I have collected cameras since I was a kid. I've shot film on everything from old hand-loaded box cameras to early and later rangefinders, cartridge cameras, SLR film cameras and of course, although the changeover began grudgingly, digital cameras. I now shoot with an i14 smartphone, my Franken-Nikon (see the story on my website, https://www.davecottrell.com ) and Sony and Canon DSLR and mirrorless cameras.

Content is important, but it is the light that makes the difference between a good photo, great photo, and a downright magical photo. Nowhere did this become more apparent than through the many years of living on the BC coast, where a great deal of the year is swathed in various shades of grey. It can be depressing, but at the right moment, it can add just the right amount of mystery and secrecy to be compelling.

I now live in the spectacular Stikine Valley in northwestern BC, the home of the Tahltan Nation. There is no place on Earth quite like the Tahltan Highlands! Follow me on Instagram @klagoosh