This was filmed at my trip to Bad Gastein, Flachuawinkl in Austria and Laax, Switzerland.

Johno Verity (photo: courtesy of Animal by Dan Milner)

Hopefully the ability to take the piss out of yourself. Cucumber sandwiches, lawns, tennis, Pimms. Fish and chips, East enders. Don’t know what they all mean, but I’m stoked to be British.

3. You were caught in an avalanche and made a lucky escape recently. Describe what happened and how you felt.

I have snowboarded and Heli skiied in New Zealand before though not in the the Mt Cook area. We had been sitting in a remote hotel watching it snow for about 3 days waiting for a clear day so that we could fly. We were there filming with a production company that were making a show ironically about avalanches. When the weather cleared up it was pretty much perfect conditions for riding the snow was deep and very light as it had stayed cold.

We were riding down a fairy mellow run about 35 degrees, with nothing too technical down it which is why I thought it would be a good run to follow cam him (this is where one snowboarder rides down next to another one filming. He came in from my right and off a small drop, he landed about level with me, by this time I had a fair bit of speed to keep up with him though was concentrating more on keeping him in shot than what was going on around me, I knocked off some speed and remember being surprised with how much snow my board had kicked up, then I felt a huge force around me and I was swept off my feet as I broke up and started pulling speeding up. I was trying to see if there was any exit and was trying so hard to stand up and ride out but it was traveling too fast to do that so I just swam to stay on the surface. after about 20 seconds loads more snow came from behind which flipped me onto my front and then piled on top of me, I was holding my hand over my face and trying to keep and air pocket as I felt it get heavier and heavier and darker, I remember thinking this is it I’m going to die being buried in an avalanche.

It had all filled into a gully and I was pretty sure I was in the bottom of it. Luckily though the weight of the snow drove it and me down into the gully and as it was going so fast blasted me out over a lip, it took me another 2 or 3 hundred meters down, I had snow jammed into my mouth and throat, so I was hacking that out so try and get some air while I slid down that next face. It left me sitting on top of the snow about 700 meters down from where it started, I checked my camera which was still recording and pointed it at myself to get my reaction. It has made for pretty interesting viewing, couldn’t have turned out any better for the production company.

I was panicking when I realized that i was caught in the slide. At first I was really just trying to work how how big it was. It was pretty difficult to work out. When I started to get buried I was really scared as I knew there was a gully below, these are very dangerous as they act as a terrain trap, if you are caught at the bottom of it and the snow pours in on top of you it can fill up very quickly. there were about 2 football fields of snow coming down on me they slabbed off at about 2-3 feet deep so it is very easy to fill a pit in no time at all. Any more than 2 meters and you are in serious trouble, even if people find you at record breaking speed digging down that far will take a long time.

4. Use 3 words to describe your last snowboarding trip

Powder, jumps, farts.

5. What are your future snowboarding goals?
I’d like to continue doing what I’m doing for a few more years, stay uninjured and land a double backflip bs 180 on film. Dom Harington does them and they look so rad.

6. What would improve snowboarding in general ? (The industry, sport, lifestyle)

More imagination and creativity. Natural lines, less trampoline style jumps.

7. Today Johno Verity is feeling ……..?

A bit hungover with a sore knee that is getting better every day.

8. Who are your sponsors?

Animal, Vans, Adidas Eyewear, Atomic, Bern

9. Any final thoughts or words of wisdom?
If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the cure.

BSA would like to thank Johno for taking the time to answer these questions

Billabong Air & Style 2009

 

Peetu TTR World No.1 going big

Tim Lloyd

Hometown

I’m born and raised in Chester, the northwest of England.

When did you start capturing snowboarding images professionally?

I’m a relatively new guy in the industry having only been taking photos for a couple of seasons now.

Describe your relationship with your camera and photography

I weighed my camera bag a couple of days ago – it was 14 kilos that day. The relationship between my camera gear and my body is not always a happy one!

Are you a bit of a snow addict?, if yes, please explain

If I wasn’t then I wouldn’t have chosen this profession! You really have to live and breathe snow….I spent 99 days in the UK last year with the rest being on the road in the mountains.

Describe your latest photoshoot adventure using 3 descriptive words

No worries mate.

How do you think the current global ‘credit crunch’ will affect your industry?

I hate the term ‘credit crunch’ and everything surrounding it. Luckily whilst in the mountains you have the ability to shut yourself off from media outlets back home. Snowboarders are quite a resilient bunch although lately the value of the pound is effecting how comfortably i can live on the road now. The ‘can’t afford to eat’ diet happens occasionally!

Where do you think action sports photography and snowboarding will be in the future?, say in 10 years from now

Shifty shifty back 180’s will win contests as opposed to switch back 12’s. People will realise the value of great photography.

What is your ‘style’ of photography?

I wouldn’t say I have a particular style as such. If i’m on my game and so are the riders i’m working with then cool images will be the outcome. My preference lies in the backcountry though but i’m sure everyone would say that!

What are you future goals? Professionally and personally?

I want to keep myself in the Snow business for many years to come. I want to continue travelling the world meeting new people and visiting new places whilst producing great photos.

Do you have any wise words of wisdom for enthusiastic photographers wanting to carve a successful professional career?

Obvious point first; Get out there and shoot as much as possible. Put yourself in the positions where you are meeting, riding and shooting snowboarders. Then concentrate on nailing the technical aspect of photography keeping the camera controls set to manual and in RAW picture format. Most importantly read every article and forum on www.wheelsandwax.com and learn the business side. This site is run by working photographers and details every aspect of action sport shooting. It will teach you the importance of never giving anything away for free. Please don’t do that.

What place of the world is your favourite to work and play?

I’m in Japan right now and its a place thats always in my heart having spent a few years on and off here. I’m not one to discriminate though, Europe has had an insane season and if its on (less often then most) then New Zealand is sweet.

Do you have a website to check out?

Oh yeah; www.timlloydphoto.com Check out my blog section to see where i’m at right now. Want some answers? just check out my site and drop me an email.

Any final thoughts or famous last words…?

“The world is like a book, if you haven’t travelled then you’ve only read the front cover.”

BSA thanks Tim for his time in answering these questions