Andrew Strain Photography

Last weekend I was up at Whistler to shoot the initial full-size testing of the Katal Innovations Landing Pad - essentially, an inflatable landing for snowsport jumps that's designed to simulate the feeling of a powder landing, providing a large, soft and safe landing on even the largest and most intimidating of park jumps.



I was only able to stay for the first day of testing, so everyone was taking it kinda easy as they got a feel for the landing, but if you watch the video after the jump you'll see what went down on day 2 and 3, once everyone was comforatble with the setup...
---------




"We're there, like, really there. We were hitting this thing full speed, a legit sized jump... double flips, spins, real crashes, real knuckles; like, knuckle, full on with your head. So, yeah. It worked." -Kevin Sansalone

By all accounts, the three day session was a huge success. Riders hucked double flips and big spins, some stomping the landing and riding away clean, while others went neck first into the knuckle, an impact that would have potentially severe consequences on a regular booter. Because the Landing Pad allows the rider to continue their forward momentum upon landing, dangerous and difficult tricks can be learned and practiced safely on the pad, before being taken to competition.






As Project Manager Steve Slen said in the first video, special thanks to Whistler-Blackcomb, Sandbox, Redbull, Nokia, JoyTron, and everyone else that came out to help make the Katal Innovations Landing Pad a reality.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I'll probably update this post a bunch as more media becomes available, be sure to check back!

Full Post and Comments

I spent last weekend up in Whistler (another post on that coming soon), and instead of trying to find a couch to surf, I brought my backpacking gear along and hauled myself up to Wedgemount Lake for a night. The 1200m vert trail is a real heart-starter (Grouse what?) on the way up, and a knee-breaker on the way down, but the east-west orientation of the valley makes for some great light at sunset.



Continue reading for more photos:
----


The campground has ~20 sites in two different areas; a handful of tent pads and a small hut at one end of the lake that provide a great view of the whole valley,



while the rest of the sites are further along and right beside the lake:



It was fairly busy when I rolled in so I ended up all alone at the far end of the campground, which is probably a good thing... I'm not sure the other campers would've appreciated my tent-strobisting:



This shot is two exposures blended together to simulate the effect of a graduated neutral density filter, something I've never really tried before. I think it turned out alright; unfortunately, my poverty wizard wouldn't trigger the strobe in my tent from this far away:



One more alpenglow shot:



I know Wedgemount Lake is a place I'll return to many times, now that I know its there...

Full Post and Comments

I've been up in the Cariboo for the past couple days, working on a short drilling reclamation job. It's tough to learn the landscape in such a short period in time, but every now and then, the photo comes to you. This is why my camera is never more than a couple seconds away:



---
The rainbow lasted less than 5 minutes, and the almost-mammatus formation was deteriorating quickly. I charged back to the house (Leyland's B&B, on Green Lake), threw on the telephoto, and ran back out into the yard with a little time to spare...

This image was processed in Lightroom, on my (calibrated but still inaccurate) laptop lcd. I have a feeling I'll want to change a few things once I get home.

**UPDATE**

Changed the photo on the main page after seeing it on my trusty desktop display. Just for reference, here's what I originally posted:



Full Post and Comments