DPPF Grant Winner Mike Dawson is a freelance photographer based out of Lake Tahoe. Following his passions for photography and board sports, he is now building a career in the snowboarding industry. More about Mike
With his DPPF Grant Mike was able to upgrade the 70-200mm that he had to empty his life savings for back in 2017, and obtain a new strobe lighting system!
Mike shares back stories of three photos from his winning portfolio.
This was shot at Woodward Tahoe in the pipe with Nate Haust! I always love shooting into the sun, people tend to fray from that but I think it increases your chances of some really unique imagery. Balancing light and the white snow is a tricky subject that you must overcome being a Snowboard Photographer. ND filters are your best friend and so are dawn and dusk. The majority of my shoots run throughout the whole day so you get to experiment with all of the different times of light. There’s so many uncontrollable aspects you have to work with while shooting on the snow. How fast the clouds are moving, the direction of the wind, the temps, the conditions of the snow, you have to be so aware of what’s really going on out there to create the best results. Once you understand the environment you are shooting in, you’ll be able to produce work that tells a meaningful story.
I shot this photo at Mount Hood with Zeb Powell. Mount Hood summer sessions are the absolute best, from the parks to the people, the energy is on a whole different level! This was a monumental summer for both Zeb and I. This photo landed a full spread in Snowboarder Magazine.
This is a glacier pond located in the Eastern Sierra mountains! 20 miles, 3 nights, all your best homies, minimal food, water from the source, beds directly on rocks and the best hiking trip of the year, the Fountain of Youth – coined by founder Chris Gallardo, is truly such a special place. We all meet up sometime in July every year to make the journey deep into the mountains to experience one of the most unique places there is. A perfect relationship between summer and winter the FOY depicts crystal clear Caribbean blue water that’s as cold as ice and extremely intimidating as you approach it as fast as you humanly can to glide across it on your snowboard. (Rider: Tim Humphreys)
The DPPF is thrilled to be able to further Mike’s promising career!