Re Wikstrom's Photo-ish

New Zealand!

2011-07-30T13:49:00.001-07:00

I am in New Zealand! Please check out my tumblr blog for the most current updates!

The Goose is Loose

2011-05-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a rainy May in Utah. Headed south to Gooseberry Mesa to try and dry out. The road was still a little slick the night we got there. But if you ask me (and my Subaru)... that equals F-U-N! Yeeah!

It's a moose. We named him Goose. He came from the town of Beaver. True story.

A weekend spent biking, camping, and hanging with friends is a weekend good for the soul. And staring at the southern Utah eye candy of cliffs around Zion doesn't hurt either.

You may recognize Tanya from such places as the October 2010 cover of Backcountry Magazine. What? The desert bears no resemblance!? Weird.

Tumbling

2011-04-29T06:53:00.001-07:00

Exploring this world of Tumblr.... I know... another blog seems silly... but I thought I should work it out and see how it goes over there.... so far some good quotes and links and short reactions and I can keep the blogspot here to news and thoughts that are just Re Wikstrom Photography... let's give it a go: www.ReWikstrom.tumblr.com

Surviving in a wind storm.

2011-04-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

I was honestly, legitimately, and truly concerned that my tent would lift up with me inside and slam into the wall of boulders on the east side of our campsite.

We (Backcountry.com) were doing a photoshoot and gear test in the east sierra a couple weeks ago just outside of Bishop (BEAUTIFUL place by the way!)

It was quite the sleepless night but I am happy to say that I (and my tent) awoke in one piece. I can not say that most of the other tents fared the same. Or my aluminum camp table that was lifted over 15 feet of boulder / rock wall and deposited, in a few bent up pieces, in a heap of sage brush 50 feet on the other side of that wall.

This is the sunrise calm after the storm.

Reflections on Pro Photo Showdown: Part 1 of ?

2011-04-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

Initial Reaction: INCREDIBLE! And did I really just get interviewed by MTV Canada? Or did I just get "punked?"

The whole experience start to finish was amazing. What an honor to be a finalist among Blake Jorgenson, Brynn Hughes, Russel Dalby, Mike Yoshida, and Steve Lloyd!

As a young intern with Powder and Bike Magazines I can recall ooogling over slide and print submissions from Blake and Bryn (yes, pre digital takeover). The first year I moved to Utah I remember going to see an inspiring slide show of Steve's. And my first summer out west was spent living in an a-frame with 9 people at the bottom of Mt Hood shooting camp photos for Windells (and High Cascade) with my roommates, one of which was the awesomely funny, talented, and great all around guy, Mike Yoshida who has gone on to work for K2 snowboards and now as associate PE for Snowboarder Mag. And not to leave out Russell... I was not familiar with his work before the show, but his bio was funny, and he's a staff photog for Snowboard Canada, and after his slideshow I am a BIG fan! So... to reiterate... HOW AMAZING to be a finalist alongside them all!

As a young photographer now living in Salt Lake City, Utah and holding down a full time job with Backcountry.com (strangely, I was unable to find work in a restaurant, hmmm....) I have much to juggle in the way of my job with bc.com and my personaal ski shooting, editing, processing, submitting, marketing, invoicing, sleeping (what's that?), and taking time for myself to just ski, or bike, or generally explore this natural world. My budgets are small. The most exotic places I traveled to this year were Terrace and Smithers in northern BC, Canada. The most exotic place I have ever been is Las Lenas Argentina and that was 5 years ago, and we didn't much leave the beaten gringo path. But on this limited budget, I do find extreme joy in documenting what IS unique about the places we would ordinarily brush off as just another North American town and the joy that traveling with and meeting good people can bring. While I would love to explore some far away places, people, and cultures, it is amazing what you can find in your own backyard. So... to reiterate again... HOW AMAZING to be a finalist!

2011-04-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

A fun interview with Doglotion.com whipped up by The International Woman of Mystery (some may know her as Holly Walker, others have only heard legendary legends of far off travel).

A Ski Library!?

2011-03-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Passing through the small town of Sandpoint, ID I added Schweitzer to my list of places to visit (little did I know at the time, that I would be going back a week later -win!)

Fernie, BC to Golden, BC (to ski Kicking Horse)

2011-03-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

Martha pointed out this natural spring so we filled up. Tasty water for sure!

It had been a LOOOOOONG time since I saw the sun. I started freaking out at the sight of this beautiful post-storm lighting and had to pull over and take a photo. SO BEAUTIFUL!

This Kokanee has a trail map of Whistler on it. I bought it to celebrate my entry in to the Pro Photo Showdown!!!

And cheers to Sue for letting us crash her lovely house, and everyone else for being great in general!

When in Canada and looking to do things that are decidedly Canadian, one must visit a good ol' TImmy Ho's. Martha and I stopped on the drive to Golden to play the RRRoll up game. I told Martha if I won the car, she could have it. So when she won a coffee, she gave it to me for the drive out of Golden and on to Schweitzer. Thanks lady! Much appreciated!

Pro Photographer Showdown! Finalist!

2011-03-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Wow oh wow! I attended the OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown last year and thought maybe I could make it in the next 5 years or so, but I decided to go ahead and enter this year. A week later I got a phone call asking me to call them back. I thought, "oh no, I hope the slideshow format worked! I hope there wasn't a problem with the submission!" but no, it turns out they wanted to tell me I was chosen as a finalist! HIGH FIVE! I immediately called my boyfriend, my parents, and my brother to share the incredible news. I happened to be driving all day from Bellingham to Fernie so I then had lots of time to myself. 15 to 20 minutes later I was already getting nervous about standing up there, literally center stage, under the ring of screens. It is a CRAZY mix of nervous anxiety, major excitement, and supreme honor just to be a finalist and have the opportunity to show my photos at this event. SO AMAZING!

The official announcement from the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival was made yesterday. I am so excited to now share the news with everyone! See you in Whistler!!!

Interview in the Backcountry Beacon

2011-03-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

A little love from Backcountry.com in the Backcountry Beacon!

