Chris O'Connell Photography

Shaun White Snowboarding Pemier

2008-11-13T14:25:00.000-08:00

This girl showed up ready to party, MacBook and all.

Cathy White and Devin from Target.

Shaun and Lisa Pilgrim, and yes, Shaun is being professional and hiding his drink behind his back.

"I only do it when it's free" Dylan takes one for the road.

Party Favors.

The Scene

An ice sculpture and fake snow, didn't see that one coming!

I went to Shaun's video game premier the other night at Boulevard 3. I was expecting something like a movie premier, but it was kinda like going to ASR with a couple celebrities. The space was pretty big, so it never really got full, but they had a good DJ that who had a Rock/House type thing going, so that was cool. They had fake snow on the entry to the premier, which is similar to real snow, but is made from machines not the clouds.

The game looks dope, best one I have seen so far, but I am not a game junkie, in fact I stay as far away as possible from them, because they make you fat and lazy. But hey, if I was lazy or fat or both, I would probably want to go "snowboarding" on this game. There were runs that looked like shredding down St. Anton off the top of Christoph, just with more kickers!

The gaming industry is as big as the movie industry I think, so Shaun's pretty stoked. It's probably a good gig to have your own video game that's on Playstation and Nintendo and X Box. I think they are releasing a Commodore 64 version in a week or two, so I am holding out. He's got a skate video game coming out too.

There was fake snow and ice sculptures and stuff outside, but inside of the party, they had run out of fake snow, so they used 100 Percent Pure Columbian Powder instead as a substitute for the fake snow, so that was a big hit and much more economical and available in Hollywood.

Good times were had by all.

On an entirely separate note, I ran into Matt Sorum, who I met a few years back while shooting Velvet Revolver and he has teamed up with a designer and opened a store on Sunset. I was thinking total rock and roll stuff, but it's actually quite sophisticated. I dig some of the pieces for sure.

Check Matt's deal out here: http://www.sorumnoce.com

Limited Edition Prints for Sale!

2008-11-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

In answer to the overwhelming inquiries for purchase of prints, I went out and printed 20 High Quality Archival Prints and put them up for sale. They are 36" x 24" (90 x 60cm) so they fit perfect into pre-made poster frames you can get at any arts and crafts stores.

Please email me at info@chrisoconnell.com for instructions and paypal information.

The cost on each print which comes signed is only $80 USD. I can ship anywhere in the world, shipping to USA is $10 and Worldwide Ship is $20.

This is a one time special, Prints like this usually range in the 150-200 range, but I figured it's close to the holidays and I am offering this special deal.

Please go to http://chrisoconnell.com/Photos4Sale/ or just click on the photo above and chose your photo and send me the filename from the bottom and I will let you know it's available and let you know how to process the transaction.

There is only 1 print of each of the 20 photos, so to take advantage of this opportunity, please act quickly to insure you get the Print you want.

Thanks,

Guess What Came in the Mail Today?

2008-10-29T17:11:00.001-07:00

I got a package from my man Huggy at Snowboarder Magazine today. He said he found some old slides that I had over there. I wasn't expecting 1997!

Remember when you had to send in slides to magazines? No you don't? Me neither! That's why it was so funny to get this in the mail. It only took Snowboarder Magazine a bit more than 11 years to return my submission.

Back in Action

2008-10-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a shoot in the Maldives and Thailand. Two of my favorite locations in the world. The Maldives are a chain of islands about 500 miles south of Sri Lanka. The water is blue and it's beyond beautiful. The surf is pretty good, but isn't as consistent as other spots in the Indian Ocean. We got lucky and had a few days that were double overhead which is unusual. I managed to get out and surf a bit when I was there. Been gone for three weeks, so back to tending to a huge inbox. Here's a few pics of me surfing:
This is a second before the biggest barrel of my life, it was as wide as it was high. I was too scared to get really deep in it, just looking for the exit and hoping it was going to stay open.
Little cutback below...
Nice glassy blue walls, what more could you ask for?

Exactly Three Years Ago Today

2008-09-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken exactly three years ago today.

I just got back from my yearly New Zealand trip a few days ago and was looking at my old photos and found these two gems:

This is me frontside grinding at my skatepark in the world in Wanaka, NZ. I'm an old school shredder, an 80's kid, so big technical concrete parks are not my specialty. The Wanaka park is perfect, not too gnarly and so much fun, plus you can't beat the views. What better way to spend the afternoon after a good day up at Snowpark?

Bungy jump self portrait. I duct taped the camera to my hand with a fisheye and jumped. It wasn't the most humongous bungy in the world, but even though I am a super tough guy, I was pretty scared.

Look what JP found in New Zealand

2008-09-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

We had a down day on the Armada Skis shoot in New Zealand and we went to check out some scenery. We were walking in a green field with white sheep next to a lake and JP picked up this stick. When he held it to the sky some Lord of the Rings stuff happened and I got the shot. Stoked.

Mellow Afternoon in Oceanside, CA

2008-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year and I am going through all the archives, trying to clean up hard drives and get ready for busy season again here soon. I found this gem, which was taken in Oceanside, CA.

I saw the water spraying from about a mile away and went to check it out. I like the fact this guy has bare feet and a skateboard, the water was ruining his session.

I shot this on a Hassi with film (remember that?).

