Tag / Snowboarding

It was good to get out and about on an urban mission with Australian snowboarder Tom Pelley during the week. He’s been on a magical mystery tour of the states for most of the season so we took advantage of being in the same place at the same time and went for some spring shooting. 3 spots; one with no snow, one was busted before we even started and the third was a success.

Here’s a few shots captured by my Canon S95 along the way.

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Kumi Yama – A French Organised, Japanese-themed ski and snowboard competition held in Les Deux Alpes in the heart of summer. It makes perfect sense.

The last weekend has just passed here in Les Deux Alpes where i’ve been basking in sunlight at an awesome winter event. I’d received my invite a few months ago to take part in the photo and graphic contest that was part of the weekends schedule. Things didn’t start well as my snowboard bag went astray during the flight and i had to hitch a lift to the mountains as i realised there was no way to get where i was going from the airport.

Once i got over here though everything fell in to place. The contest, vibe, organisation and the people were all awesome and watching some of the teams fight it out over the super original course was so much fun.

The photo contest was a hard fought battle and i was amazed at some of the graphic designs on display at the gallery evening. My graphic designer was over in England and considering not one phone call was shared between us i was stoked with the outcome.

Mine and Pauls graphic story

As i prepare myself for a trip to the sunshine later this week its worth remembering that the weather in the southern hemisphere is readying itself for winter. Australian Snowboarder magazine has recently been released and i’ve managed to work my way into some of it. First up is Paul Mcmahon killing “boxzilla” which was an installation Snowpark constructed for the last couple of days of the season at the beginning of October.

The magazine also features an interview with Michaela Davis-Meehan with the following shots being in it. The first one was shot in Mayrhofen on a really flat light day with the second at Chiesa Valmalenco. We timed this to be right at the end of the day, just incase anyone was prepared to take our lift passes. With it being in laid back Italy, no on seemed to care!

Am heading out on the road again this week with a sailing competition, a  music festival and a bit of home made go-karts in the form of the Red Bull Sopabox derby for the weekend. You can keep updated here or for a more day to day rundown you can catch me on Twitter.

I’m picking up my computer after a couple of weeks more or less off the radar. I relish any time i can have away from the computer just giving me the opportunity to get out more, see new and interesting things and, in this instance, learn to play and become completely addicted to backgammon.

This last mission has been a cross continental affair. I jump at any chances i get to go snowboarding somewhere new and an invite to Turkey for some springtime powder was too good an opportunity to pass by. With no schedule, no work and no real plan to follow the trip was on. For those who are interested, the resort was called Kartalkaya. Its roughly 300kms from Istanbul with pretty mellow terrain. The resorts are all inclusive with Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, midnight soup and all day long drinks included. Luckily they also have various additions for ways to try and burn all those calories including a kicker with an air bag for you to practice those elusive double corks, or in my case, a simple backflip.

The Spice Bazar, Istanbul

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The new year trip is now in full swing. I’ve been over in Laax in Switzerland for a week now. If you put the town aspect and the complete inability to eat any reasonably priced food (yesterdays meal plan: bowl of cereal, an orange, 1 packet of crisps) to one side then oh my god. Is Laax heaven? Could it be the best resort in the world? I’ve been to a few and this rates close to the top, if not the top.

I’ve hooked up with What feels like team Australia for the next month. Here’s the crew……..

Left to right; Paul McMahon, Michaela Davis-Meehan, Hugh Marsden, Alicia Barker and me at the end

Paul’s the coach of the other riders who are on a Fastride camp over here in Europe. We’re in Laax now to ride, to shoot and for the Burton European Open that starts off tomorrow. What can i say? Completely stoked on Laax, completely stoked on the guys i’m with, completely stoked on the weather (so far) and completely stoked on the vibe (eating for pleasure not included).

I’m going to try and do a “shot of the day” for the next week. Today was mens training for the halfpipe so it seems an apt place to start.

