Action Sports Cartel

Lets start with the basics, how old are you and where do you live?

I'm 27 and live in Salt Lake City

When did you pick up your first camera?

I grew up in New Hampshire and bought a N90 after I graduated High School in '99. I was going on a summer long road trip with a bunch of friends. I didn't have enough money for much else, so I borrowed a lens and was given a bunch of expired slide film. My goal was to document our road trip and do a slide show when I got back home.

Well being broke and on the road sucked, we weren't running the AC because we thought we could save money on gas, we ate buttered bagels from Einstein's for under a dollar, and would poach hotel swimming pools for 'showers'... but I shot lots of photos, they sucked too I guess, in retrospect, but I was learning and I came back with a slideshow to go with all my stories.

Did you continue shooting a lot from that point on, what happened next?

After the summer I started college at the University of New Hampshire. I went to school for Microbiology which might seem off, but its what makes sense for me. What was really cool though was that I took the best climbing shots from our road trip and called up the photo editor at one of the magazines. He had shot pictures of me climbing years back so I thought he might remember me. He did and I sent in some photos from the trip. He gave me the best feedback I've ever gotten... "these suck, but I really like this" or "it would have been better if you did this" etc. the didn't run anything but it made me want to get batter. I was lucky that he went out of his way for me like that. I continued to shoot climbing and lifestyle photos through Freshman Year at school and would send in shots once a month to a magazine just to get the feedback.

Thats pretty rad, so I guess you could say you were on your way to a start shooting your friends and climbing. Did you shoot other stuff as well?

Yeah, my roomates were heavy into the graf scene so I shot that quite a bit especially when I was shooting b&w. Did lots of running from the cops... Good times.

How have you migrated from shooting climbing over to shooting the whole lifestyle of action sports?

In theory -- For me I love photographing passionate people, I don't care what culture (climbing, running, urban, etc) they might fit into. More recently Ive been describing myself as a generation y culture photographer. I think it sums it up well.

In practice-- I think it's about shooting personal projects that reflect what it is you are psyched to get hired to shoot.

In the past year have you shot a lot of personal projects, have they helped you land gigs that you've wanted to shoot?

Well this past year has pretty crazy, I think I was gone 275 days or something close to that but I still did a fair amount, although not as much as I would have liked. I shot some simple concepts (that were lighting heavy) that went onto becoming the major photo style of a fashion shoot I did in October, and some of the smaller personal video projects I've done in the past year have allowed me to hire video crew to come along on a shoots and provide more content and value for clients.

What was the most memorable, or best experience you had working this year?

Can I choose the whole year?! I mean I did shoots in Vancouver, Mallorca, Morocco, Banff, China, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Chamonix, Adirondaks, San Francisco, how freakin cool is that! Specifically, I think I enjoy the shoots with new clients the best. They are the most challenging, and really push me to try and bring more than my A game.

What are you looking to do in the upcoming year, any big plans?

Right now I'm scheduled for shoots in Montana (Cold Weather Stuff) for the end of January, An expedition to Patagonia in February (Climbing), Brazil in the beginning of March... South Africa (Running) and Brazil (Running) again later in the Spring. I've also been looking at studio space in Salt Lake.

I've really been looking for that creative environment so I can continue to learn and explore new ideas... its harder to be creative when you are in your bubble I think. I took a bunch of time off in the end of October beginning of November (Seo taught me how to play golf) so I've got some ideas that need to come to fruition.

That's awesome, I play a lot of golf, Seo talks a lot of smack is he actually good?

I saw him sink a gap wedge from 80 yards for Eagle... that's good. He also gets pissed off and throws his clubs like a pro... so even if he is having a bad day its still entertaining. I've only made two birdies in my fledgling career so what do I know?

I read your blog and you've done some video stuff to go along with your shoots like you mentioned. How does that all work?

