Standerd Slides

Subject: Chris O’Shea
Photo: Joey Meddock

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Shorty Story, Page 72

First off, what is Collin Harrington doing back there? It couldn’t possibly be that he’s shooting video of Chris O’Shea, because that thing is no where remotely pointed where the action is. Even with two freed-up hands, he’s tinkering around with something…I’ll ask him.

Chris O’Shea on the other hand (no pun intended), grabs the board and rolls over that shoulder, opening up perfectly for the camera. Certain tricks have a tendency to do that when shooting wakeboarding.

It’s not everyday people ride doubles anymore. It’s like a lost art. But when you do get out there together, it’s like the stars are lined up or something because it’s so fun. Riders always feed off each other when there’s two of em behind the boat. This shot is particularly funny because of Collins calm, clueless demeanor in the background.

- Meddock

Subject: Chairs
Photo: Bryan Soderlind

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Back Cover

I borrowed a Leica camera one day from my friend Mike who had never actually shot with it. That same day I went out to Daytona International Speedway with my friend Spencer Williams to meet up with his NASCAR buddies Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson. We got to go in the pit, chill with them, and even go out to eat with them later in the night. I thought I was going to have all these good pics but it turned out the camera had a light leak that made an orange slash across the middle of just about every frame. This was one of the few that had the light leak at the bottom. It’s just a bunch of chairs.

- Bear

Subject: Nick Heaney
Photo: Joey Meddock

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Critique section, Page 93

Zooma zoom zoom and a boom what? Nick Heaney flying past me at high speed.

Nick and I used to shoot quite often back in the day. He was always up for experiment when it came to shooting wakeboarding. I think this shot is about 3-4 years old. It was right at the time when I bought a new waterhousing for my 16mm fisheye lens.

I had an idea to float in the water with my housing in hand. I wanted him to edge past me as close and as safely as possible. He wasn’t understanding what the shot might look like but once I explained that there was a chance of seeing the bottom of the board, he really laid into it.

Focusing this was tricky. While on the back of the boat, I guessed where I thought Nick might be, by zeroing in on something still and about two feet away. Using auto-focus isn’t an option for these types of scenarios because it’s too easy to trick the camera, get water on the housing port, or it’s just flat out not fast enough to keep up with the action. I’ve wasted too many good photo ops by relying on auto, and the damn thing adjusts at all the wrong moments. Manual focusing is usually always a safer bet.

So, there I sat…waiting…wondering. Wondering if I’m gonna be a hood ornament on the nose of his board. Once he set his edge, I kinda held my breath and prayed I didn’t get pin-balled. He definitely kept it within two feet, I’ll say that.

After he did it a few times, I could relax a little. Because of his proximity, I caught this shot before I was doused with water. Once the housing lens port is wet, you can see the drops in the image…which I didn’t want.

What attracts me to this photo is being able to see how the water channels off the bottom of the boards shape, fins, and contour. It’s just something not seen too often.

- Meddock

Subject: Marc Rossiter
Photo: Joey Meddock

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Chronicle section, Page 29

I took my first trip to the beautiful country of Ireland this past summer. Myself, Danno, Ike, and Watkins made the jump over the big pond to experience Wake Jam on Loch Erne. One afternoon, when the contest ended, we made our way down river to find an ollie to photograph. Seeing Marc ride in the contest demonstrated his sick style and impressive olling skills. We saw this rail sticking out toward the water. I jumped on shore with Marc and Watkins (light holder) to scope out the spot and look for any possible rocks or sharp impaling objects.

We gave it a once over, then Marc jumped back in the boat and started to suit up. Watkins held my flash right on target while Marc did a few ollies toward me. Some kooks decided to come out and screw with us, so getting a powerful ollie was sometimes difficult because of the rollers caused by our pesty “friends”.

- Meddock

Subject: Leopard wave
Photo: Josh Letchworth

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Shorty Story, Page 102

This was by far my favorite photo essay that we have ever worked on. I’ve grown up as surfer and have spent countless hours watching mini waves peel around points and break over shoals. We’ve all at some point, wanted to shrink ourselves down to squirrel size and surf those little grinders. Aaron Reed told me about this spot that he had seen break as he was cutting through a canal on the Clermont chain. It was a bit of a mission. We loaded the Sea Doo on a trailer and dropped it in the canal near this point. I remember Reed being a little let down, as it wasn’t as impressive as he remember it. I thought it was amazing. I knew if i got down low enough it would come across pretty dramatic. Looks like a murky Teahupoo. Reed must have driven around point 50 times. It was just so mesmerizing to watch.

