Today was fun. I met Joe McNally from National Geographic. I learned a few quick things from him, and reinvigorated my photography a little bit. Damn that guy rocks.

Oh ya, I also had a little bit of fun in an elevator shaft. Check it out.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

Playboard Cover

Playboard Magazine Photo Issue 2008/Eric Greene/Grouse Mountain


Cover shots are my favorite part of the snowboarding industry. Back since 1999, I used to pick up issues of Snowboard Canada and Transworld solely to ponder and awe the workings behind the cover. I used to wonder what the rider felt during this shot. How did the photographer come up with the angle? Was either of them stoned or drunk at the time? Should I be stone drunk when I'm snowboarding?

I came to realize that this was their job. But back then it was fun; you ride around with your pals, see something and shoot it. Recently, and arguably since the dawn of the professional digital SLR, the caliber and quality of snowboarding images have improved dramatically. It may not be recent to some (I think the magazine's started to run digital shots in 2005) but it is recent to my snowboarding history.

I have been snowboarding for 12 years this coming season. I started in 1997 when I was 10 years old, and have never looked back. My walls were decorated in shred-wallpaper from torn up issues with shots by Dano Pendygrasse, Danny Zapalac, Colin Adair, Rob Mathis, and many many more.

There was one cover in particular that stood out in my mind, and really began my technical questioning of photography. It was a cover of Snowboard Canada shot by Geoff Andruik. The rider, Jeff Keetley, was boardsliding one of snowboarding's first double kink handrails in Vancouver. The night time shot was streaky and really got me thinking Geoff he made his camera produce that result.

Jeff Keetley - Geoff Anruik Photo

And that's when it dawned on me. Geoff produced the result; it wasn't the Canon camera that did it. And from that point on I challenged myself to produce something, to produce anything that could call my own. I constantly think about if that cover was one of main maturing points of my life. It was an epiphany of sorts. It was a realization that I wanted to create the visions that were in my head.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

The Amazon Part 4 (The final chapter)

After an amazing night in a black blanket of abyss, I found an ease and a rest in a bed filled with a lavender scent. Not the lavender scent of a cheap Febreeze spray, but moreso the scent of fresh flowers under the pillows. It probably wasn't lavender but my tired mind imagined it so.

The next few days were calm and amazing. They were filled with: ant eaters that could climb trees; wild boars that smelt bad; massive anaconda paths in trenches; a beastmaster snake that scurried off so quickly I barely saw it; piranhas which I hand fed crackers to; crazy monkeys that didn't make a sound, but constantly watched over me like a Hollywood stalker; tree cutter ants that cut trees down, go figure; fire ants in my pants; and amazing fruits. I didn't have the time to snap off pictures of everything, but I'll leave a few snaps here. I hope you enjoy.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

Sunset Birds, in black and white of course

Capivara on the side of the river

The butterfly that looks like an owl

Piglet biting my foot

Another butterfly

Amazon River

The Amazon Part 3

That night, after a wonderful dinner filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, we headed out on our a canoe to go searching for caymans. The process began with a slender, knife shaped boat roughly 3 inches above the water, a drunk tour guide, and no lights/verbal communication allowed.

Fun in my eyes, not in the eyes of some.
It is quite amazing that people are actually scared of the dark. I thought, usually, that once you've grown out of those bad Friday the 13th horror films from the 80s, you would pretty much be happy and content with living in a dark scenario. But perhaps I haven't quite explained the darkness of this specific scenario.

Dark isn't when you turn off the lights and you're room goes black and still, as thoughts pour in to your mind about the unknown and unseen. Dark is when you are outside, in the middle of the jungle, on a weak ass, sketchy canoe rolling up the amazon river in search of monsters, listening to living animals being ripped to shreds on the shoreline as the same monsters get their dinner. That is what I mean by dark. I guess I shouldn't judge. I won't judge them, but I will say it was an oxymoron of feelings, terrifying enjoyment.

The first 5 minutes of the dark adventure began with silence, and admiration for the stars as we drifted downriver narrowly escaping the clutches of fallen trees and
piranhas. When you look up at the stars on a clear night in the jungle, it's not like looking up at the stars when you're camping. It is like looking at spilled salt on a black table, but with sections of red, blue, green and other cosmo gases and nebula in space. There is some serious shit up there. I have never seen colour in the sky, nor have I seen galaxy formations. You can see it all! There is no light pollution around (how are you going to get electricity and power into the middle of the fucking jungle?

