{"id":37917,"date":"2017-10-28T12:26:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T18:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=37917"},"modified":"2021-02-11T20:52:09","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T03:52:09","slug":"pat-morrow-still-seeking-challenges-even-in-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/10\/28\/pat-morrow-still-seeking-challenges-even-in-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat Morrow still seeking challenges, even in retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

F<\/span>rom the Himalayas to Antarctica, the mountains of New Zealand to the canyons of Arizona, photojournalist Pat Morrow has seen it all.<\/p>\n

N<\/span>ow just short of his 65th birthday, Morrow and his wife Baiba, 61, have retired from their journalism travels, and now call the small town of Wilmer, B.C. home.<\/p>\n

But retirement from freelance work doesn\u2019t mean they have hung up their hiking poles and cameras just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word retirement sounds so inappropriate or even unnecessary,\u201d Baiba explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just sort of go with the flow like we always have, retirement just means that we\u2019re not getting paid for what we\u2019ve always done anyways.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their earlier years, the Morrows made a living by traveling around the globe, documenting travels, and chasing stories of mountaineering and mountain culture to some of the most remote places on the planet.<\/p>\n

While the two explorers are still making frequent trips, shooting plenty of photos and film, now their work is mostly done for local consumption and their own enjoyment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA good image can still really inspire people,\u201d said Baiba.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhotos speak a language that doesn\u2019t really need translation,\u201d Pat added.<\/p>\n

Pat Morrow began his photojournalism career in 1974 when he graduated from SAIT and pursued an internship at the Calgary Herald.<\/p>\n

After graduation, he worked hard to get his work recognized by editors and publications.<\/p>\n

Morrow recalls his start in the industry as a “long and strenuous uphill battle.”<\/p>\n

At one point, he took a 30-day trip in a Greyhound bus from B.C. to New York just to personally meet with an editor and hand out his portfolio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent at least five years of near starvation just trying to become a photographer,\u201d Pat remembers.<\/p>\n

His career as a professional really took off when he was named the lead photographer for Canada\u2019s first expedition to Mount Everest in 1982.<\/p>\n

With the support of his employers, mainly Equinox Magazine at the time, the Kimberley B.C. native scaled Everest and went on to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents.<\/p>\n

His book, Beyond Everest: Quest for the Seven Summits, documents his adventures.<\/p>\n

Not only has Pat published several books, he has also been part of more than 40 film productions, working with media outlets such as National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC and CTV.<\/p>\n

In recognition of all his hard work and achievements over the years, Morrow received the Order of Canada in 1988 and the Summit of Excellence award at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 1990.<\/p>\n

Baiba Morrow\u2019s introduction to photojournalism was a little less conventional.<\/p>\n

She had moved west to the Rockies from Montreal, where she met and married Pat, and with no training in photography or writing.<\/p>\n

She embraced Pat\u2019s lifestyle of being a freelance photojournalist.<\/p>\n

Her philosophy of \u201cgoing with the flow\u201d eventually worked out in her favour as she accompanied Pat on many of his expeditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 87\u2019 we made a seven-month journey through the Himalayas\u2026experiencing a Himalayan winter was a real eye-opener,\u201d said Pat.<\/p>\n

Today these two mountaineers have applied their skills a closer to home.<\/p>\n

Aside from frequently hiking and enjoying the the Columbia Valley, the couple\u2019s day-to-day is usually spent concentrating their efforts on nature and wildlife conservation.<\/p>\n

Aside from hiking and enjoying the beautiful amenities in the Columbia Valley, the Morrows day-to-day is usually spent concentrating their efforts on nature and wildlife conservation.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, Baiba has been on the board of directors for Wildsight, a conservation effort aimed at mitigating the destructive forces of industrial tourism and other industries within the Purcell Mountain range and Rockies.<\/p>\n

They also are a big part of the annual Invermere Film Festival and try to share their passion for nature and exploration with friends, locals, and anyone willing to hear a good story.<\/p>\n

One of Pat\u2019s latest personal projects has been a story 40 years in the making entitled Tao Canyon, a publication that started with friends, about the\u00a0 canyons of Utah and Arizona.<\/p>\n

Photos speak a language that doesn\u2019t really need translation. – Pat Morrow<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It surely won\u2019t be long before Pat and Baiba are off travelling again, but for now, their home in Wilmer is perfect for these two wandering souls.<\/p>\n

For more information on Pat and Baiba’s careers and stories check out their website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pat and Baiba Morrow are two retired photojournalists whose love for nature and mountain culture has taken them all over the world. From the Himalayas to Antartica, New Zealand to Arizona and the highest peaks on all seven continents. This feature takes a look at their careers behind the camera and life after publication. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":38007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 PROJ-318-A Story 1 Pat Morrow","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1248],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-life","8":"category-style","9":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/420"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37917"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39386,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37917\/revisions\/39386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}