A few months ago Jussi Grznar reminded me about the PDN (Photo District News) Magazine Photo Annual.  It’s something I’ve been wanting to enter for a while, but this year I finally had photos in the Scott Sports Tom Wallisch skiing ad campaign I was stoked on.  Fast forward to this week and I finally picked up the copy of PDN Magazine to see it in print in the advertising side of the awards.  It’s a big honor for me to be in this issue as it’s one of the most regarded publications within the photography industry and I’m one of the few action sports photographers that is represented in this issue and the only ski photographer.  The last thing I would have expected was a jib ad to be in something like this!   I’m usually trapped in the niche of action sports, and then hidden in the corner of that in the world of skiing so it’s an even bigger deal for me to be among all of the different genre’s of photography.

It’s been a pretty amazing winter for me and have had the opportunity to travel to a lot of cool places with good friends and have a lot to show for it.  This has become the icing on the cake!  It is now the second PDN photo contest I’ve had photos in, the first one being the 2009 PDN Top Knots wedding photography contest and hopefully not the last!

Check it out here at PDN’s website.

This was the big show.  The biggest of big shows for me, it’s something I’ve aspired to be involved with since I first saw the show back in April 2004.  Seeing the slideshows at the time from the Pro Photographer Showdown at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival made me look at action sports photography in a completely different way.  I thought then shooting action sports was just about one thing, the action, and I learned that day I was very very wrong.  Seeing the lifestyle images and portraits that tied together the action to the people, the people to the sport made me realize that there was more to it, and that I wanted to bring more to the plate.  Out of all the shows that night, Embry Rucker’s work stood out the most to me as inspiring both on the action and lifestyle side of things.  Everything changed for me that night and I set a goal to be a part of that show at some point.

The venue, horribly captured by my iphone. You'd think a photographer would actually bring a camera to the biggest show of his career right? Oops.

Last April I entered a three minute slideshow to be considered for the finals of the Pro Photographer Showdown.  I finally felt I had enough to fill the nine minutes of photos that was required as a finalist.  I then spent nine days straight working on my show.  There’s nothing harder than trying to put together a show of your own work.  To pick out only the best of the best and leave the rest on the cutting room floor is extremely difficult.  There are so many photos I wanted to put in, and so many that I thought were hammers but after discussing with peers, realized some just held a high emotional attachment for myself for one reason or the other.  Cutting those are the hardest.  Nine days later I was finally finished and made the drive to Whistler to be a part of the biggest showcase for ski and snowboard photographers that currently exists.  I was up there against Brian Bielmann, Grant Gunderson, Jeremy Koreski,  Yves Garneau, and Whistler local Mason Mashon. To show nine minutes of my life’s work to over 3,000 people at once.  I was unbelievably stoked and nervous and kinda choked on stage actually.  Had to cut it short and get off the stage..haha.  Oops.

Myself on stage, struggling.  Photo: Darby Magill

The crowd at the show.  Photo: Tyler Ingram

The WSSF Pro Photographer Showdown Awards - Photo: Vince @ SBC Skier Magazine

I did not win.  In fact check out the photo, there’s a dude across from me that’s way taller that has a 10 foot long check!  Surf photography legend Brian Bielmann took the crown with over 30 years of surf and lifestyle photography packed into 9 minutes.  Everyone else really didn’t stand a chance with 30 years worth of amazing work to pull from.  So, in four years I will be able to re-enter.  I can’t wait for it, and hope to make finals again.

If you happen to have photos from the show and you don’t mind me using them on this blog post, please let me know.  I don’t really have any photos from the show aside from what you see here.  Thanks for watching.

2011 Powder Magazine Photo Annual Cover – Skier: Kyler Cooley.

Shot during the filming of “Gunnie Season” by 4Bi9 Media

This is the one, this is it.  It’s the biggest thing that’s happened to me in my career.  It’s the Powder Magazine Photo Annual, and my photo of Kyler Cooley is on the cover!  My first Powder cover came last season (see it here) and it was a big deal.  A real big deal for me.  Literally a childhood dream.  Now, a year later there’s another, but it’s on the Photo Annual.  It’s the biggest issue of the season for the photographers and honestly it’s something I didn’t really consider ever getting.  Needless to say, I’m pretty happy about it!  If it doesn’t quite sink in to how happy I am, check this out and it will explain it a bit better.

