Wild Card Movies

“Photography is a major force in explaining man to man. People believe photographs, that fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.The digital revolution is far more significant and complex than most people realize. It has taken skills which once took years of experience and patience to master and have made them easily accessible through quick, simple, pre-programmed menu buttons on everyone’s iphone. Through dedication, skill, and a creative, artistic perspective not seen by most, he is pushing the boundaries of action sports photography in this digital age of point & shoot.

An art form dies, evolution creates Jordan Ingmire.”

-Intro by Scott Studach

Q & A by Jeremy Dubs

Who are you?
I am a guy who likes to snowboard as much as possible. I have been snowboarding so much that I began to feel guilty about only satisfying my urge to snowboard and ingnoring my growing drive for productivity. Around this time I met a guy who like me, loved to snowboard. He also loved photography and shared his work with me. I was inspired and he sold me my first camera. A few years later I sold my first image for $50, then i had a shot in a mag, shortly after I was very lucky and landed a cover with Snowboarder Magazine. From that point on I have been extremely motivated and each season find a way to dedicate myself 100% more then the season before. Over the years I have been scouring the internet, reading magazines and studying books to gain as much insight as humanly possible to understand what has and hasn’t been done in the photography world. I discover creative methods of light manipulation and apply them to my own style and subjects. You can find me enjoying nature, photography and friends.

How long have you been shooting?
I got into photography 7 years ago. I have been getting published for the last 4 years.

Why this fascination with water?
I love the ocean. It probably stems from my childhood. I grew up living in Hawaii on the Big Island. All my memories of that time are hanging out at the ocean, catching fish in tide pools, poking eels etc. If i am not in the snow then I am in or around the ocean. Scuba diving comes second to snowboarding but once age catches up with me I plan to spend the majority of my time under water.

Why do you ride at Stevens Pass?
I ride at Stevens Pass because I have always rode at Stevens Pass. My first time snowboarding was at Stevens back in 96. I rode the ski buss to Stevens every weekend throughout grade school. Graduated in 2002 and have lived and worked at Stevens every winter since. Stevens Pass has been the most consistent thing in my adult life, it has become my home. There is a core group of people there that I have come to know, love and respect. To sum it up, the terrain is epic, options for different lines are endless, you can spend a lifetime riding at Stevens Pass. I could go on and on.

What makes your photography different in these days when everyone can take a photo?
Probably my dedication and passion for snowboarding and photography. You can’t be a great snowboard photographer unless you absolutely love snowboarding. You also can’t be a great photographer without being extremely dedicated. Making photographs different is just part of the game. No one wants to see the same images or same style of images over and over again. It is the same with snowboard movies, things get boring and if a fresh perspective is not introduced you will lose your audience. Sure everyone can have a great camera these days and snap some shots, but who wants to take as many pictures as I do? You can’t have whole hearted dedication unless it is driven by passion. I have found my passion and will pursue it with all my ability and resources, that is probably what makes my photography noticeable.

What is your view of the future of photography?
I am just scratching the surface of what has already been done. I am not even close to being qualified enough to answer that legitimately. I don’t see photography changing all that much throughout my time as a photographer. It is more the business side of things that is changing drastically. The internet and advent of digital photography is reshaping the industry and photographers are being forced to evolve along with it. If your set in your ways you probably won’t survive. Just my 2 cents.

How does it feel to get a cover shot of a magazine?
Good! unbelievable really.. For me it was too good to be true because it came at a time so early in my career. I was working hard at my photography but still definitely a novice. That was the first time in Snowboarder Magazine’s history to give a cover to an unknown photographer (myself) and unknown rider (Hans Jangard). Im a pretty modest dude so I would say it was 70% luck, but when I look at that shot it makes sense for a cover. It also really sets the bar for my photography now, I need more covers!

Where is a dream location for you to visit?
I really want to spend a summer in the southern hemisphere shooting in Chile and New Zealand. To make it to Alaska this spring is also a goal of mine. Snowboarding aside I want to spend some time diving in Bali, Thailand and Egypt. The Red Sea is supposed to be unreal. I really haven’t travelled much, last summer was my first time leaving the country. So I am excited to go pretty much anywhere I haven’t been, which is just about everywhere.

I know you hang with the Chilean crew up at Stevens. Tell us a funny Chilean story:
Ha! I do sort of have one, at least it is funny to me. It has been interesting rolling with those guys. They aren’t too into cell phones or speaking english for that matter, so it takes some work just to link up with them. Once you do track them down they operate to the beat of their own drum. You find them, you follow them, you shoot them. Normally this isn’t how i prefer to work but these guys are so talented it often works out. Anyway funny story, one afternoon I’m shooting Manuel on a jump. Him and his filmer built the kicker themselves and he is the only one hitting it. The guy is a one man show, he probably hit the jump 20 times and stomped 15 different tricks. Not easy tricks either, he does double backies and all sort of other flip variations I wouldn’t even try to name. I got a great shot that day, it showed up on the cover of a big mag down in Chile. We are communicating via email over the summer, I let him know if they want to run the image they need to pay. I told him the US rates and he says he will take care of the rest. Dude shows up at my place next season with a copy of the mag and pulls a wad of cash from his front pocket. He hands the roll to me and I peel a 20 off the top to find a bunch of 1′s and 5′s underneath! I think it was like $75 in the end. Other photographers will cringe if they read this but I love shooting with those guys and I see it as an enormous benefit for me to be able to work with them.

