chris-brunkhart-fundraiser-for-web

“Chris Brunkhart aka the Dark Star sees in black & white with a rare glimpse of deep color here and there. In his book How many dreams in the dark? Chris shares a raw, honest side of snowboarding through his thoughtful eye and unique way of looking at the world. Craig Kelly, Terje Haakonsen, Matt Donahue and Jamie Lynn are more than just subjects in Brunkhart’s photos, they are his friends and he is sharing a glimpse into snowboarding’s soul. An artist to his core, Chris’ work is where fine art meets documentary. And now he’s going to kick cancer’s ass!” – Susie Floros

Without Chris Brunkhart snowboarding as we know it would be severely lacking. More than a photographer, Brunkhart’s images from the heyday of snowboarding in the mid-nineties nailed those perfect moments that inspired a generation of riders. Forgoing clever sequencing in place of thoughtful black and white compositions, his photographs told the story of snowboarding far better than mere documentation of cool tricks.

Since then Chris has come and gone on his own terms and to a certain degree kept as misty as his grainy black and white photographs might suggest. He resurfaced recently for epic photo essay on the Red Bull Ultra Natural contest in our January issue last year as well as a recent interview in the New York State of Mind feature in the current issue of Snowboard Mag.

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Sadly a couple of months ago Chris was diagnosed with cancer. In the time since the snowboard community has rallied behind him raising money towards his fight. This Friday, November 14 at  Nemo Design in Portland there will be a silent auction with photographers like Scott Sullivan, Chris Owen and Kevin Zacher contributing some incredible prints with all proceeds going towards Chris’ treatment. So if you are in the area please check it out this Friday.

Also on Thursday, November 20th is another fundraiser in Costa Mesa at the Boathouse Collective. Come support Chris along with Fuck Cancer, AR4T, Volcom, Asymbol and Landspeed Cycles.

Or if you feel like helping out you can visit his GoFundMe page and donate whatever you can spare.

Here’s what some of our friends are saying about Chris:

Two words to describe Chris’ work: Black & White. In an era of snowboarding when sequences were king, Chris stuck to his creative vision and documentation style of a well composed black & white image. Sequences are soon forgotten but the essence of the still images thru Chris’ eye become iconic. – Trevor Graves

It hasn’t been until recent years that I have come to recognize the extent of photos that Chris is responsible for — they surrounded me and were my inspiration while growing up snowboarding at Baker.  As a little kid I only looked at who the snowboarder was and I was looking at a lot of photos of Jamie, Craig and Baker locals which I came to realize he shot. The Ranquet photo on top of Gunsight is burned into my brain and still motivates me to this day to go and hit that damn shoot I have yet to ride. – Austin Smith

As a snowboarding-obsessed teenager in pre-internet Vermont, magazines were my portal to what real riding was like out west. In an era of cheap graphics and blocky colors, the images that Chris Brunkhart, aka “Dark Star”, made of the Movement team felt palpable, authentic and genuinely creative— shots of Matt Donahue at Mt Hood in particular lead to my brother and I moving to Portland, Oregon. Chris’ artistic courage, originality and style remain an inspiration to me and countless other humans. – Jesse Huffman