About this photo, it was a shot that came after shooting on the jump we had already planned to hit earlier in the day.  We went snowmobiling around a bit to see what else we could find and we stumbled apon this snow covered creek bed.  With the low snowpack at the time things like this weren’t just a flat snowy wash, but shapes, texture and a straight shot into the ever approaching sunset.  I lined this shot up as usual with a strobe, but that day I had decided to also start shooting a second shot from the same angle, shot with just ambient light.  I setup a Pocket Wizard Plus 2 transciever with the motor drive cable plugged into my Nikon D3 along with another Pocket Wizard Plus 2 in my hand to trigger the remote camera.  As it turned out, I liked the ambient light shot a lot better, and so did Powder.  I’m convinced now if the feature is unique and I’m lighting the shot, a remote camera shooting ambient is 100% necessary!

Here’s a few more photos I have in the Photo Annual.  Yup, I’m stoked right now.

Will Wesson Profile

Ahmet Dadali “Voice” Profile

Nikon D40, 1/1000, f11, ISO 200, Nikon 70-200 f2.8 ED VR,  Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed, Alien Bees 800, 400, Pocket Wizard Plus 2 and MultiMaxTranscievers

I’m really stoked to let everyone know that I’m a finalist in the 2010 World Ski and Snowboard Festival Pro Photographer Showdown.  The WSSF Pro Photographer Showdown is an event I’ve wanted to enter for years but have never come up with the time to enter.  This year I made a point to get an entry in and as it happens, I’m in!  On April 22 I’ll go up against ski photographers Grant Gunderson and Yves Garneau, Snowboard Photographer Mason Mashon and surf photographers Brian Bielmann and Jeremy Koreski.  Each of us will have a nine minute slideshow of our life’s work, so I have to get my slideshow together over the next few days.  Needless to say I have a bit of work ahead of me!  I’m pretty excited for the contest and to see how I fare vs the other great photographers in the contest.

This one is a bit different though, it’s a video with some of the action footage as well as an interview with the skier, Matt Walker.  This was straight up video game shit.  Sliding a lift cable.  It’s one of those things I’ve wanted to shoot forever and figured it would never happen.  Fortunately for me, I work with Pete Alport at Poor Boyz Productions.  Pete likes to come up with crazy shit for pro skiers to do.  This video was put together by Salomon as part of their Freeski TV series.

Making of the photo – Salomon Freeski TV – Episode 3 from Erik Seo on Vimeo.

Check it out here at http://www.powdermag.com

See Suz do a big huge backy off a big cliff.  This was another big one for me this year, it’s a first again, the first Freeskier Magazine cover for me so far.  I’ve been working with Freeskier since the start of my career, they actually ran my first ski editorial shot a while back.  Check it out on newsstands now!

Check out Suzanne Graham ski BASE jumping a 1,000 foot cliff in Alaska for a Japanese music video here and check out her website – www.suzgraham.com

Powder Magazine’s website is starting with the current October 2009 issue and doing a making the photo feature, interviewing the photographers featured in the Shooting Gallery of each issue.  We talk about the making of the photo and any other little tidbits from the day we shot the photo.  They’ve done one with me for each of the two photos I have in the current issue of Powder Magazine.  In this installment of it I talk a bit about the fence jib shot of Tim Russell and the shot of Wiley Miller on Rocker Gap at Guardsman Pass, Utah.  Check it out here

Also, similar to the making of the photos, I have an interview about my cover shot including some audio of the interview from the October 2009 issue of Powder, the same one with the Shooting Gallery interviews.  Check that interview here

The Poor Boyz Productions world premiere of Every Day is a Saturday has come and one in Seattle, as has the Rage Films Salt Lake City premiere of Pretty Good.  I had some prints up at both shows, thought I’d put a few pics of the prints up.  It wasn’t anything super fancy but was nice to have my work up, and see it big.  If the premiere of Every Day is a Saturday hasn’t come through your town yet and you want to see some of my shots big, then check out the premiere.  I have four prints travelling with the PBP Triple Threat tour.  For more information click  here.

The 6-piece print should be really cool as it’s one of the best shots I had of the season and it’s a big 6-piece hanging print.   I’m not really looking to make any money on these, I just wanted to have some big prints to have at the premiere to go along with the movie.  I have these priced at $20 over my printing costs.  Rage is my main crew I work with, we worked really hard this season to get some sick shots and I’d like to be able to showcase that a bit and add a little to the movie premiere.

If you have the time, come check it out at the Skybox Bar and Grill in the Gateway Mall at: 4 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 this Friday, September 18.  Click here for directions. The all-ages show will be starting at 7pm and the 21 and over show will be starting at 9pm.  Tickets to the movie are $10 at the door.

Check out the teaser to “Pretty Good” below.

Pretty Good Teaser by Rage Films from Rage Films on Vimeo.

Please pass the word along to anyone that my want to check it out.
Thanks!