Andrew Strain Photography

Got word last week that I had a photo run in this seasons SBC Resort Guide. After much searching, I finally found a copy and flipped straight to page 58:



Nick Antle, handplant, Cypress Mtn superpipe.

Check the full post for the original photo and a couple more of Nick:


This was yet another late-season Cypress shot, so this post doubles as "Cypress Sesssions pt 3". Here's the original shot and another Antle handplant from a different angle:





This shot is my first published in SBC and, remarkably, the first time a photo of Nick has found its way into a magazine. I say remarkably because I shot this photo of him back in 2007 at the Quicksilver Showdown Over the City - hard to believe this method hasn't been published before:




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Circle the date on your calender, NuuLife Cinema is bringing their "Sixes and Sevens" premiere tour to Vancouver on Thursday, October 29. 8pm @ the Bourbon - check the facebook event page for details. I'm in the video, which makes it pretty much the best snowboard video of all time, so I expect to see everyone I know there.

Still not convinced? Watch the teaser a couple more times:

"Sixes and Sevens" - Teaser #2 from NuuLife Cinema on Vimeo.

Another photo from late last season up at Cypress - Eric Poulin drops a goalpost stepdown, bolstering Cypress' claim to the best terrain on the north shore:



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Every fall as the leaves turn colour and the days get shorter and longer, those of us who are addicted to the pursuit of the perfect line start getting restless. The first dusting of snow on the local mountains serves notice that winter is indeed just around the corner, and that restlessness boils over into full on night-before-christmas ADHD. The anxious daily routine of checking snow reports and forecasts and opening day updates begins, and doesn't end until the lifts are turning and the base is deep.

For the determined few, these early sprinklings of snow offer more than just anticipation. The rock boards, gore tex and avy gear come out of the closet and the backcountry addicts ascend into the alpine for the chance to sneak a few turns before fall reclaims its brilliant colours with a dousing of October rain.

For photographers, that first snowfall is a reminder that many of the photos we took last season failed to pique the interest of a buyer, particularly in times when money is tight. I'm stoked to say that my list of photos that are slated for publication is higher than last year, but I still have an extensive list of shots that didn't make the cut anywhere. As I wait for the opportunity to get to work this season, I'm going to post up some of my favorites from last year that have yet to find a home in print somewhere.

I'll start it off with a strobist-style photo of Taylor Pfaff on Whistler mountain. This log jib is usually a lot smaller, but the lack of snow last season made for a fun session.



Dream about snow! Stay tuned for further updates...

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Watch it now. Then share the love with everyone. Dropping this fall.

"Sixes and Sevens" - Teaser #2 from NuuLife Cinema on Vimeo.

While I´m running around in Patagonia, my good friends at Katal Innovations took their Landing Pad to Lake Louise for its first ever public session. By all accounts, it was a huge success. I wish I had been there, but I guess I can´t really complain...

Here´s a teaser of what went down at Louise:

Katal Innovations Website Teaser from Tyler Mifflin on Vimeo.

Sunday has lived up to its name the past couple weeks, giving me plenty of opportunity to shoot photos and work on my increasingly well-defined goggle tan. Two weeks ago, (after the storm-of-the-season week came to a close), I spent the day out in Lakeside Bowl on Blackcomb with the NuuLife crew with the intent of staying out all day and shooting some pow shots at sunset...

John Swystun getting it done on both sides of the lens:




Read the full post for a story about how easy sledding is and a short whis park video from Eric Poulin:
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...Unfortunately, Dave Craig suffered an equipment malfunction on the landing of a step down and had his board double eject (wtf, I know) and take off ghost rider style down to the bottom of the bowl. With his board a 500 feet below us, we decided to bugger the sunset shooting and call it a day.

This...


...turned into this:

Is this why we're supposed to wear leashes?

Fast forward a week to last Sunday - the weather was prime again so I took up an offer to head out on a sled trip into the Whistler area backcountry. I've always heard people say how much of a bitch sledding can be when you first start out, but I was not prepared for the beat-down my body was about to receive.

