Benjamin Littler Gathering Moss

It’s July 4th, 2013, at a Canadian Border crossing just north of Bellingham, WA. Benjamin Miles Littler is getting grilled by border agents who are none too keen on his plan to bike across their beautiful country. Specifically, they don’t like that Ben has no job, no home address, no money and no insurance. This is classic Ben, and if you know him, you may be familiar (sometimes frustratingly so) with his laissez-faire style of navigating our world. However, it’s also classic Ben to do the shit he sets out to do. So, 40 days and 3,000 miles later, having reconfigured his route to enter Canada through Michigan, Ben rolled into his hometown of Fayetteville, NY, on a borrowed steed, sporting a serious tan. 

“I’m a freak for commitment,” Ben says, and it shows through his actions. A self-taught photographer who only shoots on film, Ben’s images have been making the print rounds in the snowboard world. His photographs feel natural, almost effortless in some cases (they’re not), like the viewer is privy to a behind-the-scenes moment that’s generally reserved for a dedicated member of the crew. His best images are just as likely to be made on a storm day on the side of a low-angle groomer as they are in blower pow with good light. In fact, that second setup might be boring for him, or the snow too good to resist a day chasing his own lines—Littler has a mean turn and will smoke you on the skin track, with a duct-taped pair of bindings and no tail-clips to boot.

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