We haven't done a Shooter Chronicles in a minute, and we thought the time was ripe to bust out the latest in our series of photographer interviews with one of our favorite lensmen in the game, the man, the myth, the legend: Mr. Dean Gray, or as the rest of the world knows him, Blotto. Blotto is one of the most open-minded, creative, interested and interesting people you will ever meet and he is fully living the dream, so listen up!
Yo Blotto, what's crackin', how are things?
I’m doing well, just completed some travel down to Argentina and over to Saas Fee to shoot the 2012 Burton Dealer Book. It’s our annual "summer photo shooting" we’ve been doing forever… taking photos of the talented Burton Snowboards Team in next year’s gear.
Jeremy Jones getting jibby wid it in Cerro Catedral, Argentina
Fredi K at home in Saas Fee
What exactly is your job description?
My job description mirrors what Jeff Curtes has been doing for a long, long time; Burton Principal Photographer. This means following the Burton Team as they compete, shoot, film and tour, documenting every moment of their lives while traveling. Sometimes we even catch them at home! While we’re following the team around, we usually have a shot list for a catalog we’re working on, advertisement images to capture, specific shots for editorial (in many cases) and so on.
Danny Davis & Gigi a few years back
Kevin Pearce wins Air & Style 2007
Getting snowballed by Gigi
Terje passes on the blade to his kin
Over the last two years I started to take my website very seriously and update the front page five days per week. What I was experiencing over the years was a lack of publishing outlets for the amount of images I was collecting of the team, particularly the "behind the scenes" type of photography. Magazines have limited space, as do catalogs, so I was sitting on thousands of non-action imagery that spoke just as loudly as a great action photo. In starting blottophotto.com, I now have a platform to show the world exactly what we do on a day-to-day basis with these "behind the scenes" photographs, as well as the travel to and from destinations far, far away. I mention the website aspect because this has become part of my job description (albeit self-imposed).
www.blottophoto.com
So how would you describe the job you do?
I approach my job as I have with everything else in life: enthusiasm, stoke, a strong work ethic and love. I think these are pretty easy to incorporate into your working style if the work is something you’re genuinely into. If you’re not into it to begin with or "over it" from being there too long, then maybe you should seek out new paths… Which is what I’ll do if snowboarding doesn’t appeal to me anymore.
Is snowboard photography different from, let's say, skateboarding photography or any other form of action photography?
I love this question because it’s crazy how similar skateboarding and snowboarding photographs are, same camera, same lenses, same flashes… Overall inspirational photography that makes you want to skate down the street or chuck off a nice park booter. Even the people of these sports are very similar in that they are usually very creative, they look at cities/mountains with a different eye than the norm, they’re one-of-a-kind individuals, we all share that bond of the board below our feet.
Tahoe snowmobile
Kyle, silhouette ollie in Burlington
Kyle again, kung-fu hippie jump in Burlington
But that’s where the similarities stop, because once you factor in snowy mountains and having to access them with camera gear on your back, it's a whole different ball game than skating/driving down the street and finding a spot.
Of course skateboard photography has plenty of its own unique challenges, but what I’m saying is mountains are really, really big, snow is extremely difficult to move around in and you have to consider the avalanche factor. Once you learn how to capture snowboarding, heading out for a skateboarding (or any photo shoot in the warm city streets) photo mission seems a heck of a lot easier! I will admit that I love taking photos in the city of skateboarding or bicycles wearing just my sneakers, a t-shirt and I can stop at the corner store for something to eat!
The mountains are a great school for learning to survive in the cold, how to pack a lot of gear and get it up to the high elevations and keep yourself busy on down days. Once you know these things and get used to this working pattern, other types of photo shooting might seem a bit easier.
Any favorite riders/locations to shoot with/at?
As I mentioned above, snowboarding produces so many unique characters with their own individual style, so every one of the guys/girls I work with are my favorite riders to work with. I’m going to get something 100% real every time the camera comes out. At times, depending on how the riders are feeling health-wise, their opinion on the snow and terrain, you may get a bit more from one rider to the next in any given session.
