Robert Beck sent us these fabulous images straight from Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado where he is covering the 16th annual Winter X Games. More than 200 of the world’s best athletes in skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling take part in this four-day competition.

Check out these photos: a shot from the men’s slopestyle elimination, plus one of Robert with his gear—that’s a Pro Runner 450 AW backpack in the foreground) one of his Lowepro go-to bags).

Robert’s impressions of covering this event? He shares them here.

“All work and no play! The X Games are all about long days. We start at 9am and get home at 11pm. We got about ten inches of snow Thursday night and it’s a beautiful morning today. The games are almost a sensory overload—there’s always something going on. Shooting guys hucking mega ramps on skis? Shooting guys doing flips on snow mobiles?
Yes. So much action. So little time!”

We’re offering up one Photo Sport Sling 100 AW this week. That’s right, our cool outdoor bag that’s perfect for adventure types. How do you throw your hat into the ring (to be the possible winner)? Post a comment below telling us why you’d like to have this beauty.

You have until midnight PST, Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 to participate. (As always, void where prohibited.) We’ll announce the winner here and on our Facebook page the following week. Good luck!

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

We are excited to share a Loweprofessional Video profile with legendary photographer Greg Gorman. He generously shared insights with us, talked about his iconic l.a. Eyeworks book and invited us to one of his popular Mendocino workshops. You can view it here or on the mylowepro section of our web site (go to the Video button and then to Loweprofessionals section). Enjoy!

It’s safe to say that we are more than a little excited (make it ecstatic!) to share an incredible football image with you today.

(C) Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated

It’s courtesy of our Loweprofessional friend, Sports Illustrated staff photographer and all-around great guy Robert Beck.

Robert covered the playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints last Saturday, January 14.

He captured this stunning shot of the 49er Vernon Davis making the game-winning “grab” at the goal line during the last nine seconds. And he landed the cover of the January 23 issue of the magazine.

This Sunday, January 22 (3:30 pm PST) is the NFC Championship game and Robert will be on the sidelines in Candlestick Park again.

(C) Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated

He even told us to share this with you: “I’ll be there waving to any Lowepro-wearing fans.” That’s a cool promise.

Check out Robert’s cover shot in Sports Illustrated and see more of his thrilling, jaw-dropping and intimate sports images on his web site.

Thank you for being so generous, Robert. And Go Niners (with respect to all New York Giants fans that are Lowepro fans, too.)!

© Derrick Story

One thing that I constantly struggle with is how to store my photography gear and stay organized at the same time. Like many photographers, I find that space is always at a premium in the office.

A tip that I’ve found helpful is to organize my gear in a  rolling case or a stackable shoulder bag. This is an efficient way to manage my gear. I don’t give up too much space, yet I know where every item is.

For large amounts of gear, I use a combination of the Pro Roller x200, Pro Roller x100 and the Magnum 400 AW.  Not only do these bags store everything I need–from camera bodies to multiple lenses–they also help me keep my memory card wallets, hard drives, cables, chargers, light, modifiers, and other necessary items organized effectively.

© Derrick Story

Then I have my “field bags” – the ones I take out for the day. I just grab whatever I need for the day(s) I’m going out shooting, and pack accordingly. My current favorite is the Pro Messenger 200 AW.

For longer assignments, I can also quickly take my Pro Roller x200, already packed and ready to go, and head straight to the airport.

Today we want to send out a big thank you to Ed Heaton for educating us on Creating the Extraordinary during our webinar co-hosted with Nik Software. Here’s a short recap in case you could not attend. You’re invited to check back in a few days and watch Ed’s webinar in its entirety at your leisure. Just check our Ask the Pro page for postings of past webinars and sign-ups for upcoming events.

As Ed told us, choosing a solid, dual-purpose photo backpack for an outdoor shoot is a critical starting point. His choice: the Pro Trekker 400 AW. You’ll find out how he equips for a day out shooting landscapes and the beauty of nature when you tune into the webinar. He also likes slings and shoulder bags for his street shoots.

Other highlights include: shooting RAW using auto focus and manual exposure modes; getting the maximum depth of field with Ed’s ideal ISO setting; why one of his favorite tools is a tripod; and Ed’s hallmark topic: the fundamentals of good light.

Ed Heaton specializes in landscape, nature and travel photography and is based in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

To learn more about his work, please visit his site.

A demonstration of Lowepro's patented weather cover by our colleague Dan at Imaging USA

Our photo specialty colleague Dan demonstrates the built-in All Weather AW Cover™ feature on our new Pro Messenger AW series at the Imaging USA show in New Orleans this week.

Is this a man who knows his Lowepro gear? Yes, as you can see by the other pro products (like a full S&F Series modular set-up) he’s demo-ing at this annual show. If you’re there, please stop by and say hello. We’re at booth 1211.

Follow us on Twitter to get quick news on show highlights.