Yesterday's Drive to Fernie!

2011-03-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

Checking in from Smithers, BC

2011-02-20T08:11:00.001-08:00

2 weeks down, 4 to go. So far, I have had amazing ski days at Tyax, Shames, NEH, and Hudson Bay. Today is suppose to be our last day in Smithers, BC, but we are trying to extend our stay for one extra day. Wish we could stay an extra week!

Next stop: Smithers, BC!

2011-02-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

Frosty trees reminded me of my east coast roots at the top of Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers, BC. Holly Walker hops through the winter wonderland. We met some fantastic people, investigated the entrance to an old mine shaft, and skied the community trail to town when we missed the last chair back to the other side of the mountain (where our car was parked). Thanks for the ride back up Tonio! Good times!

Storm day

2011-02-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

Ilya Storm works for the Canadian Avalanche Association and we were very happy to have him as our guide at Northern Escape. He helped us stay out of trouble and waited patiently for us to putz around with the camera while I am sure he would rather be doing more of this! I think our guide here got photo of the day! NICE!

Escaping to The North

2011-02-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Putting my new camera pack to the test while Brigid and Holly try to withstand the rotor wash at Northern Escape Heli.

The Clik Elite Contrejour 35 has been a MAJOR improvement over my last pack. These guys actually understand how to build a great photo pack. It's about time!

Powder Wednesday @ Shames!

2011-02-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

Holly Walker and Brigid Mander loving life on "Powder Wednesday" at Shames Mountain. The ski area is closed Mondays and Tuesdays and the Snow Gods have been VERY good to them this year.

Flying to Terrace, BC

2011-02-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

Gone for a week and don't want to let perfectly good broccoli go to waste. Holly Walker gets excited about her green veggie vitamins waiting for Hawk Air to fly us far north.

Athelstan

2011-02-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

Lead Guide and GM at TLH, Cliff Umpleby, hadn't skied the Athelstan Glacier in over 4 years until today. I guess we got here just in time for a pretty good couple days. And by "pretty good..." I should reiterate, the lead guide and GM hadn't skied this glacier for over four years. The snow was good and stable, the holes were filled in, and the scenery was stunning to say the least!

The View...

2011-02-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

...from my office today. Thanks to TLH (Tyax Lodge Heliskiing)!

Free Range

2011-02-08T23:46:00.000-08:00

Free range horses on the 4 hour drive north from Whistler, BC to Tyax Lodge.

Out of Office Reply:

2011-02-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

On the road for the next 6 weeks! YahooOOoOOoOO!

POWDER GIRL ?!?!?!?!?!

2010-12-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Do you like my little camera? How 'bout that beautiful cliff that Shaun just chucked herself off?

I could -quite literally- go on for days about what a huge honor this is. (REALLY HUGE!!!) But I will spare you my novel, and suggest you check out some light reading by Tess Weaver on page 66 of the 2011 Powder Photo Annual.

We're starting a series....

2010-10-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since Pip and I shot a good heel click photo like the one that took "Best Mountain Lifestyle" in the first annual Ski Salt Lake shootout. We finally decided to continue the tradition. This here is a pre-season-first-real-blanket-of-snow-in-the-mountains heel click.

Leading Ladies, 4: Ski Photographers

2010-10-27T00:18:00.000-07:00

This is the 4th in a series of "Leading Ladies" in the ski industry that ESPN is featuring on their freeski site. Scroll on down to the 4th name, it may look familar :) Then check out the first two photos in the gallery that I shot of Angeli and Pip!

Yeti Pumpkin!

2010-10-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

Went through a few sketches, brain storming, and inter-web inspiration.... Final random idea... A Yeti! Must have been subconsciously channeling my inner love for winter and my bike.

BD Ski Swap

2010-10-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

So you want to sell something at the BD swap? Do you like dawn patrols?

After waking up 3 days a week at 5am for bootcamp, it didn't sound too bad. Pip and I arrived at 5:50am to set up shop and hang out in the dark for the next hour and a half.

It's great to see your old gear go to a good new home, and see someone else get stoked out on a budget. It's also great to see all your ski friends before the snow flies.

And speaking of snow.... the forecasted rain came blowing through, and we had to pack up early. But when the clouds lifted there was a fresh coat of white paint in the mountains. (I am hoping it melts or just keeps puking until May so we can avoid those rotten, persistent weak layers that have plagued us the last few years).

After bailing early from the rain, Pip and I joined Angeli and Ashley for lunch at Ruth's. SO GREAT! Happy Saturday!

Cover spotted on newstands!

2010-10-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

SO EXCITED to announce that Backcountry Magazine (no relation to Backcountry.com) has chosen my shot of Tanya Christensen for their October 2010 cover! And it's officially been spotted on the newstands (in good company I might add! Of course I'm talking about Shotgun News and Bowhunter! No definitely not, that's a lie.)

Featured in the Red Bull Illume Photobook!

2010-09-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Look what the DHL guy dropped off today! (Hmmm....who uses DHL? hmm... it must be from Europe!)

Red Bull recently released a limited edition photobook highlighting the top 250 semi-finalist photos from the 2010 Red Bull Illume Photo Quest. Check the spirit category for a photo from yours truly.

And if you're interested in your own copy (sorry if you wanted number 262, that one's mine!) check out the Red Bull Illume website for more info (and to check out all of the other truly amazing images that were submitted!)

"Buried Treasure" in the desert

2010-07-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

The southern Utah desert (and the northern for that matter) are chock full of what I call "buried treasure." It's not really buried, but on the surface and from a distance you just see hot, dry, dusty desert. But as soon as you take the time to enter a canyon you find playgrounds, lush greenery, and/or a water paradise. It's the kind of place that corporations try to model their waterparks after. But it's real and it's not full of chlorine and the smell of people frying their skin.

So here I am again, so fortunate to shoot photos in this beautiful environment.

Here is the obligatory self portrait (and I am pretty sure Hannah and Kyle are shooting their own self portrait in the background!)

