Gastown in Vancouver hosted a huge motorcycle Show N Shine last weekend. I stopped by for a few minutes after another shoot I was doing nearby. The Hasselblad was in my bag and matched the style of the vintage and custom bikes. I only shot two rolls and here a few of my favourites.

Here's an insane video I found over on Bogus Blog but you might want to click the link so you can watch it a little bigger and read a bit about it on Mpora.

Mickey Smith really sums up the feeling and love/hate relationship of being an action sports photographer. He is a waterman from Ireland but I'll let him speak for me with this eloquent and beautifully shot short.




MPORA Action Sports >>

The latest issue of KNOWMAG has hit the streets. I was commisioned to shoot a street style fashion portfolio back in June. These photos were shot over the course of one day in downtown Vancouver. Special thanks to stylist Tanus Lewis who put the looks together, hair and make up by Jenna Kuchera and all the models.

The first 8 shots are scans from the mag followed by some outtakes that didn't make the cut.

While doing some research for a shoot I'm currently working on I came across this absolute gem on Youtube. This is classic early Sesame Street! The Count meets Cookie Monster.

"Me eat!"
"No I will count dem"
"No me eat dem!"
"Count"
"Eat"
"Count"
"Eat eat!"
"Wait!"
"Wha?"

More details on this shoot later.........

I'm just running out the door to begin a pretty big commercial shoot I just got booked on yesterday. Can't say much about it just yet but I'll be running all over Vancouver for the next week shooting various people and scenarios. Should be fun.

Here are some behind the scenes shots from my shoot the other night with a local band called Blank Cinema. These were shot by my assistant Kieran Brownie who is an up and coming snowboard photographer and who just turned 19! Damn that makes me feel old.

I'll post my shots from this session soon.........have a great weekend!



the scene down at third beach in vancouver.........I swear that lifeguard is asleep.

I just got a bunch of film back from the lab the other day and I have been editing up a storm. I also finished (almost) editing the 1500 photos from the Sun Wizard recording sessions at Mushroom Studio and I'm fresh off a shoot with another band called Blank Cinema earlier this evening that went really well..........Needless to say I hope to have a lot of posts coming down the pipe over the next week so keep checking back, sign up for the RSS feed and please forward to anyone you might think would like my photos!. At the same time, there is a potential job I could book which will keep me very busy over the next week instead. Hopefully it's the latter but I'll still try to throw up a few posts in between............cats and dogs I say! Cats and dogs.......

As promised.........more photos from the camping trip to Mussel Beach on Vancouver Island a couple weeks ago........shot on my Olympus point and shoot film camera with Portra film.

As you may or may not know, I am a member of the F-Stop Gear Faction team. F - Stop gear is one of the only companies out there that are making camera bags and accessories with the action sports photographer in mind. I have been using their packs for the last year and have been really impressed by the design and quality. Please check them out and become a community member (see link below) or sign up for the Friends with Benefits Program (not yet available in Canada but they are working on it). As a team member I get some free gear, I get to help in the design of the new gear and in return I post stuff on their site/blog/community. It's a good deal. It's even better when I stumble upon something like the video below which was posted on the F-Stop Community page. This guy went the distance sitting in a chair for 48 hours, all for a good cause and the love of time lapse. Respect!

48 Hour Human Timelapse from Marty Stalker on Vimeo.

The long weekend is upon us. I unfortunately will not be getting out of dodge but that's ok because last weekend I went "camping" on Vancouver Island. I say "camping" because it was car camping and when you car camp you can bring waaaay to much shit, which of course did. Everything except the SLR package because for some reason I just can't bring it on vacation with me. Just feels too much like work. I had my trusty G9 (which is reaching the end of it's days), my Olympus film point and shoot which has been recently brought back from the dead (ie. I finally got a new battery), and my trusty Hassy.

Here are couple shots from the G9. Film is still sitting beside me on my desk. I'll post next week if there's anything good. Haven't had a chance to get to the lab this week because I've been in the studio with a local band called Sun Wizard. They are recording their new album at Mushroom studios here in Vancouver. They will be the last band to ever record in the famous Mushroom studio as it exists now. The space will be there but all the old recording equipment will be gone. The new tunes are sounding really good. Photos too follow once the session is done.

So, to all of you who are heading to the great outdoors this weekend, enjoy!

It must be the dog days of summer because the snowboard media are starting to crank out their summer issues, reports, posts, updates etc...........I've got two bits of work out there right now, both online which is something to consider these days because more and more of my work ends up online. I see this as a good thing because it is searchable, easily accessible and generally it looks great on a computer screen.

First off is a small update about DC team ride Iikka Backstrom with my photos. It's on a site called the ESPN Industry Insider Report.

Next we have pretty big portfolio of my work on the SNOWBOARDMag website. There's a short interview and some new photos mixed in with some old stuff that you might have seen. They wanted a variety of my snow and other work so there you go.........

I was recently reminded of a great website that I used to visit regularly. The Selby is basically a blog that showcases photos of creative, artisitc and interesting people in their homes and studios. It's a great way to spend some time, get inspired and see some amazing photography. The best part about it is that it is so simple but at the same time there is so much to it. It's a great idea and Todd Selby is definitely reaping the rewards. It appeals to all kinds of people on many levels. You can check it out for the photos which are colorful, well composed and have a distinct editorial feel. You can check it out for the interior design because almost all of the places are pure eye candy. And you can check it out to see who's who and what's what.

After having revisited the site again a few times recently I started to realize that I have been influenced by this style subconsciously. One of the things I love about what I do is that I get to invade peoples homes and places of work to shoot their photo. This is one of my favourite types of shooting. Natural light+casual pose = good photo. Here's a couple photos of mine that stood out in my mind that are in the same style as The Selby:

2008



2010



So now that I got that off my chest and no one can accuse me of plagerizational activities, where is the line between an influence and a rip off?? And isn't imitation the biggest form of flattery?? I'm sure Todd Selby would not be too concerned with my photos being similar to "his style" of photos. He is shooting campaigns for Louis Vitton and Cole Haan now so I'm sure there's room for me out there too. But who has the final say about this one? Copying someone else's work is probably the biggest "No No" out there in photography but can someone really lay claim to a style?? Doesn't art just build upon itself and become a newer version of the past?...............anyone?