Robs Photo Blog

Base jumping The Chief

2009-04-19T23:30:00.022Z

"The wind is starting to pick up, I'm jumping in three minutes whether your ready or not". Randy tells Matt as he abseils over the side of the chief.

I moved in with Kane and Jessie in mid December and since I heard Kane based jumped I have been looking fore ward to shooting him jumping of The Chief. The chance came early on Saturday morning. The plan was to meet at seven in the car park, hike up and to be on the ledge before the morning breeze comes off the Sound.

Kye was filming a video to enter in the Telus video showdown in Whistler. He had to film everything in 72 hours and all within 100km of Whistler with the idea of getting as much vertical as possible. The guys are all sky divers and were going to film themselves speed skiing. They asked Kane the only base jumper in the corridor if he wanted to jump and that's how it came about.

Kane had not jumped since last July and his shoot had been packed then which was playing on his mind were as Randy on the other hand had been jumping all winter and was on his game arriving down with three pre packed shoots.

Rositch Point

Randy joking about while doing his checks.

Matt abseiling over the edge to video.

Kye looking after his personal hygiene

The guys looking a bit more serious

Randy went first doing a Gainer.
I don't ever remember looking through my lens and thinking I was looking at a video.
The most surreal experience I've ever had. One minute your joking with the lad next minute he is doing a back flip off a cliff.

Kane doing some visualisation

One last peek

It was a bit more intense when Kane went to jump because I had not just met him an hour ago in the car park and I knew if anything went wrong I would have to tell Jess.

The last thing I saw was Kane's pilot shoot and then I froze for a few seconds, which were some long seconds, before I heard the beautiful sound of the shoot opening and filling with air. Sweat as!

It was only after they jumped that I realized how tight the landing was, just a little gap between the power lines and the trees.

Randy had three packed shoots and went straight back up to jump again. He had found a new exit which gives alot longer free fall. We spotted him jumping and I had time to grab the camera and find him on the wall befor he pulled.

Grouse 2

2009-03-29T04:20:00.009Z

For the second shoot we were to have three riders to shoot but it had been dumping all week and the guys were pretty broken up one could not even stand up he was so sore. So we were left with two riders Myrosha Dayley and Aaron but then Aaron tweaked his back on the warm up ride.

Fortunately Myro was charged up and giving her.

Aaron before he went home.

Myro hits the big rail with Lonsdale Ave, North Van in the back round.

This Kid was styling it

Myrosha

Gonzo

A group of girls sessioned the rainbow while we were shooting, giving Myro a bit of a breather.

Grouse

2009-03-29T03:54:00.008Z

I took an action sports photography course over the winter, run by Gonzo Tudela who is a pro skate and snowboard photog. These are the shots from the first day shooting at Grouse mountain. We shot a competition all morning and Grouse mountain team rider Bary Hartman stayed back to do a shoot on the Rainbow rail.

Barry throwing a big Method

Andy Jackson Backside 720

Whistler Blackcomb

2009-03-29T03:10:00.009Z

Kane dropping on Playland, Ruby bowl

The Bro

Blackcomb

Apparently water expands when it freezes!

Jessie Hiking into the Flute bowl

The Black Tusk

Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Squamish

2009-01-23T22:26:00.010Z

I've moved to Squamish B.C for a year and here are some shots from the first month are so.

The Chief at Howe Sound

Views on the sea to sky highway

Typical Vancouver Island

The Howe sound at Squamish with the Stawamus Chief on the left

View out my window on Christmas morning

Britannia Beach

Bald Headed eagle, Squamish

Surfing Tofino

Victoria

Steam clock, Gas town, Vancouver

Views from the Sea to Sky highway

WHITE HORSE

2008-10-13T19:47:00.002Z

Unfortunitly I forgot to charge my spare battery so I didn't get many pics.

BREE

2008-10-02T19:21:00.007Z

Epic BLAST

2008-09-16T15:32:00.009Z

What a weekend the Liffey Descent on Saturday and the Epic Blast on Sunday. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any photos from the Descent as I ended up chasing boats and pulling people out of the water all day.

The Blast was probably the funniest event I've ever done, its more about racing mates and having a laugh than winning. The recent weather made it impossible to have a perfect track but all the muck just added to it, as its not a cross-country or downhill race therefore it doesn't really matter if you have to get off and push some of it. You race head to head in groups of ten, then every one has a final, all the winners of the first race go against each other and all the seconds race each other and so on down to the tenths final. There is only two minutes between each group so its bedlam trying to over take and stay out of trouble.

After everyone has had their final there is the main event, The Blast, everyone starts together and does whatever it takes to get out in front.

