First Photos

This Week: Winners Revealed!

encomintor — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:25:00 GMT

Thanks for everyone's patience.

After much anticipation, we're finally unveiling our First Photos winners this week. Starting yesterday, we'll be unveiling each category winner day-by-day, then we'll announce the overall winner next Monday, December 7th. So be sure to check the news section of Push every day this week to see what happens. That's five big winners this week, and then one very stoked overall winner next week.

As a refresher, you can click here to go through all of the entries: over 350 in total!

Congratulations goes out to our first category winner, Peter Stankiewicz, for the "Impact" category. Click here to see Peter's winning image and to to find out how he reacted when he heard the big news (hint: it involves eating chips). Peter wins $500 in Vans gear, and as an added bonus, his shot (plus all the other category winners and the overall winner) will appear in an upcoming issue of Color Magazine.

Which Photos Will Win?

Lyndsey Westfall — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:22:00 GMT

One of these photos (from over 350 entires!) could win First Photos and be published in Color Magazine.

Which one? Keep checking Push.ca for results... The judges decisions are expected very, very soon!

In the meanwhile, check out some late submissions:

Photo by: Nickee Nielsen

Skater: Ian Reid

Photo: Alex Font

Photo: Steve Pritula

Skater: Dave Aryes

Photo: jtron4000

Photos: ChrisPui

Message from the Judges

Lyndsey Westfall — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:35:00 GMT

Just received this message from the judges:

"we met up today

mulling over the entrants.

should have winners decided by mid week."

Over 300 photos they have to judge!
Check all of them out here.

IT'S OVER - November 9, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. (ET)

Lyndsey Westfall — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:58:00 GMT

Who will win the prize pack from Vans?

Who will get published in Color?

Which Vans skater will it be for the photo shoot?

Who will win the trip to Toronto?

Check out all the photos here.

Last minute photo submissions:

Photo: Rileypilkington

Skater: Dean

Photographer: Jeff Khounthavong

Skater: Craig Smith

Photo: szeto

Skater: Terry Worona

Photo: Ryan Burke

Skater: Donnie Elliott

Photos: flexaspout

ENDS TOMORROW!

Lyndsey Westfall — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:06:00 GMT

First Photos ends tomorrow!

Check out all the photos over the past weeks here.

There are way over 250 photos submitted!

The judges have their work cut out for them.

Check back to see the contest winners.

Photo: Gurvan

Skater: Martin Levert Ducharme

Photo: Betugias

Photo: Rolling

Photo: Chris Pecora

Skater: Greg Rose

Photo: rayknives

SKater: Ross Hammershlag

Photo:Butt

Skater: Tristan Sorge

The End is Near... First Photos

Lyndsey Westfall — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:47:00 GMT

The end is near and the photos keep coming in... how many more photos will First Photos get by Monday?

Lots of prizes to be won!

Category winners get a massive prize pack from Vans.

Overall winner will get:

- photo published in Color Magazine

- photo shoot with Vans pro

- and more ... read here

Photo: kdenby

Skater: Jean Rambo

Photo: Tofutan_man

Skater: Adam Fontaine

Photo: NoZee

Skater: Noah Zlomislich

Photo: andrew1

Photo: Jay Digitall

Skater: Nikios Wallace

Photo: Jef Edwards

Skater: Walker Ryan

Photo: CONFUSIONmedia

Skater: Johnny LA

1 Week To Go - Submit Your Skate Photos

Lyndsey Westfall — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:29:00 GMT

First Photos is nearing the end!

November 9th is the deadline!.

Photo: RrPhotography

Photo: Emily Sutherland

Skater: Matt Gravel

Photo: Kelsey Chapman

Skater: Kevin Britton

Photo: Matt Stetson

Skater: Chris Bishop

Meet The Judges: Bob Kronbauer

encomintor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:39:00 GMT

First Photos is very fortunate to have three talented and esteemed judges picking the best shots out of all the entries we're receiving here at Push.ca. These judges are Brian Caissie, photo editor of Concrete magazine, Bob Kronbauer, the founder of Clubmumble.com, and Dylan Doubt, photo editor of Color magazine. We asked each judge to share some photography and submission advice with us. Our third and final installment is with Bob Kronbauer!

Check out all of the First Photos entries here.

What tips or advice do you have for new skate photographers?

The best advice that I can give is to work hard and don't expect everything to fall into place overnight. Even if you win this contest, you still have a ton of work to put in. And if you don't win this contest? Don't let it set you back, keep shooting.