A beautiful waterfall (never jump! A broken ankle in a place like this is the worst idea ever). We had a nice little corridor to scoot around to the side.

It's amazing to think about the forces of nature that created this waterfall. I'm pretty sure it's just a pile of debris that was flushed down in a flash flood and got stuck at this extra skinny corridor with sediment and more debris piling in behind it until the top leveled off. I could be wrong though... I'm no scientist. ;)

Still hiking on day one. We did have a small panic in the name of flash flood danger. The danger rating was low, but we heard thunder just after our lunch break, and then a few raindrops, so we decided to book it straight to camp (at the end of a good section with many "safe" places of high ground).

A nice spacious campsite for our group of 9.

We were hoping the water level would be high enough to float our packs on day two, or possibly float ourselves so we brought some super cheap tubes along for fun. It was a float-failure for most of us, but who cares, the scenery was AMAZING and the bright green donut colors just pop so nicely in the relative dark at the bottom of this canyon.

Although Hannah did find the right combo for the ultimate "lazy" river set-up. Nice view from there!

Bicycles, how do I love thee?

2010-07-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

Biking is my spring-summer-fall love. How fortunate I am to take 3 days and shoot mountain biking in my favorite place to ride. We headed south for a HuckNroll.com photo shoot with Shaun Raskin and Jenn Berg, whose names you may recognize as ripping skiers, but they are equally talented on two wheels, and GREAT FUN to ride with!

Yes, let's do this again sometime.

Hell's Canyon

2010-05-04T00:44:00.000-07:00

And... Switching gear to SUMMER MODE!

I was asked to go on a 5 day river trip through Hells Canyon to shoot photos for Backcountry.com. Um... YES PLEASE!

Hell's Canyon is on the Snake River where the river creates the twisting, winding, curvy border between Idaho and Oregon, and Idaho and Washington. We put-in just north of the Hell's Canyon reservoir and dam and floated 75 miles north to our take out at Hellar Bar in Washington. The river was running pretty fast so we had ample time for a layover day at our favorite campsite and still made it to Hellar Bar on time.

The trip was incredibly beautiful! For 5 days we were surrounded by lush green mountains that dropped straight into the river. Sometimes we would pass cliff walls dropping straight into the water. It reminded me a lot of the Oregon coast and I was just waiting to see a pirate ship around the next corner. I also expected to see these lush green hillsides covered in herds of goats or sheep, but it was remarkably empty of land mammals (plenty of birds though!)

We tackled the biggest rapids of our trip within the first ten miles on the first day. Scouting was mandatory but our "captains" rowed through like champions and after all that fun and excitement we were a little bummed to find out we had already hit the biggest ones and the rest of the trip would be relatively mellow in comparison. Many of the remaining rapids were washed out due to the high flows as well, but a trip with this group was anything but boring.

The group dynamics, as it were, impressed me immensely. Not only did everyone get along, but we all became friends, and had no trouble sharing the chopping, cooking, cleaning, wood collecting, and groover duties, or letting loose for an impromptu dance party in the sand.

The trip was so amazing that I have to remind myself that it rained on us every day. Because I remember the fun and forget the rain! That is the sign of a good trip. I would do it again in a heart beat.

Many many many thanks to everyone who made the trip so great, and especially to Heidi and RJ for their captain duties, and extra many thanks to Ashley for pulling the permit, making the plans, rowing us (and my camera gear!) safely through Wild Sheep and Rush Creek rapids, and attempting to teach me how to read a river map. (Sorry, the hot springs will have to wait till next time. It was my first day!)

Baker, Atomic women's team, good friends, and winter-in-the-spring

2010-04-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

Great week! Just returned home from a little Atomic team shoot at Mt Baker and hanging with some great great friends. We had been watching the weather. And waiting. And waiting. And the winter was nearing it's end. And then the forecast started looking up for the northwest. We pulled the trigger. Angeli VanLaanen, our friend (and amazing skier!) Carston Oliver, and I drove from Salt Lake City, Utah up to Bellingham and Mt Baker, Washington to meet up with Molly Baker (no relation), as well as Grant Gunderson, Zack Giffin, and Holly Walker. KC Dean and his friend Scotty from Moment Skis drove up to play in the snow, too! It was a party! We were treated to mid-winter conditions in the spring. Skiing with great people. And it was glorious. Thank you gulf of Alaska!

Icefall Interview

2010-02-08T09:56:00.001-08:00

This certainly does not tell-all about the trip, but a few questions on the shooting experience at Icefall: http://www.theskijournal.com/news/2010/02/04/reliving-icefall-with-re-wikstrom

Powder Video Awards

2010-01-31T22:06:00.000-08:00

Despite being a Powder Intern "Alum," I had never been to the Video Awards until last night. Around 5pm we jumped in the car and made the drive from Denver to Aspen. We missed the first half, but there was still plenty of action after our arrival. I was especially happy to run into Rachael Burks and hear about her much deserved reader poll award and see Lynsey Dyer accept her award for Best Female Performance! A first for both of these ladies, so stoked for you!

Check out the videos!
video of the top 5 women
Best Female Performance!

it was definitely fun to parrrrr-tay in Ahhhhspen. Those who know me, know that my inner party animal does a lot of sleeping, but it was awake last night and enjoying every minute.

The drive back to SLC wasn't bad either. I've never driven through that part of the desert when I could see it covered in snow (I have driven through there in a raging blizzard but I could barely see the taillights of the trucks in front of me when they spun off the road. That is a whole 'nother story though.)

