VD'S PHOTODAWG BLOG



Hi Folks
Let me introduce myself.
Vernon Deck
Kiwi/import Swiss
Photographer
Cynic.

Any comments?? Send me MAIL HERE!

30/04/2010

Time to go home! Chris and I got to the Airport early thinking it would be chaos with people still trying to get home. But it was actually pretty quiet. We picked up our board bags from storage and went to check-in. Chris argued for a while in vain about having to pay for his extra weight. I taught him the tricks but he decided to be honest and it bit him in the wallet. Hate to say I told you so!
My check-in was smooth, 20kg hand luggage and 40kg checked in and not a cent paid, my very simple trick still works!!




Hurry up mate, don't want to miss that flight. I love hanging out at airports. Every human emotion is on display at some point. Upstairs at Departures everyone is sad to leave, downstairs at Arrivals everyone is happy to be arriving. The restaurant workers are indifferent, the security peeps sullen, the check-in staff confident(they know they can make your day miserable).


Kids love airports too. I remember loving going to Nelson airport, the closest to where I grew up. They had this pinball machine there and I would pester my mum for 20cents so I could play it.


Looks like this plane is getting whispered to.


The pilot was stoked to be flying again.


Funnily enough my flight was nearly empty.


Watching the baggage handlers throw your valuable bags around is painful.


I knocked on the window and waved but he ignored me.


Somewhere over northern Germany

29/04/2010

As in other years I spent a couple of days in Oslo after finishing the shoot in Trysil. I love that city and have a growing list of friends there that I like to have a few beers with. At this time of the year its starting to get warm and the locals are stoked to have the longer days. During winter up here its dark most of the time and going for a beer after work is not that enticing.




Kiwi Chris joined me this year and I introduced him to my buddies in Oslo. He's a cool guy, always up for a new experience, even though his taste for teenie music and older women is a bit hard to understand.


Bland


Random Restaurant


This little tub was parked in front of the most exclusive waterfront apartment builds in Oslo. Sorta looked cool amongst the million dollar yachts.


Word!


Norway, yet again you have provided me with amazing experiences and memories. Thanks to Ola, Mats, Maria, Claes, Jan, Inge, Chris, Tonja and Camila.

28/04/2010

Last day of shooting here in Trysil. It was originally planned to stay a bit longer but as Keller, Longo and Swoboda couldn't join us we decided to cut it short. Also we didnt really have anything left to shoot. It was planned to have a big hip ready plus I had a couple of features in mind that I wanted to build but it turned out that we couldn't get the machines we needed to get the work done. Shame really.
So after some shaping the last feature was ready to go. Some of the riders had opted not to come up so we were a small crew. The weather was not that great but it worked out ok and we got some pictures in the bag.


Tonton as stylish as ever. I think he is the only rider that has been to every Trysil shoot so far. Pleasure to work with him again.


Claes gives Thomas, Holzi and Tonton a ride to the top.


Valerian is new to the team and impressed all with his abilities and good attitude.


End of the season and the T-bars are getting stowed away for the summer.


Kiwi Chris, our filmer for this trip. Do girls leave their bra's behind as a way to mark their territory?

27/04/2010

Dark clouds today, some say its the ash cloud but I think its just regular ones. All good though, I actually prefer to shoot this sort of thing with clouds. The big gap kicker was the mission today. The size of it and the pretty short landing put most of the riders off and in the end only about 5 guys hit it. Torgier, Yuji Suzuki and Gjermund Braaten had a good session going until Yuji caught a strong gust of wind and overshot the landing completely. The film clip was horrible to watch and he was super lucky to not be seriously injured. He was definitely seeing stars for a while and he jacked his knee.

Later on we all went down to the Radisson hotel and rode the indoor wave for a while, then after had an hour of hurling bowling balls around. Fun times as the shoot winds down.


Gjermund Braaten getting some airtime.


Pool flash overexposure


Torgeir surfs the indoor wave pretty well, even one armed.


Danger Dan has this special workout routine to help get rid of his nasty beer gut.


