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Last fall, Los Angeles photographer Adam Moran was contacted by Volcom to shoot their snowboarding and shoe line for 2017. Before the shoot, Adam had been talking with Volcom about a few upcoming projects, so when this opportunity came up, they called him right away to work on the new campaign for them.
The campaign had a few different goals, which aligned with the various categories of outerwear Volcom produces. One shoot was to show the fun and attainable side of snowboarding that anyone can do by going to the mountains with friends for leisure and having a blast. They also wanted to show with the first shoot that even the best pros in the world still hit the slopes to have a good time, just like everyone else.
The second shoot was in Alaska to promote Volcom’s higher end lines of outerwear that they make. They wanted to show aspirational imagery to get people dreaming about huge mountains and action. With both shoots, Adam needed to convey a fun group dynamic and show the less serious side of snowboarding that their customers might only know through sports shows like X Games or contests on tv.
Planning and production were taken care of by the in-house creatives at Volcom. At the time of the shoot, this team consisted of Oren Tanzer, Jeff Kabigting, and Pat Barraza.
All the snowboarders I photographed were professionals. A lot of work went into lining up schedules in between contests, films, and other commitments. This ended up being a lot of time since I had 10 pro athletes.
The shoots were set in two different locations, Squaw Valley, CA and Alaska Snowboard Guides in Valdez, Alaska. Once the dates and schedules were squared away, Adam crossed his fingers for good weather, which he ended up getting on both shoots. Usually, this is the biggest hurdle when shooting snowboarding. The shoot in Squaw Valley was bright and sunny the entire time, which made it easy to achieve the bright and happy vibe they were going for. Even in Alaska, which requires some waiting for good weather most of the time, Adam showed up to sunny days that perfectly aligned with his trip.
With a brand like Volcom it’s not always about the A grade action photo, but also the shot of someone hanging outside the van and experiencing the lifestyle of Volcom products.
Going into the shoots, Adam knew to focus on the natural lifestyle of the crew and the candid moments that fall in between snowboarding to fully show what the Volcom brand represents. The final shots he captured with those effervescent lifestyle qualities have been used a lot on the brand’s social media platforms.
Adam’s favorite part of the project was the group dynamic he experienced. Plus, being in beautiful Valdez, Alaska made him very happy. He thanks all the people at Volcom, Squaw Valley, CA and Alaska Snowboard Guides for great memories during these shoots — especially his pilots and guides up in Alaska. Without those pilots, Adam would have felt a lot less safe while being harnessed and hanging out the side of the helicopter a thousand feet up!
Volcom will continue to run the photos on their social media and print ads through the year as they promote these lines of outerwear.
See more of Adam at adammoran.com.