It starts above tree line with a couple of hundred people sprinting for the entrance to the forest which only two bikes can fit through at a time! After that your into the forest and it takes your eyes a little while to adjust and its slippy as hell in there. Its a mixture of wet forest sections and open downhills with some climbs on the fire roads giving different bikes advantages on different sections.

pushing up to the start

It was like a scene from Braveheart hundreds of savages

charging down the side of the mountain.

not for the heavy DH bikes

A crowd pleaser coming up short on the gap

Store Ulla

2008-09-01T09:11:00.007Z

We had a couple of park and huck sessions on Ulla falls probably the most photographed drops in Norway and here are a few more.

Ulla 1

Ulla 3

Ulla 2

Sorry Nick I had to put this one up!

Norway

2008-08-31T20:24:00.018Z

When we finally arrived in Norway we went straight to Voss. The Levels were low and the Raundalselvi was the only real option. We ran the play run so are new recruits Nick Doran and Paul Browne could get warmed up. Then we went up the valley to have a look at "Nose breaker" we were happy with what we saw even if it had a bit of a hit at the bottom. We decided to have lunch and run the "Train station" section and come back after that to run it. As we headed to the vans we met Paul Byrne coming the other way in his gear, it appears that he got sick of looking at it and maned up, so I grabbed my camera and got changed, Nick did like wise and set up rescue. After carrying up our boats sure it would be bad manners not to!

Paul Brown

After getting off the "Train Station" section at dusk the previous evening we were happy to take it easy and have a play session at a friendly hole just outside Voss, which was great for cartwheeling, I think its called the "Flag Hole". We then trucked on to Sjoa.

Middle of the 30k tunnel on the road to Sjoa

We started in Sjoa with a run on the Lagen, Rosten section. Then we had a few runs on the Sjoa, Amot Gorge and the Ridderspranget sections.

Nick charging right

Grieg on the Ridderspranget

Paul trying out the new Cat 6578

The German camp site in Sjoa.

Scotland

2008-08-31T18:50:00.010Z

Well I didn't think I would be posting photos of Scotland when I left Ireland. The plan was to go straight to Norway, but we missed the ferry(lets just say there was a passport involved and leave it at that!) and there was no space on the next one. So there we were in Newcastle it was raining and we had six days to play with only one thing to do get are asses in gear and get up to Fort William.
We drove as far as the Falls of Falloch and had a park and huck session there the following morning, the river was too low to run so we headed to the Etive.

Paul Byrne on the Falls of Falloch

Dilly Dally Nally

Peader McGuire

Peader on the Etive

Right Angle Falls

Levels were low but with a couple of hours rain the Nevis came up. We got a good run in and had some fun messing around on the last drop.

Camping on the Nevis

Boofalicous

Colin Irvine came up from Edinburgh for a paddle on the Etive and a run on the middle Orchy. We stayed in Colin's flat for the weekend making the most of the Fringe Festival by going to Andrew Maxwell. On the Saturday he brought us biking on his local trails in Glen tres which has some of the best trails I've ever ridden.

Colin on the Middle Orchy

Djouce NPS 4 '08

2008-06-26T17:44:00.006Z

Rostrevor

2008-04-19T21:25:00.011Z

National Point Series 2008 round 1

Uganda

2008-04-19T19:26:00.013Z

Dave being watched on "Nile Special"

Lion in Murchison Falls National Park

Ben Frasier going clean

Sandro throwing a big back stab

Tyler doing like wise

Murchison Falls the narrowest point of the Nile

"pistol flip"

Anne Kavo after mastering the tow on

Some DH photos

2008-02-17T20:01:00.005Z

Gary Wall

Gary doing some pruning with his shoulder

Barry Hamilton

Ben Doran

Mexico

2007-11-16T11:19:00.000Z

I met up with Jenny, Muireann, Eoin and Caoimhes in La Crucecita, Huatulco, and did a couple of runs there before heading to Tlaypacoyn, Veracruz to the classic "Roadside" section of the Rio Alsescea. I Will get all the Beta up on rivernomad.com soon.

Muireann on the Rio Copalita

Jenny on the Ziomatan

Women have a different idea of a paddling trip

Rio San Pedro

Jeff the soul Tuber

Loading the mules to walk into the Alto Filo

Enjoying some oranges before getting on the river

Tim and Jeff

The rescued monkey at "El Pezma"

Alto Filo

The next bunch of photos are all from the "Roadside" section of

the Rio Aleseseca a bedrock, pool drop creek.

The first drop is a nice 25 footer

Jenny on the last rapid

Our Cabana at Aventurec

Big Boat Bananza '07

2007-10-19T16:05:00.001Z

This years Big Boat Bonanza was brought forward by a month to hopefully get milder, wetter conditions, it was milder but unfortunately not wetter.