I put a little extra wang on this throw.


Gjermund all style.


Xavier Hoffman throws the ball then throws all his legs and arms over to the left.

26/04/2010

Claes enjoying a Polse.


This was the 1st plane in the sky we'd seen all week. The Ash crisis was felt by us as well. Markus Keller, Arthur Longo and Marc Swoboda all didnt make it to Trysil, they got stuck in New York.


One of my shots of Markus Keller taken here in Trysil last year.


Party time at the Laaven. Shit music and 10euro beers that mostly get spilt all over your shirt. But a funny time anyway.


The last men standing. Thats the name of these dudes drinking club, a weird tradition thing in Norway. They get hoodies made with their logo and go up to the mountains and party all weekend. We found these guys drinking in their apartment and dropped in uninvited. After a short tie they got sick of our piss-taking and asked us to leave. Inge Wiig and Kiwi Chris wanted to join the club but were deemed not hard enough.


This kook for sure wasn't the last man standing.


Chris and I getting home at the same time as the sunrise.

22/04/2010

Its was closing weekend up here. Not so crazy as last year but as always the drinking culture in Norway provides some serious laughs. In the morning the resort ask our crew to spend some time do a demo on the two last kickers in the park. They set up a BBQ and drinks and we all had some fun. After that was done we headed further up the park where a kicker had been built for us. We were all pretty skeptical about it and that proved to be right. Not really enough speed and not fun to ride at all. A shame really as they put a lot of time into it.


Me and Gadge lifting it up.


Thomas Feurstein putting on a show.


Boys will be boys.


Mads and Maria have been giving us sled rides all week. Thanks!


Sindre Ivrsen testing the jump that didnt really work, although here it doesnt really look too bad!


Torgeir was the first to try this jump. The day before he'd speed checked it and landed 3m in front of the guys standing on the left. Very lucky to get out of that one unscathed.

18/04/2010

The Trysil shoot got under way today with our first kicker session. It was pretty much a success, stoked riders, good shots and no injuries. We are a huge crew, not sure exactly but over 20 all together, counting riders, media, industry and the odd hanger-on.


Vali and Sindre getting a ride to the top for another hit.


Yuji Suzuki is a Nitro rider from Japan, slick skills and good style.


The jump got the big thumbs up from Torgier Bregrem.


Grandstand view


This is our next mission. The riders are all a bit skeptical about it at this stage but fingers crossed it will work out.


It hasnt been bluebird yet but I actually like it better like this, dramatic clouds.

17/04/2010

First day up in Trysil was just about checking things out. We're here for nearly 2 weeks so there will be enough time to do our thing up here.


My View


Pat Burgener checking the speed for our first big jump.


Claes our park designer speaking with the cat driver to make sure the jump is being built right.




One thing I love about Trysil is the light in the evenings. Very beautiful.

15/04/2010

So straight after getting home from Laax I was off to the airport and on a direct flight to Oslo. Check-in was easy, they didnt charge me any extra weight which was nice. I landed in Oslo and cruised into the city to do a couple of chores and also meet my good mates Matias & Mathias.


It was good to see the sea again!




We wandered up hill to the Kings house and chatted with his guard for a hot second.


I'm in Norway for a spring shoot and spring it is!


Me purchasing some supplies for a picture project.

11/04/2010

Last weekend I was in Laax for Volcom Peanut Butter Rail Jam. It started at 10am and finished at 7pm. Over a 100 kids from all over Europe rode the event and I'm pretty sure all of them were stoked on the day. A lot of work for all the organizers and helpers but a great success!


Ready set go!


They kept a fairly organized line while waited to register. Good kids.


Volcom's Ida Holmen


Wild Bill Hickock


Gotta love a nuttela sandwich.


50-50 peanut butter and nuttela.


