CAMERON STRAND

Words by Peter Harvieux

Photos shot on Canon 5D Mk IV

Born in the late 80's in upstate New York, Cameron Strand moved to Southeast Michigan at an early age and has been surrounded by skating and snowboarding ever since. He always looked to his older brother for inspiration growing up, leading him to try many activities—most of which he excelled at. That natural ability helped him cruise through adolescence until one fateful night changed him and his perspective forever. It was at that moment his environment instantly changed—forcing him to look beyond his block and outward into a world that he may, or may not, have been ready to see.

After gaining support from a tight circle, from both home and afar, Cameron reached Am status as a sponsored snowboarder—filming multiple street parts with his local crew and later a regional group, which was very forward and fresh at the time. Right around then, just after graduating from community college, Cameron scored an internship at Transworld Skateboarding, packed his bags, and set off for California to immerse himself in the back pages of one of the heaviest media publishers in our culture. At that point, his experience was mainly photographing friends and family—but this new experience helped to broaden his perspective even further.

Since the very beginning, Cameron has always taken the approach to put his head down and work. Upon arriving to California, he linked with new skaters to shoot, worked on whatever was asked, and was always happy to do the little things—all of which helped him quickly build relationships, shoot "heavy" projects, and travel all over the world for work that paid. Those opportunities helped him land a cover of Transworld Skateboarding, and then land two more. Afterwards, he became a staff photographer at KR3W and Supra for a time, and continues to make the most of every shot he's given. Throughout it all, Cameron has always grown his perspective, his experience, and ultimately, his photography.

Today finds him, like all of us, feeling a tad stuck. After the taste for travel and shooting globally with a number of crews has ceased, Cameron finds himself help up in LA. Although it's been a slow and steady process, he's starting to shoot more commercial projects outside of skateboarding and has been welcoming the change with open arms. In the meantime, Cameron has been supporting local restaurants, exploring personal projects, and lending a hand to friends with projects and shoots as needed. He's immensely looking forward to the COVID-tide residing, and growing beyond the skate and snow standard he's set for himself. Just as before, I know that his raw talent and pure stick-toit attitude will find him even more success and even greater opportunities— helping him to create some of the best images you may ever lay your eyes on.