Where should photographers look for guidance and advice?

I think the most important is the most obvious: skate mags. Those are your text books. Brian and Dylan probably have more sources than I do outside of that. I don't think anybody's made a "Skateboard Photography How-To" book; maybe one of the magazines should do a special edition?

How can a new photographer submitting a photo get noticed by photo editors?

Aside from shooting photographs that stand ou,t the best thing I can think of is to drop off your photos to their office in person, or at the very least reach out over the phone and tell them what your deal is and what you're sending them, otherwise yours is just another faceless e-mail that these guys receive every day. Developing and maintaining good relationships with editors will be an important part of your job if you want to do this for a long time.

What was your first published photo? How did you "break through" to get this photo shot?

I believe my first published photos were a group of portraits -- more like mug shots -- of American pros which I shot at the Whiterock skatepark during a Slam City Jam weekend, published in the very first issue of SBC Skateboard. I just barged it. I went up and asked about 20 different pros what their favourite and least favourite things were about Canada, and then I shot one quick photo of each of them. I got a lot of interesting answers and it was a lot of fun. So another piece of advice I might offer is that if you can deliver a story, and not simply a really good photo, your chances of getting it published could be a lot better. Looking at those mug shots now more than ten years later, they were pretty heinous! But Ryan Allan -- the editor of SBC at the time -- must have liked the angle of the story I pitched to him because he did his best to make them work over a couple of spreads in the magazine.

Do you have any golden rules for shooting photos that you always follow?

I've got one or two, but they're kinda secrets.

How important is having good camera equipment to get good shots?

Once you become established, you're going to want to invest in some professional equipment. But when you're just starting out you should really just mess around and learn about composition and what makes a good photograph. That being said, as the photos I shoot are mostly portraits and not action photos, a large portion of the ones I've had published over the years have been shot on old cameras I bought off of E-bay for less than 50 bucks.

Check out the Club Mumble blog on Push.ca.

Shooting Tips From Jeff Comber

encomintor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:13:00 GMT

With just over one week left to submit your entries to the First Photos contest, we thought we'd check in with Canadian skate photographer Jeff Comber. Jeff's 29 years old, lives in Toronto, and has been shooting for over a decade. His first published shot was a banger: Darrel Smith kickflipping over a bar in the contents spread of SBC Skateboard. Read on to learn from Jeff's advice.

For more advice, check out our interviews with First Photos judges Brian Caissie and Dylan Doubt; we'll have Bob Kronbauer's interview posted tomorrow.

You can click here to view all the First Photos entries. And remember, the grand prize winner gets a trip to Toronto for the First Photos show, a private photo shoot with a Vans pro skater, $500 in Vans gear, and their photo published in Color Magazine.

How did you get into photography?

When I started to really get into skateboarding, collecting mags and being blown away by photos of skateboarding, that sparked my interest in photography. My sister already had a camera and was creating some amazing images (www.beckycomber.com). My dad already built a darkroom for her, so I bought a 35 mm camera and started experimenting.

Where was your first photo published?

It was a photo of Darrell Smith doing a kickflip over a handicap ramp-to-bar. It was the contents spread of the issue of SBC where Grant Patterson had the cover doing a gap to kickflip front board on the airport hubba. Me and Darrell got to know each other well when we both went to Sheridan College for photography. He can definitely kill it with a camera, too!

Where can we see your work published now?

I'm a freelance photographer, so I contribute to all the Canadian mags and I try and sneak some photos into some international publications when I can.

Who or what inspires you and your work?

Lots of things: Light, people, textures, colour, personalities, timing...

What's your favourite type of skateboarder to shoot?

I like all types as long as there isn't too much stress involved. It's interesting to see how people approach getting tricks; everyone is different.

Aside from skateboarding, what do you like to shoot?

I like to shoot portraits and street photography, but you have to be ready with a camera at all times for that stuff. I give a great deal of respect for people who excel at it! You've gotta be committed.

What's the best piece of advice you'd give an up-and-coming skate photographer?

Have fun... it's only skateboarding.

Click here to see an example of Jeff's work on Push.ca, but that's just a start... Jeff's got plenty of photos in different skate columns on Push.ca. And be sure to check out Jeff's photography site here.

Another Batch!

Lyndsey Westfall — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:04:00 GMT

All the photos are here.

Want to enter? Read this.

Check out the Contributor site!

