My next guest needs no introduction… but I’ll give it to you anyway. Mr. Dean Blotto Gray is one of snowboarding’s most respected and established photographers out there. As Principal Photographer for Burton this guy spends his life on the road capturing images of some of the best riders in the game. Through basement jamz, bike missions, and time spent at homebase, I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Blotto over the past few years and the guy oozes wisdom. One of my favorite aspects to his work is that in most of his shots, you can take out the rider and it would still be a piece of art that you would want to put on the wall… His attention to detail and how he uses the environment to enhance his shots is incredible. I could go on and on, but I am not the reason you are reading this, so without further ado… I give you Blotto.

Make sure you check out his blog here. Updated almost daily with high quality content.

Read the interview after the jump.

When not shooting photos, Blotto spends more time on

two wheels than he does on two feet. Photo: Gigi Ruf

Place You Call Home:

Phoenix (Arizona) is where I’m from; Burlington (Vermont) takes the rent money.

You grew up in Arizona… how did you get involved in snowboarding?

Our skateboarding posse had a local shop where we’d hang out all day every day, and one of the owners named Mike would go snowboarding on the weekends from time to time. He would tell us it was just like “skateboarding, but in the mountains.” That really didn’t register because we were young and too focused on finding Animal Chin.

Finally in 1991 our buddy Craig went on a family ski vacation in Colorado, but decided to find a snowboard instead of renting skis. He came back and said it was the funnest thing ever. Our entire crew headed up to Flagstaff, Arizona the very next winter and we were hooked ever since.

Shaun White & JP Solberg

You’ve had many roles in the snowboard industry, what were those, and why did you choose photography in the end?

Company owner, team manager, marketing director, photo editor, consultant, filmer and video editor. Photography is where my passion lies, and like all those other job titles, it’s challenging. At the end of the day, photography is the thing I enjoy most, so I’ve followed that path.

Gigi Ruf

On average, how many days do you spend traveling each year? Does it leave time for a personal life or is your life your work? Does it get old?

From 1999 until 2008, my average travel days per year were 290 days on the road. The past couple of years it’s been slimmed down to a meager 225 days out of 365.

The road is my personal life since this is what I do full time. I enjoy life on the road checking out this wonderful planet. The friends you come across while traveling ensures you some sort of ‘at home’ comforts while you’re far far away.

Does it get old? ‘Transacting’ gets old…meaning having to deal with someone to get regular everyday things done: lodging, eating, automobile, etc. The actual traveling and photography aspects never get old because of the limitless possibilities they afford you.

Trevor Andrews

I think a lot of kids that want to be snowboard photographers think that they will get to snowboard all the time…. But how often do you get to put down the camera and just ride?

I was a snowboarding bum for many years before I got to the photography stage, so I kinda worked out the need to ride everyday long ago.

Honestly, I much rather shoot photos than go snowboarding any day of the week, I get way more out of the shutter clicking than my edges carving through the snow. But that doesn’t mean I don’t go snowboarding from time to time…the last couple of winters I’ve had some amazing powder days at my home mountain in Arizona.

Shaun White- X Games

Sketchiest situation you have been in through snowboarding?

Avalanches and riders get hurt.

You try to avoid moving snow at all times and we do a very good job of judging potentially sketchy slopes, but sometimes it just happens. I do find comfort in knowing we’ve decided not to descent down many mountain faces because it just didn’t feel right. It’s hard to turn your back on terrain that looks really really good, but that’s the discipline you need when dealing with Mother Nature.

There’s a certain amount of risk involved as snowboarding progresses and that risk is certainly calculated based on experience and know how of the crew around you. You minimize it as much as possible, but sometimes “the out” just doesn’t work out and you’re unstrapping the rider’s bindings for them.

Keegan Valaika

A large amount of the younger generation of snowboarders are more focused on rails/urban riding as opposed to backcountry…. How do you feel about this? Do you respect both equally?

Everybody is a product of their environment, so when you walk out your front door you’ll snowboard on either mountains or streets or both.

I could never say one is better (or more legit) than the other, one hundred percent equal respect. When I left the desert and moved to mountains, we arrived later in the afternoon and it was dumping outside. As we walked out our front door there was a park down the street with a slight incline and some picnic tables, we ran there as fast as possible and started jibbing. The very next morning we caught first chair for the powder day of a lifetime on the mountain.

You can ride whatever is in front of you, as long as you enjoy it. If you have the means to travel and experience terrain not normally available to you, do it.

You’ve been in the snowboard world for a while now, anything you miss about the “good ol’ days”?

Cutting down boards, shooting film full time and being a snowboarding bum.

BLOTTOPHOTTO.COM

You seem to keep you blog updated almost daily with quality content…. What’s the motivation behind that?

The primary objective while traveling to document snowboarding is to lock down bangers for Burton and the magazines. The process itself is quite a challenge and you come across many an interesting character, beautiful scenery and just about everything else in between. If you travel all winter, the amount of photography generated would never have a home in print, editorial and advertisement speaking.

For so long it was a shame not to use all the photographs that explain the processes, the behind the scenes and lifestyle images of the crew involved. I wanted to change that, so I started a website with constant updating so readers could get to know the challenges and joys involved with traveling, snowboarding, bikes and photography.