Eve looking happy in the sun

08/04/2010

Another day trip to Arlberg. Its becoming a regular thing now but This is pretty much for sure the last powder day I'll have this season as I'm off to Norway in a couple of days for a 2 weeks park shoot. Today it was Ipod that joined me. He arrived at my house a bit late but it was such a nice morning we weren't stressed at all. We met Blacky at the lift station and crusied up the Gondola. The car park was jam pack but in our zone there was once again no-one in sight and we had it to ourselves all day. Ipod hiked a fair bit but we had some chilling session as well. We were on the hill till 7.30pm and when we finally left the light was spectacular.


Ipod hiking his first turn of the day.


Happy Landings


50cm fresh snow and no damn tourists = pretty much what we search for the whole season.


Sand Dunes?


By the end of the day Ipod was worn out. There was a nice bootpack up to the ridge so I gave Blacky my camera and hiked 4 runs. The powder was still so good even after 10 hours of sun. I got some nice turns in without a camera bag, which by the way, is so much more fun!I'm smiling here.


Little ollie in. Riding snow like this makes you forget the crappy times. For the few seconds that a run lasts there is no other thoughts in your head other than how fricken good this feels!


Thanks for getting some shots of me buddy!


On the way home. We'll be back next season.

06/04/2010

I spent easter at home. The last weeks have been busy so it was a nice time to get some rest in and plan for the last few weeks of the season. Today eve and I went to watch some horse racing. Its not a very big thing in Switzerland, well I'd never heard of it here so we thought it would be interesting. It was in a little town called Fehraltorf and we were surprised how many people turned up. I decided to just take one camera with a 50mm lens try and shoot it in 50's style. Not so easy with a train station in the background, people talking on phones etc but a nice challenge.


Crowdy Cloud


Good luck!


Slow shutter speeds blur out the modern background.


Start


There's definitely something cool about horse racing. The betting doesnt interest me but it obviously matters to most of the people there and this is interesting to me, watching them.


That lenses down the fence a bit is pretty new.


Old School??

05/04/2010

04/04/2010

This morning I got up early, packed my stuff in the car and set off back to Arlberg. I'd been there just 12 hours before but had decided not to sleep at the team house, instead driving 2 hours to be in my own bed. Gigi had done the same so I stopped in Dornbirn and picked him up and we cruised up together. It was another awesome spring day, with crusty morning snow turning to slush in the afternoon. Quentin Robbin, a fellow Kiwi joined us for the day.


1 track and the valley.


We only hiked a few steps from the lift but we saw no-one else the whole day.


Last speed check. While the boys were getting ready to hit this jump I found a couple of new features on my camera. I used them all day and my pictures from this session reflect this.


nIPPLE


Lonely Lift


Long Train


So often I wonder if people down in the valley have any idea of whats going on above them. I guess birds see a lot of interesting stuff..

03/04/2010

The day started out pretty gray and at the bottom of the mountain we very nearly called it off. We decided to go up and check things out and it turned out to be a pretty good day. Small crew, good snow and a positive attitude. Gigi found this triple line that looked awesome but was very hard to get right. After a fair few tries he was getting pretty frustrated. We'd also made the rookie mistake of thinking it would be a short day and none of us had really brought food or water along. I had 2 Red Bulls that I gave to Gigi. By the time we got off the hill we were all hungry and dehydrated. Got me some shots though:}


Hiking out.


Natural hits are much nicer.


Gigi salutes the green valley. Spring down there but still winter up top.


Does this look like the most fun playground? We didnt see another soul all day.


Capt Holzi. He was just watching the action so I put him to work filming with my second camera.


6pm and we were still on the hill, worth it for this though.

02/04/2010

Last weekend I was in Arlberg again. Been having fun there a lot lately and this weekend was no different.
Volcom and Method Magazine had run a comp during the season, whoever sent in the best picture of themselves doing a Method would win an all expenses paid trip to the Volcom team house AND shred from the weekend with Gigi and Terje! Oh, and they each got a set of outerwear and a Volcom snowboard. The winners, Calle and Henning had a ball, as did we all. It started off supper warm and we rode the first day in the Rendl park. The weather then turned bad and it started to snow/rain. Then the whole crew stayed up all night partying and the old fable of "drinking it blue" worked once again. Gigi, Jake, Blacky, Holzi and I got up early and scored a few hours of powder. Epic!


