Photo Contest Winners Really Know How to Unplug

A trio of photo competition winners tell their stories

For Alexis de Freitas, getting lost in his phone, laptop or TV doesn’t compare to camping next to a pristine Northern Rockies river and catching glimpses of bears, elk, beavers and mountain goats.

For Samantha Hathaway, getting away means going on a family camping trip or staying in a cabin with no electricity or devices except screens to help her 7- and 10-year-old girls escape the boredom of a long car ride. children.

For Kurian Onnunni Samuel, happiness is hiking and camping at Lake Garibaldi. And daily progress reduces smartphone use to less than two hours a day.

Last summer, the three hit the streets to explore British Columbia and take photos that were voted the top three among thousands of exciting entries in Team Power Smart’s Summer Unplugged photo competition. As part of the competition, team members were asked to share photos showcasing the British Columbia outdoors from one of their off-grid summer adventures.

We spoke briefly with our winners about their photos, the appeal of off-grid living and their experiences of being part of Team Power Smart. Here are their stories.

Not a member of Team Power Smart? Join for free today, then log into your Member Toolbox to start a 10% off competition anytime between November 1, 2024 and January 15, 2025 and take advantage of our limited time offer to double your rewards. Reduce your home’s energy use by 10% or more over 12 months to earn $100: Double the normal $50 reward.

“It was a cute shot of a moose, but I really liked the sunset.”

Minutes after she unpacked and set up her tent at a campground along the Alaska Highway, Alexis de Freitas watched the sunset color the Toad River and surrounding mountains. She took a photo with her Samsung smartphone, then another photo of a moose wandering nearby.

“It was a nice shot of the moose, but I really liked the sunset,” recalls the North Vancouver woman who comes to Fort Nelson every year to visit her daughter and grandchildren and camp on the Toad River. “I’m as shocked as everyone else because I just held the camera and clicked. My brother-in-law said, “We’re going Liard Hot Springs tomorrow, and maybe you’ll get an even better photo there.” But I said, “No, I like this one.”

De Freitas was right. Power Smart team members who voted online loved her photo and, as one of three contest winners, she chose a YETI Tundra Haul wheeled cooler as her prize.

De Freitas, an administrator at St. Edmund’s Elementary School in North Vancouver, is taking an annual trip to a part of the province most Lower Mainlanders will never see. She has no problem with the network going down and gets a kick out of watching students at her school, which bans cell phones, struggle to figure out how to use the office wall phone to call their parents home.

“I kind of love it when a student comes into the office, looks at the phone and asks, ‘How does this work?’” she says with a laugh.

As a member of Team Power Smart, she has taken part in the 10% reduction challenge several times. She once received a $50 reward for achieving her 12-month cost-cutting goal, and she said her single-pane windows made it difficult to cut heating costs in the winter.

“In cooler months, I leave the thermostat at 15°C,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s too much for some people, but I don’t like it too hot. I find that at 15C my apartment is always the same temperature – I don’t turn it up or mess with the temperature.” thermostat. And in the summer it’s completely turned off.”