Sick Japanese riders name unknown!

Who would of thought that a load of scaffolding assembled together in a run-down industrial estate south of the River Thames could be so much fun. Well, this weekend Londonfreeze rocked into town and we were greeted with some wicked snowboarding and skiing action.

drop-in 

Like most snowboard events that i’ve ever been to, the day of the FIS Worldcup was overcast and the light for photos pretty poor. I must say though i had some fun whilst on “crash cam” so to speak. Here’s a couple that caught my eye. I really hope that Marco Grilc is ok though as he looked in serious pain as he was taken off the landing area by paramedics.

I’m looking forward to venturing over to Europe this week for the next round of the halfpipe worldcup. I’m hoping for some blue skies and beautiful days but in the meantime lets keep it dirty in this scaffolding dream!

Ok, i literally just got back from Cardrona where they were hosting the World Cup halfpipe event. It was an all out Japanese domination. They went huge! Kohhei Kudoh took the mens tiltle with one of the highest scores ever given in a worldcup event. just got the results emailed to me and head judge, Ste’en Webster, said Kudoh’s run was one of the best he had ever seen in his judging career. “Every hit in his winning run was sky high. As judges we hang out for years to see a run like that,”

Kohhei Kudoh’s winning run

It was pretty overcast today but i was assured that yesterday was an awesome day for the contest, “great for taking photos” i was told. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it because i had the chance to go heliboarding for the first time. Thoughts of going to the halfpipe event left my brain in milliseconds as i jumped in the car and went to the launch site. I only had a point and shoot camera with me but got the taste of what its like up there. Hopefully i’ll get a commission in the near future for a heli shoot……..its worth keeping your fingers crossed for!

Ummm, Heliboarding!

Hey everyone. So i’ve decided against a summer as such this year and have headed over to New Zealand for their winter. I’m going to try and keep this blog up and running alongside the website to show you some of the events i’ve been to and people i’ve hooked up with along the way. It gives me a chance to showcase a few more shots, after all you’d rather look at a picture than read and read. I know i would.

On my way over here i stopped off in Tokyo and met up with a friend Makoto Tanaka, a great photographer whose work is mainly based on everyday life in and around Tokyo. i met him stupidly early to go and shoot Tsukiji fish market in full swing. That place is insane! Japan is a country i’ll never tire of. Whether its eating sushi at 5.30am or hiking through the powder in Hokkaido, its got it all. I cant wait to get back there for another winter.

I arrived in New Zealand a few weeks before the season as i had a date with the Queenstown Festival at the beginning of July. Included with the media pass was 10 days riding at Coronets Peak but i only hit it up a couple of times. What can i say? Basically an outdoor snowdome with its 200 odd snow cannons and green fields surrounding it. Very surreal. The festival was sweet though and i had an awesome time shooting The Checks. Great bunch of lads. Also really enjoyed Lucid 3 who were playing in a cool pavilion, very chilled evening.

I’ve been back in Wanaka since then and have been enjoying the slopes up at Cardrona, even more so now the school holidays are over. I headed over to the Electric Quarter Pipe Battle at Snowpark. That place is a dream. simple as that! Unfortunately the weather was all over the place that day – sunny, flat light, sunny, fog……and we left just as it was clearing up for the final. Shocking timing!

The Cardrona Games was on last week and they’d fashioned a nice size jump for it. It was the first time that it’s been organised for the evening so there were a few teething issues. The riders couldn’t see the landing, the media couldn’t see the riders and so on. My new flash unit which should have arrived that day didn’t so shooting was a nightmare. Stood out on a freezing jump unable to photograph the riders lead to an early trip home and, if i’d of had any in my house, a hot chocolate.

The travelling carnival which is The Burton Open begins in earnest next week and i’m hoping for a sweet one. Two friends birthdays coincide with Burton movie premiers and magazine parties. Its Cannes on snow. I’m hoping for bluebird conditions and mind blowing riding. Watch this space.