My greatest contribution to snowboarding

These photos are my greatest contribution to snowboarding. I’m very proud of them out of all the submission to snowboard magazines this one is my favorite. One of the reasons I am so fond of then is because thet have a message in them. It is very subtle but that’s the way I like things. They represent what we are doing to the environment. This is one of the most important issues of our times. We are slowly destroying the earth the thing that keeps us alive. That is just a crazy thought to me. How is it possible that we consume so much stuff? The leaders of our planet encourage consumption. Or society is based around this concept. Why do the products we by only last for six mounts? My thoughts are that recycling is important but it is miss leading. Now I’m suppose to feel ok with thronging thousands of plastic bottles away? The fact is we have to stop consuming as a planet. I feel like the earth is a living organism and we are a cancer killing it.

There is a 5 minuet video that goes with this project it tell the story a little bit better .You can get it from I Tunes for $5. Any time I can contribute some good to this word I take advantage of it.

This is not your typical environmental project it is not come guys eating granola trying to save the earth that is not my style. I want to paint a very graphic picture of what we are doing. At the sane time I wanted it to apply to a young audience who are snowboarders. The youth is the future and I feel like if I can plant a seed now maybe it can grow in time. These kids will be running things in time. We all know the people doing it now are not doing that good of a job.

This project was made possible by Forum ,Transworld snowboarding mag and the efforts of so so many people thank you for being a part of this.

Forum/FQS/Special Blend/Catalog shoot...

Here is a quick behind the scenes look at the catalog shoots we did this week. I can’t show too much until the catalogs come out. I would like to thank everyone who was involved with our shoot. Bryan Knox/Forum, David Friend/Forum, John Alvino/PLY ,Erik Petersen/JDK, Andi Elloway/PLY, Mark McClanahan/Lighting, Tim Peare/Photography, Kyle Schwartz/Video, The Forum Team, Thania Peck/Model, Anne Molin/Model, Kayla Pringle/Model, Kristi Kimartin /Intern, Lauren Randolph/Intern. The shoot was a success thank to all of you!

We used some old cameras on this shoot to give the photos a unique look. I’m super stoked on the portraits we got from this shoot. I can’t wait to post them.

We set the fog machine off to test a look for the Special Blend Catalog. The owner of the studio got a call from someone telling her the studio is on fire. She rushed down and found the place filled with fog. She was cool about it and just laughed.

My gaffer Mark is using a mirror to bounce light on to Eddie Wall's face. He knows all the tricks every great photo comes down to the smallest of details.

My good old 4x5 camera. I had to dust this one off. We have not worked together in some time. People collect these cameras so they can look at them on the mantel above the fireplace. These cameras give you a look that cannot be matched by any digital camera or hours of photoshop. The portraits and photos that we got from this beauty are insane!!!!!

Things got interesting for a while because I was shooting with three cameras with different film in each of them. As I shot one camera I was passing another one. It was hard to keep track of what I was doing.

Setting up the light for our studio shoot.

This is a funny photo because we are shooting a snowboard catalog standing on a skate ramp in southern California. That is the beauty of photography. Nobody will ever know. But you have to laugh at the irony of it.

We had to do a ton of rigging for the lights used for the S.B shoot. It was worth it. The photos from this shoot are truly unique. I have never shoot anything like this.

This is my friend John sitting behind me. He was also the art director for this shoot. This is a good example of having some one on your back all day. Ha ha. He was actually really good to work with. He gave me a lot of creative freedom. I have had art directors and clients that have been behind me all day to the point where it actually started to compromise the shoot. This was not the case here but it looks like it in this shot.

Transworld Shoot Out

It always amazes me how one small change can make you see things in a whole new light. Like in this image with the buildings. You can see these same buildings everyday, and in a moment, with the sun sinking behind them, and the sky lights up with different colors, it becomes a beautiful moment that makes you see it in a different way. Once you change the light, it changes your perspective on the same thing you were looking at, that’s why I like sunsets.

This is also true with life. A few years ago I made a decision to use my photography to spread light on to subjects that people would normally, not pay that much attention to. I have just completed my third, major project using this concept. It’s a project about the environment, that will be featured in, Transworld Snowboarding Magazine, and will be seen on MTV. It was a contest that, Transworld hosted, using 4 snowboard brands, involving photography and video. I could have just done a typical snowboard project, but I chose to include a topic that was essential to the sport of snowboarding. The environment and nature is what make this sport possible. If we keep destroying the earth at the rate we are now, we will not be able to enjoy simple thinks like, nature and snowboarding. This I an example of how we can use the thing we have to do every day, and add some light to make a difference in the world. This concept can be applied to anything, even if it is just a kind gesture. Things like this will spread, and the next thing you know, people will start doing nice things for each other. Try this, it works!!!!