Now I’m able to please the Internet crowd and the print medium simultaneously. On top of that, it’s been a great outlet in helping fellow photographers with their questions about cameras and shooting techniques.

What’s your opinion on iPhone photography?

I have zero issues with any device that captures photographs. It’s possible I enjoy using one manufacturers design over the other.

Infamous window seat photo, shot with an iPhone

How do you see the shift of focus in the media from print to web content affecting photography?

Magazine editor: “…gotta be banger…”
Internet editor: “…just send me something that’s good enough for the web…”

Haha… wow, I couldn’t have said it better. What photo of yours has the best story behind it?

For two summers in row (or the Australian winter) I accompanied the UnInc Snowboarding Team to Australia as part of a promotional tour. We’d tour down the map starting from the Gold Coast, ending up in Sydney. It was non-stop antics and laughter the entire time, never a minute to rest. Romain, Gigi, JP, Danny and DCP never let up on surfing, skating, snowboarding and enjoying the nightlife.

During year number one, UnInc art director Lance Violette said they needed to fill a couple of ad spaces and we should think about some ideas and capture whatever we felt like shooting. Since surfing and kangaroos are a big part of Australian life, we hit up some costume stores and scored a shark outfit and three full-bodied kangaroo suits.

In this particular scene, the kangaroos are hitchhiking along an Ozzie back road, when the shark drives by in the van. The Shark (Gigi), pulls over and tells the Kangaroos (JP, Romain, DCP) to hop on in, he’s happy to give them a lift to wherever they needed to go.

Who are a few of your favorite photographers?

Cole Barash, Jeff Curtes, Cyril Müller, Craig Wetherby and Michael Tighe.

Freddie Kalbermatten

Do you think photography is a natural talent, either you have a good eye or you don’t? Or can someone learn how to be a good photographer?

You either have the eye or you don’t. But anything can be learned I guess…

Nicolas Muller/Heikki Sorsa

Ok… so the world is coming to an end and you need to give up either biking or snowboarding to save it… what do you do?

Pedaling requires a bike, shoes and clothes. Snowboarding requires about ten times the amount of gear, and if you’re trying to ride in the mountains, you need transportation, lodging and lift tickets.

Apparently he didn’t want to give a straight answer to that question… but I think you know what he meant.

This is what happens when Blotto puts down the camera….

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here is a little edit I put together last season when I tagged along with him at a Burton shoot with the groms in Breck.

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I’ve known Blatt for a few years now and he is one of the most humble/laid back photographers I know. Which is surprising for his age and the quality of his work. Only 22 and coming out of VT, Aaron has already started to make a name for himself in the snowboard world. Currently, he holds the spot as the photo editor for East Coast Snowboard Mag, on top of shooting for multiple different clients. I’m expecting big things from him in the future…. no pressure Blatt. Check out his portfolio- adblatt.com. Or follow his blog. Read the interview after the jump.

Photo: Jin Saito

Place you call home:

I guess I had been living in Boston, MA in the fall for a few months… but now I’m on the road – currently in Western Canada living on an RV and shooting around… I’ve lived in Vermont, Oregon, and New Zealand in the last couple of years – NZ and VT for the longest.

What were you doing in NZ?

Riding, shooting, and traveling… Oh yeah, I took some classes down there too at University of Otago in Dunedin (South Island), I had some really good in depth design classes down there, and also studied some sound design (recording music is the best!).

But that place is insane, I can’t believe a place like that exists – Mountains, waterfalls, good snow, good surf, good people, some amazing little towns… if the chance is available to get to that country, jump on it!

Chris Bresford

A lot of people seem to think the life of a photographer is pretty glamorous, what do you have to say about that?

It’s funny in snowboarding because at times you can look around and you are getting expensive drinks passed to you at fancy parties, then at times you find yourself waking up on a dirty couch in some tiny mountain town… “this is not my beautiful life…” But it’s been fun to take it all in.

Brendan McInerney

You’re what, 22 right? Being young in the photo game, do you think your age holds you back, helps you, or do people just focus on quality of work not how old you are?

In this day and age, with the internet, and cell phones and whatnot – a lot of people that I do work for, initially haven’t met me in person – With introductions over the web being more frequent (and easily accessible) than face to face meetings I don’t think that age matters as much anymore. People can view someone’s portfolio online, decide they want to work with the photographer, designer etc., and then send off an e-mail to work out a contract all in the same day. So I guess I’ll go with quality of work for that question…

What’s your favorite thing to shoot?

Simplicity. When composition boils down to just a few ‘objects’ in the frame, be it snowboarders or jungle cats – that’s what I like best.

Black & White or color?

Depends on the situation, but when I shoot film I like color transparency the best. E-6!

Natural Sunlight or Flashes?

People that came up shooting on the east coast know how to use the flashes well. It’s grey out 90 percent of the winter – we know how to use flashes here, but once we leave it’s awesome to shoot with sunlight…

It’s a balance.

The most played out thing in photography right now-

People that take themselves too seriously… Definitely not to say it’s played out to take your work seriously, it’s important to stand behind your work – but it makes me nervous when people get too hyped on their work to progress their craft.