Icefall Lodge

2010-01-26T14:18:00.001-08:00

Another trip I didn't want to return home from. :) Spent a week and a half with a ripping group of tele skiers, Paige Brady, Shaun Raskin, Candy Froerer, and Martha Burley. We took a helicopter into Icefall lodge, about 60km north of Golden, BC and spent the week touring before the heli returned to fly us back towards Golden. We barely scratched the surface of the terrain there. Must go back! A huge thank you is in order for Larry Dolecki who had the vision to build the lodge, explore and ski the surrounding terrain, offer guided (or un-guided) weeks of skiing, and continue to explore the area with the Lyell Hut (first of many he plans to build for longer tours and hut trips from the main lodge). Another HUGE thank you to Mo (Monique) our chef for the week, and new friend and ski buddy! And another HUGE thank you to Bremner (aka Snow Dog), Henry, and Phil for their locals knowledge of the terrain. I have always loved Canada and Icefall is just one more reason to add to my list!

RAD BOOBS

2009-11-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

Months and months ago... I received a message from Holly Walker about a calendar that some girls in Canada were putting together. Holly was going to be featured in the calendar and the entire calendar would be dedicated to raising money and awareness for breast cancer support, education, and research. I was stoked to donate a few images to such a worthy cause and such a great crew of girls. Tessa Treadway and Sarah Frood were heading up the project, and Holly did all of the design work. The calendar is now finished and looks absolutely amazing! I am so proud to be a part of this project and in the company of such amazing girls. To get a copy for yourself and get a preview of the calendar, visit their website www.radboob.com (and click the beta link to see the amazing work they did!) You get to donate to a worthy cause AND get the perfect calendar to keep you excited for skiing all year! (Hint: this would make a great present for the holidays!)

102 Days on Bikes

2009-10-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I mentioned I was at 85 bike days for the season and shooting for 100. Well.... Today I hit 102. YAY BIKES! Judging from the frozen ground however, I have a feeling this number is not going to jump significantly before the ski season gets into full swing (although... it seems another slow start here in the Wasatch). Ahhh... how I love skiing through bushes and over rocks. Well.. at least for the entertainment value?

First Cover.

2009-10-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well..... BIG news for Re Wikstrom and Molly Baker as our first cover shot is out on newstands now!!!!!!! Pick up the October issue of Backcountry Magazine to experience the glory. Molly and I shot this photo up at Mt Baker on a rare bluebird pow day in March. We spent the morning working with Level 1 productions and in the afternoon decided to hike out further while they (Level 1) went to shoot some booters. We found this stash on our hike and Molly turned it into blower pow magic. Totally sweet!

We also found out some cool news from Backcountry Magazine about this cover... Molly is the first woman to be featured on one of their covers and I was the first female to have shot one of their covers. Cool stuff, eh!?!?!

Summer Hiatus

2009-09-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

It was inevitable. I started a blog. I updated it. And when the summer hit, I stopped updating. So for a quick recap on the spring/summer/fall; it was full of biking, biking, and more biking (and I had surgery to fix a deviated septum! Yikes! That was an ass-kicker!). Trips to Moab, Fruita, Vernal, Brianhead, and Stanley were a few highlights. I have (obviously) replaced my stolen bike and while it took a few weeks to get used to it and really let go of the long lost Prophet, I am now in LOVE (it's a Yeti 575). I also came across a nice deal I couldn't pass up on a Santa Cruz Bullit and am slowly learning to throw that guy around, too (bit of a learning curve for me, but I think we have finally bonded now).

If you are a skier and don't mountain bike in the summer, I have one question for you: Seriously? Why not? (okay, two questions!)

Today was bike day number 85 for the summer and I'm shooting for 100. Wish me luck!

The Ski Journal Photobook is out!

2009-03-03T00:47:00.000-08:00

I have a full gallery in the newest Ski Journal, Vol. 3 Issue 1. What an honor to share in this issue with Jordan Manley, Mattias Fredriksson, Scott Markewitz, and Ryan Creary! All photographer;s whose work I truly admire and look up to. And so cool to show the world some more ripping women skiers. Suzanne Graham starts off the gallery with a ski-BASE and we end with Shidasha Holmstead sending a nice tweaked out air next to a portrait and ripping backlit sepia action shot of Pip Hunt. In between you will also see the likes of Molly Baker, Holly Walker, and Rachael Burks' backflip along with some interspersed still life shots. I would also like to give it up for the shot of Brant Moles which was unfortunately run without caption (they switched the shots at the last minute before printing). He is the little skier in the image with the windy backlit rock and snow halo in the top right of the opening spread. He also has the honor of being surrounding by nothing but ripping ladies. Here is a little teaser on The Ski Journal website

On the subject of the Ski Journal, I hope you all had the chance to pick up the last issue of Vol. 2 which had the Women's Ski Jumping article. It opens with my portrait of Lindsey Van (who has now won the first ever World Championships of women's ski jumping!) and has a few more shots I took during the Springer Tourney last June.

Powder Photo Annual

2008-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

A couple hidden in there. ;) If you can imagine the walrus tusk on Mike a good 4 to 5 inches longer, that is what he looked like the weekend before that shot was actually taken (when I am ashamed to say I didn't have my camera with me). I hear it's kind of painful when the ice starts to melt. Alta storm days, mmmmmmmmm.

The Heat is O-Off

2008-11-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

I decided it seems silly to turn the heat on just yet when we own things like long sleeve shirts, hoodies, fleece jackets, down jackets, hats, slippers, blankets.... especially being a skier, and being one-with-the-cold and all. And being one with a "gear problem" the money I could be spending to heat my home would much better be spent on gear and say, cornbread for Thanksgiving. The temps in here have been hovering around 60 anyway. Currently it's reading 56. I thought it was warm in here yesterday, I thought maybe my roommate had given in and turned on the heat (though I should know better) but it was still off, just reading a high of 61.

Women's Skiing!!!!

2008-11-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

If you are a female with a subscription to Skiing Mag... rejoice! The december issue will have your copy of the 3rd annual Women's Skiing issue. In this issue you will find a photo essay full of ripping women all shot by yours truly. I am deeply excited for the opportunity that Skiing has given to both my work and to the wonderful athletes I shoot with in showcasing our images. I hope you all enjoy the images along with the rest of the issue!

November Powder

2008-11-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

I have a portrait of bad-ass skier and snowcat (amd 25 ton dumptruck in the summer) driver Alaina Huestis in the November Powder along with a couple shots in the White Highways piece.

