A Dedication to Chris Brunkhart. By Alex Bacon

A Dedication to Chris Brunkhart

By Alex Bacon

Thank you Steve Huff for allowing me the opportunity to write about my friend, Chris Brunkhart. Chris is an amazing and influential lifestyle/snowboard photographer who was just recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon and liver cancer.

Many of you who visit this website daily may not recognize Chris’s name but you may recognize his iconic photography. Chris’s images have documented the world of snowboarding in Snowboarder, Transworld Snowboarding and Frequency
magazines—to name a few. His editorial work in the 1990’s was often described as having a dark atmospheric quality, that gave as much attention to ethereal, snowy landscapes as it did to the athlete he was photographing.

I can truly say, that it isn’t just shooting the best athletes, over six continents that makes Chris tick. It’s the freedom of self-expression and the process of creating and capturing life’s fleeting moments which fuels his creative fire. His photography evokes emotion on such a deep level. You don’t just “see” what’s happening in the frame, you feel it…you’re in it, experiencing that moment physically, and I can’t think of a more apt compliment for any photographer. Chris’s creative vision and unique photographic style has influenced many young action-sports photographers over the years. Seeing Chris work first hand, applying his gift of capturing that moment in time is what drove me to pick up my first camera and pursue photography as a passion, I thank him for that gift every day!

For the past year, Chris has been living in Brooklyn, NYC where he has been shooting landscape photography and field portraiture, as well as dabbling in mixed media sculpture, woodworking, and continued contributions to underground film and video projects.

Upon his diagnosis in September, Chris returned to his home city of Portland, Oregon so he could be close to his friends and family during his treatment. Chis has recently begun his treatment of Chemotherapy and has started to fight against the cancer which is threatening his life.

There are two benefits being held to help raise funds for his ongoing treatment and everyone reading this is welcome to attend. The first will be on November 14, at NEMO Design in Portland, Oregon, and the second will be on November 20, at The Boathouse Collective, in Costa Mesa, California. A GoFundMe page for financial donations has also been set up at www.gofundme.com/chrisbrunkhart.

Image caption guide:

Meeting the heli, Juneau Ice Field, Alaska

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 Yakutat backcountry, Alaska

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Matt Donahue, Mountain pass near Briancon, Italy

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Craig Kelly, warming hut, Revelstoke, BC

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Devon Walsh, Mt. Hood, OR

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Dan Peterka, Stepping off into the Vltava river, Prague, CZ

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No Tennis. Creston Park, Portland, OR

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A woman waits on a cold winter day, Prague CZ

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Jamie Lynn, about midnight in Seattle, WA

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On his way to work. London, UK

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Silhoetted by the clouds. Craig Kelly, near Pucon, Chile