It is with great pleasure that I introduce Tommy Penick, the first intern here at Trevor Clark Photography!

            Tommy is coming to the TCP office from Boone, North Carolina where he has one more semester at Appalachian State.  Majoring in Technical Photography with a Minor in Communications, Tommy brings his experience as a photojournalist for the Winston-Salem Journal, photographer for an adventure travel company in Costa Rica and photo assistant for the New York Knicks. 

Most recently Tommy shot a front-page story for the Seattle Times and even had an image run in a story for The Wall Street Journal online which posted yesterday.

            When he is not in class or working on his next photo project (like a photo essay he shot in Nicaragua), Tommy can be found kayaking, mountain biking and skiing throughout the southeast, Colorado and now California.

            In short, Tommy’s love for visual storytelling, outdoor adventures and his obvious work ethic make him a genuine fit for this office and the Tahoe area in general.

    Welcome Tommy!  I'm truly excited to have you on board!

And we’re back!  A lot of time has passed since my last post, and in fact, this period has been the longest I have gone without posting in more than three years.  It is certainly not due to a lack of motivation or desire on my part, but more a reflection of just how busy things have been around here.

Besides being a photographer and everything that entails, lately I have been taking on the role of a writer, adventure model (more on that below), producer and overall crazy person with projects on all ends of the spectrum.  And what I have learned from all of this is that I wouldn’t want it any other way because when it is all said and done, we are all capable of much more than we know.

I am honored to show the clip below from today’s Wall Street Journal.  I shot the images for the project, but I also wrote the story.  That was a completely new challenge in it’s own and I am proud to share it in print and in such a prestigious place.

With a new sponsorship opportunity solidifying in January, I also spent quite a bit of time (between shoots in New Mexico and Death Valley) testing some new gear and working, as an adventure model, with a great crew to put a video piece together for the launch of the company’s newest product in late April.  Unfortunately, I cannot say too much about it right now, but will post about it as soon as possible.

Keeping up with the travel routine and forward motion, I spent a few weeks in Hawaii working with Red Bull and enjoying some family time and a birthday.  The islands recorded some of the heaviest rainfall in history during my stay, which made shooting very difficult, but in retrospect, spending time with my family and girlfriend for my birthday while shooting such a great assignment was truly special.  That is one birthday I will not forget.

(Red Bull Athlete Levi Siver shooting portraits and getting some air time.)

Since my return, I have been on 24-hour weather alert in order to finish up winter shooting contracts with Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar at Tahoe.  It's been one tricky season with wild weather, but it is all coming together and we've been blessed with a late season storm to kick off one last weekend of winter shooting!

Between shooting and riding the chairlift, I am also working out plans and logistics for potential summer stories in Alaska, Uganda, the central US, Haiti and maybe even Namibia.  More on that as those projects develop.

Also, TCP will be welcoming our first summer intern in the next month.  I'll write a separate post for his arrival and give the full introduction.

Lastly, here is an interview I had with the good folks at Pictureline.com.

The next few months look to be as busy as the last few, but I wouldn’t have it any other way J.

I promised some BIG news through Facebook and Twitter a week ago, and here it is.  I am extremely happy to announce that the good folks over at Jackson Kayak have teamed up with the Mexico Tourism Board and the Tourism Department of Veracruz to promote the area’s adventure travel potential.

Aurora Photos, having played a key role in the development of this partnership from the beginning, is at the helm for capturing action stills and motion to be used in multimedia stories by all parties, and has pulled me into the mix.  As if teaming up with Jackson Kayak, the Mexico Tourism Board and my own agency wasn’t already enough, I will also be heading down to Veracruz to shoot this project with my mentor, former employer and good friend, Corey Rich.

I really cannot think of a more fitting and exciting project to be a part of.

Having spent a lot of time on the road and in the water with the Jackson family across the United States, Mexico and Uganda (and even some time in my van in their driveway, haha!), I can say with full confidence that this will be one incredible project.  Nobody pulls it off quite like they do, and I can’t wait to be shooting, and dropping, more waterfalls in Mexico!

