Seeings as I have this brand new site I’m going to keep posting these general updates on what I’ve been working on recently.  Typically for me I spend a little time at the beginning of the season doing urban photos with people and this year was no different.  Poorboyz Productions purchased a winch system which is basically a lawnmower engine attached to a 1000ft cable with a wakeboard handle on it.  Crank it up and you can tow a skier at 30 MPH into whatever feature your mind can imagine. We put it to the test with Mike Henitiuk hitting a huge gap jump into a wallride just before Christmas and then a whole bunch of other things with Mike and Leigh Powis.  I thought that I had already shot all the good urban features in Whistler but this really opens up a whole new world of possibilities.  As usual I can’t show you the resulting photos, those need to wait until they have hit the magazines but you can get an idea what we have been up to.

This week I’ve been using my F-Stop Tilopa with 2 ICUs in it.  I can get my Canon 1dMKIV and 4 lenses in the small ICU and then my Nikon Speedslights and Pocketwizards in the Medium ICU.  Both the ICUs then fit simulaeously into the Tilopa.  Its an awesome way to stay organized.

I’m also loving the 70-300 L IS even more as the days go on.  I even sold my beloved 70-200 f4 L IS this week because it just hasn’t been used since I got the 70-300.  One of the things that makes a HUGE difference to me is that I can put the 70-300 in my camera bag vertically as you can see in the photo below.  The 70-200 is longer and it is not possible.  That small change makes the difference between needing to use a small ICU or a Medium.  I still need to use the Large ICU when I get the 300mm f2.8 L IS out to play with but on other days I’ve been skiing on the mountain with the F-Stop Loka and a small ICU.  The 70-300 is a little heavier but it is so damn sharp.  I LOVE it.

A few days ago I went up Whistler Blackcomb to go for a shred and saw Black Tusk was looking particularly good that morning.  Plenty of rime ice on her right now from the stormy weather we have been having.  I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of shoot photos of this, it’s just one of the most stunning rock formations I’ve ever seen.

I’ve also just heard that my feature story about my trip to Japan last year with Salomon will be in the next issue of SBC Skier magazine that is about to hit news stands in Canada and the US next week.  Keep an eye out for it, it was one of the best trips I have ever been on, the same trip where this photo of Sammy Carlson was shot.  The last couple of days have been pretty stormy and the snow is piling up.  Unfortunately I’ve been tied to my desk planning some things for the mid-season and doing a little work for ProPhotoCoalition.com.  It looks like the second half of winter is going to be pretty hectic with a trip to Europe and then several weeks in Alaska with the Poorboyz crew again.  Over the next couple of weeks I’ll probably just enjoy the powder we have right here in BC though!