2018… Cuba, Cape Cod, Yosemite, Vermont, Albany… all with a shattered tib/fib that continued to heal well into May. Thank you to the doctors, nurses & physical therapists that helped me get my strength back.
2017 was a hell of a year… until it wasn’t. More on that later. I went to Los Angeles with Seth Neary & Driven Studio for a Seventh Generation shoot, went to Hawaii with my family and flew over gorgeous waterfalls in a helicopter like a haole, went to the Women’s March at Vermont’s Capital, skinned up Mad River Glen with a bunch of shredders early one morning, went to a Red Sox/Cubs game and a surprise after party/show with Eddie Vedder thanks to my nephew Mike, started working on a short film titled Shadow Self with my best friends Scott & Jet, had some killer snowboarding days with Ralph, Huffman and the rest of our crew, saw my friend Sara get married in Dumbo/NYC, and went on lots of walks with my buddy Gabe and our dogs. However, at the end of November; I shattered my left tibia/fibula while cutting a partially fallen tree in the woods behind my house. No one was home and I left my phone in the house. I lay there howling in pain and yelling for help until I accepted the fact that none of my neighbors could hear me. I tried to turn my foot and it just flopped to one side. There was a branch on the ground next to me that was about the same size as a crutch. I grabbed it and forced myself up off the ground. Hopping on my good foot, I had about fifty yards to make it into the side door of my house. I had never felt pain like that in my life. Once I got inside; I grabbed my phone and called Gabe who lives next door. We had just been hanging out an hour earlier having coffee and talking about our excitement for the upcoming Winter and putting our split boards to good use. At first, he didn’t believe me when I told him I’d broke my leg. After I convinced him that I wasn’t joking, he immediately drove over to my place and backed his truck up to my front door. On the way to the hospital we had to stop to get gas which was kind of hilarious… ? I had to have a rod put in my leg to reconnect the tibia along with some screws to hold it in place. Seven months of healing and many PT sessions later, I was finally able to walk without pain. But, it meant that I missed out on the 2018 snowboarding season which killed me. The rod and screws are still in my leg today.
Spent a few hours this past Fall photographing Bob Wagner in his backyard. Bob is an amazing musician based here in Northern Vermont. He’s in a handful of bands, so check him out if you ever have the chance.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was a very reluctant Phish fan. Just ask my good buddy @gtans who was always making me listen to some live show as loud as possible over 30 years ago.
As cliché is it sounds on this platform, photography has truly taken me places beyond my wildest dreams.
If you had told the teenage version of me growing up in Cambridge, New York that he would be photographing Mike Gordon’s (bassist from Phish) new recording studio Megaplum for MIX Magazine; I would have laughed you right out of JAH skate shop in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Being a fan of all things music, I loved the fact that this project involved a connection to Jimi Hendrix. Mike hired and worked with @birdseye architect @dbvrmac & architect/acoustician John Storyk who began his career in 1968 with Electric Ladyland Studios for Jimi Hendrix.
Also, it was exciting for me to have two of these photos appear in a photo montage Mike provided to Rick Rubin for his Tetragrammaton podcast.
Big Thanks to Brian Mac for asking me to shoot these photos for MIX Mag. Enjoy.
Slide 1 Mike with producer/engineer Jared Slomoff
Slides 2 & 3 Mike & his daughter serenading me and everyone who was at this shoot.
Slide 4 Mike playing his custom Banjo/Bass & some of his guitars.
Slide 5 Megaplum at night.
My first “real” job after I graduated from high school was as a Dealer & Rider services rep for Burton Snowboards.
I have many great memories from the three years I worked there. Some highlights include having an opportunity to sit in on round table meetings with Jake, team riders and product managers during a time when the industry was experiencing tremendous growth. I got to help name products, was used as a “model” in a commercial and somehow ended up on a US Open poster (IYKYK). Some call it the “salad days” of snowboarding.
When I was presented with an opportunity to move to California to work for Transworld Snowboarding Magazine, I’ll never forget the going away gathering they threw for me with all of my co-workers. They got me a cake, gave me cards and to my surprise Jake & Donna bought a really nice new camera lens for me.
Many years later, I was lucky to photograph Jake at his home on a number of occasions. I always loved his sense of humor and how he enjoyed busting on me in a kind way. I miss his sly smile, his passion for making the best snowboarding products and his dedication to his family and friends.
Jake, thanks for giving a 19 year old kid from Cambridge, NY a chance and helping to launch my photography career.
Archives. Been doing this a long time. Thankful for the ups and downs through it all. Thanks for the support -SDR ✌🏼
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