Since my last newsletter I sent out in November, I've been busy shooting mostly snow sports related work. Although the lack of snow in Colorado and the majority of the western U.S. has been less than ideal, 2012 has been a great year thus far. I've had the privilege of adding some new names to my client list, and my personal work has led to an upcoming ad campaign that I'll be shooting in a few weeks. Before that happens let's rewind a bit..
From time to time I post a 'Highlight' on my blog about photo gear and products that help me out as a photographer. One of those would be the New Balance 574 sneaker. They've traveled with me from Cleveland to Hong Kong and I always turn to my 574's when I know I'll be on my feet all day shooting and working. Here's why I love them.
Before winter began, I photographed electronic music group Savoy during their performance for a publication in Denver. Not the usual kind of music I shoot, but fun nonetheless.
I spent some time in Seattle on Vashon Island around Thanksgiving and can understand why so many great photographers come out of the Pacific Northwest. It's raw, beautiful, authentic, and eclectic.
The Sprint U.S. Grand Prix of Snowboarding, one of many Olympic qualifying events, came to Copper Mountain again this year and I spent a few days up there shooting the event.
At the end of January, Target hired me to document three of their athletes who were competing in the 2012 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado; professional skiers Simon Dumont and Torin Yater-Wallace, and professional snowboarder Shaun White. Along with shooting action/lifestyle photography on the X Games course, I also shot the interior/exterior of the Target Chalet, furnished for the Target athletes attending the X Games that week. This year was especially important in X Games history, as Shaun White set a new record of getting his 5th gold medal in snowboard halfpipe, as well as achieving a perfect 100 point score on his final run. Having the opportunity to shoot three of the best athletes in their respective sports was unbelievable, and I hope to work with Target again soon on some more action sports lifestyle based projects.
While I was in Aspen for the X Games, I also spent an evening photographing some of the snowcat drivers who work on Aspen Mountain every night from 3:30 PM until 7:30 AM. This shoot was an idea I had been thinking about for a while, and after I discussed the idea with ESPN.com, they gave me the green light and next thing I know I'm sitting in the passenger seat of a $350,000 snow pushing machine cruising up Aspen Mountain at sunset. The photos from this shoot were turned into a photo story, which can be read here.
I always enjoy watching behind-the-scenes videos of photo shoots. You get to see the other side of things, and learn a little more about how some amazing images are actually produced. After talking with my friends at GoPro, I used my new HD HERO2 camera to put together a behind-the-scenes video during my time spent shooting in Aspen. Watch it below.
About 48 hours after leaving Aspen following the X Games, I was back on the road to Aspen after being asked by Armada Skis to join them for a sunrise video/photo shoot in the halfpipe with X Games Ski Halfpipe Bronze medalist Torin Yater-Wallace. Torin may only be 16 years old, but his work ethic, professionalism, and great attitude trumps those twice his age. We got right to work as the sun was rising and by the time most people were just waking up, Torin already had numerous shots in the bag.
It's hard to believe it's been a year already, but I just returned from Silverton, Colorado, where I was shooting the Red Bull Cold Rush for Powder Magazine. The Cold Rush is a Red Bull Signature Series 3-day invite only backcountry skiing competition, where the athletes who are competing actually judge each other and determine an overall 'best' skier at the end of the event. With the dicey snow conditions we've had all winter long and above average avalanche danger, it's no surprise that we started the event with a massive slide in the area where most of the athletes would have been skiing! Luckily no one was hurt.
NBC will be broadcasting the Cold Rush on Saturday, March 24th, at 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST.
That's all for now, but I'm working on some new projects in the near future that I'm already getting excited to share with you. Those will have to wait until my next newsletter though, which will be coming out on June 1st.
Thanks very much for taking the time to check out my latest work!