Chris Grenier

Favorite photographer outside of snowboarding:

I have a bunch of good friends that shoot outside of snowboarding, their work always keeps me pumped; However I think I pull more from designers/illustrators than photographers… Illustrators create with no limits and I’d like to do my best to shoot that way to some extent – hopefully more so in the future… my favorite at the moment is Frank Stockton – he’s so good at putting people into motion, and some of the angles he ‘shoots’ from are insane…

Luke Haddock

Do you think that people either have a good eye or they don’t…. or can someone learn how to become a good photographer?

I think learning by experience is key – I mean looking past all of the ‘tech’ stuff or book-smarts, anyone can pick up a camera and learn what it is that they like to see through the lens. People talk a lot about photo school, and I think it is a touchy subject… A lot of people get churned out of photo programs that have been built to create wedding/event photographers. I wonder if people enter that situation assuming that they will have all of this creative freedom when they get out and ‘become’ a photographer. I think that having the drive to shoot photos and the will to improve are the ingredients to becoming a good photographer.

Mikey LeBlanc

You went to college for graphic design correct? Do you think studying that helped you with your photography… as far as learning about composition etc?

Yes! I can’t be more thankful for the opportunity to get to go to school – I feel like studying design opened some different doors in terms of thinking while shooting photos, it was a very worthy experience…

What kind of projects are you working on now?

The winter is in full effect in the Northern hemisphere now, so I’m working on the fly… trying to put together a solid collection of images for mags/clients for the ‘09/10 winter at this point.

Yale Cousino

Did I hear something about you and a few friends starting a snowboard company or something? What’s that all about?

For sure! I met Matt Griffin while coaching snowboarding up in Vermont a few years back. He was studying business at Northeastern and his brother had a degree in engineering. They had this scheme to get a press and start making boards so I jumped in and helped out with some graphics and photo stuff – The Griffins are now some of my best friends, and the company is moving along. They are doing things at their own pace, and doing it right by revamping and perfecting every detail and process that they can look into… keep an eye out for the boards or check ‘em out at rhythmsnowboards.com

What’s next?

Extensively planning an image before shooting it. Creating scenes for a series is a goal for sure…

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Mike Basher… this guy has a lot to say… and he should after working for Snowboard Magazine for the past six seasons. He was one of the guys who helped create the magazine and since then has gone through the ranks as photo editor and most recently, editor, of the mag. But as of January 2010, Basher took a step back from his spot at Snowboard. He decided it was time to move on since, with his new position as editor, he was spending much less time doing what he loved, shooting photos. Included in this interview are his reasons for moving on, why he thinks Colorado sucks, and his big plans for what is to come. Read the what he has to say after the jump.

To see more of his work check out his site and follow his blog.

Basher and his baby… well his other baby… 4×5 camera. Photo: Steve Jones

First and foremost, you just had your first kid, Holden… congratulations. How does it feel to be a dad?

Well, sorry it took me so long to get to the interview…the first week has been a bit of adjustment. It’s awesome, though. He’s rad, and getting better by the day. Parents that tell you stories alluding to ideas that your life is going to suck after having a baby, and this and that are out of their mind. Being a parent is selfless, and like many things in life, I think it’s important to remember that at all times.

You’re most recent position was Editor of Snowboard Magazine, but what led up to that?

Years and years of persistence. When I started snowboarding 20 years ago, I wanted to work for a snowboarding magazine. The photos in the mags as a kid started to build my perception of snowboarding, and turned me on to photography. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I started to go down the photography route. I had been into motocross, and was always interested in the way things work, so one choice was to become a motorcycle mechanic, and the other was to become a photographer. Eventually, the two kind of blended into one.

I did the photo college thing, and really got into commercial photography. The time and patience of “making” photos really interested me. I always liked shooting landscapes, but the idea of being able to play God with lighting and little tricks here and there were a big draw. I was lazy, though, and instead of venturing down the commercial route, I chose photojournalism, because I had been getting into motocross photography. I don’t regret it at all, though…

Straight out of college, I was hired by a publishing company in SoCal, and was thrown into the mix with their two motocross mags: Motocross Action and Motocross Journal, putting together 18 issues a year. At 20 years old, it was a real eye opener, and I learned a ton about publishing and was shooting nearly every day in the studio, and out in the field and was responsible for most of the photography in each issue. By the time I left the company in 2006, I was shooting 90% of the photos in each issue, and working in the BMX and mountain biking world, as well. It was awesome, shooting non-stop and with different subjects.

To take a step back two years, I had met Mark Sullivan, the former Editor of Snowboarder Magazine at a motocross race in Massachusetts, and became buddies with him. We kept in contact for the next bit, and he informed me that he was going to start up a new snowboard magazine, and invited me up to Portland to meet these guys Jeff Baker, Aaron Draplin and J2 and help put it together. I took a week off of work, and headed up to spend probably 100 hours over 5 days putting it all together…picking fonts, layout designs and the whole deal. At the time, I had four years of magazine experience, but this was working with a blank slate. Watching it all come together was incredible. Over the following issues and years I became more involved, and titles became more and more serious.

Adam Dowell

You recently left your position as Editor of Snowboard Magazine… what made you decide to do that?

