News for Snowboard.com by Snowboard.com
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The JEEP® UNION SQUARE STREET SESSIONS returns to New York City to showcase a diverse and immensely talented field at the 2008 event to be held on Feb. 7, 2008 in Union Square. The athletes will show off their skills on a customized urban rail inspired by Danny Kass and fabricated at the Mountain Creek Resort’s Jib Lab.
Confirmed athletes include:
1. EDDIE WALL
2. LUCAS MAGOON
3. ZACK HALE
4. MIKE CASANOVA
5. LOUIE VITO
6. CHRIS ROTAX
7. YALE CUSINO
8. JONAS MICHILOT
9. JED ANDERSON
10. AARON BITTNER
11. PAT MOORE
12. SKYE GALE
13. BRANDON REIS
14. EIKI HELGARSON
15. ANDREW KAHKONEN
16. CHARLES REID
17. SAM HULBERT
18 BODE MERRILL
19. JEREMY CLOUTIER
The Jeep brand returns this year as title sponsor after the first year success of the Union Square Street Sessions. Jeep will join supporting sponsors Red Bull, Oakley, Burton, Sunday River Resort, and Mountain Creek Resort to once again bring the event to the streets of Manhattan.
The 2008 Jeep Union Square Street Sessions and its qualifiers will once again be broadcast on NBC’s Emmy award-winning Jeep World of Adventure Sports on Jan. 12, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. and Feb. 16, 2008, at 5 pm respectively with multiple re-airings on Universal HD.
The winter sports celebrations will continue in New York City on Saturday, Feb. 9 with NYC Parks & Recreation’s Winter Jam, an amateur rail jam and winter carnival with music, sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and other winter activities held at the Central Park Bandshell, in coordination with Aura360 and the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Hey,
Some of you might have noticed the site was out of commission over the weekend. We’d like to apologize for the down time. A network card decided to fail and it took some time to replace and then rebuild the tables… Our old machines have been acting up regardless of all the precautions we try and take. We plan on being on a new system within the next two months to avoid any down time.
If you have any site questions, please visit our site questions forum by click here.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
THE NORTH FACE AND MOUNTAIN SPORTS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF “THE NORTH FACE MASTERS” 2008 BIG MOUNTAIN SNOWBOARDING TOUR
Snowbird, Utah, and Alyeska, Alaska, to host long awaited big mountain snowboard competition
Salt Lake City, Utah January 10, 2008—Enthusiastically expanding competition opportunities in the sport of big mountain snowboarding, The North Face and Mountain Sports International (MSI) proudly unveil The North Face Masters, a two-stop tour designed to cater to the motivation, talent and skill of world-class big mountain snowboarders.
“Open big mountain competition is very exciting to the development of the sport,” said world-renowned rider and The North Face athlete, Johan Olofsson. “With the simplicity of a starting line, mixed terrain, and a finish line, what each snowboarder opts to go for during their runs will be the result of creativity, skill, and risk.”
The North Face Masters features a $45,000 cash prize purse and an opportunity for big mountain snowboarders to pit themselves against athlete and mountain alike.
The North Face Masters kicks off at Snowbird, Utah, February 8-11, where competitors can look forward to the notoriously challenging Little Cottonwood Canyon terrain littered with chutes, cliff drops, and the legendary lake-effect Utah powder. The North Face will award male and female champions of The North Face Masters, Snowbird, the chance to continue their winning streak at The North Face Masters tour in Alaska. Airfare, lodging, and entry to The North Face Masters, Alyeska, AK, will also be awarded to the male and female winners of these other big mountain competitions:
· Nissan Mammoth Quest (Jan 14 -17, 2008)
· Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom (February 8-10, 2008)
Stop number two will bring competitors to the epic venue of Alyeska Resort, Alaska, April 2-6, to push their limits against the Chugach Range’s palette of jaw-dropping steeps, couloirs, and wide-open Alaskan faces. Adding even more incentive, final round athletes of the Alyeska event will be rewarded with a heli-drop at the start of the Finals, courtesy of Chugach Powder Guides, where they will compete in the final run on an area of Alyeska Resort named “Big League,” a section of the mountain not open to the public until 2010.