Photo: Ray Chwartkowski

Skater: Ryan

Photo: Matt Stetson

Skater: Chad Wilson

Photo: Scotcho1.0

Location: Deer

Photo: Slither

Fresh Photos

Lyndsey Westfall — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:27:00 GMT

Take a look here to see them all.

Want to know more about First Photo?

If yes, then click here.

Photo: Andrew Johnston

Skater: Andrew Montgaue

Photo: aftidis

Photo: Adam Hunt

Skater: Maxwell Potter

Meet The Judges: Brian Caissie

encomintor — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:27:00 GMT

And as always, click here to see all the First Photos entries! We're getting more and more every day.

What tips or advice do you have for new skate photographers?

Most people say that you should only do it if you really love it. First off, you have to have a huge passion for skateboarding and really notice the details. I used to look at photos and wonder why I like the ones I like and dislike, what makes a great photo, and for what reasons? Reading books and magazines on photographers and people you admire helps. Camera gear has little to do with it. Also keeping a journal of your photos, settings, tips, lighting experiments, etcetera; it's is always nice to look back at it and see how you've matured.

Where should photographers look for guidance and advice?

Helping another photographer is a quick way to improve. Just being around people that are better than you will push you to improve. Any photo magazines and sites usually have lots of tips and tricks. Some things I've read this year I never would have thought of, like Photoshop tricks, different films and cameras to use, and so-on.

How can a new photographer submitting a photo get noticed by photo editors?

This is always a long answer... but just being picky on what you send is a good tip. If you think the photo is OK but not that amazing, the photo editor will notice that as well. I usually get submissions from 50 to 60 photographers a month at Concrete, so standing out these days can be difficult. Being creative is important; things like shooting at night, using different angles, shooting amazing tricks, using different cameras, and shooting skateboarders that kids want to see photos of... these all factor into what an editor is looking for. Another factor is that there are many magazines, and we're all competing with each other, so every magazine is trying to get the best of the best when it comes to photos.

What was your first published photo? How did you break through to get this photo shot?

[laughs] My first photo was a snowboard photo of Trevor Andrew in Nova Scotia, used as an ad for Pro Skates, a shop on the east coast. I grew up snowboarding with him, so it was easy to be in the right situation at the right time. Just doing the sport you're shooting helps a lot.

Do you have any golden rules for shooting photos that you always follow?

Keep trying new things, and don't make mistakes! [laughs]

How important is having good camera equipment to get good shots?

Not very important. To be honest, everyone has a digital camera now so having a different look is a good way to break out. If 20 kids are shooting digital and you're shooting square film, then you have an advantage over them. It would be like everyone is drawing with ink, but you're doing it in paint and color. It's just much more interesting. Some of my favourite photos are taken with cheap Holgas and Polaroids.

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Photo Round Up

Lyndsey Westfall — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:21:00 GMT

Another round of photos are up.

Click here to see 'em all!

Photo: Szeto

Skater: Aaron Cayer

Photo: Stephen Hare

Skater: Andrew Reynolds

Photo: Katouille

Photo: Photolemay

What photo is your favourite?

Lyndsey Westfall — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:23:00 GMT

The photos keep coming in.

Here are some recent uploads.

Photo: photolemay

Skater: Ian Simoneau

Photo: Oli Delisle

Photo: Pickle Photography

Skater: Louif

Photo: Robert John Galloway

Skater: Adam Bergstorm

Meet The Judges: Dylan Doubt

enamintor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:20:00 GMT

What tips or advice do you have for new skate photographers?

Don't be a dick.

Where should photographers look for guidance and advice?

Look up to your elders.

How can a new photographer submitting a photo get noticed by photo editors?

Don't be a dick. Learn how to edit your photographs and shoot with interesting skateboarders.

What was your first published photo? How did you break through to get your foot in the door?

I can't remember... I am going to say that it was Keegan or Quinn. One photo led to another, and then one trip led to another, and before you knew it I had a "career".

Do you have any golden rules for shooting photos that you always follow?

Unless you are French, avoid the Dutch angle. Try and keep it interesting.

How important is having good camera equipment to get good shots?

At one point a decent film camera and high speed black-and-white film was a decent start. Now it's a technological rat race. I say buy Nikon so that you can always carry a simple film camera as back-up. You may have a hard time getting the shutter replaced on your d7hs in Romania, but you can always buy cheap film.

Related:

Check out all the First Photos entries here.

Read an interview with Color Magazine editor Sandro Grison here.