i’m a huge believer in keeping things as real as possible regardless how crazy this ride called life throws one’s way. it’s amazing the egos + totally wacked elements that make their way into photography, visual media + our lives in general but it’s simplest terms it’s mostly bullshit. i’ve always tried to maintain ties to roots + though always throwing new things never letting go of that core ‘me’.

this might be something i learned early in life from my parents who were always there for me, solid as rocks regardless if i wore different colored shoe laces or dyed my hair. it might be from some generous elder who offered me the insight that if i made up my mind ahead of time, even for things i’m only vaguely expecting, it will make my actions that much firmer. it might be from little league baseball where i learned to think before each play, “what will i do if the ball comes to me”. it might be something i learned from a japanese professor in college who told me prior to my first trip abroad that i wouldn’t come back the same person.

in essence i think it’s a bit of all of this. it’s about finding that core of who you are, what you believe in + making a decision that those ‘roots’ won’t ever change. you’re ideals, positions, etc will vary constantly but those roots that are you are there to stay. this works for me in all my wanderings + adventures – both the fun kind + the life kind.

with that in mind it’s been fun for me to see to be reminded about lately. like with the latest issue of Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine with my name in the contributing photographer’s credits. and seeing snowboard photography icon trevor graves bringing out his old school snowboard images on facebook. and in the vein of this obvious root connection to the snow, the story on jarem frye in this month’s outside. i shot with jarem + a crew of amputee boarders a few years ago on mt hood + learned + was inspired. so here’s to staying true + staying yourself.

fantastic to see the thriving variety of uses for imagery + visual media evolving lately. two big hitters this week include national geographic + the ny times. the times feature is similar to work that is slowly making it mainstream that i touched on earlier here.

the national geo piece is via gizmodo + in conjunction with the oct issue + features nick nichols year long planning session to photograph a 300 ft tall tree without distortion. his custom rig is both elaborate + extremely effective, check it out. and let me know if you come up with anything even close for your own use. (mine’s more akin to this.)

if you haven’t heard of first descents here’s a great intro. they are a non profit founded by professional kayaker brad ludden to teach kids with cancer how to kayak and get outside. brad’s a personal friend of mine + one helluva person + we’ve been lucky enough

great to see friend + former ecuadorian national climbing champ pablo p up in the latest timex ad courtesy of yours truly. nice work mi amigo. this was from a shoot on mt rainier, wa though pablo + i have been lucky enough to work together in his homeland as well.

proud to see first descents and america’s most eligible bachelor (according to cosmo magazine) brad ludden getting some attention today in USA Today. fantastic work brad + his group do for cancer patients – get involved if you haven’t. and thanks to colin at giant noise for putting it together in mere minutes.