Archive for the ‘News’ Category


Monashee Powder Snowcats

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

After Great Canadian heli and a couple days of New Years spent in Revelstoke, Daryl and I met brother Dave and carried our interior road trip on to Monashee Powder Snowcats in the Monashee range. For the three of us it was our third time there shooting. Monashee Powder’s tenure is a fantastic playground for skiing and a pleasure to photograph. They also have an extensive burn that I really enjoy moving through, and photographing. We spent some time hauling ladders around and climbing trees to highlight the beauty of moving through the burn on skis – experimenting with some different angles and concepts for magazines next year. Thanks to our guide Mark and the rest of the staff at Monashee who put up with my high maintenance persistence on taking a long time and requiring things like 28ft ladders to be hauled around.

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photo, Dave Treadway

Great Canadian Heli Skiing

Friday, January 14th, 2011

For the second year in a row (just before New Years) I’ve had the opportunity to join Great Canadian Heliskiing for some skiing and photography. Jamie Bond from doglotion.com was there to capture video, and Leah Evans and Daryl Treadway were skiing for ze camera. Great Canadian has some very long runs and playful, aesthetic terrain to offer. It was quite cold but GCHS gave us the opportunity to experiment and we accomplished a few experimental shots which I’m excited about.

Here we have Jamie Bond and myself freezing and hanging out of the side of the heli while Daryl and Leah await their turn to ski below for an image (photo, Daryl Treadway).

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On Photography

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

I’ve just finished reading Susan Sontag’s On Photography. I don’t normally make blog posts like this…but with respect to photography, I can’t help but wonder what conversations between her and her partner Annie Leibovitz must have been like. Sontag’s On Photography is very critical of photography’s role in American culture, especially it’s popular and commercial role, while Leibovitz seems to epitomize American popular/commercial photography. A strange but equally fascinating dichotomy. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, you’ll have to read the book.

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Left: Sontag’s well known On Photography, Right: One of Leibovitz’s Vanity Fair cover images

How about them, megapixels?

Monday, November 29th, 2010

“Who would believe that so small a space could contain the image of all the universe? O mighty process! What talent can avail to penetrate a nature such as these? What tongue will it be that can unfold so great a wonder? Verily, none! This it is that guides the human discourse to the considering of divine things. Here the figures, here the colors, here all the images of every part of the universe are contracted to a point. O what a point is so marvelous!” – Da Vinci

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Above: From the notebooks of Da Vinci – the function of the eye, as explained by camera obscura (’dark room’, in latin).

Though Da Vinci theorized about the principal, understandings of the optical principal of camera obscura are known to date back as far as Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti (5th century BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC). How about them, megapixels?

Digital imaging, reality and representation

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

“I think it’s interesting that the questioning of the photograph in its relation to the reality, the interrogation of representation, the famous crisis of representation, really all took place before digital technology. Digital technology … is not the villain here. It simply offers another dimension. I’m not sure if it’s a farther remove from reality than analogue. I think if we can speak of reality, if reality and representation can be spoken of in the same sentence, if reality even exists any more, digital is simply another way of encoding that reality.” – Lewis Baltz

Int’l League of Conservation Photographers and the proposed Enbridge oil pipeline

Friday, October 15th, 2010

The proposed Enbridge pipeline from Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat, BC is something that British Columbians, and beyond, should really be thinking about. The International League of Conservation Photographers have been photographing the environmental and social landscape that the pipeline and tanker traffic could threaten. Have a look at their images and some thoughts:

Great Bear Rainforest RAVE from iLCP on Vimeo.

Freeman Patterson on CBC’s Ideas

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Freeman Patterson has been a big influence on my photography from the very start. The care, attention, and thoughtfulness that goes into his photographs is the lesson I’ve drawn most from him. CBC Ideas recently did a very insightful piece with him, and you can listen to it here: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2010/10/13/shampers-bluff/.

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Kashmir – A Skier’s Journey

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Here is the first instalment of “A Skier’s Journey” (part of a trio of episodes). My aim with these was to tell stories about travelling and skiing in some of the world’s most interesting places. I’ve had a lot of fun shooting, editing, and creating these. I have also learned a lot and I’m bound to do it differently the next time around. These were produced with support from Arcteryx and Gore. I’m greatful for the vision and support they have lent to the project. It is great to be working with companies that allow me to make images and tell stories about the things that I love doing.

While still photography is my main thing, I actually started out shooting and editing video in highschool before I ever picked up a still camera. I always knew I’d make my return into the motion medium, but it is really the change in technology that  has allowed me to return to it. Having the capability with a DSLR to shoot high quality photos and video, all in the same package is incredibly powerful. However, I’ve  found it more difficult (than I thought it would be) to mentally switch between shooting photos and video on any given shoot. While there are certain considerations that must be made when composing images for both still and video, there are also significant departures. Ultimately, choosing to shoot both it is a game of give and take, and I’ve had to learn to prioritize (not easy).

Thanks to Tobin Seagel and Chad Sayers for their help along the way. Chad did all the voice over work and I owe him one for that! Also, a special thanks to Anthony Bonello who was making a film of his own in Kashmir and was instrumental in our stay there.

Kashmir – A Skier’s Journey: Ep1 from Jordan Manley Photography on Vimeo.

To the end of the earth, my love: Newfoundland

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

I am really fortunate to have just returned from an amazing trip to Newfoundland, invited by Mike Jones and Andreas Hestler for some riding and photography (which we’ll be turning into a few different articles). Although the riding wasn’t as developed as we’d hoped on the west coast, it has incredible potential. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to many beautiful parts of the world, including Antarctica, and I can say that Newfoundland has one of the most beautiful coast lines I’ve ever seen. Mind blowing really. From the epic scenery, to the gracious and warm people, to the historic sites where vikings first “discovered” North America, it was a trip to remember and dwell on for quite some time. I can’t wait to return.

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Deep Summer Photo Challenge

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

This blog is way late, but better late than never I suppose. In August I was invited to participate in the Saint Deep Summer Photo Challenge hosted by Whistler Blackcomb. It is basically the same format as the Deep Winter contest that I have been a part of the last 3 years, except in the Summer, mostly in the Whistler Bike Park. I joined Mike Hopkins, Darcy Turenne, and Thomas Vanderham, all really talented athletes. Thomas and I grew up riding together in highschool on the shore and haven’t really taken any photos since his ascendency to super-stardom in the mtb world, but finally we got a chance and we got some great images. I decided that I wanted to theme our 5 min show around the Whistler Bike Park trail crew, invading their world in order to show people what goes on behind the scenes in the most popular mountain bike playground on the planet. It paid off and the judges awarded us 1st place, which we were all really happy about. Special thanks to the trail crew for making it all happen!

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LtoR: Paul Morrison, Nicolas Teichrob, moi avec moustache.