Lucas Starbuck dot com
I like to do lots of things, very well. I am a photographer, videographer, project manager, team leader, art director, graphic designer, retoucher, web developer, database developer, client manager, proof reader, copy writer, journalist, travel writer, teacher, interior and landscape designer.
I believe variety, knowledge and experience are fundamental for ingenuity and creativity. It is outside the box that the best things happen.
Writing
Verbal communication is such a timely means of relaying a message, visual communication has its own unique challenges and rewards, however it is in the written form that we can explain and express ourselves in a different and unique way.
Having written for a variety of purposes and audiences, I find myself frequently drawn back to the keyboard and keen to craft an essay, an email, a proposal, a pitch, a story, the list goes on. Having worked on more proposal documents than I care to remember, along with design specifications, the sales and informational modes come easily to me. I have also copy written for websites and flyers, bringing together what I have learned about a business, its product and its customers to create a meaningful and effective communication channel.
In the broader spectrum, I have written a number of scripts, for short films. I have also written voice overs for video production, and I have immensely enjoyed writing accounts of my travel experiences. I have kept an extensive overseas blog which details the journey of leaving for a foreign country, settling in and making a go of things in a place where everything is new, different and sometimes strange. As I continue to work on my travel stories, modern day philosophy and random thoughts, I find myself more and more careful with how I chose to craft my prose; the options of communication, in all its subtleties, are quite endless, and of course with each option comes the consideration for the message and the audience.
Travel Writing: Leaving Canada
And somehow it had arrived. My last day in Canada. Not even a whole last day. My last morning.
I just wouldn’t accept that it was what it was. I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted my life in Canada to continue. I didn’t want to move on. I had made a life here, and it was about to abruptly end.
The night had been chaotic; Chantel’s housemate kept us up for quite some time, and it meant I’d only had bits and pieces of sleep during the night. I had dropped Chantel at work at around 4.30am, as she had to open the Starbucks at 5, and I had gone back to bed. I woke at around 8 so that I could go and pick her up, and we could catch up one last time before I went.
She was very much worse for wear, but to her credit …
Travel Writing: Jasper to Old Fort Point
The trail head is quite a way from town, which means either a 20 minute stroll, across the highway and down to the Athabasca River, or alternatively, one could drive to the trailhead and cut out the extra distance. Either way, the spectacular starting point, where Pyramid Mountain can be viewed and photographed with the Athabasca River in the foreground, from the bridge, is worth 5 minutes of anybody’s time.
Opting to take the steep hill first, I headed up the wooden stairs to gain the initial altitude. Its worth noting the trail is rated as being a 3.5km return loop, with something along the lines of a 120m variance in elevation between the lowest and highest points. This needs to be accounted for with perhaps a little more water in the backpack than usual, and also for the asthmatic or those who have difficulty with strenuous exercise, an inhaler and/or a number of rest stops along the way.
Quickly ascending …
Travel Writing: A Day at the Ski Hill
My second day off, I decided to make the most of my time and get up to the ski hill. A friend drove up and we were there by about 11 in the morning - its only a half hour drive!
I had booked in for a special ‘Discovery’ (read: absolute baseline beginner prepare to fall on your ass) snowboarding package - Snowboard, boots, bindings, lift pass and 2 hr lesson for $74!! Couldn’t believe it - a great deal with a really good instruction, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
First of all, I had a couple of hours to kill, so Mel told me she would teach me the basics and all the little things they never mention in the lessons. Sounds good, I thought, so she showed me how to scoot around, which felt arkward and very foreign, then she said either we get on the lift or there’s no where else around to practice.
I figured when in …
