Here's what you've been waiting for: the big winner. The overall prize goes to Mike Helfrich for his photo of Dean Wuensche ollieing out of a Vancouver fountain. Mike will be joining us in Toronto tomorrow, shooting with some Vans team skaters before attending the First Photos show as the guest of honor, showing his winning photo alongside the work of veteran skate photographers. Mike's winning photo, along with all the category winners, will also be featured in a upcoming issue of Color, so keep an eye on the newsstands for that. We'll also be documenting all this for Push, so come back for a video, more photos from Mike and anything else we can come up with.
Congratulations Mike, and thanks to everyone who entered, and Vans and Color for helping us make this happen. Keep shooting, and hopefully we'll do this again!
Read on for a brief interview with Mike.
Dean Wuensche, ollie.
How did you react when you found out that you won?
When I found out I won the contest I was on my way to go
snowboarding. I got the call on a stormy morning on the way up the hill. I knew
the contest had been over for almost a week now, so my hopes were starting to
diminish. I was expecting to hear that I received runner up or something
close to. Then I heard that I was the overall winner of the contest; I was
ecstatic!
Tell us about the winning shot: who is it and what went down when you shot
the photo?
Dean Wuensche is the sender, the spot is in Vancouver. Dean
and I scoped out this spot a week earlier during the day. The square sculpture
is actually a fountain that pours water from the middle of the square. As soon
as I saw it I knew this was going to be a night shot. The next weekend we made
a midnight mission over their to be sure to avoid all authority. Only thing is
when we got there, the fountain was turned off. It was kinda to late to just
write it off so we set up and did the shoot it 30 minutes. Once I got all
the photo's on a computer, it was so blatantly obvious that there was something
missing in the picture. I started to think about what I could do to this
photo without making it look like it came out of left field. SMOKE! Instead of
flowing water which was the whole vision for the shoot, I decided to use smoke
to kind of symbolize how we felt when we saw that the fountain was off: burnt
out. The photo may seem a little random but there is a method to the madness.
How long have you been shooting photos for? What do you
love about it?
I have been shooting photos for three years now, six months of
that shooting skateboarding. I am fairly new to shooting skateboarding, but I
have always had a passion for the sport. I've been skateboarding since I was nine years old, always filming lines for friends and getting shots as much a possible.
Skateboard photography was one avenue I had not discovered until not long ago,
mainly because I had no gear and was not a fan of point and shoot cameras. I love
to play with light; the options are endless in terms of creativity. I am
always pushing to shoot near the end of the day and into the night when I have
more control over the light. I guess you can call me a bit of a control freak.
I also love to work with the riders to make sure the trick they are doing will
be optimal for the angle and lighting I have. There is nothing better than
doing two things you love at the same time. I love what I do and wouldn't
change for all the skittles in the world.
Are you hoping to build on this now, and shoot more
skateboarding for sites and magazines?
Hell yes! This is the break I have been waiting for. Just
prior to this contest I was getting ready to submit some photos to as many
magazines and websites as I could, including Push.ca and Color. The timing
could not of been more perfect. From here I hope to work with Color and Push.ca
on a regular basis. I plan on shooting through the winter and straight into the
summer. I am still working on getting more skaters to shoot with so I hope this
will help me out with that aspect.
Any last words?
I can't wait to get to
T-town and shoot with the boys from Vans. Thanks to Push.ca, Vans, Color Magazine, Clubmumble.com
and all the judges for making this photo competition happen. It is a feat in itself for me to stoke out this panel of judges.
Mike Helfrich
And don't forget our category winners:
Impact: Peter Stankiewicz
Timing: Eric Lemay
Subject Matter: Stephen Hare
Light and Colour: Jeff Khounthavong
Quality: Curtis Rothney