rider JP Audisio

Explain how to be a photo-friendly rider:
Awesome question! Often times I am shooting riders while they film their video parts. Video normally takes priority, forcing me to work around certain elements to make the image. In that case just be aware of the photographer and respect the effort that he or she is putting in to get that shot of you. Otherwise when I am out shooting communication is key. Most of the time everything is planned and understood between photographer and rider. Location, light, time of day, trick etc. Patience is also very important, there are lots of clouds here in the NW and if your photographer insist on waiting for that cloud to pass it will probably be worth the wait. It is good for the rider to study their favorite photographs too. Whether it is a rider they like or a stunning image, it makes a difference when the understanding of what makes a photo great is mutual. Keep an open mind, just because the terrain looks sick to you or you want to make a slash ‘right there’ that isn’t neccessarily going to work. If you like the images your photographer produces then trust him or her and listen to what they say about where to go and what to do to get the shot. If you want to make your photographer happy, communicate, have an open mind, and most importantly have your style on point!

Jordan gives us some insights into the story behind some of his favorite photos of the year.

rider Ari Strickland
El Niño robbed us of our pow, but opened the door for creativity. Its like a kid without television, once the obvious entertainment is stripped from you, one is forced to venture out explore and create. We took it upon ourselves on this sunny winter day to go where most wouldn’t. Sure we were hiking out to a ridge where the only ways down are through steep chutes, cliffed out passage ways and technical pillow lines, just a typical day right? Not on an El Niño year. We ventured out where no others would and traversed icy ridge tops to this banked wall we make turns on as we pass to our secret stash’s on a normal season. We shaved the wall out and made a nice transition up on the ridge top. Not a soul passed by that day on the ridge and we enjoyed the session while watching the masses below scrape their way over moguls in the sunshine. This photo was taken on Cowboy ridge (Stevens Pass) where terrain and skill level coincide to offer a lifetime of exciting snowboarding.

rider Joe Bosler
This past season I was fortunate enough to join the WildCard crew on many shoots around the North West. Their innovation and determination led to the unique opportunity to make this photograph. We headed out on snowmobiles toting generator, lights, shred gear and camera gear to one of the crews spots off of Highway 2. The pillows were stacked and riders were stoked. Joe Bosler and Nick Ennen proceeded to fly through the darkness sending gaps and stomping pillows. The mission was a success and each rider added a few shots to their bank for the season.

rider Jonah Owen
Snowboarder magazine was in town doing a piece on Stevens Pass for their ‘happy tails’ web series. After a day on the mountain their crew and ours linked up for a night shoot. Jonah passed some of his knowledge to the crew on how to use the Banche Bungie contraption and then the session was on. Riders continued to fling themselves off the bungie through the air and across the roof while maintaining style and control. Shooting at night is a great opportunity for creative influence due to the ability to manipulate the ambient and artificial light.

rider Ryan McLaughlin
This shot was taken in the Stevens Pass backcountry. I had shot this location years prior with good results and thought it worth while to go back. This is one of those spots where the only limiting factor is your own imagination. Snow quality is not really a factor and there are endless options for tricks and angles. We spent the afternoon pondering the options of the zone and decided on this jib to air. I liked the busy backdrop and Ryan was happy with the ease of the feature we chose to shoot. He proceeded to throw down a variety of tricks and in the end I liked this poked front one melon the most.

rider Scotty Witsil
This is one of my favorite images from last season. The combination of the rock exposure, interesting lighting and Scott’s style make this a very compelling image. A few members of the Pirates Crew had come over due to the poor weather at Baker and joined us for two days of shooting. They shredded pillows, cliffs and one jump over the two day stretch. Sadly Scott blew out his ACL a few days later and this shot was one of the few I got with him last season.

rider J.P. Audisio

This was an absolutely epic morning. We arrived at our hard to reach destination well before the lifts were even spinning. Snow was stacked, sun was shining and everyone was amped. I was so excited to be shooting in such perfect conditions that I overlooked one of the most important things, mother nature! I found my angle directly below the feature and shouted back and forth with with Adisio about where and when to drop. Seconds later he was passed the convex roll and the snow cloud from his turn seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. Next thing I new he was no where to be seen and the entire feature had erupted. The peak was lost in a cloud of moving snow and a river was barreling down toward me. Once I realized what was happening I ran about 8 meters to my right and took cover underneath a large pillow while the snow passed all around me and over head. In retrospect it sounds like a silly thing to over look the conditions and snowpack but being so close to something you deeply desire can be very distracting.

Check Out Jordan Ingmire