As my role at the mag became more serious and involved, that left less time to shoot. I’m a photographer at heart, and I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do, and I didn’t have the time to devote to shooting for the mag, since I was the Editor, Photo Editor, and staff photographer. I was responsible for checking things off of lists, keeping in touch with over 150 photographers, tracking down photo files, color correcting, making sure stories were done, maintaining a strong relationship with key people at each brand, going to deadlines in Portland, and when time permitted; shoot. It had gotten to the point that I would dust my gear off one day a month to shoot some boots, or whatever the products were. Trust me, I don’t regret any of it. I did far more in the magazine business than I set out to, and the experience is so valuable. It was a good ten years.

With you and Baker (and now Draplin) gone what do you think is going to happen to the mag?

That’s a touchy one. Being involved with SNOWBOARD from day one, it’s a part of me, and I want it to succeed. In ten years, I want to go to the newsstand, and pick up a copy of it, and it’s still incredible. That is going to take a lot of work, as it took a lot of work to get it to where it is today. It’s up to the new crew.

You’re based out of Colorado now, but in a previous conversation we had you didn’t seem too fond of it…Are you planning on moving?

I have a house here, but I don’t live here. The fishing is good, but everything is set up to be a mission, any time you want to do anything. If you’re fortunate enough to live in the mountains, that’s rad, but you’re stuck in a mountain town. We all know how that can be. If you want to live near civilization, it’s going to take you at least an hour and a half each way on a windy interstate (if the roads are dry) to go snowboarding. That’s not the big complaint. It’s the “we live in the mountains” mentality here. Denver and Boulder ARE NOT in the mountains. You can see the mountains, but you have to venture deep…real deep to go snowboarding. The backcountry is nonexistent, and the scene…I’m not going to go there. Let’s just say that Colorado snowboarding doesn’t have the purity that I’m looking for. I’m a snowboarder at heart. I’ve been doing it passionately for the past 20 of my 30 years, and I’m not going to give it up anytime soon. Since moving here three years ago, I don’t snowboard anymore. There’s no draw. I’m going to Seattle.

Ok so photo pricing…you seem pretty opinionated about that. What’s up?

You’re used to paying $2.50 for a gallon of gas, right? It’s just the norm. Say you’re driving through the hood, and you see a gas station that has $0.99 listed on their sign, or a banner in the front window that says “Free Gas!” Of course, you’re going to stop and fill up. But, you’re going to wonder…is this even gasoline? Will it ruin my engine? Well, the “engine” that is the snowboarding industry, or any other area of commerce, for that matter needs good, quality fuel. Burton needs to keep making high quality products to fuel their business, just like how photographers need to produce high quality photos to stay alive. If Burton started giving away their goods, they would go out of business, right? And Ride would be dragged down, as well, because then what is their gear worth, if Burton stuff is free? NOTHING.

Same goes with photography. Sure, Brand X doesn’t have enough to pay you for a photo, or they give you the age-old “We only pay $500 for ad photos” or my favorite: “We’re a small company.” Sure you are, that’s why you’re spending thousands of dollars to advertise in magazines. You want to know a small company? Mike Basher Photography. That’s a small company.

Unfortunately, there’s no rate card for snowboarding photography, but services (photos) are NEVER free. They are not payable by trade (unless it’s money), and the photos that a brand “has to have” are being used to represent that brand. They are valuable. If brands didn’t need photographs, they would use illustrations, and I don’t see many illustrated ads in magazines. There’s a definite market, so please, charge for your photos, and charge what they are worth.

Joe Sexton

With focus being shifted more onto web content, how do you see that affecting photography since people normally aren’t willing to pay as much for photos used on the internet?

The internet battle has been brewing for years. Everyone’s got a website and a marketing budget, but the two rarely coincide. There are industry rate cards for web usage, but they are generally far out of range for the client, where print, for example, is always within reason. What sites need to realize is that they are the future of media and advertising. Just because you can’t physically touch a photo doesn’t make it worth less than a printed photo, per se.

If a brand buys usage rights to a photo from you to run in a print mag of 50,000 copies, you’re likely to get $2,500. However, if that same brand wants to use the image as a banner on their site, for hundreds of thousands of people to see, it’s worth a tenth as much. It doesn’t make sense. It’s easy to understand why, but when you break it down by viewership, it doesn’t add up. There are sites out there that pay well for editorial usage, though. Surprisingly well, actually.

Some say print is dying, but as someone who was working as the editor of a magazine, do you agree?

Print is dying, but you can still get creative with it. In my opinion, people want to hold something that they love and they want to feel a part of it. You can’t feel a part of a website, or a PDF. That has been a huge part of the success with SNOWBOARD Magazine. It has been on far better paper than its competition since day one. You can compare it to Frequency. Both retain that coffee table feel that you can’t put down. Both have soul. The competition is quantity over quality, which pays the bills, but doesn’t hold up in my mind.

HDRs…. I hear you do them the long way. What’s your method?

It’s bound to happen. The “real world” does it, so why not the rest of us? Good things happen in moderation, and sometimes, the conditions aren’t quite what you want them to be when you capture an image. Yes, I do some HDR stuff, but with subtlety. I don’t use a program that magically melds 16 exposures into one, making it look like a Rembrandt. I put a little elbow grease into it, because some automated computer program doesn’t know what I want out of a final image, and every image is different, and needs to be treated individually. I usually work with chunks of separate files and lots of adjustment layers, painting in highlights and shadows individually by hand. It’s a careful craft, takes a lot of patience, and can easily be overdone, but it’s similar to working in the darkroom, with precise dodging and burning. I prefer a natural looking final image, usually adding a stop or two more range, not ten. Yes, an image with 20 stops range looks cool, but for $39.95, anyone can get a program to do that, as well.