Are you crazy
Gonzo

The Amazon Part 2

Promptly after arriving at my new home in the jungle, I drained whatever amount of chicken broth that my body would allow and fell asleep. I awoke to my cousin shaking me saying that it was time for our first hike. We were about to embark on a 2 hour hike through a non-distant trail at roughly 9pm when I realized that I was not going to survive carrying my bag. Regrettably, I decided to leave my camera behind and we set off on foot.

Did you know that tarantulas in this part of the jungle are nocturnal. They, like you're average Whistler party hound, don't like the light very much. We were fortunate to run into a few along the trip and much to my delight, my cousin was a bit squeamish. One thing that was extremely notable about this hike was the sounds the jungle made at night. It was reminiscent of those rain forest cds my parents used to play, but with an insane quality boost like that of a good live concert or of a vinyl record. It is a sound that soothes my dreams today.

If you are unlucky enough to be caught in the sun during the day, you'll know what it is like to be in the heat of a conflagration (word of the day). Therefore, we were told by our guide that we should wake up at 5am to begin our day. So, the next day we were up early to canoe up river and hike to an oxbow lake.
On the way there, our tour guide, Hugo, began teaching us about the jungle. Amongst the many fascinating things there are, he told us of this strangler tree that grows from the top down. It spreads in the bird's poo on leaves, and starts growing when the sun hits it. It slowly grows downwards from the tops of trees until it hits the ground. It envelopes the tree beneath it and robs it from nitrogen and solar light, killing it.

It really is a "only the strong survive" mentality in the jungle. Even the trees eat each other.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

The Amazon Part 1

Imagine a place, where there is no electricity, no internet, no phone, and no contact with the outside world. Now imagine a place with almost constant activity. Not the typical human activity like big cities, because even those get quite quiet at night. I am talking about a place that is so vivid and alive, 24 hour a day year round. This place has ants that work around the clock, that are able to cut down an entire 20ft tree in just over a week. There are birds that fly hundreds of kilometers for breakfast. The bugs and insects that have so many different names and responsibilities ring through the night as if it were a concert hall. My short 4 day trip into the Amazon was one of the best experiences I have had in my life.

Day 1 didn't kick off with the best of starts. About 5 hours after I wrote my last blog (a few hours before I had to catch a flight), I was hit with a nasty case of food poisoning. I threw up for 11hours straight, and then passed out when I got to my cabin.


The journey to the Amazon, though spent hugging many different airplane bags, is a beautiful one. It began with a plane ride to Cusco, the highest city in the world, also home to the well known Machu Pichu. Then, another flight to Puerto Madonablo. On the 1.5 hour bus ride from the airport to the port, the scene was almost historic native Canada. It wasn't like any Hollywood movie had ever depicted it to be. A 2 hour motor canoe ride up the river with sights of capivara and exotic birds and I arrived at base camp, a spot I would now call home for the next few days.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

The Embarkment

Lima is a beautiful place. It has been 8 long years since I have visited my family here in Peru. But viewing the world through my 13 year old eyes was nothing compared to how I see it now. The culture, the food, and the extreme disregard to traffic law all came as a a bit of a shock to me.

I really don't have much time to write, because I catch a flight in 6 hours to the Amazon and I need to sleep tonight for the hike tomorrow. I just wanted to get a shot out before I left.

I took this at the Vancouver International Airport while waiting to board my flight to Toronto. This is a random woman on her cell phone in front of a light box with no ad.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

Enlightened Art Show

I just found out that I am having a photo in the Enlightened Art Show exhibition set to happen July 2nd, in Toronto. I am thrilled to hear that they have chosen this shot of Jesmond Dubeau up in the Rainbow Backcountry in Whistler, BC.

On another note. I leave for Lima, Peru tonight and then the Amazon on Saturday. I will be there until I return to Vancouver on June 17, only to leave for Honolulu on the 18th. I could not be more stoked right now. Kind of reminds me of when the ice cream truck used to roll around in the neighbourhood with his music going.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

The Jitters

Every now and then, I encounter a situation that is out of my control. I am not talking about your usual cops showing up and busting a session. What I am talking about is a case of "the jitters".