“With the creation of The North Face Masters, the riders who live and breathe this aspect of snowboarding finally have a stage on which to show off their skills and creativity,” said Jason Ford, Group Publisher for Future US, home of Future Snowboarding magazine, The North Face Masters media partner. “It’s been a long time since the U.S. has taken a good look at the big mountain side of the sport, so this is a huge opportunity for the riders, as well as the spectators!”
With the induction of the The North Face Masters 2008 comes the gathering of the big mountain snowboarding tribe from all over the world. All male and female snowboarding competitors over the age of 18 are welcomed to participate.
“Today's riders are redefining what is possible—they're taking the tricks and skills learned in the terrain parks to the big mountain environment,” said Joe Flannery, Vice President of Marketing for The North Face. “As a company that was born in the mountains, we're excited to see today’s brightest snowboarding stars with a venue that celebrates what they do.”
Fans of big mountain snowboarding can also catch complete same-day live coverage of the Semi-Final and Final rounds on the event website, where there are also videos, photos, athlete profiles, detailed event schedules, registration information and more.
Please visit www.thenorthface.com/masters
Online-only registration for The North Face Masters is NOW OPEN!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Matts wins the Billabong "Ante Up" and earns himself $6,000 and a spot into Innsbruck Air and Style.
1st- Matts Kullisek
2nd- Shayne Popisil
3rd- Logan Short
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Quiksilver's Jakob Willhelmson Takes First At The TTR 4 STAR 6 th Red Bull Nanshan Open.
Jakob Willhelmson, Photo by Lorenz Hoder.
Riders from all over the world take to The Nokia Nanshan Mellow Park for a battle the likes of which China has never seen before-
January 6, 2008 – It was all action here in The Nokia Nanshan Mellow Park as the top eleven from yesterday's qualifier converged for combat. The park was fresh, the riders were stoked and the crowd was larger than ever before.
The WInners, Photo by Lorenz Hoder.
Aside from a small wind in the morning, the weather was nice with blue skies and a spring like temperature. The riders had a tough time in the Finals due to the conditions causing an upset and knocking out our top pick for first, Freddy Austbo, in the first round.
Jake Koia, Photo by Lorenz Hoder.
Down to four riders and on to the super finals where the wind was a little lighter and the competition was tight. Returning rider Jakob Wilhelmson hit both big kickers in his first run with smooth 7's and 5's going big and standing out for the judges. It was so close; no one knew Marc Swoboda would be the runner up. Marc's run consisted of a BS 7 Japan and a FS 5 off the toes. Third went to Atsuchi Ishikawa from Japan who was killing it all weekend. He is also of return Nanshan Open alumni and he took it to the park with huge switch FS 7's and 5's. So stoked to have our asian brother on the podium! Jake Koia followed in fourth position representing the southern hemisphere.
Freddy Austubo, Photo by Lorenz Hoder.
Three-time DMC Champion DJ Wordy was on the snow all day spinning his Wordy-isms for the crowd and getting the onlookers stoked. So much more excitement followed with a live punk show by national punk treasures SKO and Recycle on the Gibson stage. Free Red Bull flowed like water and good times were had by all. Thanks to everyone who came from near and far for the event and high fives to everyone who helped out.
The 6th Red Bull Nanshan Open is brought to you in part by Quiksilver and Gibson guitars.
Self Portrait - Grouse Mountain
Full name:
Gonzalo Tudela (AKA Gonzo)
Equipment:
Canon 1D Mark II N
Canon 1VHS
EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye
EF 17-40mm F4L
EF 50mm F1.8
EF 70-200mm F2.8L
3x Vivitar 285HV
2003 Skidoo Summit 800
For the kids at home, what do they need to know if they want to become a professional photographer?
Never give up. This industry is really tough, brutal sometimes, and people will toss you around like yesterday’s garbage. If you’re not a strong person who will stick to their guns (especially about payment) it’s not the industry for you. More and more companies are getting free shots out there from the “kid who just bought a digital SLR”, and it’s ruining the industry.
Think of it this way. You’ve invested x amount of money in camera gear, x amount of time refining your style, x amount of time getting and editing photos, why shouldn’t you be paid fairly for it? Do they get a paycheck? Do they pay for a dentist? They’re doing work just like you are. You need to stick to your guns about being paid. Don’t be the person who degrades the photo industry by giving away photos for free, if not, you’ll be stuck starving on the side of the street while some company has a slick new looking website.