HDR shot

Are you more into really concepting/planning out a photo before you shoot it? Or are you more of a spontaneous/shoot things as they happen photographer?

I’ve never been the “Hey, you want to shoot?” type of photographer. I like to have an idea of what the final image is going to be before I even take my camera out of my camera bag. Call me a kill-joy, but it’s just the way I am. I like to be calculated, and prepared for a specific situation. Prepared doesn’t mean having the right gear, it just means knowing what’s going on. I like sketching photos, and lighting diagrams. A perfect example was our December issue cover, which we shot at the DC Mountain Lab with Jonas Carlson. DC sent me a few images of the hip they were building, and while sitting in my basement in Colorado, I sketched up exactly what the cover was going to look like, angle and lighting and everything. It’s just the way I like to have control over a shoot. Obviously, you can’t plan each and every shot, but I like to have a really good grasp of at least a few go-to images.

Cover shot at DC Mountain lab with Jonas Carlson

You seem pretty attached to your 4×5, on that subject what’s your opinion on film vs. digital?

Through college, I learned the magic that is 4×5. 35mm was quick and easy, medium format was a complete waste of time, and 4×5, although it was incredibly involved, was the tool used when the shot counted. The resolution, the control, the precision…it’s always fit my style. I have never owned a 4×5 camera, and last year, on a rare craigslist visit, I came across a field camera, for $340. The guy had just posted it, and I hit him up right away. One of my favorite photographers is Jake Stangel. He’s a wiz with 4×5 and all things analog. His photos speak the honest truth in such a clean documentary style I rarely see these days. Anyway, Jake’s 4×5 work has been a bit of an inspiration, and we geek out on 4×5 stuff all the time. $1,100 later, and I have a full system that rarely leaves my side.

My reasoning for buying a 4×5 in the first place was to change my style of photography a bit. Digital made me lazy. It’s so easy to never use your light meter, or not worry about composition, because you can view and move right away. With digi, you also have so much more control in post, where you can fix exposure. Film doesn’t lie.

Film

Then do you think younger kids coming up in the game have it easy?

Yes, and no. The photographers that have been around for a bit, and that started out on film generally have their skills dialed, because the process of learning on film is more precise and involved. It’s the “proper way” to learn, but in hindsight, taking digi into account, there’s no perfect way. Some people benefit from learning visually on the back of a digital body, where others excel from learning how things actually work, then applying them in practice. In the end, though, nothing replaces hard work and diligence.

What’s your view on messing with photos in Photoshop? How much is too much?

Like Spandex, Photoshop is a privilege, not a right. I’m not going to limit this one to just Photoshop, but also mention Lightroom, Capture One, Aperture, and whatever else I may be forgetting. All have so many controls now that you can get really creative with your photos. So creative, in fact that it can be too much. But, keep in mind that I don’t consider my photography “art.” I make photographs of real things, so there has to be a fair amount of credibility in my images. Whether it’s of a binding being splashed with paint, a portrait of a basketball player, or a landscape of the Grand Canyon…it’s all real. However, you can’t just take a file straight from a camera, and use it for much of anything. They all need some serious tweaking to truly represent a scene. So, all files pass through some sort of Photoshop massaging at some point. It’s up to the person holding the mouse what the final outcome is. I don’t shun the use of any program, as I live and die by Photoshop. I just use the overall “reality” in my work.

Carmelo Anthony

Natural sunlight or flashes?

Depends. Dawn or dusk: natural. Nothing beats the look of magic hour light. So creamy. I like control, so flash is my first choice. Flash can limit creativity, because a lighting setup has a “sweet spot” where the lighting has been set up for a certain situation. If the subject or the photographer move, it throws everything off. Lighting in the way I enjoy it is incredibly involved, and can complicate more than benefit. It just boils down to personal preference, and the application.

Who are a few of your favorite photographers?

There are some commercial photographers that I like the flavor of, but whatever about them. Here, in no particular order are the guys I’m fans of, for personal reasons: Jake Stangel, Jay Michelfelder, Danny Zapalac, Creager and Matt Georges. These guys have gobs of talent, and always keep things so fresh, which I think is more important than who their list of clients is.

Amen on that last statement….What do you feel is the most played out/overused thing in photography right now?

I’m going to sound like a dick here, but it’s the people who are into all the gimmicks, and are chasing the hot new post production looks and tricks. Photography is self-expression. There are no rights, and there are no wrongs. Focus on what you want your photography to be, not on mimicking someone else’s. Keep it real.

Photo with the best story behind it:

I love this photo of El Capitain in Monument Valley, Utah. My wife and I were driving through two months ago, and the planets were aligned…literally. The cloud layers and formations were exotic and dramatic against El Capitain. Snow had just fallen, and the light was in the perfect spot to really accentuate the mountain. As I said, we were just driving through, and came upon this…nothing was planned. I pulled to the side of the road, out came the 4×5, I composed, filtered, metered and voila! It can happen anywhere, at any time. It’s part of the excitement of being a photographer. Things just present themselves, and you can make what you want of it.