AK
Danny Davis
This can also be said about locations, everywhere is unique; each place can give you something you can’t possibly get anywhere else. Locations can also give you really bad snow at any moment… Plus wind, rain, avy danger, all are factors. I think every photographer and rider in snowboarding has their favorite locations, as do I.
So, your signature colorway camera bag from Burton drops this season, any other Blotto-themed photography gear in the works?
Yes, I’m part of the Analog PLA Series for their 2011 gear, which is dropping into stores right about now. The Analog Permanent Light Archive features photographic work printed to t-shirts, hoodies and hats, but we took it a step further by using my images as part of the AG outerwear line, the jacket liners are filled with snowy images.
Analog PLA Series
What's in your camera bag and what’s a definite must have?
I currently use Canon camera and lenses, Pocket Wizard remotes, Manfrotto tripods and Sunpak flashes. My accessory list is long, but here’s a few keepers that keep me stoked while shooting: Mizu water bottle, gaff tape, food, lens cleaning papers, air-blower, extra pair of Burton AK gloves, shovel and walkie-talkie.
Tools of the trade
What sort of advice would you give up-and-coming snowboard photographers about tech and what gear to use?
If you want to photograph snowboarding, you need to be around snowboarders where there’s snow. If you don’t live near the snow, move for the winter. Gear is easy nowadays, if you’re trying to go digital, Nikon and Canon offer all sorts of introduction camera packages. If you’re trying to do the film thing, I really hope you check out the medium format arena, so much fun!
Any cool projects going on at the moment?
Yes, last March during the US Open of Snowboarding, Cole Barash and I had a big photo show called Snomad, the reaction was unreal, people were really hyped! We’re planning phase two and three of this Snomad series, so that means we’ll be back at US Open 2011 and hopefully another before that. 
This past weekend I completed a photo show called Crank, a celebration of bicycle culture. Along with bicycle builders and artists, I featured my commuter bicycle work I’ve been collecting over the past three years during the summer months. Again, the reaction was excellent. I was especially stoked since this was my first photo show featuring my bicycle photography.
At the end of the month I’ll be embarking on a mission to the country of Jordan, to document two mountain bikers as they ride these giant Middle East deserts. I haven’t been to this part of the world, so I’m very excited to see this region and what it has to offer. Growing up in a desert environment (Southwestern United States), heat and sand is in my blood, I’m stoked to sweat it out for some days in Jordan.
Analog or digital?
I held out on digital as long as possible because the cameras were shit (and still are in many ways). My hand was forced to make the switch "over-night" in 2006 because Agfa discontinued Scala film, and that was 60% of my film stock (black and white slide film)… Shortly after that four more of my films were no longer being produced. Around this time Canon DSLR bodies were getting a bit better, as were digital photography editing programs. It was an extremely hard phase in my photo career, I wasn’t very happy. It made me dig deep though and pull through. Someday digital cameras will give me as much satisfaction as a Hasseblad 203FE, an XPan or a 1V.
Best of both worlds
Has it become more or less difficult to get good shots compared to, say 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I felt good about an image being nearly complete once you popped the roll of film out of the camera. All you had to do was tell the lab "plus or minus" in the processing, then edit the slides… So easy! Nowadays you shoot a digital photo and there’s so much work to be done later, metadata, renaming files, color correction, cropping, exporting, organizing. WOW! Down days are now editing days, so that means less days off compared to ten years ago. As I mentioned before, if you don’t like it, don’t do it… But I love it! Having the ability to post images worldwide the same day you shot them is great.
Digi dark room
Thanks for your time, Blotto! Anyone you'd like to thank or say hi to?
Big thank you to Method Mag, Thomaz Autran Garcia and Edgar Lanting for this interview. Thanks to Burton Snowboards for allowing me the creative freedom that is my style of photography. Of course a huge thank you to the riders and subjects in my photographs, I wouldn’t have these images without your dedication and time spent in front of the lens.
Pizza Party! Photo by Gabe L'Heureux
By Edgar Lanting, Photos by Blotto Photto