You never want to be put in a position where you could set yourself up for failure, but this is the exact position the FLOW Team found themselves in during early September of 2007. To identify the situation a bit, it’s kind of like putting 1,000 dollars down on RED at the Roulette table. With all hopes of doubling up, you might fall flat on your face with 1,000 less to account for your attempts. Maybe it could be compared to a Military mission. For example, going into battle with not enough ammo and men. Or a million hand grenades with no long-range firepower. Whichever you choose, the FLOW Team was in for a real “Do or Die” situation. 

Mission:  Catalog shoot. 
Coordinates: 41∞00S, 174∞ 00E
General: Jack Coghlan
Photo Lieutenant: Dan Watts
Dates given: August 31st – Sept 6th
Days to accomplish: 5 
Number of participants: 6
Number of shots needed: roughly 30, but any will do
Number of photographers: 1.5 (1-Ryan Hughes Snowboarder Mag Staff Photo Editor, and .5 - Flow Team Manger)
Weather: unexpected
Snow conditions: unexpected

Note: With the parameters above, this mission seems a sure gamble. Due to the International Time Zone and number of days available to shoot, it’s a sure 50/50 long shot. A week of bad weather will equal complete failure and a waste of thousands of dollars. Either all aspects cooperate and the team emerges victorious or they fail miserably, suffering the consequences of trying to shoot elsewhere at a less desirable time and more cramming circumstances.

Day 1: Travel day. Departure from LAX in CA, USA at 9 pm 8/30/07 with an expected arrival in New Zealand at 12 pm on 9/2/07. Due to circumstances, Scotty Lago was bound to shooting at Remarkables with Travis Rice and friends, while Ryan Hughes and Team Manger Andrew Mutty wait in Queenstown. Lago arrives in Queenstown late from a spoiled day at Remarkables and an afternoon Heli adventure to the coast for some surfing, while Hughes and Mutty shop for supplies to kill time. 9 pm rolls around and we pick up Lago for a 1.25-hour drive to Wanaka. Weather reports call for good weather in the morning with high winds bringing an incoming storm for day 2.

Day 2: Snowpark, NZ. The day breaks with scattered clouds and high winds. New boards arrive for the catalog shoot and the group prepares equipment for a day of shooting product. PROBLEM #1: board graphics are incorrect. Issues with one of the Team Boards leaves one graphic out of the catalog shoot. In some way’s this is good. Less to focus on, but the effort of having to shoot product again elsewhere still does not escape the team. The day went well, with a concentration in small jibs and base shots to bout.  Strong winds pick up by mid-afternoon limiting the night pipe shoot to mediocre airs and standard catalog shots. All in all, it was a good day for shooting, but with incoming storms, the thought was, “Well, better we get something, rather than the upcoming possibility of nothing!”
(See, the thing that most people outside of snowboarding don’t understand is that shooting specific “angles” and “types” of shots really suck. It’s part of the job that really makes you work for your paycheck, on both sides, the photographers and the riders.)

Day3: Tremblecone NZ: To our surprise WEATHER was our friend this trip. We awoke to day 3 with a special surprise, 3 feet of new snow! Now in a perfect world, you could say, “Fuck this camera! I am shredding POW all day!” But once again, “Catalog” comes before any sort of personal turning pleasure. Highlights of the day included first tracks down the back bowl at Tremblecone and Scotty Lago’s front side three off a 25 foot cliff to a basically flat landing, which he stomped….of course! On a fresh powder day, everything and anything becomes ride able.  Mini cliff drops to wind-lips and cat track jumps are found everywhere. Pleasant surprise for a day that looked like grim weather, but ended up being a solid “Roll of the Dice”.

Day 4: Back to the Snowpark where the focus shifted to shooting park action. Without the staff helping out in making the process easy and efficient, disaster would be eminent. The day started with jumps in mind and on Lieutenant Watts list. Antti Autti busted perfect cab 5 mutes with a clean shot, while Risto Mattila was shooting front side 3 melons and Mr. Lago was keeping his mind clean with simple back side 1’s and front side 3 indy’s. In catalog world, this mission was accomplished. The sun was setting and the focus shifted to night shots that can be either hit or miss. This night was a “Direct Hit”. Cooperation from Snowpark came exactly on time with a clean and prepped jump. Things worked out great and called for celebration. With only two days left, a much-needed night of relaxation was in store. In Wanaka, all the party people come out for karaoke every Thursday. Mr. Hughes, the “famed singing personality” performed enough songs for the whole group with classic hits like “Love her Madly- Doors” and “Foxy Lady- Jimi Hendrix”.

Day 5:  The fifth day was a critical day for the group. Most of the action shots were done and some lifestyles were complete, but final touch’s needed to be put in order. Early jump sessions lead into early evening lifestyle shots. This was the last day Scotty Lago was in town, so the focus was on him and also on the new Japanese starlit Izumi Amaike. Izumi is the new addition to the freestyle women’s program. Special attention to getting action and lifestyles shots was critical for the promotion of the up and coming Japanese shred Betty.

Day 6: This day was wrap-up day for shooting. Long night’s prior spent looking through photos led us to a day of tying up loose ends. Piecing together shots for catalog is difficult when you only have a list of shots angles needed, but not a specific direction. Things almost work better leaving most of the creative up to the photographer. Loose ends for today were all about lifestyle. Keeping a consistent theme and feel to lifestyle images is important for catalog shoots. Clair and Izumi were the first to take the stage at sunset, followed by Antti and Risto.

Day 7: Departure time and the hustle and shuffle begins. Having a team house for 6 days ends up looking like a barnyard by day 2, and a complete pigsty by day 6. With flights booked for 3 p.m., and a 1-hour drive to get to the airport, the cleaning process has to begin first thing in the morning. Mountains of trash, followed by rolling hills of beer bottles line the garage as the busted Subaru legacy pulls out of the driveway. Packed window to window with baggage and people, we hustle to Queenstown to catch the flight home.

Mission Accomplished.