Right after finishing up the Northstar photo shoot; I headed back to Burlington, Vermont to meet up with the fine folks of Anon Optics. They scheduled in a big photo shoot at RL Photo Studio with the team riders in preparation for their newest ad campaign and website. We had three stations shooting simultaneously with Jeremy, Landvik, Paxson, Annie and Nic...ad photos, web images and goggle fit snaps.

My photo missions keep me outdoors about ninety-five percent of the year, so it was cool to shoot a bit of studio styles with the guys and girls. Rick dialed in the station so my camera was in a sealed off room with the athlete, and I would take the photo using the 'capture button' in Lightroom. First time using a tethered DSLR to Lightroom...easy and convenient to check the resolution on a big monitor immediately after taking the picture.

BIG UP to Steph, Lance, Vanessa, Rick and everybody else at RL Photo for making this shoot a breeze...for more on Anon Optics, click here. Thanks for checking in! Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©Blotto Photto 2012

After a week of moving snow, placing obstacles and a whole lot of digging, the shoot is ready...we'll get three days of shred under sunny skies and warm temps. A perfect way to end the 2012 season...Blotto

All photos by Blotto 2012

As the start date for the shoot approaches, the SPT crew has moved into day and night shifts...evening number one was filled with rail placement and transition cutting under a beautiful starry night...no complaints. Blotto

Photos by Blotto ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2012

Another fine day with warm temps, no clouds and plenty of work moving snow around and setting in one of the big metal pipes. It took some time fine tuning the steel and locking down the angles and measurements, but a beast of a rail is set and ready for shred. While all of that was going on, a few rounds of grooming and cutting were happening, and by the end of the day the feature was starting to show its final shape. Justin and I will be back on slope tomorrow covering the progression of the build with the SPT Crew. Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2012

Second day on the slopes with the Snow Park Technologies crew as they continue to manipulate the snow into what will be an impressive man-made snowboarding obstacle. It's quite incredible to witness the transformation of massive piles of snow into perfectly placed transitions, exactly to blueprint spec. It's obvious that Frank, Corley, Tyrone, Chris, Silva and the rest of the SPT posse know what they're doing, so seeing this in person from the start is really cool. Thanks for letting me hang out and document! Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

Just arrived in Tahoe with Cinematographers Corey Koniniec and Justin Eeles to document the building and creation of the season ending park feature for the Burton Movie. We'll be on hill for a few days as the SPT Crew handles some serious snow moving and metal bending in preparation for the festivities. More details as the build progresses...thanks for checking in...Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

Last summer Jeremy flew out to Vermont so we could shoot his TV Ad in celebration of his 20th video part (which appeared in Burton's Standing Sideways). TK, Hillary, Evan and a host of others spent a whole lot of time clearing out the local Goodwill and Salvation Army stores of their bubble screen technology TV's so we could create 'the set' for the shoot.

After much discussion and re-arranging of the numerous TV sets, we found a design that pleased the crew. I had brought in all of my flashes and strobes, but ended up only using a couple of studio lights to eliminate having to deal with a ton of shadows...figuring this out took some time, but once it came to shooting, it was a lot easier only dealing with ambient light!

We went through a series of shots that placed Jeremy in different parts of the composition...some standing in place, others where he would smash a television and the final shot that eventually became the ad shot: placing a TV atop the stack.

A couple days of work for an hour's worth of shooting...always a good time working with this crew! Blotto

All photos ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2012

The Heavenly Park Shoot is a wrap...finished up our second evening of shooting under a beautiful sunset on Lake Tahoe. BIG UP to Snow Park Technologies, Heavenly and Burton for setting up an all-time spring shooting booter...and extra special thanks to the Burton Team Riders for throwing down...from afternoon through the evening, you guys rule! Blotto

First spring shoot of the season...based in South Lake Tahoe working on the slopes of Heavenly Resort. The kicker worked out well on Day One...finishing the shoot just before the stormy weather rolled in. We're extending our stay an extra day to try and grab some sunny skies on Friday.

Once again we're working with the fine folks at Snow Park Technologies...they've created a beast of a jump that the riders were feeling and did really well with. Bunch of tech tricks thrown around during the day, with a batch of low rotation maneuvers for the sunset hours.