I was beyond stoked when I heard they wanted to do my story idea on Alaina. We did two portrait shoots. For the first one she picked me up at 4am on the bypass road for a ride back up to the top of Snowbird just as the sky was starting to get light. She connected the winch cat near white diamonds in Mineral Basin, spun us around facing down the mountain, and we plunged over the edge, weeeeeeee! Since I don't get to do this kind of thing every day for my job... I thought it was super fun! We did a bunch of shots at the bottom of that pass, a bunch at the top, a few flash shots, and a few more of her driving. The sunrise wasn't as colorful as I was hoping for so we scheduled another day to shoot and decided to go for a sunset this time. The colors cooperated fully providing for some gorgeous warm tones in all the surrounding rock while the snow went a deep electric blue. The shots here were not used in the Powder article but are from the two days we shot.

I am also stoked on the couple shots in the White Highways piece. I have always thought if i wasn't a ski photographer I might live my life in a permanent road trip photographing everything along the way, especially the roads themselves and the fleetings views you get through the window. I call it drive by photography, haha. I will never forget those first couple cross country road trips and how i went crazy photographing everything. (crazy in a good way, of course!)

Bike Thieves

2008-11-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

ARE JERKS. Get a real job and buy your own bikes. Or whatever you were really stealing bikes to pay for...or here's a novel idea, get off the drugs.

My garage was robbed of 5 mountain bikes. My dearly beloved Cannondale Prophet 2000 with the raw aluminum frame that has taken me on adventures through countless rides in Brian Head, Moab, Fruita, Stanley, St George, and up and down the Wasatch will be sorely missed. As well as Liz's fantastically orange Yeti 575, Dan's plush Rocky Mountain Switch, and Jamon's anodized black Yeti 575 and his big Giant Faith (Faith Hill we called her). Very much missed.

I hate to sound all materialistic but when you steal someone's bike you are stealing so much more than just a bike that can be replaced. That was my gym membership. My social outlet. My endorphin-producing, sun-providing, sanity supplement. My summer love. My weekend getaway. An on going challenge for both riding and fixing. An excitement for teaching other friends the love and joy of mountain biking.

There is this strange bond we have to our bikes sometimes and mine had been on-going for a good 3 or 4 years with this particular bike. I'm starting to get excited about the prospect of a new bike, but it's such a hassle when the one I had was damn near perfect for me. We'd been through warranties, replacements, tune-ups, flat tires, broken saddles, brand new gore cables, a recent brake flush, shorter stem.... dialed. In fact picked up from the local bike shop the morning of the night it was stolenafter being out of commision for a week and a half. I hardly go 1 or 2 days without riding usually. harsh.

The weeks following i was completely consumed with scouring ebay, and checking every city's craiglists within a 1000 mile radius. But it's gone. Gonna have to move on. So now i've moved into super bike nerd mode and have a spread sheet listing my bike, every other bike i've ridden to compare to it, and the bikes i might be interested in riding/buying. Of course the last week i could have demoed any bikes i was sick. and then it started dumping snow in the wasatch. So i guess I can move into ski mode now. But what a lame segue! I'm sure karma has something in store for the bike thieves at least.

Fall Color

2008-10-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well Saturday was a big day with Sarah and Sam's wedding, and then the annual Backcountry.com Adventure Party. Waking up early on Sunday was not, "plausible" to say the least, AND IT SNOWED in the mountains that night, too. My roommate had the awesome idea of hiking up to Cardiff pass, figuring the snow might melt by the afternoon (you know, by the time we all woke up) since it is south facing and open to the sun. There was still snow on the top third of the trail on account of the lingering clouds, but the fall colors were AMAZING, especially with the contrast of the new snow. The Pfiefferhorn looked especially majestic with it's new white coat of snow. Anyway, not too much to comment on, just a nice hike with some A+ Wasatch scenery.

The photo is Alta's High Rustler through the gold aspen trees, just a quick snap on my point and shoot.

re's meditation

2008-09-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

I went for a hike up to Sunset Pass today since my bike is out of commission at the moment. I took the ipod shuffle for the hike up, but once i hit Catherine's Pass i turned it off to just take in the mountains. Upon reaching sunset pass I took some time to just appreciate the mountains, the green alpine meadows, the granite cliffs, the single track that is usually buried deep in the winter. And then i remembered what i actually like about hiking and running, and if you know me, you know I would much rather ride my bike than go jogging, but it's the pensive time. The time to let your thoughts wander, weigh the options on certain issues, contemplate everything from old friends, to new surroundings, to goals for the winter, for the year, for the next ten years.

I am not really into yoga or meditating, but i realized, this is my meditation time. And since i didn't have the Wasatch Back Relay to train for this spring, i went straight into biking, and have been neglecting my inner thoughts.

I jogged most of the way back down in the cool autumn air as the sun was retreating from the yellow and orange glow of the aspens and there was this awesome sense of peace and well being when I reached the car.

Women's Ski Jumping

2008-08-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

It was kind of a last minute addition to the forthcoming issue of the Ski Journal, but they decided to run Vanessa Pierce's story about the exclusion of women's ski jumping in the Olympics. I was stoked for the opportunity to shoot a feature like this, but there is one minor issue.... it's August!

As i came to find out during the days i spent shooting, ski jumping is one winter sport that is actually a year round event. While they have twice as many competitions in the winter, they still do somewhere around 8 to 10 in the summer (maybe up to 15, I am spacing out on the number right now). Pretty cool, eh?

It was an honor and a pleasure to shoot these girls. Ski jumping looks to be about the closest thing to flying on skis. So these girls are tough, and they can virtually fly. I love it. What I don't love however is their exclusion from the winter olympic games. The more i learned about their fight to be included and every reason that gives them every right to be there, and awesome facts like "Lindsey Van holds the hill record on the new jump that was built FOR the 2010 olympic games" and they still aren't included, the more upset i became with every factor working against them. I think most of the girls have resigned themselves to the fact that they will not be jumping, and are probably sick of the whole thing and would rather go out and jump than be worried about the politics, but as a new-comer to this controversy, it was really upsetting to say the least. A make-you-want-to-punch-things kind of upsetting.