It depends on the shoot really. I guess it fits into three categories. 1) Its a big budget shoot and the client pays for a video crew to be there. I work with the video crew to stay out of their way and they stay out of mine. 2) Its a big enough shoot that I can bring extra crew along, or I have enough time personally to shoot video. Its not the focus of the shoot but its something extra I can sell the client or show to them so that next time they see the value and budget for it. 3) Its a small shoot and I just shoot video for my blog and to show other people the behind the scenes.

For up and coming photographers do you think it's important that they add some video aspect into their shoots and projects?

It definitely seems like you can offer more to your clients with it. I'm a big fan of the saying 'under promise and over produce'. I believe video is one way to do that. Look, any person with a camera, given enough time and information can take a cover worthy image. The resources are available on the web, digital cameras give immediate feedback, and the cost is so minimal that anyone can do it.

What's making a professional photog these days is your ability to work with people, create a brand around yourself, and remaining true to your passion of creating images. I feel that for some video fits in perfectly, but for others it doesn't. I do think, however, all photographers that hope to be around in 10 years should have a solid working knowledge of video and Final Cut Pro if nothing else so that they can be part of the entire creative process around a shoot instead of just a little piece.

Have you had many inspirations through your years of shooting, photographers that you look up to?

Yes, lots and they seem to come and go. In the beginning it was the old school outdoor photographers. Corey Rich, Jim Thornburg, Scott Serfas, etc Lately I've really been appreciating the work that goes in behind the scenes on shoots and photographers that have found new ways to market themselves. For example, I have a love hate appreciation for David LaChapelle's work but his ability to manage and direct sets that are that massive is undeniably inspirational; and I have no idea how he does it but so many dudes have a bromance for Chase that its impossible not to be jealous. Think about the huge number of people that are shooting photos these days and somehow both of these guys have found ways to stick out from the pack. I think that's really cool and it's something that I still learning to do myself.

I did notice your blog was geared a little bit in the sort of Chase Jarvis approach, behind the scenes looks, diagrams, videos etc. Are you active online in self promoting?

I've drawn inspiration for my blog from several places, and I think all photographer blogs are geared a bit towards self promotion though everyone has their own motivations. I've said it on my blog numerous times, I'm not a fan of Diary Blogging (today I went to the store blah..blah..blah), I mean does anyone besides my mom really give a shit that I ate a turkey sandwich for lunch? I think a good blog is insightful, raises and answers questions, and offers something worthy of publication. For me my blog has become my creative writing outlet, something I used to do quite a bit more, and at its my way of learning things better. I still struggle with it half the time, I bite my tongue often, and wish I could find a way to articulate my darker sense of sarcasm in every post.

What do you think about the online market? A lot of magazines are getting thinner, advertising is going online, are you finding yourself licensing a lot more images for web than you were a few years ago?

I don't know specific numbers but there is no doubt that advertisers want to find other ways to market themselves besides just print advertising. I am finding that there is a desire within companies to market themselves more creatively but there is a hesitation, especially given the economy, to experiment with brand new ideas. Everyone is staring for content for their sites. So I think the key to building long term relationships with brands and agencies right now is to find creative ways to market their stuff without breaking the bank. One way of doing this is through collaborating with other artists. If you can surround yourself with people that are talented in video, styling, post production etc you bring a lot more value to a client when you are doing a shoot.

Finally what gear are you using these days?

Sony and Nikon Digital SLRs, photography is just a front for me to dork out on cameras and electronics... so yeah this is what I have right now. I have Profoto lighting gear, although lately I've been psyched on these Alien Bee 800s with individual power packs. Each unit is about 8lbs and I have three of them. So I think the whole lighting kit weighs in at 30lbs for 3 self contained units, grids, reflectors, PWs, and cords.

Anything else you'd like to add?

This is seriously the hardest question you've asked, I've written at least 5 things here and then deleted them all. They all sounded way fucking Kumbayah. How about this... I'm way into music and Buck 65, a Canadian (I know can you believe it!) is always on my top played. He's from Halifax, and somehow I relate to a lot of his stuff. If nothing else for being a dorky, yet artsy, white kid. So although not my favorite track, its fitting -- Shutterbuggin' on YouTube

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