On January 11th, the Vans snowboard team, friends, family, co-workers and an eclectic NYC crowd came together to celebrate the hardcover bound images and stories of Vans first full length snowboard video, Landline. In a packed house with some beverages in hand people took turns admiring excerpted photographs, beautifully framed and hung throughout the space.
Curator and mastermind behind the project, Tanner Pendleton was there along with legends like Brian Iguchi, Darrell Mathes, Kevin Casillo and photographer Cole Barash, among others. A few younger Vans riders including Sam Taxwood, Cole Navin, Kennedi Deck and Jake Kuzyk came through as well…as did Andrew Reynolds, who was notably the first to arrive. At the end of the night, after everyone scattered and all the pizza slices were had, it was clear that proper celebration was given to the hard work that went into the making of “Being Green” and allowing a place for these photos, stories and era to reside. Additionally, all the proceeds went towards carrying on the legacy of Dillon through the Dillon Ojo Foundation. The show will be up through the weekend so go check it out at 98 Orchard. Cole Navin snapped a few polaroids during the event so you can feel like you didn’t totally miss out.
We’d encourage you all to head to beinggreen.shop and purchase a copy of the book. The special edition book, which included a limited-edition vinyl, already sold out so don’t waste any time. Again, all proceeds go to The Dillon Ojo Foundation.
Being Green Book
136 pages printed offset in the USA
Hardcover fabric bound
9” x 11”
Edition of 500
Photography: Oli Gagnon, Tanner Pendleton, Jake Price, Skylar Brent, Ian Boll, Aaron Blatt, Cole Martin, Harry Hagan, Bud Fawcett, Trevor Graves & Darrell Mathes
Design: Anthony Cappetta & Tanner Pendleton
Interviews: John Cardiel, Byan Iguchi, Chris Roach & Jake Kuzyk
Words: Pat Moore, Mike Ravelson, Cole Navin, Jake Price, Pat Bridges & Eric Green
Compiled and Edited by: Tanner Pendleton
Tanner Pendleton talks to Vans filmer Jake Price about his photo process and what inspires him to shoot film & travel.
Tanner Pendleton: How’d you get into shooting photos in the first place?
Jake Price: I've always been shooting photos pretty much my whole life just like anybody else, but I never took it seriously. I was always concentrating on shooting motion film so I was always carrying around these heavy 16mm cameras. I didn't have any room in my camera bag for anything else. The year we started filming Landline, I happened to jump on a trip with Wolle to Island Lake Lodge, and while I was there I met Mark Gallup, who is a legendary snowboard photographer. We totally hit it off, and he invited Wolle and I to come stay at his house for a couple of days after our trip. We ended up going and snowboarding with him. He was kind of guiding us around, and like any photographer I ever meet, I'm always like, Yo, what are you shooting with? I'm always interested in what's in someone else’s camera bag. And he's like, "Oh man, I have this Leica M6 I'm trying to sell.” He just gave me an insane deal and gave me a bunch of expired film. I just kind of started chipping away and taking random photos of everybody, and honestly having no clue what I was doing really with a rangefinder camera.
Tanner: And then it was on…
Jake: Yeah, I kind of just started rolling with the heaviest backpack ever and always had my M6 with me. We usually have a photographer shooting the action with us, and I'm shooting the video, so I generally don't really have a chance to shoot action. I kind of am shooting photos of the moments in between the actual tricks that are going down.
Tanner: Yeah, totally. So this is all happening during filming Landline. What was that year like?
Jake: Yeah, it was actually insane. We started in interior B.C., which is a 14-hour drive from my house. So, when I get prepared to go there, I just take everything I would need for basically a whole winter, so my truck is just loaded up. Snowmobiles, snowboard gear, every camera, just everything, because I just never really know what's going to happen. We were literally supposed to be there for a week and ended up staying for two months. There was always a blip of sun that kind of kept our hopes up, and I don't think we ever really got it, but it made it super cool, because we were out there everyday in blizzards and conditions you would not normally be filming in. The goal was to get a shot a day, whether it be a lifestyle or getting a trick. But we just busted our ass, man. It was kind of just like go every day. Don't think about it, just go.
