Name: Jenna Low
Home Town: Chase, B.C.
Home Base: TL, B.C
Home Page: Noboard.ca
Sponsors/employer: Noboard, Sitka Surfboards, Freewriter magazine, RockyMountain Sherpas, WhistlerCreek Productions
Sports Photographed: Noboard, Snowboarding
Favorite subject: Smiling faces of pure astonishment and pleasure make the most beautiful photographs. As well as those stunning moments when the air is so cold and clear the snow looks like crystals flying into the sky.
Recent Projects: Noboard article in Audi magazine, photo gallery in Frequency magazine, winter cover of Kootenay Mountain Culture, Boots in the Koots Calandar, Noboard magazine
Do you remember when you realized photography was more than a point and shoot camera?
Moving to this remote place and involving myself with Noboard I realized that capturing and documenting what was going on around me was something really special and important to the story of what was being created in the Kootenays. I came into photography blindly realizing how much I had to learn, but quickly realized that it would be my lifelong passion, evolving education and creative outlet.
What was your first camera? And what is your current.
I came into photography digitally with a Canon 30D and a couple of lens'. It was a great starter camera that was light and durable. I still shoot with it but also have a Canon 1D mark lll that is a bit more weather resistant on those mega snow days.
What has photography done to your life?
My eyes have transformed to look at everything like it was framed. Things that you maybe would have not thought twice about, come to look beautiful and interesting.
Photography has given me purpose and thoughtful insight and a drive to continually learn and appreciate knowledge and advice from others.
As a career photography has let you see much of the world. Where are the places you wish to return or are most memorable?
Every place is instantly rememberable luckily through the images captured. And is so special to look back at the story of each destination. A magical place that everyone should strive to see is Japan. The people, the culture, the landscapes are everything that I had every dreamed of as a kid. It was hard to put the camera down when I was there, because everywhere I turned was a perfectly framed photograph.
Being an action sport photographer, one would generally assume you also play the games you shoot. What are favorite sports to do with out a camera bag on your back?
I began and still do Noboard everyday with my camera bag on my back. The days when we are all in the mountains together, I find it so much easier and enjoyable to shred and shoot when the time is right. I like my shots to be as organic as I can make them, and they seem to come easily as everyone is riding down and spot features while we all Noboard together. Surfing is also a passion that I try to do in the summer months. It definitely is the hardest sport that I've ever done, but being in the ocean is a really humbling and challenging experience.
Who or what do you look too find inspiration in?
I am completely inspired by the people and friends around me. I have so much to learn and I have the greatest friends who are so patient and knowledgeable and always up for giving me tips and practical advice. I have learned so much through the creativity and style they all have and each one lends a unique way of looking at the world.Life behind a lens means being witness to the best of times and the worst. Please let us know an experience from each.
Best: The feeling you get on those days when you are in the mountains with some of the people you trust most in the world and all riding and experiencing extreme love, appreciation and respect for each other and the vast beauty around us. You can't beat the days when you are there to witness the progression of the sports we love…
Worst: Our jobs are to document the progression of sports, and watching and capturing those hairball crashes are the worst part of being behind the lens.It's the WORST watching your good buddies not make those landings!
What would you say to a young shooter with who dreams of traveling the world taking photos of the elite athletes in our sports?
It's not out of anyone's reach! believe me…shoot shoot shoot and ask questions. Never feel like the questions you want to ask aren't exactly what we all had to ask when we started.
Tell us one over looked lesson you have learned in the photo business: Keep at it, cause it's not easy peasy everyday. Some days you feel like a rookie and some days you feel like a pro. Organization is KEY!
Quotes Jenna has liked over he years:
Life does not ask what we want. It presents us with options.
It's true that we don't know what we've got until it's gone, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."- Albert Einstein
"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."- Emile Zola
"ohhhh, my face"-Whiskey video