Do you think people either have a good eye or they don’t? Or can someone learn how to be a good photographer?

Tough one right there. I think it’s more about passion than anything. An eye helps, but I know many educated, natural photographers that haven’t done anything with their careers, and guys that have to shoot something a hundred times before they get a usable shot, but then go on and do something with that photo. I guess it depends on what you’re looking for out of photography. To me, it’s being happy and making an exciting living, not squeaking by and taking the easy route. It’s challenging yourself to get shoots that scare the shit out of you because they are so involved, and so much is on the line. It’s harnessing the situation, and making it your own. To me, that’s a good photographer.

Mark Carter

Now that you aren’t with Snowboard Mag anymore, what’s next?

Well, to continue down the road that is paved by relationships, Jeff Baker and I are working on some bigger projects in the industry, handling catalogue shoots, marketing initiatives, design projects, web development and all things multimedia with our company we’re starting called Axis Media. We got the name from The Axis Powers in World War II. You know…the Japs and the Germans. Jeff is half Japanese, and I’m of German descent. We’re not out to kill anyone, or anything like that, but that’s how we came up with the name. Sounds better than Baker Basher. That sounds like a law firm. We’ll be good until someone starts up The Allies. We all know how that one ends up.

He sent this to me right before I was about to post this interview, had to include it…

“Hot Tub Time Machine. My four favorite words put together.”-Mike Basher

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My last few interviews have been based around snowboard photographers, but this interview strays away from that a bit. I met Brendan a few years back at some college party in Burlington, VT. He would always be the kid walking around the parties with a camera in his hand, snapping random shots throughout the night. I started checking out his stuff to make sure that there wasn’t anything embarrassing of me from the night before and realized the guy had talent. Since then I have been keeping tabs on him, watching his photos progressively get better, and he recently moved to New York City, where he is pursuing a career as a photographer… some might refer to this as “killin it”. Check out his site to see more of his work. TheAngryPenguin.ORG

The man himself. Brendan McInerney.

Place you call home:

Then, Kents Hill Maine – Now, NYC

What is it like working/coming up as a photographer in New York City? Is it a little fish, big pond situation?

New York City to me, is definitely a little fish big pond situation. I come from rural Maine, so this place is the exact opposite of home. Unless you have some serious connections here, its a wake up call in terms of making a living. The range of wealth here is also fucked up, one neighborhood is extremely poor, and down the street are multimillion dollar lofts. Plus, you might walk by someone on the street shooting with a 20,000 dollar Mamiya camera, and you can’t help but be envious. I think I just had to come to terms with the fact that we all come from various financial backgrounds, and that’s life.

Tell me about the company you are working for now? How did you get involved with them?

Right now I’m working for Mighty Healthy. They are a skateboarding/streetwear company born and raised in NYC. The founders Ray and Denis grew up skating with some of the most respected people in skateboarding, so  legend class skateboarders are coming by all the time. My friend Kashia was working with Mighty when I came to NY to visit, and hooked me up with a gig shooting some photos for them. It was funny, she said I was just going to shoot some shirts on some of her guy friends, and then she calls me the morning of, and was like, “Oh yeah, you’re actually going to be shooting Gino”. (Iannucci). So that was wild for me. Mighty has taken me to LA, Tampa and Vegas in the last 4 months, so I really can’t complain about traveling and shooting photos of people I grew up idolizing. Like in LA, we were at a Matix clothing party, just having drinks with Mike Mo (Capaldi), Jeron (Wilson), Mike (Carrol), Vance (Capaldi) and Guy (Mariano). And you realize they’re just skate kids like you, they’re just fucked up good at skateboarding. It’s hard to imagine meeting these guys, let alone shooting the shit with them, when you’re 13 skating flat ground in the middle of Maine, that’s all.

You went to Champlain College (in Burlington, VT) for graphic design right? Is your education you received there relevant to what you are doing now? You happy you went?

I am very happy I went to Champlain, I have some amazing friends I owe to that place. At Mighty I am the head photographer and the second graphic designer, and *personally*, I think the education I got from Champlain is completely relevant to what I am doing now. I say “personally” because I know people that say college was a waste of money and time, but realistically it comes down to how much you’re going to apply yourself afterwards. I mean look at kids like Aaron Blatt and Laura Austin, you don’t see them bitching about how unfair college was, because they are too busy working their asses off doing what they love. “If the winds not blowing, row your fucking boat.”

You came out of an area (Burlington, VT) where most kids who wants to be photographers turn to snowboarding, what led got you interested in shooting fashion?

I think its fair to say that people shoot what they care about, and over time what they care about changes. My interest in photography has always been in people, and people do all kinds of wild shit, they skateboard, they snowboard, they dress up in all kinds of outfits. I just like learning about new stuff, and I didn’t know anything about fashion before I came here. Its pretty crazy…A good example would be The X Games and Project Runway. They both do almost no justice to the things they are making a profit from (as far as exposing what it is really all about). I mean, how many people know who Shaun White and Tony Hawk are, but have never heard of Scott Stevens or PJ Ladd?