The people that choose to put themselves in front of my lens all know that I like to keep things as stress free as possible. I never push them to do things they don't want to do and I rarely ask them to redo something. Usually when they redo something, it was their decision because they didn't like the style. So basically, I try to be on my game, so they have one less thing to worry about while they're doing theirs.

But, it is not always that easy. There's more to getting a photo than setting up lights and going click. The people themselves have a huge mental game to go through every time they decide to essentially throw themselves down things in a graceful, yet stylistic manner. Occasionally, you hit a mental block, and there is nothing you can do about it. But you know what, I am cool with that. I still get to spend an evening with my friends, and my camera.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

Do you stand on your toes?

A new phenomenon is taking part in different countries all over the world. It's called "Toe Standers". And what started out as a facebook group, has now grown to a full website with members from over 10 different countries.

Toe Standers are a collective group of individuals who believe they literally need to stand on their toes in every photo. It is a must, and the more creative the spot the more praise from the community. There are even photos of people atop the Eiffel tower in Paris and underwater while scuba diving. Their creativity almost has an artistic merit.

One night in February, while the snow was shit, and the weather was less than favorable, Darren from Voleurz and I were out together on a shoot. While Nugget and Caleb were both warming up, and I was just about to fire my first test shot, Darren left his camera and walked right into my frame. I didn't think much of it at the time, because it was just a test shot. Nuggest drops in for an ollie, Darren leans into a mean toe stand, and I snap my first photo of the night. After I took the shot, Darren exclaimed "There are no standards for Toe Standers!"

Shit, now I've been caught taking a photo of a Toe Stander.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

Heaven and Hell

Once hit by a car, Freida is now blind in one eye and the cutest little ball of fur you'll ever lay your eyes on. When I first met Freida, I thought something was up. Her eyes seemed lifeless, and desolate. And after a closer look, I realized that her eyes did not reflect light like a normal eye should. There were no clear catch lights or pigmentation noticeable. They were just… there.

I have spent a endless hours divulging in photos trying to learn the lighting of photographers by looking at the eyes of their subjects. So when I met Freida for the first time, I had a hard time figuring out how I wanted to shoot her. What would be the point of a lighting setup that would not cast any catch lights? How do I display her to a viewer with no hints to a style? Like this.

I have a fascination with eyes; they are the gateway to one's soul. So my first impressions on Freida were chilling and vindictive. But I was quickly taught a lesson. Freida turned out to be a little fur ball of fun. She was playful, and respective. She was mellow, and adorable. She was, dare I say, the perfect cat.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have Bella. Her eyes glisten in the light with an almost euphoric existence. You can see everything in her eyes as if looking in a mirror.

Bella is – for lack of a better word – a bitch. She gripes and moans when she doesn't get her way and jumps all over the brand new flat screen TV, which only gets her to the top of a bookshelf that she will not jump off due to her flagrant fearfulness. This only makes her whine until someone goes and grabs her, only so that she can go and do this again.

Stay away from this cat if you can. Paul doesn't like her, I don't like her, and I’m pretty sure Amy doesn't like her either. Which ever way you want to look at it, these sparkling black cat’s eyes are the devil.

So what did I learn? I learned that eyes sometimes lie and as the saying goes, it's bad luck to cross a black cat's path.

Are you crazy
Gonzo

Back from Victoria

I recently had the opportunity to spend the week with Scott Pommier, a Transworld Skate photographer based out of Vancouver. He was in Victoria teaching the Adventure Sports class at my old photo school, Western Academy of Photography. I learned so much from him in such a short period of time that I can only imagine what assisting him would be like... Maybe on one of those Harley Davidson shoots he's been getting lately.

This 1 week trip to Victoria was exactly what I needed. It was a quick break from Vancouver and a refreshment of ideas. I crashed on Andrew Lint's couch. His hospitality was 2nd to none, and his girlfriend is the coolest person alive. Both of them were such an inspiration on life. Andrew has this obsession over photography that makes me feel like I should try harder, which I really should. Megan always has a smile, no matter what she's talking about. I like it when people smile.

So now I'm back in Vancouver, and living day for day. The snowboard season is over, and I'm pretty bored. I've decided that I want to shoot skating this summer, but that's a whole new topic I'm going to work on... I plan on blogging when exciting stuff happens and I'll post a photo each time.... WITHOUT A WATERMARK? Ya, I'm ditching the watermark deal for this blog thingy. So this is the end until next time.

Are you crazy
Gonzo