(Dane Jackson dropping in on Meatlocker on the Alseseca in Veracruz, MX during our last visit.)

On an unrelated, but newsy note, some of my work along with a story of my efforts in bringing studio lighting to outdoor / adventure sports were featured in the latest issue of Photo District News (PDN).

I always have a special moment when I see one of my images printed in a magazine, but this time it was a little extra special.  The images published, and the story that went along with them were not about someone else.  This time they were about me, and I don’t mean that in a narcissistic way, but I felt the story highlighted the effort and creative energy that I put into those images, which I hope is reflective of the effort and creative energy that I put into all of my images.

In a small way, I felt it shared a glimpse into what it has taken to get every single photograph that I attach my name to, and in that light, I hope it shared a bit more about me than I can attempt on this blog.

Thanks PDN!

(Online version)

            The other night I heard a new song that struck me in a way that only something good can.  Whether it comes down to the timing of the lyrics with one’s own life, the creativity of the artist(s) or just the sound, hearing the right music at the right time can feel nothing short of magic and it certainly puts a time stamp on that moment for me.  It’s like folding the corner of a page when you read something you really like, it makes that moment easy to find if you want to go back to it.

            “Walking On A Dream,” by Empire Of The Sun was that page folding song for me on Sunday night.

            I heard this ‘new to me song’ at the exact moment when everything felt like it was where is should be; like it is in a good dream.  For a second I actually wondered what that feeling was, then I started reflecting and I realized that I spend most of my time looking forward and moving forward and that I sometimes forget to be in the present.  I bent the meaning of the lyrics a bit based on my first listen, but focusing on that present moment and everything that had led up to it truly felt like walking on a dream.

            Ten years in the making, it is a dream that I feel is only beginning.  The point is, I am very excited about the direction that my hard work has taken to this point, and for now, I am just going to enjoy that and share some news and publication updates.

            In thinking about my beginnings and the path I have taken to get to this point, it seems appropriate to announce that I have been asked to be one of four panelists discussing Strategies for the Emerging Outdoor and Adventure Photographer at this year’s first annual Outdoor Photo Expo hosted by PDN (Photo District News) in conjunction with Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I don’t want to give away too much of what I will be covering, but my journey to this point, including the ups and downs, the hard lessons, the victories and everything in between will be open to questions.

            This has been the story of my life for a long time now, so presenting on this subject feels like the perfect fit.  Thank you to the good folks at PDN for this opportunity to share more of what it takes to get started in this field, I really can’t wait!

            On a completely different note, I am very excited to share this new video shot for Polartec.  When I was asked to join in the shooting with heavy hitter adventure photographers Corey Rich, Greg Von Doersten and videographers Rex Lint and Josh Lowell to shoot stills and video for this amazing piece showcasing Polartec’s new line, I of course said yes!  This was my first forray into video with my primary responsibility being still images of skiing and snowboarding.  I did everything I could with my part of the assignment and ended up with a few video clips in the final edit after all.  Like I said, I was a very small part of the overall video, with the bulk of the credit going to Corey Rich, Rex Lint and Josh Lowell of Big Up Productions, but it was still quite the experience.

            I want to send out a BIG Thank You to Polartec, Aurora Novus, the above mentioned photographers and videographers and all of the athletes, spanning three states, who helped in pulling this off.  It looks great everyone!

            On the publication end, here are a few tearsheets since the last update.

(Top image used in Patagonia's June email marketing.)


(Double-page spread of Luke Hopkins, of Stride Standup Paddleboards, in Standup Paddler's Photo Annual.)

(Canoe & Kayak step by step instruction of a Blunt to McNasty shot with Eric Jackson on the Nile River in Uganda.)

(Image with a Canoe & Kayak story on safety at the Skookumchuck wave in British Columbia, Canada.)

            As always, it has been very busy around here lately, and I am hoping to release some big news in the coming weeks, but in the meantime I wanted to take a minute to keep folks updated with a few recent tearsheets and stories.

