Reed Hansen’s method is unbelievable, which is why we featured it on the cover for his Rider of the Year interview and inside the magazine. He probably did 30 or 40 of them over a two day period just so we could get two really good options.
In the world of wakeboarding one year doesn’t really fall into the form of a normal January-December time frame. A year is usually based around contests and new products coming out. With Surf Expo right around the corner and riders already starting to give sneak peaks of their 2013 setups via Facetweets, Instapics, and the blogospheres, that means 2012 is coming to an end and 2013 is nearly here. We at Alliance have a new issue of the magazine coming out at Surf Expo and then our always popular Photo Annual issue later this Fall. I figured with 2012 wrapping up (in wakeboarding terms) now would be as good a time as any to share some of my favorite photos from the past 12 months. Some of these you might have seen in the pages of Alliance, some you might not have. Either way, hopefully they provide a little stoke on this Monday and possibly motivate you to get out there a few more times while the season is still going strong.
Last fall I got to go on a week-long road trip with the Remote team from Orlando up to Camp Woodward and all the way back. It was an epic time and we got to run a great story in the 2011 Photo Annual issue. This shot was taken as we were packing the Remote van back up after a successful day of winching in Alabama.
Bob Sichel getting it done for the 2012 Gear Guide cover
Dieter Humpsch has a sweet benihana. This was shot for part of the Electric marketing campaign
Reed Hansen and the Fox wakeskate team spent weeks building the insane floating spine in his backyard. After they shredded it for a while, the entire Fox team came out for the Spine and Swine contest and cookout. Adam Errington took to the spine like a kilt takes to a Scotsman…
The winter of ’11-’12 in Orlando was the warmest I’ve ever experienced, by far. Most guys never even put on wetsuits. Rusty Malinoski took advantage with another epic Clermont sunset
Steel Lafferty shot for an interview we did with him earlier this year
A New Year’s trip to Charleston, SC with Jeff McKee and friends lead to some not-so-serious fishing… and in order to do some not-so-serious fishing we had to catch some bait fish
Some of our New Year’s catch
Tyler Mangus having a little fun in a parking lot in Virginia
The Slingshot team spent a ton of time over the past year building and shredding all sorts of rails. Brian Reeder and Nate Perry built, hit, filmed, and tore down this rail at the Projects in a period of about six days
Bob Sichel’s wrapped frontside 360 is one of the cooler looking “basic” tricks in wakeboarding
Sometimes the guys behind the lens need to get in front of it… The one-and-only Josh Letchworth
Collin Harrington and Clay Fletcher out in the AM fog trying to catch the big one for the Alliance Bass Fishing Tournament. That morning was definitely one of the more entertaining events we’ve ever done for the magazine
JD Webb getting down on an old piece of the Red Bull Wake Lab for a Reef ad
Mike Ennen came to Orlando towards the end of filming for Lipsmack. Let’s just say he got some good looking clips
Ben Horan
Light painting for the Gear Guide issue is always a fun way to highlight new product
Wake the Line is one of the coolest events to shoot because it is located in an awesome swimming complex in Cologne, Germany. The start/finish pool is the high-dive pool and it is made of metal, which means when the sun hits it the water looks totally insane
The Derome brothers have had an incredible year. Doing an interview with them and hanging out with them together in Germany while Raph won Wake the Line was definitely a highlight for me
Steel Lafferty is always fun to shoot
It was pretty big news when Nick Taylor started riding for the Remote team this year
Brian Reeder chillin’ at Wake the Line
Ben Horan’s backyard always makes for a good spot to ride. Matt Hooker took advantage of a handrail that was sitting around on the first night of the Remote road trip
In my opinion Josh Twelker is this generation’s Ben Greenwood. He’s doing tricks with his own unique style that totally separates his riding from anybody else’s. Even a simple toeside tail grab looks different
This picture of Jeff McKee was one of my favorites of the year because it game me the opportunity to use “sunshine coming out of his ass” in a caption when it ran in Alliance
JD Webb on a dawn patrol glass-shredding mission in his backyard
The Electric Team
Jimmy LaRiche
Kevin Henshaw’s permacation vibe swept the industry this year. Who feels like having a beer?
Hanging out at Henshaw’s for the Hotel Henny piece always provided for some seriously comical moments. Lidberg provided a bunch on Henny’s birthday
Nick Taylor at the Alliance Hippie Jump Contest
JD Webb shot for Dragon
Nick Robinson has been making a ton of noise on the Wakeskate Tour this summer. He proved he’s here to stay with a fourth place finish at Reed Hansen’s Battle Falls contest
Takeoff at Battle Falls
A thunder shower and a SUP board made for a good photo opp of Shane Bonifay
Life on the road with Remote
The Fox Spine was one of the most fun projects I’ve ever shot. Seeing guys design, build, and hit something totally new and unique to the sport was really cool. Of course, Dieter Humpsch made riding it look way too easy
Josh Zentmeyer is a regular at Hotel Henny
More of Kevin Henshaw’s permacation lifestyle
There is all kinds of cool stuff to photograph at the Hansen compound. Reed and his best buddy Crockett sat up on an old tractor for this portrait
Keith Lidberg getting down during an evening session at Hotel Henny
The constant cackling from a flock of crows is one of the most obnoxious things in the world, but it can make for a cool photograph
This shot of Raph Derome was used as the cover for the 100th issue of Alliance. It is definitely one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken, not just because of how it looks or that it was a cover, but because I was heavily involved in setting up the chain rail with Raph and Reed Hansen. Watching Raph hit that chain over and over is definitely something I will never forget
August 27, 2012
Wow these are some great photos…Garrett Cortese for photographer of the year!
August 27, 2012
This was one of the best web articles of the year. Amazing photos.
August 27, 2012
Yeah G. Dope photos. Insane work.
August 27, 2012
Nice work Garret!