Tanner: What were you after?
Jake: I really wanted to just go to places that no one had been before, so we were really trying to explore new zones. I've really got to give it to Pat and Arthur for kind of trusting me in that and being down to go the extra hours just trying to find some new stuff. That’s one of the main reasons why I do this. I love the travel aspect, and part of that is discovering a new jump or finding something that no one's hit before. We definitely had holy grail moments where we'd get up into the Alpine after sledding for three days trying to find it, and then it was just like, Wow, this is the coolest zone ever, and we'd start getting shots, and it made it all worth it.
Tanner: Going back to the photo thing, I feel like your approach to filming and photography is similar to that mentality of trying to find a zone that you've never been to. When I think of your filming, I always think that you're trying to do something new, something you haven't done before, something you haven't seen before…With that in mind, what's your approach to photography, and are there any people that you do look up to? Or are you fully on your own shit?
Jake: Yeah, dude, that's a good question. Man, I guess when I look at something I'm going to film, I'm bored shooting everything just basic. I think we're so lucky to be shooting 16mm film, because that really creates the magic in every one of our shots. We never really know how it's going to turn out, and I think that's what keeps me going ... I mean, I don't even own a digital camera besides my iPhone
Tanner: But beyond the medium there’s more to what you do…
Jake: I don't know. I think for me it's all about being in the moment, being there. If you're not there, you're not going to get the photo. It's like you got to get out of bed. You've got to go. You've got to be there. I think that's one of the things that I really hold dear to my life and that’s having the opportunity to be there in a position where I'm with the best snowboarders in the world and trying to take advantage of that as much as I can. Yeah…
Tanner: I love that.
Jake: I don't even think of myself as a photographer at all. I'm a filmmaker that knows how to use a camera, and I'm going to be there, so I'm firing off photos. I think, actually, my approach to shooting photos is thinking of how to turn these photos into video. I’m really into animating and kind of just taking two frames and turning that into a 10 second clip. It's kind of cool to be able to mess with that.
Tanner: Going back to ‘Being Green’ … do you have any hopes for this project?
Jake: Oh my god, dude. I mean, my hope has already come true. This is like–I don't even feel like it's real. I'm holding it in my hand right here and still cant believe it. I don't know. I never thought in a million years I'd have a photo on the cover of a coffee table book. To this day I still can't even believe that I have a photo published in general. It's just so out of my realm of what I thought was possible, and to have a bunch of photos published and to be in this amazing book next to Oli and yourself just totally blows my mind.
Tanner: Well, I think your photography is insane. It's so good.
Jake: I mean, dude, it's funny. Maybe don't run this, but it's really funny because most of the photos that you picked are ones I might have passed over… just random last photos on a roll or like this photo right here. I don't even know what the fuck that is. I was drunk at YD’s cabin at night.
Tanner: It's so good though.
Jake: I mean, shit. It's cool to just have this different artistic vibe, I guess. I really want to recognize you, Tanner, for being that. It's your taste that really makes these photos shine, because these weren't even selects in my eyes at all. I think I'm just too attached to it or too close to it...
Tanner: Dude, that's so true with photos. I feel like with my photos, I'm such a psycho... It's really hard sometimes to look at your own photos and be like, Oh, this is cool, because if something's fucked up or wrong, you're like, Oh, I don't want people to see that…
Jake: Yeah. I mean, honestly this is the first time I've ever seen these photos even printed. I looked at them on my computer when I got the film back I looked at them when I edited them and then I just exported it into a Dropbox and I haven't even looked at them since. It sucks. They just sit there. And now as I'm holding it in my hand right here in print, it's like, whoa, this is something that will be here forever, and it's really special.
Tanner: Alright, anything else you want to add in there?
Jake: Man, I just want to say all the love to Ojo. What a cool tribute to Dillon, and just really proud to be a part of it, and keep it going.