            Last summer I was asked by the wonderful folks at Boys’ Life and Scouting magazines (magazines under the Boy Scouts of America) to shoot a five-day rafting trip on Oregon’s Rogue River as well as a nine-day fishing adventure on the Kobuk River in northern Alaska.  Being a river person and someone with a deep love affair for Alaska, I politely accepted, then hung up the phone and did my own little dance around a coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado where I happened to be parked at the time. 

            The Rogue River was one I had always heard about and had hoped to get on for years.  It is not particularly full of crazy whitewater, but it is one of the most scenic rivers around and I was in desperate need of disconnecting from the world and making life as simple as shooting images and telling the story of a trip.

            From the ridiculous coffee in the morning (yes, one of the participants owns a coffee roasting company) to the great guides handling logistics to the troop itself, it was an amazing trip.

            Soon afterwards I headed on up to Alaska for seven weeks of personal adventures and shooting as well as the next assignment in line, floating the entire length of Kobuk Valley National Park on the Kobuk River with Troop 300 of Wasilla, AK.  Once again, I was exactly in my element, no phone, no computer, camera in hand and nine days away from the world.  It was perfect!

            Both stories ended up being the cover story for each magazine and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they both turned out.  Thanks again to the amazing folks at Boys’ Life and Scouting magazines and everyone on those trips who made them so memorable.

            The next tearsheet is one I am particularly proud of as well.  It is one of my favorite images, shot on my own while on a personally funded photo endeavor to Hawaii, in print as a double page spread in this summer’s Patagonia catalogue. 

It is a true honor to have my work appear in the pages I have drooled over for so many years (both for the photos and the gear, haha!), but this tearsheet is particularly special to me because this was one of the scariest images I have ever taken.  It may look peaceful and tranquil, but I was swimming in a known Tiger Shark area by myself at sunset in deep, black water next to hundred foot cliffs and ten-foot crashing waves to get this image.  There was no way out, my heart was pounding out of my chest and all I could do was shoot through those last moments of sunlight and hope that nothing would make a snack of my bold (dumb might be a better word) move. 

I don’t normally operate this brazenly, but I had been trying to get out with this group during one of their practices the entire time I had been in Hawaii and it finally came down to the last day, literally hours before my flight back to the mainland, when I got the call and folks were heading out.

Again, most people probably wouldn’t go do something like this only a few hours before their flight, but when you have put as much time, effort and money into your own pursuits over the course of many years as I have, you pretty much never say no to a cool shooting opportunity that you created.

Without getting too much further into it, you are beginning to see the variables that shaped my decision to get in the water that evening.

In the end, I am really happy we got the image, I am really happy that Patagonia is using it in their catalogue, but I am most happy about the fact that I got out of the water that night, all limbs attached.

Thanks to the good folks at Patagonia for choosing this image and to the good folks at Kamanu Composites who made this all possible!

            This post is long so I want to start by getting to the point.

            For as long as I can remember holding a camera, I have wanted to use it as a tool for GOOD.  In college I really thought about documentary and war photography, but I struggled with the lifestyle and mostly with the subject matter.  To be completely honest, I found myself very depressed about embarking on a life that would not be for me.  I knew that if I went down that road, I might never see real happiness for myself.  You may think that a lifetime of good deeds could bring only happiness, but it is in fact quite different when you are the one holding back your tears and swallowing the lump in your throat because you HAVE to shoot images of what is in front of you, no matter how tragic.

            I have never been in a war zone so I cannot pretend to understand what the people in those places go through.  In my short career as a newspaper photographer I did shoot car accidents, plane crashes, wildfires and random acts of violence.  I saw a deranged husband shoot his wife and then himself and families running in terror as their houses burned to the ground.  I shot funerals and crime scenes.  One Sunday morning I found myself kneeling over the burned and lifeless body of a man who was just pulled from a private plane crash.

            It was the news, it was what was happening and I had to report it.  I had to make the photographs.  Even without looking around I could feel the disdain coming off of every police officer and firefighter in the vicinity. 

In their eyes, I was the scum of the earth. 

