ARTIFICIAL
DISORDER
CATALOG PHOTOGRAPHY
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Having been a friend of the Rüf Family going on two decades now, we’ve shared a lot of good times and growth throughout the years. Travel, exploration, photos shoots, art projects, career growth, at home with kids... Over the span of twenty years, we’ve also been apart for long stretches of time, given our professional schedules and family responsibilities. When Gigi and I were both invited to Natural Selection 2021 at Jackson Hole, he as a rider, myself as photographer, I knew we’d get to kick it quite a bit, so that’s what we did!
Natural Selection has a contest window of seven days, one being qualification, the other is reserved for finals. The remaining five days are a free-for-all to ride powder, hang out, shoot photos, and catch the Superbowl on television, as the schedule happen to work out this year!
With powder a plenty in the hills, we set out and lapped Dick’s Ditch with a massive squad, rode backcountry with the local jedi Rob Kingwell, enjoyed lift line convos with Alex Andrews and Miss Elle, and did it all over again with Sani Alibabic. It was basically an all-out assault standing sideways with as many of your fellow shredders as possible, given many of us hadn’t hung out in ages. It warmed my heart to see the faces and smiles of so many good people making up the wonderful world of snowboarding, all together again.
While this assortment of activities was popping off, Gigi and I cruised the resort, filling out a few remaining pages for his latest Slash catalog titled ‘Artificial Disorder.’ Capturing photos with Gigi is easy, he’s as gifted as they come while standing on a snowboard, I only had to make sure angles were satisfactory and focus was tight.
Gigi collaborated with graphic designer Typegorilla in bringing the page count to life, working in these recently gathered images, creating a sales piece Gigi could be proud of. In addition, he asked if I could dig through my photo archive and pull images from my personal travels to bolster the overall feel and vibe of the ‘Artificial Disorder’ design. Never one to pass up a solid archive dig, I put in the time unlocking a treasure trove of memories.
In the catalog’s opening statement, Gigi challenges you to “break free from the shackles of social media and use your snowboard for good.” For the past ten years Gigi has done just that, creating his own snowboarding brand and followers, with unique ideas, shapes and philosophies. He’s truly a legend in the game of life being a Super Dad, non-stop creativity making video parts and artwork, along with his overall appeal to fellow riders and fans.
—Blotto
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