After all that though, I am happy to have had the opportunity to do my part in trying to bring more equality to the olympics. Be on the lookout for the article "DENIED" in the fall issue of the Ski Journal!

OIWC's Polly-Ester Party

2008-08-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Amy Luther contacted me a few months ago about shooting the OIWC's (Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition) Polly-Ester Party during the Summer Outdoor Retailer trade show.

I was excited about shooting the event, but it was even more fun than I expected with all of the fabulous 70's dresses, and suits, and platform shoes.... it was great. We set up a "prom style" photo set which was located between the main building and the outdoor tent space. Some people really got into it! it was great! If you missed the fun or never found your photos, you can check it out here: http://www.oiwc.printroom.com/

This party was more than just having fun in a 70's time warp though, it was a launch party for the OIWC's new Education Foundation and i am a sucker for helping in any way i can to see that other women achieve great things because that is just a normalcy in my life that I like to share with the world.

*also a huge thanks go out to Sarah and Sam for helping out that evening!

Peak Performace Backcountry Tour For The Cure

2008-05-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of spending a night camping under the beautiful Pfeifferhorn with 10 other girls who call the Wasatch home, at least in the winter. We had the most perfect weather with bluebird skies and barely a hint of wind. Kelly Holland decided she wanted to raise money for breast cancer research and have fun along the way. And that's exactly what we did. Vanessa Pierce has laid it out in words much better than I could, so I will direct you to her article along with my gallery of photos from a fantastic weekend:
Powder.com: Backcountry Tour for the Cure

"I do it for the joy, because I am a joyful girl"

2008-04-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

I know.... I promised everyone i would be updating this while i was in Alaska. My first day in Girdwood/Alyeska was so overwhelming i couldnt get it all written out while i was perched over the laptop in the corner of the Sitzmark trying to concentrate over the music. I had started writing about how beautiful the sunset was, and how the golden "hour" lasted for many many hours, alpen glow until about 10pm on these giant intense mountains. I went from overwhelmed in the morning to, getting comfortable in these new surroundings and loving it. The next day dawned bright with an exploratory road trip into Anchorage for some extra camera gear followed by a hike up Center Ridge where the other photogs had already dug in, (where i also had the pleasure of meeting photographer Johnathan Selkowitz). But this day ended with a teary eyed sunset and the passing of skier John Nicolleta. After that, skiing and shooting was just "going through the motions" and being in Alaska didn't seem right. Shooting competitions didn't seem right. Being stoked on competitions didn't seem right. And being stoked on any skiing was hard to say the least. We went for a couple short road trips. And went for a couple tours off Turnagain Pass. Mellow tours to be sure. I wanted so bad to be happy about being in Alaska, but my head just wouldn't allow it. It was the first time I was ever relieved to leave some place so amazing, which is such an odd paradox to experience. Under ordinary circumstances I would have been perpetually stoked out of my gourd and then really sad when it came time to go home.

After leaving Alaska I stopped in WA for a short visit before returning back to Salt Lake. Since it is still full on winter up there, we had a fun stormy pow day at Mt Baker. Looking back it was a great day, but at the time, it was still so hard to be stoked on skiing. I have since returned to the comforts of home, spent a lot more time thinking about what exactly we do in the mountains, why we do it, how we go about it, how we should or not do certain things, have talked about it with close friends, and have been slowing re-learning to love the mountains. Slowly remembering what drew me here in the first place. Slowly allowing myself to enjoy them again for their solitude, for their sunshine, for their liberation, for their independence, for their challenge, for their friendship, and friendships created because of them.

Press Release: Shootout Winners

2008-03-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Winners have been announced at Ski Press' website, check out the list and a preview of the winning photos.

update: the Ski Salt Lake press release is now up with larger/better views of the winning photos!

Ski Salt Lake Shootout comes to an end

2008-03-08T16:09:00.001-08:00

The awards for the Ski Salt Lake Shootout were handed out last night over dinner, after an amazing slideshow from the previous week. We were competing in 5 categories (powder, air, big mountain, mountain lifestyle, and city lifestyle) plus an extra award for best of show. I am so excited to share the news of winning the best mountain lifestyle! And must give thanks to Phillipa "Pip" Hunt for her amazing heel clicking skills. Ski Salt Lake will be posting the winners in the next couple days, so I will put up a link as soon as it goes live.

I have to say, this was one of the most amazing experiences. The whole week was full of morning to night shooting. I had Molly Baker and Pip Hunt with me for all 4 days, and also had the pleasure of shooting with Chris Collins on days 1 and 2, and Jason West on days 3 and 4. We started with Alta on day one, then moved to Snowbird, then Solitude, and capped it off with Brighton on the final day. Also, to meet and be in the same competition as those photographers whose work I have looked up to for so long is just indescribable.

Many thanks go out to Adam Barker as well for having the vision for the contest, and for executing it so well. It definitely would not have been the same without him.

Ski Salt Lake Shootout

2008-02-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

I have been accepted to compete in the first ever Ski Salt Lake Shootout, which will be going on next week, March 3rd to 7th, and is being sponsored by Ski Salt Lake (Ski-SaltLake.com) and Ski Press Magazine. They are bringing in 5 seasoned pros and 2 "undiscovered" talents (one of which is yours truly). I have the honor of going up against Hank De Vre, Tony Harrington, Damian Cromwell, Grant Gunderson, Jay Beyer, and Brian Ralph. Definitely a little nervous, but also really excited.

Catching up on the last year

2008-02-19T23:21:00.001-08:00

Just to highlight a few things in the past year....

Last summer i had the opportunity to spend a few days shooting the first ever Roxy Pop Drop water Ramp Camp. It was truly inspiring to see girls from all ages, and i do mean all ages, anywhere from 7 to 37, sending it into the pool, spin-after-grab-after-flip. It was awesome to say the least. Vanessa Pierce was there to provide written coverage for Powder.com as well. Here are the links to the stories that went up along with a final gallery of mine at the end.

