Editor’s Note: We aren’t late on the end of the year posts. Everyone else was early. What if one of our staff photographers shot their favorite photo on Dec. 31? We don’t want to disqualify that. So yeah, it has been a week into the new year… but we aren’t living in the past. We are just celebrating the top photos from top shooters in the game.
Words and photos by Andy Wright.
Twenty-three or so years ago, when I first started shooting snowboarding, I don’t think I’d ever have believed that in the year 2019 I’d still be just as excited about it. Having experienced so many eras, tricks, trends, fads etc…, I really like where snowboarding is now, or should I say has returned to.
The Snowboarding Gear That Defined the Last Decade
Style in making the simple look good beats out the biggest, most technical stunts when it comes to modern snowboard photography. Of course there will always be a place and appreciation for aforemention, I found that many of my favorite shots were the ones that looked like updated versions of the ’90s imagery that lead me to the camera. While this revival has been coming for some time now, 2019 was the year I learned (or perhaps re-learned) how to capture for what is.
This article originally appeared on Snowboarder.com and was republished with permission.
The roadside attactions in Japan are endless. Unfortunately the parking options are not. It snows so much and often the plows make giant walls of snow that leave no room to pull off to a shoulder. When you do find a pull-out, it’s usually near a tunnel and a spray is in order. Iikka was so excited to blast this one he barely made it to the lip before the explosion. One and done and all parties left satisfied.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
First time working with D-Mo, and another one of those shots that I had a cover feeling about. The bottom angle actually of this trick actually did make it to the front of an publication so at least I was close in the prediction. Nollie is a tough trick to shoot and sell as such but the style here and blast of snow just have a “nollie” vibe that I haven’t captured since the MFM era of last decade. Couldn’t leave this shot of my list for that reason alone.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
Everytime I think I’ve shot just about every rail trick done and my time would be better spent listening to podcasts in the rental car while the filmers bagged their clips, well I get proven wrong. If only getting proven wrong felt good in other apects of life like it does here! This rail has seen a lot of action, but before this day, I’m confident no one had done a footplant on and through the kink. Craig is Canada’s one foot ambassador, and it’s fitting he should be the one responsible for this trick being added to this rail’s legacy.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
This photo appeared in the last issue of Snowboarder Magazine, and there’s a lengthy story behind it that I’ll summarize here. This was my first photo of the year and it was also the first photo I’d taken on a new camera. Believe it or not, riders aren’t the only ones who are a little rusty to start the year, but photographers feel the same way. Obviously there’s no real way to simulate the factors that go into a shot like this for the rider, but for us it’s a similar situation (with a lot less physical harm at stake). So getting that first shot of the year out of the way is always a great feeling. Rarely is it something of this magnitude, but good to know the muscle memory is there to make it happen.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
There was a time not so long ago I would have bet my truck on this being a cover. Glad I didn’t make that bet this year! Photos like this are what keeps me going regardless of where they end up. The feeling of seeing something like this pop up on the LCD screen on the back of my camera immediately takes me back to why I fell in love with shooting snowboarding. It’s the closest I’ll get to knowing the feeling Torstien is having doing this trick.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
Light and shadow, better known as contrast, is the one ingredient for a good photo that there is no substitue. While watiing for some other riders to hike up from a cliff we’d been shooting, Iñaki spotter this perfect patch of sun that had floated into place during the session. It required slashing immediately and there was barely time to even communicate this before he was strapped in and dropping towards it full speed. It was gone in mintues, with the hill covered in shadow. Luckily no second try was required.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
I’d always wanted to shoot Seymour at sunset with the city in the background. When our powder quest in Whistler came to an abrupt and early halt in March, the spring conditions were perfect for this session on the infamous Whiskey booter. Not pictured is the full moon rising behind me. It’s like being inside a real life version of a photo where the saturation slider was crannked to 100. A surreal experience not soon to be forgotten.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
Sometimes the warm up runs produce the best images of the day. We had the zone to ourselves with a full menu of classic Whistler kicker options awaiting us, but the crew wanted to enjoy some of the new snow before committing to building a snow tower to jump off. I believe this was Mons first day sledding and later that day he hit went 2 for 2 on his first ever backcountry jump. But this little nugget from the morning session is what stood out to me and will still have shelf life long after the booter photos have expired.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
I should probably rename this feature as the “giving tree” as it’s the same one in this list that Jordan Morse had his photo on. With Steffi being a goofy rider, shooting wide was an option to mix up angles and showcase the unique, and almost magical character of this natural feature buried in an enchanted powder forest. It was a typical stormy day in Japan, with tracks getting filled every few runs. By the time we had gotten our fill of free runs and committed to stopping and shooting, the “blue hour” (similar to golden hour on clear days but blue-ish in hue) made for a perfect lighting situation.
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Wright/SNOWBOARDER Magazine
The post SNOWBOARDER Photographer Andy Wright's 2019 Highlight Gallery appeared first on Men's Journal.
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