Thanks to Shane, Kate and Pete for putting on a great weekend.

The throw bag task in the team event prooved extremely

difficult even for the expert class.

always time for a quick smoke

The crowd enjoy the milder conditions on the bank

No one said you had to stay in your boat!

Carnage in the gorge

Our host Shane Cronin and MC Westgarth

Wongy rescuing his 104th person off that rock

The other rescue warriors

New Zealand

2007-05-04T21:50:00.000Z

November '06 Colin Irvine, Jimmy Evans and Myself headed to New Zealand on a two month kayaking holiday and I enjoyed it so much I staying for 6 months.

For all The Stories see Colins Blog here

Westport, West Coast

The Waikaia(photo Dave Prothero)

Mt Cook

Zac Shaw on the Waitaha

Lake Marian

James at "Giant Gate Falls" on the Milford Track

Mitre Peak Milford Sounds

The 2 day Perth

The "Wyoming Whiskers" west coast legend Ollie in his 16th

consecutive year on the coast.

Tayner

Stan Prechard firing it up

Scone Hut

Wharariki Beach

Green Lake, Rotorua

Cathedral Cove

Sunset on the Coromandel Peninsula

Doubtful Sounds

The view from Wilmot Pass

Colin on the V.H.F

Lake Manapouri

Harris Saddle, The Routeburn Track

Biking at Corenet Peak, Queenstown

The view from the top of the chair lift
James scouting "Nevis Bluff" at high flows

Queenstown at night

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown

Colin on the Nevis

Hugh O'Donnell

Jimmy Dropping into the 2nd Gorge on the Upper Hokatika

Cesspit, Arahura

Dando dropping us into the Arahura

Scottish Colin on the Crooked

James, Okere Falls, The Kaituna

Wilkin River

Hugh on Dent Falls

Upper Hoki'

Walking up the Styks

Taipo River

West Coast shuttle

scotland 06

2007-05-03T17:18:00.000Z

The October bank holiday was a wet one in Scotland which suited us just fine!

Mike Good who was firing it up all weekend

Paul Byrne

Daragh Power showing why its called "Pin Ball"

More Byrneo

John Nally in the middle of it

Mike shows Daragh and Paul the line

Dilly Dally again

Mike doing it for the cameras this time!

Ottawa River 06

2007-05-03T15:46:00.000Z

Here is some pics of the Ottawa at the end of August start of September.

Local 582 paddler Tyler Curtis

Pat Camblin doing one of his signature "Flash Backs"

Me on "The Garberator"(photo Ted Piper)

Ted Piper on the "Pyramid Wave" at Lachine

Barry O'Connell on "Push Button"

Dave Throwing a big back stab on "Push Button"

Moe having a snack on his way to coming 5th in the "World Cup" first round

Kelsey Thompson going clean

Me on "Garb" again(Photo Ted Piper)

South America 05/06

2007-04-21T09:20:00.000Z

In October 2005 Myself, Colin Irvine, Noelle O'Regan, Louise Laurence and Brian Magee went to Ecuador and Chile the trip blog can be found here, here are some of my favourite pics from that trip.

Kids on the Rio Jatunyacu

Colin Irvine inspects a rapid

Chris and Jackie load up

Colin in Ecuador

Locals watching the bull fighting(photo Noelle O'Regan)

Colin on the "Tuck and Duck"

Portage on the Palguin

Otavalio Market

Noelle on top of Volcan Vallirica

The Next few pictures are all by louise Laurince

Christie and Ben

Colin Filming me on the Double Drop on the Palguin

Lost (photo Noelle O'Regan)

Sunset at pichilemu

Sunset at P

Italy 06

2007-04-01T15:58:00.000Z

May 06 Benny Cullen, Nick Doran, Cormac Lynch and Myself went to the Italian and French Alps for a weeks creeking. We met up with Colin Wong and Jackie Hennessy who where on a European tour.

Trip article in Aug/Sept 06 Outsider Magazine By Nick

This photo of Colin Wong was awarded best international river

running photo by Outsider Magazine

Benny Cullen under the bridge in Rossa

Nick Doran on the Grande

Me dropping into the "Cave"(photo Cormac Lynch)

Wongy in the time trial on the Egua

Benny

Wongy in Teva Games

Cormac Lynch

Random Pics

2007-04-01T12:38:00.000Z

"Best Irish River Runnig Photo" Outsider Magazine,

Paddy McGovern, Duff Falls, Co. Sligo

Back loops at Castle Gregory, Co. Kerry

Photos Paddy McGovern