Photographer, dot com architect, artistic guru, Jason Eichhorst battles exhaustion, aggravating computer programs, and carpel tunnel to produce endless creativity to accent our products. From catalogs, to web design, to organizing team photo shoots, his hand is in everything Surface and we cannot thank him enough for his efforts. In an attempt to delve into J's mind, we had a conversation with J and this is what he said:

Riding BMX in the 80's got me into drawing and using my creative side. Then in my 20's I worked as a ski technician (tuner) and thought it would be more fun to explore how they looked rather than how they worked. So I went to school and put my head down for a few years and busted out heavy amount of credits.
For non-action, I'd have to say Julius Shulman's photographic work of architecture was/is amazing. He shot mid-century-modern structures. Showing them in a truly artistic form in a way that they were meant to be viewed. He shot film and used large format cameras and told it like it is. I also like Laurent Naville's photography, he documented the Le Mans Classic so well it's eerie (http://www.laurentnivalle.fr/LMC2010.html). For action I've always liked Rob Dolecki's photography (http://www.qualiaphoto.com). He shoots primarily BMX and 90% of the time he's shooting film.
I use a Mamiya C330 and Nikon D300 with an assortment of other heavy shit that is usually in my bag.
No, it's not difficult to become a photographer, anyone off the street can buy an amazing camera and push the shutter down. It's the best thing ever to freeze a moment, everyone should have the opportunity. But It IS difficult to pursue photography as a career. There's a lot of "paying your dues", so to speak.
Spoke Words disappear when they're spoken
For BMX, Matt Beringer is hands down the funnest dude to shoot with. Honestly, you never know what you're going to get, and you're going to either have one of the best times of your life, or one hell of an adventure trying to get to the spot to shoot it. For skiing, I got to shoot a lot with Hayden Price this past winter. I got to know him more as a person and he's one of the most humble and genuine dudes out there. He's also really good at skiing.
Any time that my camera is in my hand and pressed up to my face, that's the best environment to be shooting in.
My most valuable possession is laughter
I was pretty straight and narrow in grade school. I didn't goof off much, but at the same time I never paid attention. I do remember hitting a parked truck on the way home from school in front of a bunch of hot girls. I hit the grill so hard I ended up on the camper shell and got pretty cut up and ruined my bike. I was pretty embarrassed, and it was obvious that I hit the truck because I was staring at the girls.
Life decides to progress. It doesn't just happen.

All photos and words by J Eichhorst. For more of his photography, check out his website HERE

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