Marmot Basin: Dec 22-23

Alright, so the clips are in, a few photos are edited, and it's been time for bed for a few hours now. Happy Christmas to everyone checking out the blog from around the country (and the world, for you Life in Reverse cat's down in Nicaragua - still so jealous of you by the way) and I hope you enjoy the eye candy after the jump!

Marmot Basin

So after working from 5 p.m. till 3 a.m. on Tuesday evening; Myself, Ginger, Courtney and Suzy piled into Courtney's car and headed out on a four hour drive to Jasper. We arrived just in time to be some of the first people on the lifts (not to mention getting to see the sun come up in the Rocky Mountains). I decided it was a perfect time to test out my new GoPro Hero Helmet Cam, not to mention a great time to get tipsy and test the water-proof-ness of the camera in the hot tub.

Check out photos after the jump, and a quick video preview of an edit from the trip to come.

Random Photos

I was browsing through the hard drive on my old computer, transferring some images to a new external drive when I came across a bunch of images I wanted to post up here. Check them out after the jump, let me know what you think in the comments!

The Chin Grind

So I hit up Rabbit Hill last night with my friend JJ, in an attempt to learn some basic grinds and whatnot for the upcoming snowboard season. We went as early into the day as possible to avoid me making an ass of myself, but of course the hill got a LOT busier as the night went on, and I only got SLIGHTLY better and maneuvering the features in the park.

I did manage to slide a few pretty clean 50-50s though, which I'm pretty excited about. However, on my first attempt at a backside boardslide I managed to lose control of my board and drop face first, well, chin first right onto the rail. My initial thought was 'oh ****, I really hope I didn't break my jaw.' After discovering my jaw was fine, just VERY sore, we continued to ride for another hour or so. When we got back into the lodge and I took my mask off though, JJ's face wen't blank.

"Dude. You should really go to the hospital."

Life in Reverse

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine started an adventure driving from Edmonton to his new home for the next six months, in  Nicaragua. Cam Service has got a ton of drive and courage to do what he's doing, and should be an inspiration to a lot of young people. He shows us all that it's never to late to get out there and follow our dreams.

Follow the link below to check out the documentary of the adventure, called Life in Reverse, aired online once a week via Third Storm TV.

http://vimeo.com/17103242

Cheers Newfoundland!

Just saw this trailer for an amazing snowboard film featuring one of my favourite riders to watch; Simon Chamberlain. Check it out after the jump and then go find yourself a copy of the full length. Some awesome street clips in here from east coast of Canada.

Wall Art

I thought I'd toss up some recent artwork I did for the bedroom at my new place. Check it out after the jump and let me know what you think in the comments.

Background on the piece: There are four 16x20 canvases, each one containing a series of circles and dots. The patterns are actually braille representations of the letters L.O.V.E.

Yes, I know it's cheesy, but my Teri likes it, and I can't complain about that!

Changing Paradigms

A couple days ago I posted an RSAnimate video based on a lecture given by Sir Ken Robinson. Everyone that's seen it seems to have a lot to say about it, so I decided to post the full hour long piece. There aren't any fancy cartoons going along with this one, so I hope it keeps a hold of all our short attention spans. I know it kept mine.

Check it out after the jump.

Marmot Opening Day

Made it out to Marmot on Saturday for their opening day. It was a blast. Having only been to Fernie once since moving to Edmonton three years ago and never snowboarded in the mountains otherwise, it was great to see another part of the Rockies and even though the conditions weren't amazing, we had a great day of snowboarding.

I took my camera, but neglected to take any real photos, so I've posted a couple for you to check out after the jump. Try to disregard the awful stitch job on the panorama, as it was done with my iPhone and no photoshop program to touch anything up and stitch it properly. I was just thrilled to be in the mountains, bombing hills without a care in the world once again. It's gonna be a great winter.

We're all factory workers.

So I've been trying to come up with a five-year plan for myself. Well, to be honest, I've been trying to come up with a two or a three-year plan for myself, because I feel like I've been lacking a lot of creative direction lately. After months of staring at post secondary institution websites, realizing I don't meet a bunch of academic requirements, and then realizing that it's silly to try and base what I want to do with my life around what institutions think I CAN do, I've started to get a little more than frustrated with our education system. Even more so I've been getting frustrated with the price of our education system.

Today a friend of mine led me to an interesting video about how we're educated in North America and why our system works the way it does. I think it's a must watch video. Check it out after the jump.

Backside Tours Film Festival

Recently I had a chance to work with Backside Tours during their first annual film festival. We all had a blast working together, and at the end of the festival I came out with a few great shots. The festival was a success in itself, with over 400 unique visitors over the course of the two day festival, which showcased two snowboard films, and two ski films.

With great sponsors and a great turnout, the film festival is sure to become a hit in the future as a great way to start the winter season.

Check out some of the photos after the jump, and the full gallery at: Picasa - Backside Tours Film Festival

Welcome!

I've been meaning to start one of these for a while now, but always seem to have trouble when it comes to sitting down and coming up with a creative direction for my own work. Do I want a blog that showcases my photography? Do I want a blog that showcases graphic design? Do I want a blog that delves into my personal life? It's a tough concept sometimes, trying to get all the information out there that you want the world to see while doing it in a professional way. The solution? I don't know - but I'm going to try and throw all the things I wanted this place to be into one, and hope it doesn't get confusing for you.

Here you'll find images that I've taken for family, friends and business. You'll find graphic design and art that I've done, as well as pieces that I'm working on. You'll also find the images of other photographers and artists that I find influential. You might even find some music that I think needs to be shared with the people that visit.

Come back each day, and see what's new. And if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to share!