- Letchworth

Subject: Three Sisters, Cascade Mountain Range
Photo: Zak Stone

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Chronicle section, Page 26

The Three Sisters, famous in Central Oregon, they lay just outside the town of Sisters to the Southwest. First when I told Joey the names of the 3 mountains I got one of them wrong.
The correct names are as follows:
North Sister - Faith - Elevation 10,085 ft.
Middle Sister - Hope - Elevation 10,047 ft.
South Sister - Charity - Elevation 10,358 ft.

All three mountains were found on a map from 1840s. It’s amazing that they are all so close in height, and all three being volcanoes. Faith had an eruption within the last 1,000 years, and is still active.

You can travel all around central Oregon and find lava beds, lava caves and lava tubes. It is a beautiful place to visit. I was very lucky one day and got to fly in a private aircraft over to the town of Bend. I was taking pics of all the lakes and ponds in the middle of no where, so I could come back later with the crew and find some new winch spots.

As we cleared over the Cascade Mountain Range I looked back, and all three Sisters where blingin’ with summer snow. I love Oregon and all its beauty. I am a photo hound…I always carry my camera with me. Just ask any of my friends for they have been found in pics they were not aware of, LOL.

All information was found @ http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov

-Zak Stone

Subject: Brett Eisenhauer
Photo: Joey Meddock

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Chronicle section, Page 29

On our trip to Ireland over the summer, I had Ike stand up on this picnic table for a light check. Watkins is standing there to the left waiting for the boat to come pick him up so he could jib the bench a few times.

It’s so funny how serious Ike looks with that obnoxious green sweatshirt. It’s funny to me cause we traveled together and he wore that outfit the entire time. America, Ireland, Amsterdam, back to America…all in that hat and hooded sweatshirt. I think 90% of the photos that I have from Ike on that trip, he’s shining green!

- Meddock

Subject: Book 1.2 Release party bus
Photo: Bryan Soderlind

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Release Party page, Page 12-13

I decided to catch a ride on the party bus out to the 1.2 party because I knew I might consume some adult beverages. I shot two rolls that day and my dog ate the color one so all I got was ten black and white shots. Sorry I wasn’t the best event photographer James!

- Bear

Subject: Jack Blodgett
Photo: Josh Letchworth

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Critique section, page 87

Ok, anyone who has been wakeboarding for good amount time knows those “moments” that come every so often that are deemed unforgettable. Most of the time you can’t really explain it….things just line up and time stands still as if anything that is happening outside of that moment doesn’t matter at all. Well, we had one right here. This was deep on Negro River in Brazil. We finally had some amazing weather, no rain and glassy water all afternoon. We decided to just point the boat in one direction and ride as far as we could. Right at dusk, we reached a point in the river that just opened up into this huge lake. It was completely surreal. You could not distinguish the difference in the water and the sky. I have never seen water that calm, in that big of an area, ever. The sunset was magical and there was not another person for miles. We were alone in huge oasis. Definitely one of those moments that i will never forget. Take me back.

- Letchworth

Subject: Peripheral Vision
Photo: Nicholas Schrunk

TSQ Location: Book 1.3, Peripheral Vision , pages 78-79

Another great application for the seemingly limitless libraries of stuff I save on my hard-drive. I’m a self admitted pack-rat when it comes to images and stock/textures/brushes I find online. This piece was a rare one that brought them all together to a great piece. The subject is actually a co-worker of mine that volunteered to do some blue screen shots for a totally unrelated motion graphics project. I just happen to have my SLR there the day of filming and brought it out for a few shots at the end. With no purpose in mind I threw them on my computer and left them to be. When putting this piece together I had some really great vintage pieces that were public-domain I wanted to use from the 1950’s. When playing around the the four layered photos and typography I really wanted a figure with a clean background that would fit into this high contrast style I had going. Just so happens I had a perfect one.

I had some big problems fitting the figure in. First of all female figures do not contrast well. In my experience it general it destroys their faces and takes away the feminine allure they have. However in this one after much tweaking and the supportive elements such as the umbrella and wings I was satisfied. In particular I love the textures that show in this and the play with the typography. I just love the idea of four totally unrelated photos in time and content can come together to make something visually interesting.

- Schrunk