Back at ya in couple of days with another update...thanks for checking in! Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2012

One of the oldest and tallest living organisms on planet Earth is the Sequoia Semperviren aka old growth Coast Redwood aka the fictional planet Endor from Star Wars. Whatever scientific term or name summons up the vision of these giant forest beasts will work...and if you find yourself in the Bay Area, Muir Woods is a simple 12-mile (19km) jaunt from downtown SF. A mellow drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, followed by a left towards Stinson Beach brings you right into one of the most beautiful places in the Lower 48.

Before the logging industry came to California and Southern Oregon there was an estimated two million acres of old growth Coast Redwood along the coast. By the early 20th century most of it was gone, so a fellow named William Kent purchased 611 acres in the Marin Valley in hopes of preserving this special area. What followed was a hectic affair, but finally in 1908 US President Theodore Roosevelt declared the land a national monument, the first of which that was donated by a private individual.

President Teddy suggested the area be named the Kent Monument, but William Kent insisted it to be named after John Muir, whose environmental campaigns helped establish the National Park System. Props to Theodore, William and John...they're efforts are still being felt to this day and we thank them for that.

Muir Woods is open just about everyday of the year and offers plenty of routes through the preserve on well maintained trails. They ask that you stay on track to minimize additional human impact. The trip is well worth the effort when visiting the Bay Area, especially if you've never seen Redwoods in person. Blotto

All photos captured and ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

Three scenics for y'all...cloud, peak, lone tree...sights you'll see during any given day in the backcountry. Blotto

All photos by Blotto ©Blotto Photto 2012

While chilling in Squamish during the off days from the mountains (or after riding), we'd head over to a local '2-foot mini ramp' for a session with the crew. It was nice having a skate spot (rain or shine) to hang and keep ourselves occupied.

Also, skating a 2-foot tall, 8-foot wide mini (.61 x 2.4 meters) brought me back to the days of rolling around Phoenix with my main man Curtis Goodman. It didn't matter how big, tall, wide or small any curb, ramp or bank was, you skated it, didn't ask questions and certainly didn't complain. I guess my point is the beauty of a skateboard is there are no boundaries, rules or regulations; you do what you want when you want and where you want.

Fast forward through all the years of snowboarding and I truly believe this background of skateboarding has influenced how I approach any mountain or city and what you do with it, whether the camera is in hand or I'm strapping into bindings myself. It's the basic principle of 'working with what you have and making the best of it.' After all, if you have the chance to go out and do what you like, it's all good. Blotto

Photos by Blotto ©Blotto Photto 2012

It was a fine snowmobiling season in British Columbia...lots of photos, a boat load of film shots for the Burton movie and of course a plethora of good memories and fun times. Once again, big up to the BC crew for guiding me around and offering up amazing opportunities for photographs. Until next winter...over and out. Blotto

It's always interesting to take a step back from something that's perceived as big, and see it in it's natural habitat, as with this image of Whistler Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, Canada. Going on the non-research tip, I'm assuming this resort is one of the biggest in North America...but seeing Whistler nestled within a small part of the range, it doesn't seem so. Blotto

Image ©Dean Blotto Gray 2012

One BIG characteristic of working in the backcountry is dealing with the weather...it takes snow to go snowboarding, so it's a given that Mother Nature needs to sock in the wonderful mountains, drop the fresh and then move on to others regions further East. Once the clouds clear, we find the terrain, shovel some snow if needed, then yell "dropping in five."

Some storm cycles are easy: snows a lot, clears up, we shred and film...perfect. Other low pressure systems throw you numerous curve balls: high freezing levels, wind events, sketchy snowpack...a perfect recipe for avalanches meaning we have to tip-toe around the alpine very very carefully.

During a busy winter season the storms never seem to let up, as it was during March of 2012 in BC. Our crew waited for weeks on end for those few special days of sunshine...just when the weatherman would say "three days of glorious sunshine ahead of us" the weather would once again bear down on the region and deposit more snow.

When it's all said and done, you'll always get those great days, it just takes a bit of patience (as with the photo above: sunny background, flat light right where the jump is)...and besides, who doesn't like riding powder on those stormy days!! Blotto