Paul Welters - Mount Washington
What are some career high lights for you?
Every time I get out into the backcountry a feeling of Euphoria overcomes me. The hour or so it usually takes to get to the alpine with the constant “braaaaaaaap” from a sled is actually quite calming. I rather throw in ear plugs than headphones.
Who do you enjoy working most with?
I think I enjoy shooting the most with one of my best friends Aaron Shapiro. He reminds me of a Tom Penny for snowboarding. Basically, whenever I’m out shooting with him, he’s just riding, and you can see it on his face. Whether he’s in front of a camera on a bluebird day or in front of me doing pow slashes in fog, he’s not out to prove anything, he’s out to have fun. If you watch his style, you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s like he uses the mountain as a skate park, and just destroys it every time. 9 times out of 10, I’ll be ripping around with him and he’ll do something that’ll blow my mind and I’ll say “Give me an hour to go home and get my camera gear so we can shoot that”.
Eman Anderson - Vancouver, BC
What are some the challenges you find working with snowboarding instead of a studio?
My fingers get really cold, and I mean really cold. That and changing angles is usually a lot tougher than people imagine. Sometimes you have scale the side of a mountain that could take over an hour just to get a certain viewpoint. Half a dozen times it doesn’t work out. One thing I’ve learned is that you want to shoot your wide angle shots 2nd, and your telephotos first. That way, there are no foot prints around the jumps from you walking around trying to find the right spot.
What are your favourite magazines?
Magazine’s are really a funny thing with me. I have a subscription to snowboarder, I buy every issue of SBC off the shelves (from a local snowboard shop to support them), and I usually buy some issues of Future, Transworld, and Snowboard Mag when I’m shopping for groceries. Truth be told, I never really read any of them. I’m really weird that way, I have over 300 magazines, some dating back to the 90’s, but I’ve maybe read like 10% of them? I usually use them for the eye candy. I flip through them a few times and pick out the photos I like. Remember them, and file the magazines away for a rainy day.
Images speak louder than words in my head, and technique plays a huge part in my mind. 9 times out of 10 when I see a photo I like, whether it’s technically sound or creatively genius, I go straight to the photographer credits to see who it is. It’s kind of funny; most snowboarders can pick out a rider from their sponsors and their style. I can pick out some photographers based on their lighting and composition. There are the seasoned vets who absolutely kill it with every photo like “Yup, that’s a Zapalac photo”.
Myrosha Daley - Hemlock Valley Resort
Who do you think are the best photographers from last year?
There are so many that have, and will always stick out in my mind, whether or not they shoot snowboarding is another thing. Here they are in no particular order:
Ian Ruther, Tim Zimmerman, Jordan Manley, Crispin Canon, Jon Scarth, Danny Zapalac, Andy Wright, Jeff Curtes, Kevin Zacher, Dorothea Lange, Cole Barash, Colin Adair, Blotto, Jess Mooney, Oli Gagnon, Jordana Meilleur, Russel Brown, Dano Pendygrasse, Dice K Maru, Scott Serfas, Ansel Adams, David Lachapelle, Annie Lebovitz, Charles Garcia, Owen, Jimmy Greeley, Jon Kirby. There are some not mentioned, but that’s because I can’t brain fart them all out at once.
What started you in photography?
My friend Mike from elementary school bought a Yashica FM SLR and I was fascinated by the split focus screen. It just boggled my mind on how the damn thing worked. So, after playing with focus for a solid 4 hours (with no film in there) I forgot about cameras for a good 2 years. Then one summer I made friends with this crazy Mexican who was in town with his family for a month. Their parents bought a new camera, and gave me their old one. (a nice wall mart special point and shoot). I began shooting wall mart film on this point and shoot of me and my friends skating. That phased out after I ran out of money. I mean, for a 10 year old kid, $10 a roll with processing wasn’t really worth 24 photos.
So high school came along, and I made friends with a guy named Eric, and one day he showed me his Grandpa’s old camera. And that’s what did it. After I picked up that Minolta X-GM with a split focus screen, all I wanted to do was take pictures with it. So, after a $200 shutter repair to the camera, I borrowed it for about 2 years and made every mistake you could possibly make with an SLR. I then went back to my friend Mike to get some help and learned a few things, and borrowed his flash for a solid 6 years. I finally gave the camera back to Eric and went out to buy my very first digital SLR, a Canon 20D.