Photo with the best story behind it:

A few months ago I was shooting a party at some ballin ass club in midtown Manhattan. There were big ol patron bottles and champagne popping off at like 3 am (Aaron Blatt would have loved it). And somewhere in this jungle of thick beats and lights, some girls got their drinks knocked to the ground, complete with shards of glass etc. And instead of getting all pissed the girls’s friends just threw down their glasses and started that infamous dance-off type circle. I figured at least 5 people were going to the hospital, but they just didn’t give a shit, and just went nuts. So this photo was in the heat of that moment…

Some say print is dying… do you agree?

Nah, have something you made printed, it looks cooler.

Natural Sunlight or Flashes?

You gotta understand both, but natural sunlight is the best, no question.

Black and White or color?

Black and White.
Everyone can already see in color.

What’s your favorite thing to shoot?

Anything pushing perfect geometry, be it women, sports, nature or architecture

The most played out thing in photography right now-

The Holga camera, and wasting Polaroid film
(unless you are Gerry Webber)

Favorite photographer outside of snowboarding:

I have a few…
Robert Doisneau -life
James Nachtwey -war
Federico Erra – women

Do you think that people either have a good eye or they don’t…. or can someone learn how to become a good photographer?

This is a hard one. Like with sports, I think you need to have something deep in your brain that just understands it, because if you don’t it will show, no matter how many classes you take. With that said, I know tons of people who would be amazing photographers, but they just never got into it…

What kind of projects are you working on now?

I’m actually trying to shoot skating more. There’s so many good skaters in New York, it seems dumb not to bring my camera when we go skate. I’m also trying to shoot some fashion/modeling type stuff. It’s good to learn about all sides of you craft.

What’s next?

Try and take better photos, and do more photo work so I can get a house in NYC where all my idiot friends can come stay…

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Oli Gagnon is a force to be reckoned with. Coming out of Canada, not only is he a senior photographer for Snowboarder Magazine, but he runs a mag of his own. It makes sense, after shooting all season and having all these left over shots that weren’t used. But Oli isn’t filling up his magazine with “B” roll shots…. “At Slash I usually get the leftovers from all the photographers; stuff that none of the big US mags and Canadian mags are using. And it’s all super sick stuff! My goal is to just make a magazine that will be sick, legit action at all times, no bullshit, no milking it. A magazine by snowboarders, for snowboarders.” Oli said in a previous interview. With that being said, I give you Oli Gagnon…

Oli’s Self Portrait

Place you call home: Squamish, BC and Quebec

Some say print is dying… do you agree?

Definitely not. Its like film, it will always be around. I think its just gonna get more selective on what will be printed and what will be online. Like news papers and all  those kinds of publications that people just throw in the trash after reading every day.

Wille Yli-Luoma

What’s your favorite thing to shoot?

Snowboarding, skateboarding, live music, people

Photo with the best story behind it:

This is a photo of DCP doing a bs720 in Juneau, Alaska last spring. It’s a pretty basic photo when you first look at it but it means a lot to me.  This photo is the very last photo I shot before a huge avalanche took Absynthe’s filmer Justin Hostynek and I down a big bowl. Probably the scariest moment I’ve ever experienced in my life. I seriously thought I was done when I looked up and saw the huge chunks coming down my way.  I lost my snowboard, my camera bag, my jacket and went for a hell of a ride. Justin’s camera got taken down as well and he lost his board and got a crazy beating too. It was crazy. Fortunately everybody was ok but it was a real close call. After looking around we were able to dig out the camera and my camera bag. I couldn’t believe it.  I literally cried after everything was over and I saw that everybody was ok. I really hope this will never happen to me again I am really thankful that things didn’t go worse that day. When you look closer at that photo of DCP, you can see a sun reflection on the nose of his board that looks just like a star. In all my years of shooting I’ve never seen that happen in any of my photos before. That might sound cheesy but I kinda feel like this was some sort of sign… like a lucky star looking over us or something haha!

The most played out thing in photography right now:

In snowboard photography?? Shooting “planned out” covers. And making snowboarding look stupid. Photographers that try to tell riders what to do and/or refuse to shoot some stuff. Photographers that don’t know enough about snowboarding to tell if a trick is good or not and send in bad photos to magazines. And the worst are the magazines that run those photos. Photoshopping  photos so they’re perfect. I don’t want to vent too much but for some reason I feel like the list goes on and on and on…..

Max Legend

Favorite photographer outside of snowboarding:

This is a hard one.. there’s so many amazing photographers out there…. Snowboarding is nothing really…. When you look at dudes like Ansel Adams it just blows my mind. Photos that he shot 60 years ago with a 4×5 camera that are incredible. I also really like Brian Gaberman and Daniel Harold Sturt. They’re sick skate photogs.

Jonas Michilot

Do you think that people either have a good eye or they don’t…. or can someone learn how to become a good photographer?

I definitely think its something you have or don’t. You can always learn the photo techniques in school and be a “competent” photographer, but if you don’t have the eye I guess its harder. The way I see it is that I think a good photographer can make it happen and shoot a good photo, but a great photographer just lets it happen and gets the moment…

What kind of projects are you working on now?

The main project I am working on right now is my magazine, “Slash snowboardmag”. It’s  distributed in Canada in French and English, 3 times a year.

