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My transition from the Courmayeur stop of the Freeride World Tour to Munich for the ISPO trade show was not a smooth one. With a large number of meetings lined up during the event the complete destruction of my computer only hours before didn’t come at a great time. With little time to dwell i managed to pull off what became a very successful event with a host of productive meetings concentrating both on this winter as well as looking into the future.

Images were short to come by taken by myself in Munich, although i did take a few for my Trail Running Website which played a major role in talks regarding my sustainability during the summer months.

With 10 full days of work coming to a close i decided to jump aboard a plane back to the UK for a day or two of rest before heading back to Geneva on Saturday for some filming time with Level 1 productions. Already looking forward to getting back into the snow.

So i just finished up at the Freeride World Tour over in Chamonix. It was my vist time covering a stop of this tour and i wasn’t quite sure what to expect. With my winter season slow to kick off after the cancellation of Red Bull Linecatcher it was time for the rolls to be reversed as i sat inside all Saturday due to too much snow in Chamonix. When the snow cleared and the light came out it was time for the event to go ahead. Probably the best part of the day was getting up the Brevent gondola (that i’ve previously ran up) whilst still dark and intime for an amazing moody sunrise around the Mont Blanc area.

With the competition done and dusted the whole operation upped and moved to neighbouring Italian resort Courmayeur as night moved in. After securing some work for the Italian stop, i’ve made the move over with them and look forward to another couple of days of freeriding before i move in the Germany direction for ISPO this weekend. Busy week travelling for sure!

Here’s that dramatic sunrise, and equally a dramatic of line taken from yesterday.

I’ve been working with F-stop for just under a year now and can’t say enough good things about the product. Throughout the action sport community my views are mirrored by other working professionals who understand that these bags are built to last and survive in the environments we work with them in.

As a company they often release newsletters focusing on one of their team members, and this months belongs to me. Included is four images with a little bit of background to each one. Fancy checking it out for yourself? just click on the image below.

In previous years around this time i’ve taken a look back over the year and put together a number of images to sum up what i’ve been doing over those 365 days. I’ve decided to skip that style of post this year as my recently released new website does a pretty good job at showing some of the highlights of the year.

Saying that, i thought it would be nice to show you something as we move into the new year. During the last 12 months i’ve been lucky enough to spend a whole bunch of time with Level 1 productions putting in some serious mileage on the way. With their recent movie now released a photo slideshow of mine came as a bonus feature on the DVD and also the Itunes download. I haven’t put the slideshow online myself until now so i hope you enjoy a few of my shots i’ve compiled along the way.

With one pre season trip to Sweden already in the bag, i look forward to this next one. I’m off to Switzerland tomorrow so if another blog post doesn’t make it before new year, have a great new year and i’ll see you soon out on the snow.

Earlier this year i was up in the mountains in Switzerland admiring a collection of National Geographic magazines spanning 20 years. Ever since i saw it i dreamed of one day having something similar, but then forgot about it. Until now…

Walking through my local supermarket last week i saw that this month edition of the magazine included a supplement of their 50 greatest photos which proved to be a captivating read. Whilst sitting and looking through the actual magazine i saw you can subscribe for a ridiculously low price (only £15 in the UK/$15 in US)

I’m amazed that you can get a years worth of the magazine for so little money, it could definitely be a great last minute gift for someone for christmas.

Wondering how they do it so cheap? It doesn’t take much exploring to find out. In this months magazine adverts are included from BMW, Rolex, Canon, Hermes and Tag Heuer. This is no low budget publication. Then on one of the early pages you see the publication figures; they have a print run of 5.7 million a month with 97% of those magazines paid for. There’s some serious figures!

As for myself? I just hit the purchase link for my own subscription. If they keep it at such low prices maybe i’ll have a National Geographic bookshelf in 20 years time…

I’ve found myself locked away for the last week as i’ve been redesigning my website to try and make a new dynamic portfolio that i’m happy to take into the future. My previous site was formed of two parts with my blog section working separately from my actual portfolio. Over time i found that my blog progressed as i wanted it to, whereas my portfolio had the feeling that it was starting to gather dust. I wanted to make something that kept all my work in the same area including my blog and portfolio including my personal work, alongside any commissioned pieces.

As with anything that’s new there could well be some hidden areas which don’t work or which don’t please you. I realise that it’s impossible to please all tastes but if there’s something that doesn’t sit well with you then don’t stay quiet, let me know. I’d appreciate any constructive criticism you may have so i can build on these foundations.

Overall though i hope you enjoy stopping by and get some inspiration from some of the work i have on display here. Hit this link to be taken to the home page.

With 7 hours to kill in Stockholm airport i’m able to reflect a little on the trip thats just happened. Back in October i hatched a plan to attempt an early season filming trip with Level 1 Productions Kyle Decker and Swedish skier Niklas Eriksson. The Stockholm big air event would be a perfect starting point as we embarked on a 12 day adventure, quite literally to the top of the world joined by skiers Will Wesson and Sig Tveit. Now usually i’d be tempted to run down how things went but the story and images that accompany it are so unique that i’m going to keep them to myself for now to be told another day.

I did keep a little image gallery over on my Facebook Fan Page with some fun memories to check out. And here’s a shot for you. 12 day trip, 44 hours of sunlight. For the brief time the sun is in the sky you really have to make sure you get little gems like this.

Sitting here in the UK and willing the weather forecast to show some snowfall over Europe is making me impatient for the season to start. Whilst i’m waiting for that temperature to drop it’s worth casting back to the end of last season whilst shooting alongside Level 1 at Breckenridge resort in Colorado.

We arrived in Breckenridge after a long drive down from Sun Valley up in Idaho. The lasting impression of this seasons spring shoots was just how un-springlike they were. Arriving on the 1st May we were initially welcomed by 2 foot of fresh snow. It was very surreal battling the cold and fresh snow up on the mountain long after it had already closed for the season.

After the initial snowstorm our time in Breckenridge panned out really well with the resort pulling out all the stops to make our time there a success. Along with a mountain of lunchtime pizza they also supplied some great features, including “Mr T” – a mohawk inspired design allowing the skiers to treat both sides like a halfpipe wall, but landing on a regular kicker landing.

There was a good selection of skiers really getting to grips with the feature and Tom Wallisch had sights set and mind in place with this feature. After a few days back in Colorado it was great to come away with some work and this appeared as a signature poster for Full Tilt. I haven’t seen a copy in the flesh myself but i’m sure a few of you would if you attended any of the premieres this season.

Now, back to checking the forecast……

London Freeze came and went over the weekend and i’m glad to see yet another city big air done and dusted. It was quite a cool weekend only having to get down to London as opposed to on a plane. Nice to catch up with friends and talk about the up and coming winter.

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Yesterday i took advantage of a free day in London. A quick visit to the Tate, a stroll around some shops and an evening catching up with some friends post photo shoot. Back to work today over at London Freeze and its surprisingly sunny. Here’s a few snapshots from my much loved Canon S95. Always in my pocket, always making great shots.

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