Swimming with sharks

I’ve never really been one to heed warnings. More often than not danger needs to be staring me in the face before I react. On my recent shoot in Hawaii I spent countless hours bobbing in the ocean like a cork without a home. I was almost halfway through the two week shoot, so although this was my first time shooting with an underwater housing in the ocean, I was feeling extremely comfortable in the water by now. In my ongoing quest for outstanding locations I came across Snorkel Bob’s description for Olowalu: “This prolific reef will keep you busy for days or till lunch, whichever comes first. That’s Oscar’s lunch. OLOWALU IS POSTED WITH SHARK WARNINGS.” Blah. Blah. Blah. “Surely,” I reasoned, “the guide was written 10 years ago by some bloke who no longer spends any time in the water.” The location looked like it had lots of potential, and after seeing numerous locals in the water, I decided it was worth a look.

Despite Snorkel Bob’s warning and my wife’s strong opposition I bravely headed to the water’s edge. “Warm sun. No fins surfacing. Seems fine.” Then, less than 2 minutes after submersing myself, it happened. “Oscar” and two of his friends emerged in the distance. I guess that Snorkel Bob dude was right. Now I’m no oceanic expert, nor do I claim to know anything about shark behavior. But a shark is a shark in my book. And I wasn’t about to stick around to see if “Oscar” and his friends were an aggressive species or not. In all my time in Hawaii, I don’t think I ever swam as quickly as I did that afternoon to shore. Typically I can spend hours poking around in the water even when I say I’m only going to be a minute. So when I emerged from the water after only a few minutes, my wife knew but said nothing to save any ounce of manly ego that remained. (She’s cool like that.)

› Continue reading

Like what you read? Please share.

Park & Pipe

In my opinion Park City Mountain Resort has the best halfpipe and parks in Utah. Not only are they well groomed but the staff at the resort is phenomenal as well. The images above are from a recent action/lifestyle shoot at the resort with freeskier Ty Peterson. Ty is a killer park and pipe rider who is on the current Winter Dew Tour. Make sure to root him on this weekend (Feb. 4-7) as he competes in the Toyota Championships at Mt. Snow.

Like what you read? Please share.

Yoga

A few images shot at Centered City Yoga earlier this week here in Salt Lake City with yoga instructor Kim Warren. Kim offers incredible yoga retreats in Costa Rica, Mexico and here in the US. If you are into yoga check out her website or consider taking one of her classes.

Like what you read? Please share.

Wenger Advertising Shoot

Earlier this year I had the privilege of shooting a new campaign for Wenger, makers of the original Swiss Army Knife. In addition to shooting images in Southern Chile during the 2009 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, images were also shot in Switzerland, the birthplace of Wenger. Below are a just a few samples of the work I shot for them.

Brand Catalogue

Billboard

Print Ad

In addition to making some of the best knives and watches available, Wenger also makes other outdoor gear including footwear, backpacks, sleeping bags, tents and luggage. You can check out their gear here.

Like what you read? Please share.

Indian Creek

Indian Creek is truly a place that captivates the soul. With it’s beautiful red sandstone walls towering high above the valley floor and seemingly endless routes to climb, it’s no wonder it has achieved an ubber-classic status amongst climbers. It’s the type of place that one can return to time and time again, always finding something new to discover.

Recently I meet up with my good friends Tim Alexander and Shelly Morandi for an afternoon of shooting at Indian Creek. Our location for the day was the 4×4 Wall up Beef Basin Road near the Bridger Jack Mesa. There was really no objective other than to create some new climbing images for my archives and have some fun. No pressure. No agenda. Just good friends and an afternoon enjoying one of my favorite places in Utah.

Like what you read? Please share.

Changes

Whew. I can hardly believe that summer is almost officially gone. Today is rainy, bluster day here in Salt Lake City, and autumn is definitely in the air. With the turning of the seasons will come some big changes at Mike Tittel Photography. Yup. Last month I hired a great designer, Brian Hoff, to help me refresh the look of MTP – new logo, updated website, new blog, business cards, printed promos . . . the whole ball of wax. We’ll be rolling things out towards the end of the month so make sure you are subscribed to the blog, a fan on Facebook and following me on Twitter for the latest updates.

Like what you read? Please share.