With “team photog” becoming a rare title in the industry, it’s nice to see new names emerging at the end of a winter with a stack of photos made while embedded with one brand. For us at the mag, not only is it a sign that the company is taking their project seriously while supporting a snowboard photog, but it also makes it easier to nail down images when we are looking for riders who happen to be on their roster. 

One new name that has popped up over the last two seasons is Max Lyons. Having transitioned from the athlete list to the marketing department for Rome Snowboards, the homegrown photog knows what it’s like on both sides of the lens and has been creating some interesting work with that in mind. Enjoy a look back at the East Coast winter and beyond as Max traveled with the team while they made Particle and more. —Clavin

“Some things never change. Devin Bernard and I have been filming street parts together for over a decade now. Lighthearted shit-talking, making sure the clip is proper, arguing over which below-average pub to get dinner at and spending way too much time with each other: How different could this season really be? Instead of Dev pointing the camera at me, I’d be joining the behind-the-lens crew with Rome Snowboards. We were cut loose from the office this winter and given way too much freedom to run with. Was it just a ploy to get our annoying asses out of the office and out of everyone’s hair? Likely. But that worked for us.

As it turns out, being on trips as a photographer is vastly different than as a rider—doubly so when you’re supposed to be the responsible one of the group. Now, I’m not saying I have my shit together in any way, shape or form, but somebody has to remember to restock the fridge with lunch meat and cheap beer after a late-night Catan session. The photography portion of the equation is actually the simplest: Scope angles, dial lighting, click button—and hopefullyyou don’t have to beg the rider to do it again because you blew the timing. 

We got to orchestrate a handful of both close-to-home and international travel: Cram too much shit in the Subaru Outback and drive an hour and a half to the spot with the am squad, or drink Aperol spritzes at the top of the Austrian Alps after a session with the pro team. Not to play favorites, but I could definitely get used to the Austrian lifestyle. With no true goal in mind other than to follow our friends around and document the cool shit they were doing, we set off the same we always have for the last 10 years.

With an East Coast am crew made up of Joey Leon, Noah Coville, Casey Savage and Nate Haust, as well as new pro addition Maggie Leon, we got busy in both Connecticut and Quebec. The mixture of spot and trick preferences from each rider made for some entertaining trips. Joey and Maggie would often find themselves battling the most technical tricks they could think of for any given spot. Casey would always end up with the most unorthodox spots, and Nate’s clinical and calculated style came out on big kink rails and tech gap-to-rails alike, never taking more than a few tries to stomp. Whenever a spot would appear where the consensus was, “This is so sick…but I don’t have a trick for it,” Noah would quietly sigh and mumble, “Yeah, I can probably do something.” Kid would always lace up his boots, take a few slams and go to battle.

With all of our filming experience together having been in either the park or the streets, our Austrian adventure proved to be a stark contrast to the life we’d known—namely, a serious lack of metal features. Sugarbush packs over 100 features onto a single trail; Silvretta Montafon gave us 30 over the course of two huge mountains. Just sayin’. All jokes aside, it was an absolute pleasure to watch Ståle Sandbech, Keegan Hosefros, Len Jørgensen and Martin Lässer terrorize the unsuspecting resort both on and off piste. Oftentimes I, like the many vacationing families watching from the side of the trail, would stare in amazement at these dudes blasting off of every hit they could. There were only a few times I forgot to click the shutter during a trick, which was honestly better than I thought.

Regardless of who we were with, where we were or what we were doing, this season proved to be business as usual: two best friends annoying the ever-loving shit out of each other and everyone around us while doing what we love. Keep posted for the final Rome project, filmed and edited by Devin Bernard, dropping before next winter.” —Max Lyons