Airport mode...headed back to the Northern Lands in search of photo locations for that good 'ol thing called snowboarding...Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto

Day number eight was the final trek out to sled land for this British Columbia film mission. Another fine morning through afternoon of wonderful snow and low hanging clouds, mixed in with technical terrain, exciting snowboarin’ and plenty of laughs with the crew.

The locals told me there wasn’t a whole lot of sunshine during this trip because this is typical January weather. Guess a revisit is in order for February or March! Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2012

Eight days in a row of cloud cover and good snow. The freezing level went up a few hundred meters the last couple of days so we headed to higher elevations in hopes of fresh pow. We found it, rode it and shot it. The sun will shine from above once again...Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2012

The temperatures have bounced around, but the snow has stayed pretty good in our selected zones. We've been up at sunrise, back after sunset...digging, riding, shooting...and enjoying the beautiful scenery that is British Columbia. Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

Trees, Powder and Flying Feather Friends...all wonderful characteristics of the backcountry. Blotto

All photos by Dean Blotto Gray ©Blotto Photto

The clouds are starting to crack open to let some of that precious sunshine through...this area has seen very little bright light lately as storm after storm have hammered the region. The upside to back to back low pressure systems is the great snow it leaves behind...we'll take it! More in a few...Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

Over the course of the next seven days I'll be hanging around the backcountry with the Burton crew working on the next movie. Sollors, Rencz, Jackson and Oksanen will be chuckin' themselves down some gnarled terrain while Corey, Aaron and Tim aim their film cameras at them. I'll post some BTS images as often as possible. Thanks for checking in...Blotto

I grabbed a few photos from my phone for this blog...a couple from Instagram posts, a few others that were kickin' it in the photo library. No particular order here, just plenty of cameras, people and spots via low resolution. Left Overs...usually tasty, I hope you enjoy. Blotto

All photos by Dean Blotto Gray ©2012

Another film and photo mission wrapped up this weekend, where most of our shooting locations were deep in the hills or streets, so we never got a chance to visit the water. After our final action clip was in the bag, we pointed it down to the ocean for an epic sunset, hang out and of course lots of photos! Floating ice and ships, combined with mountains and sideways light put a nice finishing touch to a grand time way up North. Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

While chilling at one of our photo locations last week, a spirited young buck rolled by with the wicked beanie styles. He was super down to snap a quick portrait, then moved on his merry way. Blotto

Playing with light and shadows at a random spot. Blotto

Photos ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

Build, ride, document, tear down...repeat two to three times daily until mission is complete. Stay tuned for next transmission...Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©2011

The wind came in fast and strong a few days ago...made for some good scenics, but not much 'boardin that day! Blotto

On any given street mission with multiple dudes and too much gear, you better find a big rig to cram all those people and video cameras into. The go-to term is Rail Car...generator, winch, shovels, boards, clothing, food, a place to stay warm in between go's...and it is a rental, so leaving the doors open overnight letting the snow in really isn't a big deal. Cheers! Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©2012

A big part of filming and shooting in the streets nowadays is a machine called the winch. This device allows the snowboarders to access just about anything imaginable. Alex Andrews takes an operator break in between pulls. Blotto