Photo Feature with ESPN.com

I've been working with ESPN from time to time on small projects for the last year or so and have always been excited to work with them. So, imagine my reaction when they recently approached me to do a full photo feature with my best work from this winter.

Check out the LINK to the finished article that just went live a few minutes ago. Really stoked with how it turned out and I'm grateful for this awesome opportunity to showcase my work. Thanks guys!

University of Washington Crew

Last week I got the opportunity to wake up at an obscenely early hour of the morning and ride along with the crew team from the University of Washington.

Being a former rower myself, this shoot was a dream come true. I've raced through the Montlake Cut at the Opening Day Regatta and it was one of the coolest competitions I've ever participated in. To get the chance to go out on the water and shoot with one of the best crews in the United States (and the world), on their home turf, was a huge honor.

So, at 4:30 AM, I loaded up my car and drove over to the University to hop into the coaches launch with coach Bob Ernst. Over the course of about two hours he steered his team all over Lake Union and Lake Washington. Fortunately for me, this was all occurring during an incredible sunrise which was then followed by the arrival of storm clouds with beautiful diffused light filtering through the clouds. We couldn't have asked for a better morning.

A huge thanks to all the ladies of the UW crew team and to Bob Ernst for getting me out on the water for this shoot.

If you'd like to see a few more of the photos from the mornings shoot, check out the GALLERY.

Powder in April!

This winter the Pacific Northwest has been a bit on the dry side. Thanks to an El Nino weather pattern, the Cascades were left without their normal blanketing of snow. However, April came around and attempted to remedy an otherwise fairly dry winter. With several storms hitting back to back to back, life in the mountains started to feel like it's supposed to... cold, wet and snowy!

I took a couple days to get out and wallow around in the deep snow and capture some much needed Northwest powder images. Big thanks to athletes KC Deane, Tyler Ceccanti and Alex Schenkar. You guys killed it!

And already, ESPN has picked up on news of these images and run the following mini-article. Stoked with how it turned out.

And for those of you that think this is all there was to see, trust me, I'm holding back on the best frames. You'll just have to wait to see those in the mags.

Salomon Jib Academy

This past Saturday I got to take part in a fun shoot for Salomon Sports. Actually, more than just a shoot, this was an event.

Every year, Salomon hosts a series of events all across the US called the Jib Academy. These events are aimed at the young up and comers in the sport. Anyone under the age of 16 is invited to show up for the day and ski with some of Salomon's top professional athletes.

As part of the day, the kids get broken up into teams where they get to ski with their favorite pros and get advice and tips as the day goes by. At the end of the day, a make-shift competition is held, with the winner getting an all expense paid trip to Mammoth Mountain for the national finals.

All of the jib academies take place late in the winter to maximize the possibility of sunny days and good park conditions. But thanks to a series of late season storms in the Pacific Northwest, the jib academy at Stevens Pass became more of a deep powder academy.

Weather and snow conditions aside, the event was a total success and the kids were stoked! It's always good to get a chance to connect with the young kids out there who will soon be driving the industry. It's amazing how passionate each of them is about skiing. It reminded me of what it was like to be that age again... when all you cared about was skiing and every moment of your day revolved around how to get better and how to get back out into the mountains again. Oh to be young again!

Thanks to Stevens Pass and Salomon for hosting such an incredible event. And even more important, a huge thanks to all the kids that showed up and made the event such a success. You guys killed it out there!

re:Action Portrait Finalist

Every year in April, the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival descends on Whistler, BC. Included in the ten day sports and music festival are several art exhibits and competitions that focus on art in the action sports industry.

This year, the festival announced the creation of a new photo competition: the re:Action competition. This competition was created to bring together the seemingly counter styles of portraiture and action sports photography.

The application process was open to anyone, and photographers were allowed to enter only one image. I chose to enter the above portrait of Mark Abma from a recent shoot in British Columbia. I love the mono-chromatic nature of the image, with the slight blue cast of the evening light balancing the deep blue of his eyes.

At any rate, I just received notice last night that the image is one of the finalists for the competition and will be on display in Whistler during the festival. The winner will be announced on April 22nd at the end of the festival.

Keep your fingers crossed!

And a quick update... the festival organizers just created a page on Flickr to showcase the finalist photos. Check them out HERE.