Making matters worse was the fact that I wasn't actually sledding up to the zone - I was being towed, wakeboard style, into the alpine. I like to think my legs are in pretty good shape, but my arms? Please. I'm a photographer, not a longshoreman. Now I feel like Stretch Armstrong - and don't even get me started on the roller coaster ride up to Tricouni...

Complaints aside, once we were up it was about as glorious as it gets. We had some rad laps in the trees to start out, then hit some mellow terrain in the alpine and built up a perfect huck-anything step over.

Eliel Hindert found a nice spine area in the trees to rip:


My prior sledding experience is almost exclusively ice fishing trips. Not today.


Andrew Narkewicz, double or nothing:


Gideon Baldridge plays backcountry chauffeur for Eliel:


When we arrived at the trailhead in the morning it was an absolute zoo, so Gideon got a little creative with his parking skills. It cost us when we got down; the snow he parked on had melted under the heat of the car and refrozen after the sun set, pretty much welding his Land Rover in place. It took a bunch of digging and a pull from Hockenstein (thanks buddy) before we were on our way back to the city... we rolled home 15 hours after we left in the morning, dead tired and super-stoked.

Meanwhile, back at Whistler, Eric Poulin did some filming and threw together a little edit of how he spent his sunny Sunday - check it out!


Last Sunday from Eric Poulin on Vimeo.


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Wednesday was essentially a write off day due to the shenanigans that went down on Tuesday night, but we managed to get in a couple good laps in the afternoon. I was stoked to be riding sans camera - ripping through the trees and pillows is always a little nerve wracking when the contents of your backpack are worth more than your car...

On Thursday we got up bright and early (leaving from Vancouver early) and cashed in some previously purchased fresh tracks tickets to get up the mountain an hour or so before the general public. Fresh tracks is great, especially if you're really hungry - someone with a big stomach can easily get their money's worth at the breakfast buffet in the Roundhouse...

As is the norm during any decent Whistler storm, the visibility off the back of the peak was atrocious - the only remedy is to head into the trees.

Jake Cohn makes some low-vis pow turns:


More words and photos in the full post:

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Eliel Hindert drops 20:


Pow stoke:


Theoretically, this was going to be a fun photo of Eliel, Taylor and Jake all charging through the snow at the same time. You can see Eliel's ski, upside down, in the top right. Fail.


What's that you say, Eliel? It's deep?


Jake and Taylor try to coordinate their next move a little better:


Eric Poulin harvests some stump-pillow:


I got off the mountain at 5:45, soaking wet (I'm a sweaty beast) and dead tired. Back down to the city to dump photos, take a breather and see the lady before heading back up for the weekend...

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With last Saturdays snow and promising forecast, everyone was cautiously optimistic about the possibility an 04-05 style late season powder redemption. After holding back for 4 and a half months, Ullr finally returned to Whistler in early January fashion - 7 days of storm, 6 feet of fresh.

Tuesday brought a short break in the weather, throwing a little light down on the mid-storm goodness:



Our first lap on Peak, we hit up Christmas Trees and slashed up so much snow that I was physically impeded from breathing; constant face shots + jaw dropped in joy is a dangerous combination. I definitely pulled an Andy Samberg or 7 throughout the day.

More words and photos in the full post...

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Eric Poulin and Katie Hall-Leah share some Peak chair stoke:


When the bowls are tracked, those who know where they're going head into the trees. Katie imagines the possibilities on a deep pillow line:


I don't particularly like this angle. Katie almost took that chainsaw to my head...


Eric Poulin pops off a pillow and over some stumpage:


Taylor Pfaff does some stump-jumping of his own, grabbing tail for good measure.


From a hasty pit we dug in the pillow field, we were looking at about 60cm of storm snow on Tuesday, meaning the best was yet to come. Unfortunately, being a bunch of weak-willed beer lovers, St Patrick's Day festivities kept us off the mountain until noon on Wednesday...

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Since I posted last Sunday, over 6 feet of snow has dropped on the Whistler area... needless to say, it's been an incredible (and busy!) week on the mountain. Now that the storm has passed, I've got short break to play catch-up before things get crazy again in a couple days - watch for a bunch of blog updates in the meantime.

