. It is greatly appreciated, and I had such a great time hanging out on Tunnel Mountain Trail with you in the rain. It was a fabulous hike and a great night. If you really enjoyed today's episode, definitely let me know that. Reach out to me on Instagram at RobertMasseyPhotography or through my website at robertmasseyphotography. ca and definitely let Sam know as well. Let her know how much you appreciate the insights that she's sharing, the educational tips, and she has some fantastic stories and adventures that are up on her Instagram and TikTok accounts. So definitely go and give her a follow there and follow along with these spectacular adventures that she goes on in one of the most beautiful places in the world. All right. Let me know if there's anything you want to hear about or pieces of information that you would like to learn more about. Reach out to me on Instagram or on my website and yeah, get out there, explore this big, beautiful world of ours. Let's adventure. Bye for now.