Latest Work: Making the Shot with Chris Burkard

Over the past few years, I seem to have carved out a little niche for myself in which I am given an opportunity to profile my fellow photographers and filmmakers for various clients. And although this wasn’t an intentional direction that I had set for myself, it has ended up becoming one of my favorite types of project. What I love is that I get the super rare opportunity to see how my colleagues work, think, and approach their passion for visual storytelling. And, of course, I get to hang out with my friends in really cool locations.

I’m pleased to share my latest project, which is a profile of my friend Chris Burkard for Adobe. We traveled with Chris to New Zealand a couple months ago and spent three days following him around some of the most stunning scenery in the world, documenting how he approaches his craft and plying him for lessons and tricks of the trade that we might all be able to find useful.

Chris Burkard is an incredible landscape, lifestyle, and adventure sports photographer whose still images have amassed him an Instagram following of over three million(!) people. Chris was an early adopter of Instagram and saw the potential with using this platform to showcase and promote his work.

In fact, I have Chris to thank for being on Instagram myself. Years ago, during an Adventure Photography Workshop in Jackson Hole, I was riding in a car with fellow workshop instructors Chris Burkard, Sadie Quarrier (National Geographic picture editor), Lucas Gilman (a fellow Nikon Ambassador), and Scott Wilson (then of The North Face), and Chris Steppig (organizer of the Adventure Photography Workshop).

“Hey Corey, are you on Instagram?” Burkard asked.

“Ista-what?”

“Gimme your phone,” he said, and he promptly downloaded the app and signed me up.

The first post I ever made to Instagram was a photo of Lucas Gilman tapping a keg.

My, how the world has changed since then! Instagram for many of us is a little less about the “insta” and more about presenting a polished portfolio of work, with captions that complete the story. We still like to drink beer out of a keg, however—that definitely won’t ever change!

Adventure photography is a tiny world, and I’m humbled to share the stories, personalities, and creative approaches of people like Chris, whom I get to call both colleagues and friends.

Hope you enjoy this latest spot, and that it inspires you to use your camera as a passport to the world.

Thank you to Adobe—especially Dan Cowles, Kristi Highum and Katie Perri—for the opportunity to create this film. You can watch it by visiting this Adobe landing page.

Thank you to Chris Burkard’s team: Ryan Valasek (aka Snack Farmer ), Mike Sandifer, and Jonathan Feldman.

And of course, thanks to the Novus production crew: Josh Marianelli (Producer), Dane Henry (DP), Sean Haverstock (AC / Gimbal + Drone Operator), Sean Milburn (Sound Recordist), Nich Adam (Post Production Manager), Cam Wood (Local Fixer), Rex Lint (editor)—and the rest of the Novus staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help create this film.

Additional thanks to Nikon, G-Tech, SanDisk, Litepanels, Manfrotto, FreeFLY Systems, Sachtler, Lowepro, and Relax It’s Done – Real Estate NZ.