Behind the Shoot: Northwest Explorer × Northwest Navigation

When shooting Northwest Explorer, collaboration is at the heart of our storytelling. We don’t just capture Pacific Northwest stories—we create them alongside people who love this place as much as we do. Having the chance to film a 10-episode series with Northwest Navigation has been one of the true highlights of our year.

Earlier this Spring, this project took us out onto shifting tides and into quiet coves, where sandstone bluffs hold the marks of time and forests press right down to the shoreline. Two episodes have already made their way into the world (episodes at the bottom of this post), with the rest soon to follow including an exploration of Sucia Island’s rugged history, a window into the wildlife of the Salish Sea, and many more yet waiting in the edit room.

Working alongside the Northwest Navigation crew was its own adventure. We shared early-morning call times and those golden-hour crossings that make you whisper instead of speak. We swapped stories with crew members and their families over meals and hikes. We hunted for banana slugs between takes, collected shells by the water, and we’ll never forget Christine’s incredible baking powering us through long days—warm, generous, delicious, and gone in minutes.

And then there was the David B. The vessel itself was as much a character as any of us—an antique soul with polished wood and ironwork that whispered of another era. Filming aboard her was like stepping into history, where every creak of the deck and every line in the rigging carried a story. She gave the series a texture that can’t be faked, a reminder that the past is never too far from the present in these waters.

Northwest Navigation has been one of our most memorable clients to date, not only for the beauty of the places they led us to, but for the spirit they brought into every moment of filming. Their love for these waterways is unmistakable, and it shows in every frame we captured.

With all ten episodes now filmed and the edits underway, we look forward to sharing more chapters of this journey as they’re released. Until then, enjoy these episodes featuring the incredible antique Engine room and our adventures at Glacier Bay below.