Henning and Calle checking out their new Volcom decks.


A quick bindings swap in the parking lot.


Arlberg has for sure never seen so many Methods in one weekend. Or was it Backside Airs? There was an on-going debate between Gigi, Terje and plenty of others what the difference between the two tricks is. Or is there a difference?


Volcom filmer Jake Price busting out a Roastbeef.


Family Ruf out for the evening.


Gigi getting his shred stick serviced. Sticky spring snow reqires a fast base.

01/04/2010

Pat Fields and Carolyn Simmons are Volcom's Snow designers. Thier job is to stay ahead of the trends and construct snow garments that look good,functions well in tough conditions, stuff that our team riders are stoked to be rocking all winter. Not an easy job but a good one I reckon.


Here having lunch with Boss Bruno at a Sales meeting in Italy.





Did you always want to be doing what you're doing today?
PAT>>>> For sure. I started chasing the whole snowboard thing really early on. I moved to Utah when I was 18 to snowboard and never looked back. Snowboarding was in its infancy then but I knew I wanted to some how be a part of its growth. I am thankful it worked out.

2: Where are you right now?
PAT>>>> Tokyo Japan

3: What are you doing today?
PAT>>>> My plan is to meet up with Carolyn Simmons my design partner and to get some shopping done. We are going to Shibuya, Harajuku, Daikanyama, and finish it off in Kanda. After that the plan is to have Shabu Shabu with the Garden.

4: Where did you grow up?
PAT>>>> I grew up in New Jersey until I was 18 but I really figured it all out after I moved to Salt Lake City.

5: When was the last time you shredded knee deep powder?
PAT>>>> I got a pretty good pow day about 3 weeks ago in Mammoth but would have to say the last great pow day I had was probably at Brighton last season. I need more it’s never enough.

6: Which of these would you rather be and why. A boxing Kangaroo, a unicorn or a Eagle?
PAT>> Although it would be classic to be a unicorn to watch everyone freak out when you appeared, I am going to have to say eagle it’s all about being free.

7: What pisses you off?
PAT>>>> I try not to get too pissed off for too long but if I had to choose something that pisses me off it would have to be Traffic, & Flight Delays.

8: "Less is more only when more is too much." How does this make sense to you?
PAT>>>> The art of simplicity is the hardest thing to come by.



1: Did you always want to be doing what you're doing today?
(Carolyn) Sewing and designing clothes was a big interest of mine growing up and in highschool i got super into snowboarding. The two hobbies collided and it is exactly what i want to be doing now.

2: Where are you right now?
(Carolyn) In my hotel room in Tokyo, Japan

3: What are you doing today?
(Carolyn) Going shopping in Tokyo and out for dinner with our Volcom Japan team. They are amazing and I love it here. I think I am part Japanese some how.

4: Where did you grow up?
(Carolyn) BC, Canada

5: When was the last time you shredded knee deep powder?
(Carolyn) I've been traveling alot lately, so its been a while, 2 weeks ago in Whistler, it was an amazing November up there, Snowiest month EVER!!.

6: Which of these would you rather be and why. A boxing Kangaroo, a unicorn or a Eagle?
(Carolyn) Definitaly the eagle. They are so mysterious yet so peaceful. I would love to soar above the trees, oceans and mountains.

7: What pisses you off?
(Carolyn) Jet Leg.

8: "Less is more only when more is too much." How does this make sense to you?
(Carolyn) When we have some many toys, multiple TV's, cameras, phones,ipods, clothes and unnecessary things we have to eventually realize that this is not what should make us happy in life. I am a big believer that less is more. Less makes me more content. I recently moved out of the city for the first time. It is the best thing ever. I dont need to go to the mall. I dont need to consume and buy things to make myself happy. I go to the mountain, lake, forest...that is much much more to me.


Happy Hippies.