Mountain Bike Shoot for VholdR Cameras

I just got done with a recent shoot for VholdR cameras. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the brand, VholdR is a camera company specializing in POV (point of view) cameras. This shoot was to showcase their newest camera, the Contour HD, in use.

To put this shoot together, I teamed up with the downhill mountain bike team from Transition Bikes. With riders, Jill Kintner, Bryn Atkinson and Lars Sternberg, we headed out onto the trails just outside of Bellingham.

I've shot mountain biking before on more occasions than I can count, but this shoot was a little more difficult than your average. Given it's commercial origins, the focus of every photo had to be the camera. While one of the big selling features of the camera is it's tiny size, it's small stature also proved to be one of the biggest challenges. Trying to showcase a camera the size of a tube of lipstick, means you've got to be zoomed in pretty tight on your athlete. Factor in that these are some of the fastest bikers on the planet, and you've got a difficult task on your hands. Being able to stay tight on the athletes while panning with them was a challenge. And to make matters more interesting, I decided to add the strobe in to give some of the shots a little more edginess. It meant a lot of variables to juggle, but I loved the challenge.

To see a few more of the photos from the shoot, check out the LINK.

And for those of you tech dorks out there (myself included) that might be interested in some of the camera details of the new Contour HD... weighing in at 4.3 ounces, this camera can easily mount anywhere. It shoots in 1080p and can shoot at a frame rate up to 60 frames per second. For more information on the camera, check out their WEBSITE.

And if people have tech questions as to how some of the shots were produced, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Cheers!

"10 Best Jobs in the Ski Industry": Skiing Magazine Article

I just got interviewed by Skiing Magazine for their online story "The 10 Best Jobs in the Ski Industry". In the article, they focus on everything from guides, product designers, ski makers and everything in between. But for the job of ski photog, they turned to me to get some insight into what it takes to make it this competitive industry.

To see the finished article click on the link HERE.

I'm stoked that they turned to me to speak on behalf of all the other photographers out there. A big thanks to Anna Baldwin for collaborating with me on this. I'm honored!

A couple of photo captions, as the attached images aren't associated directly with the article. (Why attach them then you may ask? Well, because no one reads any of the blog posts that don't have photos accompanying them... and this shows you a couple angles from behind the scenes of a shoot.)

The first image is from Northern Escape Heli Skiing in Northern BC. Cinematographer Dustin Lindgren and I hanging out of the helicopter as we shoot James Heim descending a massive line. The image above is cinematographer, Scott Gaffney, Associate Editor at Powder, John Stifter and myself (blue coat) shooting Mark Abma at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing in central BC on a Helly Hansen shoot.

Fly Fishing in Utah

I just got back from an extended weekend away in Utah. I got a phone call a couple weeks ago from my favorite fishing partner and best friend, my dad. He simply asked one question "wanna go fishing"? Is that even a question??? "Of course" I answered!

So last Wednesday, I sent off my last email, put my voicemail on extended absence notice and headed for the airport. Destination Salt Lake City, Utah. More specifically, the Green River in Flaming Gorge.

I had fished the Green years back when I was probably 11, but the word "fishing" was a relative term. At the time I had a mullet and I think I spent more time throwing rocks and eating candy than I did fishing. So this would be the first time I would really get a chance to fish the Green. I couldn't wait.

Unfortunately, the fishing on the Green was far from amazing. We still got a handful of nice Browns and Rainbows, but they weren't in the bountiful numbers that you'd expect. But regardless of the fish count, I still had an incredible time. For me, fishing isn't about the number of fish you catch or the amount of time you spend flogging the water in an attempt to coax a fish to the surface. More importantly it's the time you get to spend outside with those that are close to you. It's drinking a gin and tonic, sharing stories and making fun of your closest friends. This trip didn't disappoint.

New work: Skiing Magazine

I just got done working on a small photo feature for Skiing Magazine, documenting pro skier Elyse Saugstad. I've had the pleasure of shooting with Elyse for the past 4 years now, most recently, on a shoot for Salomon in Austria this past February.

Elyse is putting on a skiing camp in Las Lenas this summer. So, if you feel like ripping pow and drinking wine this summer, you now know who to turn to. To check out the finished article and to see more of the photos from Austria check out the LINK to Skiing Magazine.com .

Photo Editors

The good folks over at PHOTOSHELTER run a really great blog. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend clicking on over and checking it out.

Over the last couple of days, they've been posting regarding the delicate relationship between photographers and photo editors. Starting off the week with a blog post titled Top 13 Ways to Piss off a Photo Editor and following that up with yesterdays Top 10 Ways to Make a Photo Editor Fall in Love with You.

Both of these articles are great reads and have some valuable insights into the working relationships every photographer must manage. But beyond that, even if you're not a photographer, they're still worth a read. After all, in every field, in every job, it all boils down to relationships and how we manage those relationships.

After reflecting on these two articles, and making sure I hadn't done anything in recent history that might fall under the "piss off" category, I got to thinking. Managing relationships in business is a lot like dating. Seriously, I'm not trying to make some obscure metaphor, think about it. You meet someone, you introduce yourself, and you go through that intricate dance of figuring out if/ how you can work with that person. And much like dating, a certain element just boils down to chemistry and how you mesh with that person. You can't force things, you just have to let that relationship grow as it wants to grow.

So give the articles a read through, and think about how you're managing your relationships. And if you find that you've done a couple of things on the "bad list", maybe you need to go get someone some flowers and chocolate.