Originally from Peru, photographer Rich Odam and his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, when he was a teenager. He picked up a camera and began shooting skateboarding and snowboarding nine years ago, and earned a photography diploma from Humber College after graduating from high school - no doubt a challenging task, considering he did so speaking English, the second language to his native Spanish.

Odam had his first skate shot published -- of Wes Loates in SBC Skateboard -- after only one year of shooting, but his photography career didn't catch serious fire until he relocated to Vancouver, BC, four years ago.

"It was a move I wish I would've done a lot sooner, but I had to take care of things before I came, and it's worked out really well for me," comments Odam. "Vancouver is the Mecca for skateboarding in Canada; it's where the industry is mainly based for the country and due to the extreme weather everywhere else in Canada, it's the obvious choice for skaters."

Odam now shoots with a diverse crew of skaters on the regular, but says his "usual suspects" tend to be guys like Dan Redmond, Spencer Hamilton, Ryan Bonnell and Hayden Kelly. His shots appear in skate mags around the world, and yes, he still shoots snowboarding (don't hate) but says he'll take a warmer skate session over a frigid winter snowboard shoot any day. Must be the Peruvian blood, eh?

"Well, usually the weather is better with skating," he laughs. "I'm a city guy myself, so traveling with skateboarding and seeing other cities and their architecture is something I love. I think it's why I'd rather shoot rails and urban snowboarding than go out to the backcountry."

Push.ca secured a gallery of Rich's favourite shots, hand-picked by the Peruvian Prince himself, complete with his own captions to give us the inside scoop on what went down in the shot and why it's one of his faves. Enjoy.

Ryan Decenzo, nollie
"This was my first time shooting with Ryan. I don't think I knew where we were going until we got there an hour later. Once I saw this spot it was pretty intimidating; not the place you want to blow an image on. Wouldn't be a very good first impression!"

Jordan Hoffart portrait
"I can't actually remember what we shot this for, but Jordan sprayed his whole head and face with this white Halloween paint for it... it was pretty funny. He's always so down to do stuff like this."

Mike Hastie, kickflip over the fence
"Hastie called me one day and said he needed a photo for a Darkstar ad and he had something in mind, then we go to this gnarly, rough-ass bank over a fence. He had already landed this and filmed it, so basically we just needed to get a still. If you go to this spot you probably won't believe that he actually cleared the sidewalk and landed on the street. If I hadn't been there shooting I probably wouldn't believe it myself."

Ryan Bonnell, backside fakie nosegrind
"Ryan's my homie. He's good times to roll with. Ryan does tricks other people don't usually do, which makes him unique to shoot with. I was really stoked when I got this shot back from the lab because he put so much steez into the trick."

Toronto City Hall Polaroids
 "Toronto is where I got started shooting photos, and the place I still call my hometown, and I'm proud of it. I love walking around the city shooting pics of the architecture and surroundings; it never gets old for me, ever. I was walking this one day with my Polaroid camera shooting away, when I ended up at the Old City Hall water fountain. I can't remember where I got the inspiration for this, but I really like how two separate images together can create one; it's something I'd like to work with more."

Truck in the woods
"This truck is located tucked deep in the woods behind my friend Hayden's place; not sure how it would've got there, but there it is. I'm not a car guy myself, but I love these trucks. They have so much character in them, especially when they are in bad condition." 

Alex Chalmers, wallride
"So far every cover I've shot has been when I first shot with that person; not sure why, but it's an interesting fact and this was no exception. I'd been to this spot before. This time I was there with the Vox guys who came to Vancouver to do some demos and film for their video. Alex started hitting this thing and I thought if I positioned my flashes the right way, I could avoid getting the glare off the fresh paint. Alex was going huge and sticking this every time with very minimal run-up."

Jordan Hoffart, frontside flip
"Jordan told me there was this new skate plaza being built out in Maple Ridge, which is about an hours drive out of Vancouver. He said he knew the guys building it, and they wanted him to skate around and test the fresh spots. This thing they built looks like a big moustache monument; it's so sick. We were the first ones to ever skate and shoot it, and that felt pretty amazing. Hoffart destroyed this thing in different ways, including flying a massive tuck-knee off the middle spine and landing in the roll-in, something the guys that built the park didn't think was possible. Hoffart made believers out of everyone present. Black and white film was the obvious choice for me on this one; nothing but concrete, skater and sky. Nice and simple."