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This is Jussi Oksanen on our first trip ever to Alaska in 2007. We all came to Valdez with no clue of how big those mountains really were and scared the shit out ourselves every day. It was one of those dream trips though where we had snow, sun, decent snowpack, and all walked away safe with shots and a whole new respect for everything that has ever been done in Alaska. Photo: Adam Moran
These photos here are a small glimpse into the last 10 years of my life shooting snowboard photography. As a kid who grew up in New Hampshire, I was always into snowboarding. Photography really came second. It was a fun thing to do, and I always loved shooting everything and anything, but I never wanted to put down my own snowboard to take pictures. As I got older, my passion for photography really started to grow and, of course, I leaned towards shooting what I knew best: snowboarding.
It was the people around me that inspired me, and I found that documenting it all was almost as fun doing it myself. I’ve been with Burton for a long time now — from the store, to the team department, to finally being labeled a full-time photographer a few years back. That title still sounds strange to say. I think as long as it makes me a bit uncomfortable to really call myself a photographer, then I’ll still be driven to always do better and hope I make it there one day.
What I love the most about this whole thing is that there are no set rules, and the challenges of shooting in ever-changing weather make every day new. Some days are rough, but even on the worst days shooting, it’s still fun hanging out with your friends in the mountains, so life could be much worse. Hope you enjoy.
Adam Moran is a team photographer for Burton. To see more of Moran’s work, visit his website. And be sure to follow him on Instagram and Tumblr.