LNP

You’re a senior photographer for Snowboarder Magazine as well… how do you balance that and your magazine Slash?

I’ve been working with those guys (Snowboarder Mag) for almost 7 years now, so it’s kinda like a big family. When I told Pat I was gonna start my own magazine in Canada he was actually stoked on the idea. I’m not trying to be in competition with anybody, and plus I think there is room for another Canadian magazine (published in French) since the scene is so big here… And also, Snowboarder only runs a really small percentage of all the photos I shoot during the winter, so I needed to find a way to get all those photos out there so the riders get stoked.

Natural Sunlight or Flashes?

It all depends of the situation you’re in… I suppose a good photographer should be able to shoot a good photo in any situation and not limit himself.

DCP

Black & White or color?

Everything. You just gotta make sure you choose the  right one for the right situation.

What’s next?

Print more magazines,  record a new record with my band, skate, learn new songs on the guitar, shoot more photos, travel, enjoy every minute of my life, SHRED.

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It’s normally the people in front of the camera that are in the spotlight, so I decided to start a series of interviews with the people behind the lens.  I’m kicking it off with Ben Birk. I first met Birk when he came to Stowe, VT to work as the photo editor of East Coast Snowboard Magazine in 2007. He was a wild kid straight out of Pennsylvania. Birk is very opinionated and isn’t afraid to say whatever comes to mind… which makes being around him very entertaining. But when it comes to photography he buckles down and makes things happen, I’ve been seeing more and more of his photos make their way into the bigger magazines. Keep your eye out for this one.

The man himself, Ben Birk. Photo: Jonas Michilot

Place you call home:

Summer- Harrisburg, PA  Winter- Tahoe, CA

Rider- Nick Poohachoff

Did you become a snowboard photographer because you wanted to be a pro rider but weren’t good enough?

Kinda.  When I was young kid I used to believe in god.  I was riding a little factor x ramp that my friends had and was trying frontside 180 off it.  I could not stick them for my life.  I prayed to god that If I landed the next one I tried that I should be a pro snowboarder.  I went down and ate shit hard.  Hiked up again and prayed if I should be involved in snowboarding somehow that I would land the next try.  I went down and stomped a fs 1.

So your whole career was based off of landing a frontside 180?

That was just a funny story that kind of what made me realize I suck at tricks.  I had always had some interest in photography and once I was in 11th grade and eligible for photo class I signed right up.  The class was during the winter and I was riding every night so why not shoot some photos of snowboarding for my class.

Photo with the best story behind it:

This is a place on the east coast called Cousin Eddies.  It’s really unique and requires three hours of hiking through an abandoned coal mine that is not open to the public.  I had never hiked so far and had to push really hard to make it the last mile.  Each rider took their turn down but the last rider down caused an avalanche and was buried up to his shoulders at the base of the slope.  We did not have beacons and were so lucky he was not totally buried.  This photo just represents my first backcountry experience, hiking, avalanche, and adventure.  It’s one of my favorites even though it’s now three years old.

Some say print is dying… do you agree?

I don’t know, I was raised during the time of the internet and dying editorial freedom.  Is it dying or just changing?  Changing for the worse editorially I think we can agree upon.  As for print vs online I know I personally LOVE holding magazines and books.  I would never read a magazine online.  I like to look, feel and smell it.

Rider- Luke Haddock

Black & White or color?

Both.  I don’t like to limit myself.

What’s your favorite thing to shoot?

People.

The most played out thing in photography right now-

Going to school to be a “Photographer.”

Why do you say that?

The whole “I’m a photographer” hipster, flickr, myspace, bullshit.  I just hate how it’s like everyone wants to be a photographer, fashion designer, rapper, music producer, rock band, MTV SUPER STAR.  I mean VH1 had a reality TV show/contest about being a photographer called “The Shot”.  It’s all just gotten really lame.  Plus why do you have to go to school to learn an art.  Fuck that.  Go to school to learn how to run a business so your not broke when you are 40.

Rider- Will Bateman

Favorite photographer outside of snowboarding:

Diane Arbus

Do you think that people either have a good eye or they don’t…. or can someone learn how to become a good photographer?

Anyone can take a good photograph just apply some rules.  All I ever use is rule of thirds. lol

What kind of projects are you working on now?

Winter – Hike and shoot powder is #1.  Shoot Hasselblad is #2

Summer – There’re some cults that live around my town.  I want to photograph them.  One is a sex cult and the other I know nothing about.  I really hope they are something that scares people.  Some devil worshipers would be great!  I can only hope.

Do you think they will be alright with you shooting photos of them or are you going undercover? Do you plan on joining in?

It will not be an undercover operation.  As long as they are not racist or violent I plan on befriending the group and becoming accepted by them.  I will not be judging them but there to take portraits and photos of their life.  I am fascinated by people who are shunned or separate from “normal” society.  If i agree with what the group is about then maybe I will join.  I have to find out what they are first.

Natural Sunlight or Flashes?

Thats like saying film or digital.  Both have their times of use.  You have to decide whats best for the situation.  You can’t limit yourself.

Rider- Justin Mullen

What’s next?

Continuing to find a way to live my life as free as possible.

Check out more of Birk’s work at www.benbirkphoto.com

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