GIRLS AND BEACH BALLS Women head to PC for water ramp camp
TRAMPS TO RAMPS Mackenzie Epperson-Valum Blogs from Roxy Camp
SWEET SORENESS Roxy Ramp Camp
ROXY POP DROP Photo Gallery

After that my summer was full of adventures. I ran the Wasatch Back relay for the 3rd year in a row, went canyoneering for the first time, and backpacking for the first time, spent enough time on my bike to win the Mountain Bike category of our annual summer adventure contest at work, rafted a few rivers, camped out everywhere, and visited as many places within about a 6 hours radius of SLC as possible, including Moab, Brianhead, Zion, Escalante, The Uintas, Fruita CO, Jackson WY, Stanley ID, and Bellingham WA. (okay that last one isn't within 6 hours....) It was truly the "summer of fun" and possibly the first time i have really honestly loved summer. You know, instead of just wishing winter would come back as soon as possible. And after the jilting by mother-nature we had here last year, the summer was a welcome season.

And speaking of feeling jilted by mother nature, it was looking like a repeat of last year, or even worse when the local resorts could not even open by Thanksgiving this year (that is a rare rare occurrence to be sure). But suddenly winter got punched into high gear. And by January we were getting hit by storm after storm with nary a bluebird day to be had. Early on in that month i had the pleasure of driving 12 hours in one of those storms on a return stretch from Silverton, CO. (for which there is also a Powder Gallery: SILVERTON DUMP Re Wikstrom reports from the San Juans) it was definitely epic driving. After 6 hours of driving in star-wars-warped-speed like visuals, I was close to sleeping in the car and waiting out the storm, but we pushed on through the night and eventually made it home.

I guess that brings us up to February and the current season here in Utah. Our train of storms has been in remission for a week or two now, but it is at least nice to see some sunshine for a change (although too much usually ends up in a gross air quality inversion for the valley so we'll keep the fingers crossed that the forecasted storms for this week will push all of that crap out). The Crested Butte comp is also going down this week, so sending out some positive hard-charging landing-stomping vibes to the girls!

News Archive from my website

2008-02-19T10:12:00.001-08:00

I'm replacing the manual "news" updates on my website with this blog, so the following is all the old news. You can see it's been a while since the news was updated on my site. Hopefully the blog interface will keep things updated more frequently. Enjoy the blast from the past!

_________________________________________________
02.15.07
 Greetings from Whistler Canada! I'm up here visiting, skiing,
and shooting with the international woman of mystrery, Holly
Walker. We just came from Baker, WA where we had two great
days of skiing, but a rough day of shooting (with Holly, Heather
Roberts, and Brianne Taylor) due to some thick clouds and low
visibility. We were lucky en ough to hang out with, and get the
full ski tour from Grant Gunderson, the photo editor of the new
(and really awesome coffee table quality) "The Ski Journal".
I Would have loved to stick around, but Whistler Blackcomb was
also calling from the  north. It has been snowing here so we're on
a mission for some storm shots since I leave Monday and most
likely will not see blue skies before then. Tomorrow we will also meet
up with Sarah Oakden in attempts to make some more photo magic.

_________________________________________________
01.24.07
 Wow, it's been a while.... been to Argentina and back. If you
missed the adventures of my ski bag, check in to Powder.com
for a short narrative by Holly Walker and some photos from the
first few days (after i got my skis back!) of our trip. And seriously
if that's not the most lovable ski bag you've ever seen....
There is also some great evidence of our southern presence
on Doglotion.com.  And many thanks go out to the  people who
made the trip so much fun (i.e. Holly, Suz, Tobin, Bjorn, Jamie,
and all the other riff-raff we ran into).

 As for the winter here in Utah, we are all trying to stay positive.
The epic storms have not materialized and a lot of people have
headed to the northwest where some places are already well over
200% of their average annual snowfall. Meanwhile, here in Utah,
we are learning how to avoid rocks and bushes, keeping in
perspective the fact that we can at least ski (unlike many other
drought stricken mountains), and keeping the faith that with a
little more patience we will get our dues.
 Anyway, despite that slightly depressing state of the winter....
I am stoked to have been getting out to shoot a bunch in the
past couple weeks with Molly, Suz, and Kelly.  We've been able
to explore a couple new areas, and do some sunset shooting.
I just think, at least we aren't on the couch bitching about the
conditions and are trying to make the most of it. And at least the
avie danger has been staying really low and there is some soft
snow to be had in some places (though harder to find right now).
There's always a good side, right?

_________________________________________________
08.13.06
 The Outdoor Retailer Trade show descended on Salt Lake this
past weekend.  A couple vendors I would love to highlite from the
show are GoPro Camera and Chrome.  Both are awesome
companies with some super rad products run by really cool people.
And I am stoked to have picked up a couple of their goodies (the
Hero camera and a Metropolis messenger bag) to take adventuring
with me in South America!
   Another highlite from the weekend was the "Ramp It Up"
event to benefit the OIWC (Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition).
This event showcased women's outdoor clothing lines in a unique
way... by hosting a DRAG SHOW!  The "ladies" in drag were top
outdoor industry men from such companies as TNF, Horny Toad,
National Geographic and TONS more!  The venue reached capacity
before the show even started, and once it did get underway it was
non-stop laughs, cheers, and cat calls.  Being the first drag show
the OIWC has ever done, I know I am not the only one to say I
hope this was just the beginning of one of the greatest annual
events at OR.

 P.S.  11 days till take off!!!