What was the moment that made you decide that you wanted to take photos of snowboarders as a career choice?
The very first time I sent a photo to Colin Adair. He was the nicest dude I had ever dealt with, and after I sent him a preview jpg, he asked for the RAW right away. I sent it to him and kept pressing the refresh button for like 30 minutes until I heard back from him. I got word they were going to run the shot in the upcoming issue. But 2 weeks later, I got an email saying it wasn’t going to run, but that he wanted to see more in the future. It didn’t matter to me that they weren’t going to run it, the only thing that mattered was that someone actually kind of liked a photo of mine. It became my mission to impress this dude who worked at SBC.
Later on that year I get an invite email to the 24/36, and decided to do it. When I picked up the roll of film and stuck it in my camera I had decided that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I have an extreme obsession over snowboarding and love for photography that this just seemed to be the right thing to do.
What's a perfect working day for you?
Having a Leica rangefinder with 3 rolls of TMAX 3200 in my pocket shredding pow with some close friends. But I have to go buy a Leica first…
What is a favourite photo of yours that has not been published? What's the story behind it?
The shot of Myrosha Daley I have here on Mount Seymour. I just like how everything is in the red/orange hue and you can see the oil tankers in the Burrard Inlet. It’s one of those things that everything was going wrong that day, and my flash kept mis-firing. I crossed my fingers and told Myrosha to drop in.
Myrosha Daley - Mount Seymour
What is one of your favourite photos in general? What's the story behind it?
Probably my favorite photo of all time is a photo done by Dorothea Lange called “White Angel Bread Line”. It’s a photo taken in 1932 during the depression era near her studio in San Francisco. There was a wealthy woman known as “White Angel” who set up a breadline to help cope with the 14 million unemployed in the country. The photo is very simple, yet extremely powerful and has always stuck out in my mind that there are people less fortunate out there, and that I have to live my life to the fullest and be thankful for everything I have and work for. Here’s a link for the photo: http://www.gtphoto.ca/whiteangel.jpg
Your name is not too common, do you find you get a lot of different reactions from people?
Oh ya. Tons of people never believe me when I say “Hey, I’m Gonzo”. They think I’m making up some nick name or trying to avoid telling them my real name. Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, chicks dig the name. They think it’s cool and hot, two things I definitely lack. There is a disadvantage though. Everyone remembers your name, and it’s hard to remember all the Jons and Nicks out there. Usually I remember someone by their face, and not their name.
Shout outs?
I hate shout outs.
Aaron Shapiro - Grouse Mountain
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Published by snowboard.com: 1:56 PM
Updated On: 1/4/2008 at 4:07 PM
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Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Nov. 21, 2007: Billabong announces ‘Ante Up’, presented by Monster Energy, a snowboard slope style event that will work as a qualifier for the Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event. Ante Up will take place January 12th, 2008 at C.O.P. resort in Calgary, AB Canada. The winner of Ante Up will get airfare and an invite to the Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event that will take place Feb. 2nd, 2008. Only 24 competitors from across the globe are invited to attend the Innsbruck event, so if you’re not invited, Ante Up is your chance at getting a piece of the Air and Style prize money.
Below is list of the lucky 40 riders who have qualified for Ante Up.
Matt Belzile, Braden Dean, Sage Kotsenburg, Scotty Brown, Robby Balharry, Zach Stone, Shayne Popisil, David Fortin, Lucas Debari, Paul Gonzalez, Jesmond Debeau, Warren Williams, Will Lavigne, Matt Munn, Stephen Burchill, Christopher Collard, Murray Hodgson, Chris Wimbles, Jordan Phillips, Cody Rosenthal, Nic Sibayan, Matts Kullisek, Josh Warnick, Logan Short, Kael Hill, Dwayne Wiebe, Andrew Geeves, Craig Beaulieu, Matt Wallace, Jed Anderson, Josh Warnick, Tanner Davidson, Alex Leblanc, Hugo Cartier, Jon Rusk, Morris Hogan, Walter Bombeck, Russ Collins, Geoff Brown and Derek Pankoff.
http://www.billabong.com/anteup/
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