The Main Event

All I'm sayin' is - next time we're comandeering a snowmobile.

I mean, that's my weekend in a nutshell, but let me break it down for you. 4,500 frames, 40 snowboarders, 2 photographers, 1 videographer, 2 remote cameras, one snowboard run ridden on top of a cooler (that may or may not have smelled like skunk).

Sunday morning we got up at 7 to head up to Sugarloaf with video wunderkid Kevin Sennett (he's 20, he shot the Winter X games. Damn prodigies). After we got there and hiked halfway up the mountain to the base of the snowboard jump (with probably 60lbs of gear and at least 4 wipeouts between us), my favorite conversation of the weekend ensued.

Doug: You think we could, you know, lie down under the jump?
Event organizer: Sure man, whatever you want, just don't get killed.

That pretty much summed up the weekend for me right there. Extreme photos, extreme locations (see below), and a helluva a good time.

I've really wanted to try out the remote camera possiblities of my Pocketwizards for a while now, but the cable, the CABLE, cost $110 or so, a bit much for a CABLE, so I never shelled out for one. Also, I never had two cameras that I was happy with (I always had my main camera, and my "in case of emergency camera." Now, with the D300/D700 combo, I have no qualms about shooting any event with either.

So Friday when I swung by pal Paul Friedman's place (aka the greatest toy store ever), and he said he'd not only just picked up the necessary cable, but that he'd found a knockoff brand one for $28, I was sold, and I'll be picking up one of my own asap.

For a full rundown of the gear we used for the remote setup (and one badass photo), check out Mark's blog, but here's a shot of the setup.





After the competition was over, we headed back to Portland for some more mayhem, but you'll have to check back for the full story on that later this week, but it involves a second shoot with the man, the myth, the legend - Artist.