In their eyes, this was a good morning for me because I had a story to report.  I overheard one firefighter’s comment about how these people had families and didn’t I care about them at all.  I felt so many horrible emotions that morning that I finally walked up to the fire Chief and told him face to face that I did not want to be there.  I had no choice in the matter and that I would shoot the scene as fairly and respectfully as I could.  I had a job to do just like everyone else and if my photos could help in their investigation they would have all access.

            That move changed the tone for the scene and I was slowly accepted, but it didn’t make me feel any better about shooting it. 

An hour later I was assigned to shoot a community tennis tournament.  I showed up still down about the morning and realized I needed to be happy and approachable in order to gain access to the court and players.  It was a hard thing to do, but I put on my happy face got what I needed.

All of this is not meant to bring pity on me for what I went through.  I was not the one that died.

The point I am making is that I think some people are built to tell certain stories.  There is no mistaking the James Nachtways of the world who spend their lives in war zones or tragic natural disasters.  They do it because they are built for it. They see more human suffering than anyone else on the planet and manage to keep shooting.  They do it because they owe it to the person in the photo to tell their story in hopes of change.

In college, I applied for an internship with VII Photo Agency to work under James Nachtway and his very like-minded compatriots.  I made it to the second round of interviews but never heard anything further.  I breathed a deep sigh of relief and the world seemed to open up for me.  That was when I knew I wasn’t built for tales of human suffering.

I have since put all of my efforts into the adventure and outdoor world of imagery, but there has always been something missing.

Maybe I wasn’t built to tell stories of tragedy and despair, but I was built for sharing tales of GOOD; stories of GOOD people doing GOOD things.

I have been waiting patiently since that realization, hoping for something to come up; a story, an assignment or a project someone pays me to go shoot. 

I have waited and I have realized that you should never wait to do something GOOD. 

They say timing is everything, but it never seems like the right time to take a risk.  You can talk yourself out of it every time thinking that way.  That is why I have decided to pursue a personal project and head to Uganda to share a story about an amazing person doing amazing things.  I would love to tell more about the story, but nobody really wants to hear the ending before they watch the movie.

If you are truly interested and want to learn more about this big undertaking and how you can be a part of it, please click on the image below.  If you cannot donate, the very best thing you can do is help spread the word.

I feel strongly about this and am taking on this project whether I reach my funding goal or not.  The donations will determine how far we can go with the project or how much I am in the whole after it is all said and done.  Please help spread the word.

            It is a new year with new goals and new directions.  In line with that theme, TCP is proud to unveil this new website.  Really, it is more like a new design with the same feel, but we hope you like it nonetheless.  In our move toward simplicity and functionality with a demand for prints, we have also added a print purchase option if anyone feels so inclined.

            In other news, there has been a lot of office time lining up plans for the next six to eight months, but as always, it has certainly been worth it.  Those details will come out down the road, but for now here are a few recent TCP tearsheets to wrap up a great 2010! 

            There have been a lot of good things going on at TCP lately so I am breaking a little from my usual reflections to post a news update.

            Last Friday I was honored to have an interview with me posted on The Adventure Chronicles for their Friday Focus series.  If you haven’t seen the website, the Friday Focus highlights different characters in the outdoor adventure world and I have to say that I am flattered to be featured in the company of adventurers like Stephen Kotch, Corey Rich and Barry Blanchard, among plenty others.

            On the outdoor theme, I was also very pleased to have this month’s cover of Blue Ridge Outdoors.  Having my roots in Georgia, it is really nice to have some of my adventure imagery circulating around the Southeast.

            Last but definitely not least, I am thrilled to announce that I have been chosen as one of Aurora’s newest Select photographers.  Differing from their stock image beginnings, Aurora Select is Aurora’s assignment division based in New York City.  Always up for a new assignment and a new challenge, I am really looking forward to collaborating on new projects with this amazingly creative group.

            As I mentioned above, this news post is a little unusual for this blog.  If you would like to keep up with the happenings at TCP, please feel free to sign up for my quarterly newsletter.  Just fill in your email address in the appropriate box on the homepage and hit enter!

            See you out there!