For many, June marks the move from one phase of life to another.  Graduates progress toward their next grade or career while the Summer Solstice marks the cycle through another year.  Needless to say, we entered June with progression on our minds and were curious to see what our Storytellers thought of it.  Below is their take on this progressive (pun completely intended) concept.  Enjoy!

Photo by Jeff Hinman

Progression comes in all shapes and sizes. We, as human beings, are progression. Look back in the day how things were done in photography compared to how they are done today. They were done more slowly, less efficiently, not safely. This is an example of how far camera technology has progressed.

Jeff Hinman

Photo by Matt Clark

Every pedal turn, every early morning wake up, every bead of sweat gets you closer to your ultimate goal.

Matt Clark

Canon 5D Mark 3
70-200mm/A 2.8
SS 400/ISO 200

Photo by Luke Pearsall

I chose this image to represent progression for several reasons, one being the trail that my subject is on feels infinite but with every step she takes she is progressing toward her final destination.

Progression is something we think about often as artists. If we aren’t progressing and changing our work becomes stagnant and boring. It’s been my goal in the past year to progress into a genre of work that I had never really photographed before. I moved to a new city, gave up the comfort of shooting content that I was both popular for and very comfortable with and decided that my work needed to move. This image represents that progression for me, a move in a positive direction and a metaphor for myself to know that, although the road may feel never ending, with each step I take I get closer to where I want to be.

Luke Pearsall

Canon 5d Mark III
50mm
1/640 s @ f/4.0
ISO 320

Photo by Mitchel Wu

Progression: noun; the process of developing or moving towards a more advanced state.  One of the things I like to do with my toy photography is to show a well-known, iconic character in a completely unexpected way.  Case in point, one would never expect to see a blood-thirsty Xenomorph (from the movie “Alien”) entranced by calming meditation.  Until now that is.

Mitchel Wu

Canon 5d Mark III
ISO 100
Canon 135mm f/2 L at f/2
1/1600 sec
Photographed using natural light.
Edited in Lightroom and Photoshop

Photo by Willow McDonough

After years as a professional horse jumper, Emilie was in a near-fatal car accident. When she woke up in the hospital, one of her first thoughts was, ‘if I’m ever going to be able to walk again, I want to learn how to surf.”

She quickly progressed in her recovery, yet her passion for competitive horse riding was gone. Emilie knew it was time to follow her new dream. With a lot of intense training and dedication, her progression in the sport has been fierce. In six short years she has gone from a total beginner to an international competitor on the Danish surf team. You can feel her stoke in this picture, in the water, and beyond.

Willow McDonough

Canon 60D
15mm fisheye
ISO 100
f/8
1/640

Photo by Shawn Talbot

I actually don’t shoot weddings, but this “wedding” was part of a staged advertising campaign. The models posing in this image, Loyal Wooldridge and Ian Roth, were married for real less than one year after taking this photograph.

Shawn Talbot

Canon 5D Mark III
f2.8
1/160 second
ISO 200
50mm lens

Photo by Guy Fattal

During the peak of the winter season we set our way to an incredibly remote zone in Whistler’s backcountry. Spending a full day sledding and camping outdoors, we woke up with first light and began the long hike towards these spines. With the weather looking like it wouldn’t be on our side we finally got a glimpse of this monster as we made our way up top for one run before the clouds covered it again.

Guy Fattal

Nikon D750
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
Shot at f/11
1/1600
ISO 200
Skier: Matt Francisty

 

Photo by Tara Shupe

The more I learn about rock climbing the more I see it as an art form. Each route is full of it’s own challenges and I love watching a climbers progression as they steadily make their way up the wall. I captured this in Estes Park, CO when a climber was getting beta from her partner and still had about 80 feet left to climb.

Tara Shupe

Nikon D810
35mm
f/4.5
1/400
ISO 200

 

Photo by Arthur Ward

I recently did a sportrait session in the SandHills of Saskatchewan where there were quite a few ripples that progressed across the sand. Perfect snapshot for this mission, I thought!

Arthur Ward

ISO: 50
Shutter: 1/1250
Aperture: 2.8
Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: Sigma 20mm 1.4

Photo by Rachid Dahnoun

Progression is a personal journey for many athletes.  I have watched my friend, pro skier Josh Daiek, go from an unknown shredder at Kirkwood to one of the best big mountain skiers in the world. Many years ago, I remember building this jump off of Lovers Leap (an 800 foot cliff face near Lake Tahoe) for a sunset skiBASE that Josh wanted to do.

When the light was right, I shot Josh doing this massive front flip off the cliff into the sunset.  The thing I remember most about that day was realizing that Josh had reached a level of skiing that most humans will never come close to touching.

Rachid Dahnoun

Nikon D300
Lens 18 – 200mm
ISO 640
f/3.8
1/1600 sec

Photo by Annette White

The ever-changing skyline of a city speaks volumes about progression. Skyscrapers grow taller, architecture modernizes and green open spaces fill with the bustle of metropolitan life. This is especially true for Hong Kong’s impressive skyline. Its evolution began humbly in the 18th-century and now it is recognized as one of the most beautiful cityscapes in the world.

Annette White

Canon EOS 6D
Lens:  37mm
ISO:  100
Aperture:  f/11.0

Photo by Gregg Jaden

In 2003, a forest fire started by lightning raged for 40 days through Kootenay National Park and created the devastation in the distance. It burned 170 square kilometers of the park. This area is known as Marble Canyon and it sits on the border of Alberta and British Columbia.

It is estimated that this type of fire will burn through this area every 200-300 years. It will also result in an increase in the amount of soil that is eroded into the creek by rainstorms and snowmelt. This contributes to the continued erosion of the canyon rock until the new forest can, once again, stabilize the surface soil around the creek with their roots to prevent further canyon erosion. The new growth will soon overtake the burnt areas with a completely a new forest.

Gregg Jaden

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 16-35mm 2.8 lens
Settings: F14, 1/6 of a second ISO 100

Jessica Medina

About Jessica Medina

Jessica Medina is the WW Marketing Communications Manager for Lowepro. You can reach her at jmedina@daymen.com

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