Jeff Curtes will be a familiar name to most snowboarders, though few would even recognize his face. As staff photographer for Burton Snowboards, he has what some people might call the best job in the world. He gets to travel to exotic, powder laden destinations, hang out with the world’s best riders and take pictures of them shredding. Oh, and he earns extra dollar (on top of his Burton salary) every time a magazine somewhere fancies running one of his shots (which, when you’re talking the Burton team, is quite a lot). No doubt he would give you the classic photographer whinge about cold fingers, lack of actual riding and all that post processing work in front of a computer, but don’t let that fool you. He’s got it made.

You don’t get a dream job like this without some serious skills though, and when it comes to taking photos of snowboarders, Curtes is the best in the business. In this video he talks us through his shot selections for the all important opening spread of the Burton catalogue. It’s not often we get to hear from quiet industry bigwigs like this – most of the time we’re too busy gawking at the riders they make look good. So for any of you wannabe snowboard photographers or magazine editors, this is an interesting watch.