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The evolution of a pro

Renowned snowboard photographer Dano Pendygrasse prepares for eclectic exhibition
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Snow shadow One of Pendygrasse’s shots, which may be included in his upcoming show at the Blake Jorgensen Gallery. Photo by Dano Pendygrasse

What: Dano Pendygrasse opening exhibition

When: Saturday, March 21, 7 p.m.

Where: Blake Jorgensen Gallery

Cost: Free

While there are plenty of Whistler residents who have been around for the long-haul, witnessing the town's evolution from a garbage dump into a world-class resort. Dano Pendygrasse has been busy capturing the transformation of the community - more specifically, the snowboard community - from behind the lens of his camera.

Born and raised in B.C., mountain culture is in this photographer's blood. Growing up in North Vancouver, he's had roots in Whistler for his entire life, traveling up with his parents for weekends and summers during his youth. He was a self-described ski racer brat with Whistler Mountain Ski Club from the age of six to 16, and as soon as he finished high school, he finally moved to the community.

"That was the year that they allowed snowboarding," he added. "I was one of the first snowboarding employees on Blackcomb."

Though Pendygrasse started out as a sponsored rider, he soon realized he wasn't good enough to make a career out of it. But he'd had a taste of the good life, traveling around the world on someone else's dime, and wasn't prepared to give it up. So he picked up a camera, instead.

Now, 17 years into a successful career, Pendygrasse stays true to his roots, maintaining that Whistler is still his favourite place to shoot.

"Whistler has something that no one else has," he said. "...It was purpose-built, and as a result, it has some perfect vibe that you can't find anywhere. Even the European villages that it's based on don't have the same vibe that Whistler has."

Despite this deep-seated love for the community, Pendygrasse admits that if he were an 18 year old looking to live the ski bum life today, he probably wouldn't have picked Whistler as his ski town of choice, because it's become almost impossible to stay true to the original ski-bum spirit of the town.

"But at the same time, the prerequisites for being a ski bum are basically, 'I want to go ski and I don't care about anything else,' so whereas we used to place five people into a three-bedroom house, now they'll pack 10 people into a three-bedroom house."

Over the years, Pendygrasse has also tried to bring his shooting back to the mountains, capturing realistic moments that the average rider can relate to, rather than profiling costly backcountry trips to distant locales like Alaska.

"Whistler and Blackcomb have enough stuff in-bounds or on the side country that you can actually shoot world-class shots on the terrain that is available to everybody," he said. "And I think that's really amazing."

Over the years, some of the urgency has worn off, replaced by a more relaxed approach to the craft.

"It doesn't matter what I'm shooting, because there are pictures everywhere," Pendygrasse said. "That's what I've come to realize, is that if your head is in the right place, you can find 'interesting' anywhere."

A quick glance around Pendygrasse's website and blog proves that this is true - sandwiched between breathtaking mountain scenes and his trademark action shots are more artistic images, capturing everything from quirky signs and tanned and snoozing tourists to melting ice.

But being a jack-of-all-trades, so to speak, in the world of photography isn't always beneficial.

"In terms of personal marketing, its terrible, because people want to know that you're the guy that does A, or B, or C, and then they can fit you into that mould," he said. "...The good thing about that is, in the short term, you can do really well, but in the long term, its like a band and having one hit single."

Pendygrasse seems to be keeping busy - he's just finishing up work on a book with Westbeach, has plans to return to Honduras for the summer to teach himself underwater photography, and recently returned from a week-long family vacation in Chamonix, France.

Wait a minute; a snowboard photographer went to Chamonix - on vacation?

Yep. Apparently, in the peak of his shooting season, Pendygrasse was shushing through powder, not poised with his digital SLR ready to capture another snowboarder in action.

"It was the first time in my career that I've taken off and taken a vacation in the middle of winter," he said. "...It took some adjustment for sure, but at the end, the anxiety of looking at two feet of fresh and blue skies kind of drifted away when I was just going fast through it with my wife and her brother."

But just because he was on vacation, don't think for a second that this passionate photographer left his camera behind. You see, Pendygrasse considers himself to be something of a generalist in his field, so he was armed with a point-and-shoot camera, ready to capture all of the beauty - natural and otherwise - that surrounded him.

While Pendygrasse's claim to fame has been his action sports shots, he also enjoys shooting a wide range of subject matter.

"It's not even the 'what' I get excited about shooting," he explained, "it's the act of shooting. As I get kind of longer in the tooth, I don't feel as frantic to shoot all the time. My process has slowed down."

Now, Pendygrasse is preparing for an exhibition at the Blake Jorgensen Gallery in the Westin, where he will feature a wide range of shots - everything from his classic snowboard images to new landscapes and personal favourites. The show runs until Wednesday, April 15.

"I have probably 30,000 photos to go though. It's a lot of choose from and it's easy to go and print your favourites, but after printing and showing your favourites for a few years, or for 10 years, you want some of the dark horses to shine, as well."

The show opens with a Monster-sponsored party on Saturday, March 21 at 7 p.m., followed by an after party at the FireRock Lounge, featuring music by DJs Vinyl Ritchie and Mat the Alien.