It Just Keeps Snowing....

Hemisphere's Backcountry at Mt Baker ski area(shot with my camera phone)


Just when I was starting to shift back into moto mode, mother nature threw winter right back at me. Been enjoying the epic dumps of snow we've received this past week, Mt. Baker received 5ft of fresh during the first 4 days of last week and today was another epic day with 18 inches of fresh. Got to enjoy it while I can, leaving for Toronto on friday morning for the Supercross and then the team photo shoots will start kicking off soon after that. Time to get back to the travel grind.

For now, Vive le powder!

James



Fresh turns in the springtime. Always good






Got to love that sight when it's almost April

Recharging the Batteries

You know what they say about how you don't realize how much you miss something till it's gone? Or time heals all wounds? Well, I'm not sure either analogy actually fits into what I'm trying to convey but work with me here.

There's always a potential trap to fall into when you turn your passion into your career. Once you achieve the things you always dreamed of you often find that the reality doesn't match up to how you thought it would be. Now, I will never, ever complain about pursuing motocross photography as a career. To me it has become a way of life and my experiences have gone way beyond anything I ever could have imagined. I have seen places and met people I never would have thought in a million years I would get the chance to hang out with, experiences that have gone far beyond my wildest dreams.

But, like anything, eventually the wear and tear of the nomadic life that is this job begins to wear on you. The constant travel, the living out of a bag for months at a time, the sleeping on floors and couches, the constantly chasing payments from clients...eventually all of it catches up. What begins as an adventure eventually becomes monotonous. When you shoot photos for yourself it is fun, when you start shooting photos for your next bill payment things change and it can become a challenge to keep the motivation high.

At the end of last summer I knew I had reached that point. After being gone for almost three quarters of a year straight, and with Racer X Canada closing down, the thought of going to the track and shooting photos had lost it's appeal. I knew it was time for a break. So I didn't go to California. I didn't take my camera out of the bag except for the Chilliwack Arenacrosses and a couple snowboard trips. I stayed home for almost 4 months straight, sleeping in my own bed. There were times when I missed shooting, but I wasn't aching to shoot.

Then a funny thing happened. March rolled around, the new season began to blossom and Mission Raceway held it's first race of the season today. As I set foot on the track I realized something.

I was home.

And now I'm excited again for the new season and can't wait for the chance to spend another half year living out of a bag and sleeping on a floor.

Funny how life works eh?


James

Hemlock Snowboard Jam

Hemlock, British Columbia

Hey everyone, I've been slacking on the blog lately so I apologize but I haven't had too much to talk about. Usually this time of year I'm in California covering the AMA Supercross series but with the economy being in such rough shape and the fact that basically no Canadians are racing it has left me home for the first time in a few winters. It's not all bad though as I've had plenty of time to partake in my main passion which is snowboarding.

Last weekend I helped my cousin, "Farmer Dave" who works at Replay boardshop in Abbotsford, BC(www.replayboardshop.ca) organize a snowboard contest at Hemlock Valley Resort just east of Mission. The conditions ended up being almost perfect, with a large dump of snow a few days before and relatively clear skies. The Hemlock staff had the park in great condition and the jumps and jibs were super fun.

It would have been nice to have had a few more entries but everyone who entered ended up with a good amount of swag and had a lot of fun. The jam format was definitely the way to go so everyone had free run of the course to do what they wanted. In the end, Sev Samulski threw down the most impressive tricks and walked away with a new board.

In the end it was a fun day for everyone and hopefully it can be built on for next year, the contest has a lot of potential. It's always a good day when no one gets hurt and everyone leaves happy. Here's a few shots from the day.

James

Hangin in the announcers tent


My cousin, "Farmer" Dave Jansen was the organizer of the contest


Denny Bourgeois one foots the wire spool


Farmer gets in on the action himself with a frontside tailslide on the wave rail


Tricks like this layback slide to 270 out sealed the win for Sev Samulski




Board tap action



There were a few skiers throwing down as well




Denny with the backside nose to backside lipslide combo on the flat down rail




The spool saw a lot of tricks thrown on it.


Hemlock Mountain was also offering a Five dollar "Cash Grab" on various objects where you could get 5 bucks cash if you could grab it while doing your trick



Sev with a gap to frontside board on the flat down


Some surfy layback action on the flat down







Sev took home a new deck for first place

Chilliwack AX Photos

Hey everyone,
well the final arenacross of the year is in the books and it was another great weekend of racing. Here's a link to my gallery from the weekend. http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/jkliss/gallery-show/G0000tn0XwiSujGU

James

It's Finally Here

Hey everyone, well I am proud to be able to take the wraps off of our latest project. It's been in the works for a while but out of the ashes that was Racer X Canada comes Direct Motocross(www.directmotocross.com), a new website devoted to the Canadian Motocross scene. Former RXC editor Danny Brault is the man at the helm and I'm honoured to be tasked with the photographic duties for this new endevour.

When Racer X Canada went down I really wasn't sure if there was a future left for me in motocross photography but I'm excited for the new possibilities that will be in store with Direct Motocross. With the best crew in the biz I'm sure we will take Canadian motocross media to new hights and I'm going to have a lot of freedom to express the more creative side of my photography. I can't wait to see what's in store for the future.

The first thing I'm proud to unveil is a slideshow of my favorite work from the 2008 year so head over to Direct Motocross to check it out.

James

A Sunday Afternoon Portrait Session

Well, the snow hasn't been falling lately so it's been a bit of a catch up time for me. I've had some time to catch up on a few projects which has been a nice change of pace and it's always nice to spend some time at home when you're gone most of the year.

Last weekend I actually got to spend a nice afternoon doing a portrait shoot with my best friend, Danielle. It was a nice chance to mix things up and with her it's never hard to get great shots. I think we got some great stuff and now she's got some new shots to give to her family for Christmas. It's always nice shooting with a friend, you're not afraid to goof around and have some fun and there's a trust there that makes things a lot easier. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

It looks like the weather has finally brought us some cold temperatures so with some luck I'll be back shooting on the snow next week. I'm definitely excited.

James

Finally...Winter is here.

Tim Kramer gets in his first turns of the season.



Anyone who knows me knows that my main passion is snowboarding. For the last few years, motocross obligations have limited my time on snow during the winters but it was a trade off I was willing to make to have the chance to travel the Continent shooting moto. Now, with the events that have unfolded recently with regards to Racer X Canada shutting down, one benefit I guess I could say is a chance to refocus my efforts on the snow again.

With Arenacross taking a break now for a month, this was my first free weekend in a while and in a great twist of fate, not only was my friend Tim in town from Whistler and looking to ride, but Mt. Baker recieved a foot and a half of fresh snow on Saturday and Sunday dawned with not a cloud in the sky. On that note we set off for the mountain along with my best friend Danielle and met up with Pam Moore on arrival, who's been fortunate enough to score a job living and working at Baker this winter. The ski area isn't open yet, as they're still waiting for a few more feet to start up the lifts but we loaded up our packs and hit the trail, boards in tow. The weather was perfect, the snow was light and though there wasn't much to work with yet we still managed to find a couple of fun things to play around on.

What more can you ask for than a day on the mountain with sun, snow and your best friends? Here's a few shots from an epic day to start the season.

James



The view from the parking lot set the mood for the day


Danielle and Pam enjoy some time in the sun


There wasn't a lot of snow to work with but we managed to build this little tree jib.


The views were epic

As we were walking back to the parking lot we came across this homebuilt rail. Tim throws down his first nosepress of the season.

Tim's "Movember" portrait


Pam hiding behind her board