I did a bunch of shooting and riding with the NuuLife Cinema crew last week, hiding in the trees during the storm, and up in the sunny alpine yesterday. I'll have some photos up as I process them, but for now check out the first teaser for their 2009 release, "Sixes and Sevens"


NuuLife Cinema Company - "Sixes and Sevens" - Teaser #1 from john swystun on Vimeo.
(teaser is back up!)

NuuLife Cinema's Dave Craig (and friends) filming in the trees on whistler:


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I've been limping around the mountain on my broken snowboards for the past 2 weeks now, but I guess I can't complain anymore. At least I didn't break my face...

The sun creeping up the wall was making life difficult for my feeble speedlights:


A few tries later, this wallride got nasty; click through to the full post to see the aftermath.

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Eric Poulin - "excuse me while I kiss the ground":




Nothing broken, just 4 stitches, a scar, and no shaving for a couple weeks. Bring on the 'stache.

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With the lack of snow this season, I have yet to transition from my "rock board", my trusty 2003 (I think... I got it used in 2004) Option Sansalone. It has its fair share of core shots and edge damage, but Sapphire Bowl dealt a mortal blow this past Thursday, removing a bunch of sidewall from my heelside edge. With a few repairs its probably still fine in pow, but I can't see it lasting long on hardpack.

I can't really complain though, as I've ridden that board through the rockiest days of the past 5 seasons (and it was a demo board before that), dishing out a ton of abuse along the way. Best $125 I ever spent, long live the Option factory sale!

My poor board:


We hiked up above the glacier to deliver the last rites:


The scene of the crime - a very rocky Spanky's Ladder:


Read the rest of the post for a few more photos.
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Hereward doubles down:


All smiles on a bluebird day - this was before my board was so savagely assaulted:


I never get sick of this view:


A few more photos can be found on my flickr.

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Whistler doesn't open until Thursday (edit: Whistler is now opening on WEDNESDAY, Blackcomb will follow the day after), but with a decent storm rolling through late last week, there was finally enough snow in the mountains to kick off my 2008/09 snowboard season. On Sunday, we loaded up the car and made our way up to the Diamond Head area of Garabaldi park for a relatively mellow backcountry adventure. Stoked!

Not too shabby for the first turn of the season...


The sunset view down Howe Sound was a great bonus after an awesome day of shredding:



More photos and words after the jump:

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Up, up, up...


Are we there yet?


The only bad thing about our day was the fact that Poulin and I don't have snowshoes... yet. Still, finally snowboarding again was well worth the extra effort. Dear loving parents, Christmas is in a month ;-)


Group shot!


Check out the rest of the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewstrain/sets/72157610014159230/


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Who needs a beach to go skimming and swimming?

Matthew Marchuck pond skim, Blackcomb:



More photos after the jump:


Eric Poulin with a water slasher:



Jake Cohn pond skim layback:



All shot with the D200 / 14-24 2.8, lit by a Vivitar 285 on the left and an SB800 to the right.

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As a young photographer, just starting down the path of what will hopefully become a long and successful career, it's always humbling to look at the lifetime portfolio of a photog thats been shooting for as long as I've been able to speak.

When it comes to snowboard photographers, Jeff Curtes is a living legend. With a career that spans 20 years and more of the world than I'm ever likely to see, Jeff continues to produce some of the best imagery in the snowboarding industry, documenting the growth of a sport from infancy to maturity.


20 years in 9 minutes:

(Make sure you click the "watch in high quality" option just below the view count) Full Post and Comments

So, I have 3 exams in the next 2 days, yet I find myself with an irresistible urge to post something on my blog... it's been over a month, after all.

Last week we made the drive up to a closed Mount Seymour to poach the 2 feet of fresh snow that had just fallen, hoping to get some nighttime slasher shots. The snow was thick and crusty, making it practically unrideable and definitely not worth trying to shoot in. Luckily for us, the park was still littered with jibs, including the wallride setup from the Volcom Peanut Butter Rail Jam from the end of March.

Eric Poulin does it in the dark... but he leaves the lights on.

Nikon D200 / AF-S 18-70 / 2x SB800
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Spring has sprung, and it's time to ride some park... Erik Schauenstein lays down a FS 360 indy in the Whistler terrain park, with Blackcomb's 7th Heaven in the background.

Nikon D200 / AF-S 12-24
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