I am from St. Paul Minnesota

Where do you shoot?

All over Minnesota, mostly urban spots. Shooting park is kind of lame in my book.

How old were you when you first started shooting?

I first got really interested in photography when I was 14. I was on a road trip from Minnesota to L.A. I took along with me my dads old canon AE-1 with the stock 50mm lens. Basically haven’t put a camera down since then.

Who is your inspiration?

That is a long list…. First off my photo mentor Molly Durkin who took me under her wing and taught me a ton. I look at tons of different peoples works which get me thinking, people like Ben Chrisman (wedding photog), Melissa Rodwell (fashion) Erik Seo, Dan Carr, the list goes on. I like looking at all types of work and try to incorporate aspects from them into my work.

What is the most moving picture/video you remember?

Lots! Some that come to mind are the shot of, I can’t remember the skier, but it was a s-box at Park City, black and white taken from the chairlift, it was the cover of Powder a few years back. The photo of the people running covered in ash/dust on 9/11. (WARNING: Graphic Content http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060424/060424_911Dust_vmed_2p.widec.jpg)

What sparked your passion to shoot?

Not really sure what got me going besides the road trip to LA.

Do you have any formal schooling?

Took one photo class my first semester of college. It was all about printing and film developing had nothing to do with the actual photos. When I figured that out I would go out and blast rolls of film to get the assignments done in 5 minutes. I feel that most photo degrees are somewhat of a joke most are film based still.

How did you get into the business?

Funny story, the first camera I bought was a Canon Elan 7e. I got it because it was 5 frames a second so I thought I would shoot a ton of skiing. That was over 6 years ago. I didn’t really get into shooting skiing until last spring.

What was your first paid gig?

First paid ski related gig was some shots of Willie Borm.

When did you realize you loved shooting on snow?

I realized I loved it when I stopped caring about being a sponsored skier.

What is your favorite picture/video you’ve taken?

Thats a really hard question. There are a couple shots of Austin Torvinen that I really like.

Can you describe your style? Hard light, soft light, fisheye, etc.

I wouldn’t say I stick with one style in terms of lighting. I tend to use longer lenses though I find wide shots are a bit played out most of the time.

Most fun/interesting people to shoot?

I love working with Hornbeck when he is in town. Super nice guy and kills it like no other. Willie Borm is a blast to shoot with. He is only 12 but absolutely kills it. Also Asian Allen, he is emo, but still fun to shoot with. Lastly Austin Torvinen, highly skilled, highly underrated. Watch out for his super unknown its going to blow minds.

What do you shoot in the off season?

What advice would you give someone who wants to start a career in action sports photography? shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. You don’t need the latest and greatest cameras and lenses to take awesome photos. Cameras are tools, it’s the photographer that makes the photo. Also (I am guilty of this as well) get off the computer and go shoot! There are tons of sites with photo info out there stop spending all your time reading about photography get out there and do it.

Favorite format, camera, lens?

I still love film but don’t shoot much of it at all. I have a Holga that I have been taking with me on urban shoots, getting more lifestyle shots with it. Favorite lens would be either the Canon 85 1.8 or the 70-200f/4. The 70-200 in the film days people didn’t like because it was “too sharp” which is a great “problem” if you ask me.

What’s in your bag?

Holy cow, ok here we go:

Bodies:

Canon 5d

Canon 7d

canon elan 7e(sometimes)

Holga

Lenses:

17-40L f/4

70-200L f/4

50mm f/1.8

85 f/1.8

Lighting:

Alien Bee 800

Canon 540ez

Canon 580ex

Nikon SB-80

4 Pocket wizard plusII

gels

8.5″ and 11″ reflectors for the Bee

tons of cords,memory cards and other odds and ends

What was your first camera?

I got an orange plastic 110 ninja turtles camera from my cousins when I was 6 I would like to say. It had a little screen thing with Donatello in the corner so every photo had him in it. I had my dad cut the screen out. I think I still have it somewhere.

Favorite place to shoot?

Minnesota has tons of sweet urban so I would have to say its my favorite.

Your scariest shoot?

We were going to shoot a fence gap but had to wait because someone’s dog tried to attack us. We ended up calling the cops to have them take the dog away.

Your funniest shoot?

Funniest would have to be with Austin Torvinen. He was having issues on a couple tricks that day. After a while I started to give him lil’ pep talks, each time I did he would drop in and stomp his trick. The pep talks even worked with our generator that decided it didn’t want to work that night.

Related Articles

• Featured Photographer: Chip Kalback
  Chip Kalback is an up and coming photographer in the ski and snowboard industry. Even if you haven...
• Dealing with Copyright Infringements
  Infringements are rampant these days, both because it’s easier for the infringers to find and copy y...
• Featured Photographer: Matt Jeronimo
  Matt Jeronimo is one of my favorite amateur photographers. He is an inspiration to me and should be ...