Trump National

2008-08-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

I went to play Trump National Golf Course in Los Angeles for the Ryan Sheckler X Games Celebrity Skins Classic this week. The course is amazing. It doesn't leave much room for error, so if you play golf like I do, you are bound to lose a few balls. I played for Team Target in the best ball match and like to think I contributed a bit, but I think Jim Gunning made most of the clutch shots.

It was for sure the rowdiest crowd that the world famous course has seen, with pro skaters, surfers, motocrossers and skiers drinking lots of cold beverages and trying not to slice too bad.

It was a great event that raised over $100,000 dollars for charities.

Team Target, Troy, JD, Gunning and OC

JJ Thomas and Steve Ruff

Evidently, the one girl had too many clothes on so they other girl tackled here and was stripping her clothes off. Normal thing to see at a $275 dollar a round course on the first tee.

Jim getting a little help with his ball.

That's me about to crush one down the 18th fairway.

Troy Michels from Target, he could have won this car and girl if he made a hole in one.

Typical perfect ocean view green.

We played behind Kevin Federline's group, they were good times for sure. Trying to pull out of the clubhouse there were a few photogs wanting that paparazzi shot.

Hef's girl Kendra.

A few photographers showed up to document the event.

Totally Driven

2008-07-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

If you want to know exactly what I was doing 3 or maybe even 4 months ago, you can read my blog. I make no apologies, but I can't ever seem to keep it current. Oh well.

I went out to Aspen in March to shoot Jacob Wester and Colby James West (who now is working on his voice overs and acting career in Hollywood). On my way up Snowmass mountain, I came across this Colorado Mountain Express Van. The sign on it reads "People in this van are totally driven"

The irony.

I lived in Vail for 5 years and drove back and forth to Denver Airport all the time and I would see these CME vans passing me in a snowstorm with 2 wheel drive and a grip of people in the car while I was white knuckling in an SUV with snow tires. I wondered why more didn't end up like this.

I hope no one was hurt.

The Great White North

2008-06-13T21:10:00.001-07:00

Everything is bigger in Alaska. From the beers to the bears, it's all bigger up North.

Shredding in Alaska is the real deal. The mountains are the opposite of small. I think this shot puts it all in perspective. See if you can find the helicopter. I'll give you a clue, it's near the arrow.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Sneak Peek: Red Bull Cola

2008-05-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

Tanner Hall stopped by the other day and brought me a few cans of Red Bull Cola to try. The new product, set to be launching next month is an all natural formula, which happens to include coca leaf as one of the ingredients.

Red Bull is currently buying large parcels of coca leaves in Columbia and using the for the soda. The coca leaf is the main ingredient to production of cocaine, so that's interesting marketing to say the least. Red Bull claims it's cola is "strong and natural".

The taste is refreshing, the cola's ingredient list includes licorice, orange, cardamon, mint and mustard seeds. It's got a slight herbal taste that is really refreshing, it's a bit similar idea to China Cola by Reeds. I am not a soda drinker, but if I had to reach for a cola, this would be my choice.

Bird's Eye View

2008-05-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

A lot of the shoots I do we use helicopters to get cool angles. We pull the doors off the ship and harness ourselves in and hang out the side and shoot. This is the view of filmmaker Steve Winter and I shooting a special park feature that Aspen built for us in Snowmass, CO.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

2008-05-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Next time you are in Vegas, I have some seriously hot babes I can hook you up with. The phone number is easy to remember as well. Tell them I sent you.

Iron Maiden Rocks!

2008-05-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

I have been so into cell phone pics lately. I just found this one from the Maiden concert last fall at home in Orange County. The encore was Hallowed Be Thy Name, which happens to be my favorite Maiden song. They are on tour again this summer, go see them!

Mexico

2008-04-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

I just ran across my photos from Mexico over Christmas. I never know where to point the camera when I am down there, it's one of my favorite places to shoot.

Lisa and the puppy we almost brought home.

YES!!! Just what I have been looking for.
Life just wouldn't be the same without Mexican wrestling masks.
Perfect for when you score the Viagra.
This is my mom and me, she thinks I am a bit weird sometimes.
Small, but at least it's blowing offshore.

Satellite dishes used to be so freakin' cool. What happened? Stupid internet ruined everything.

The graffiti on the wall says "please don't throw garbage".

Don't call home.

2008-02-11T21:28:00.001-08:00

This shot is so funny, I was on Yost Van Dyke Island in the BVI in December. I had a few Painkillers, which is the local cocktail, went for a hike and found this.

Epic. Pretty much sums it up when you are somewhere with white sand and blue water and cocktails called Painkillers.

Street Guitar Performance

2008-01-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me what I was doing in Anaheim (or as some like to call it, Anaslime) last night, but I ran across this guy playing guitar on the street.

I don't know much about guitar, but I think he's pretty damn good.

Defending the Universe

2008-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

I recently went on the Orage Photoshoot in Colorado to shoot the new outerwear and casual apparel. Michelle Parker started fighting aliens from outer space with lasers on top of the washing machine, so I shot that instead. Thank you for saving us Michelle!

http://www.orage.com

Yes I did.

2008-01-15T00:32:00.000-08:00

A new website and a new blog. Would you ever figure that?

Welcome and I will try to keep the freshies coming.

I must thank the Lifestyle Marketing Team at Target for making it possible for me to do this by providing me with a brand new custom laser etched 17 inch MacBook Pro with my name on it.

What a great Christmas present that will be put to good use.

Check those bullseyes!