Snow Test
As a youth, punk skateboarder, at some point it clicked that I was not going to go pro, regardless of how bad I wanted it. I had a few sponsors over the years, but nothing really came of them. I loved the scene and wanted to stick around and be apart of it, so I got more involved in filming and editing. It was late in high school that I got my realization, it was not just perhaps my lack of talent, but also location. Clearly living in Alaska is going to keep the opportunities low, nothing like sunny Southern California. So I moved to Huntington to live the dream. Or at least film others trying to live theirs. Close enough. I was fortunate enough to film at some very famous spots and met some amazing riders. I met up with a group of folks that were part of Mimic Clothing (RIP) a small brand that some friends from Anchorage actual rode for. Come to find out, the owner lived down the street from my apartment in Huntington, so we developed a working relationship. That really just turned into a friendship and never really developed more into any kind of business, but I did learn a lot.
Front BluntMe, old dog, new tricks. Photo by Spenser Johnson.
A few months later, things and life happened, and I ended up back in Anchorage where I found myself back in the Camera shop. This is where life takes a slight turn. While working at the camera shop, I was fortunate enough to win a competition from Fuji Films. My prize? A Fuji S3 Pro DSLR. A whole new world just opened up for me. Now, as I am sure you must know, if you’ve found this writing, I am a photographer. I still have the Fuji, I have retired it, but its got a special place on a shelf.
We know how quickly technologies advance. Thanks to Moore’s Law, we know things will improve next year, if not, the following. So of course video has made its way back into everyone’s lives and more so than ever. We’ve all got a very high quality video camera in our pockets. I am typing this on a large screen that can also act as a video camera. Naturally clients are requesting more and more video work. So where do I go from here?
Monte Nix Switch kickflip 50-50Me on my gut shooting Monte while Spenser captures the whole scene.
When I got the call from my friend at one of the Conservation groups I’ve been providing photos for, to get them some b-roll video, of course I said yes. This small project was more of kick start to get my mind back into video and find another avenue of inspiration, not to mention income.
This video was sort of a test, mostly to myself, to see if I had to patience to edit another video. Even more important, if I have the technical and skill to make something worth watching. So I fired up premiere pro, loaded in a bunch of past snowboarding clips and threw them together to try and get something that at least I would enjoy watching. Going back to my roots, editing action sports, I felt right at home. The opening photo of my dear friend David Boots is just another homage to one of my favorite people, one of my favorite activities, and when the two of those were combined, it was always a wonderful time.