_________________________________________________
07.31.06
 It's official. It's been official for a couple weeks now, and I can
hardly contain the excitement!  I have plane tickets to South
America!  It's been 3 years since my last visit and I am so very
excited to go back. After one of the most rediculous itineraries
I have ever been a part of (try flying from Salt Lake to Atlanta
to Ft Lauderdale to Bogota, Columbia to Santiago, Chile) I will
have a day to rest and explore Santiago before meeting up with
Holly Walker and Suzanne Graham to hop a bus across the Andes
and grab another transport from the city of Mendoza, Argentina
down to Las Lenas.  We will have 2 weeks to pray for snow, shred
as much as possible, shoot as much as possible, enjoy our daily
siestas, and forget about life in the Northern Hemisphere. 24 days
until departure!

_________________________________________________
06.19.06
The past weekend was spent in the beautiful Spanish Peaks
in Montana. A month of two prior Kelly Holland mentioned skiing
in June and before asking for details I told her I was in.  Previously
my June skiing experiences have been either working on Mt Hood
or annual trips to Tuckerman Ravine before moving west. This trip
was a little different.  I hate to give away too many details right
now but there may have been some camping, a lack of trail to the
summit, a beautiful day of spring shredding with Kelly Holland and
Rachael Burks, and uh, a few mules.

_________________________________________________
05.26.06
 Not that I haven't gone skiing since then, but it's been well
over a month since the chairs at Alta stopped spinning. We gave
the season a proper send off at the annual party on High Boy.
For those who missed it, or those who just want to relive it, you
can catch a glimpse of the debauchery on powdermag.com: 
http://powdermag.com/gallery/alta-closing/

_________________________________________________
04.03.06
 Kirkwood has been a blast as always! The World Tour finals
wrapped up yesterday with mostly clear weather and 2 feet of
fresh pow! I travelled out here with partner in crime Holly Walker
and we've been enjoying luxury accomodations compliments of one
Ms. Amy Holland.  Also got to meet the awesome Tess Weaver and
catch up with Kelly and Rachael fresh off the plane and enjoying
a week of jet-lag from their (mis)adventures through The Alps.
 To recap the event, the qualifier went off on thursday with
some gnarly wind, but decent visibility. (Article and Pics are up on 
www.DogLotion.com). Friday brought more wind, along with fog
and snow. And while we all love new snow, it completely sucks for
judging a comp.  That night mother natured dropped 2 feet of snow
over Kirkwood and then told the storm to split.  Saturday was a full
on pow day...  you know, for those people that weren't standing
around taking photos all day.  ;)

_________________________________________________
03.24.06
 We have come to the end of a sick 3 week storm cycle.  There
were deifnitely some good shooting days mixed in there with some
radical stormy-pow-ski days. It's kind of sad to see so much of the
snow turning to mank, but it's spring, and that's how it goes.
 With the spring however comes the North American and World
Tour IFSA Finals going off next week in Kirkwood!  Stoked for the
road trip and the insanity that is sure to go off in The Cirque, woO!

_________________________________________________
01.30.06
 Since November the snow gods have smiled upon the Wasatch.
We've been getting some really nice storms, not the huge snow
totals of last year, but the snowpack has been really bomber for
the most part, very unlike last year's huge avie cycle, and the
storms have been relatively consistent. It looks like we may even
get through a January without the dreaded inversion.
 Speaking of avies above, I finally did the level 1 Avie course.
And I can't speak highly enough of how important it is to educate
yourself on avlanche hazards and safe travel in the backcountry.
At the risk of sounding like everyone's mom, please read as much
as you can on the subject, attend every free or non free clinic you
can, and then take the course. And don't expect to be an expert
strsaight away. Even the ex-forecasters, patrollers, etc who teach
the courses are still learning. The mountains are a humbling place
that deserve our respect.

_________________________________________________
11.13.05

Salt Lake is off to a slow start in the winter department. We
got a few inches this weekend, but weather models are calling for
another warming trend this week. All residents in the wasatch
area are encouraged to hold a sacrificial ceremony of ski burning
to please the snow gods.

_________________________________________________
10.07.05

Today is the Mountain Maiden release party for their 2006
calendar. You will find a couple photos from yours truly, along
with other photos of women in the outdoors, so get out and find
yourself a copy!

_________________________________________________
10.06.05

We have snow!  A cold front came through earlier in the week
and left a nice layer of white over the Wasatch and the Oquirhhs.

_________________________________________________
9.23.05

heading up to the water ramps in park city tomorrow.  i am
seeing alot of face plants in my future. oww.

_________________________________________________
9.19.05

This is the Obligatory Welcome-to-my-new-website-newsflash.
Accompanied by the usual this-site-is-still-under-construction-
disclaimer. woO

A redneck sledding monster truck saturday to start things off

2008-02-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here goes the obligatory "this is my first blog post" post.

The weekends have been more crowded than ever up in Little Cottonwood Canyon and the barrage of storm after storm after storm after storm has stopped. And high pressure was building in. The only logical thing to do was take my roommate's new snow trike up to the bobsled trail and give 'er. (We also embarked on a 4 hour mission to find a saucer for me, but it was to no avail.) So we loaded up the hatch with boots, sled, full face helmet, some snacks, and some PBRs and off we went. A brief photo essay can be found on my flickr site.

We could have wandered to the top of the bobsled, but time was running short. There was a Monster Truck Jam to catch! We piled into the front seat of Steph's truck and headed to the arena. under the soft glow of flourescent parking lot lights, she unveiled the chrismas present that Dave sent down from AK (that he actually picked up while in mexico). Jamon almost peed his pants after reaching in the bag to pull out an authentic mexican wrestling mask! As it turns out, 4 people in mexican wrestling masks is a reallly good way to get featured on the jumbo tron. I think they had us up there twice as long as anyone else. And to top it all off, while Jamon and Greg were making children cry in the beer line, Steph and I were then put up on the "Kiss Cam" on the Jumbo Tron ONCE AGAIN!! Of course we proceeded to fake-make-out like aliens. I was worried we might be scaring the couple in front of us with the two small children, but at one point the wife turns around and says to us "thank you guys so much, i thought this was goiing to be kind of boring, but you guys are making this so much more fun!" (There is photographic evidence of the monster truck shenanigans as well)

And that concludes today's episode of a Very Redneck Weekend