John Shafer, a.k.a. Photo-John, is a photographer, cyclist, skier and general outdoor lover. He’s happiest when he’s on his bike or skis, taking pictures in the backcountry. He’s been on the Mtbr team since 1999 running PhotographyREVIEW.com as well as contributing photos and articles on Mtbr. John has been taking pictures since college and believes everyone can be a good photographer if they just learn a few simple rules. He loves big mountains, rocky singletrack, powder days, 6-inch trail bikes, coffee and tacos. Look for him pushing his bike uphill, carrying an inappropriate amount of camera gear in an overloaded backpack.
Bionicon C.Guide Chain Guide Long Term Review
By John Shafer May 20, 2013
Feature Articles Parts Pro Reviews
We’ve been using Bionicon’s 19-gram, $50 C.Guide chain guide for over a year now, in all kinds of conditions and on all kinds of trails. Read the full review to find out how it’s performed.
Read More »Video: New Spinergy Zyclone Full-Carbon 29er Wheels At Sea Otter
By John Shafer May 03, 2013
29er Feature Articles Parts Press and News Sea Otter Classic Video
Spinergy gave us a preview of their upcoming all-carbon, disc-ready, 29er mountain bike wheels at Sea Otter. Check out our exclusive intro video and photos of the new sub-1400 gram 29er wheelset.
Read More »The DVO Emerald Inverted DH Fork – Sexy, Green & Upside Down At Sea Otter
By John Shafer May 01, 2013
Feature Articles Forks Parts Sea Otter Classic Video
We visited with DVO Suspension at Sea Otter and finally got a chance to get up close and personal with their hot new Emerald Inverted downhill fork.
Read More »Rocky Mountain Altitude 650b / 27.5 Trail Bike – A Closer Look
By John Shafer April 29, 2013
650b Feature Articles Sea Otter Classic
The Rocky Mountain Altitude is all-new for 2013, with 650b / 27.5-inch wheels, 150mm of travel, carbon fiber or aluminum frame options, and adjustable geometry. We took a closer look at it at the annual Sea Otter Classic.
Read More »Transition Bikes & Anvl Components At Sea Otter
By John Shafer April 24, 2013
Parts Press and News Sea Otter Classic
I met up with the guys from Transition Bikes in the media parking area at Sea Otter where they were unloading a beautiful metallic green Carbon Covert bike they’d made for one of their pros. They were also showing off their new project, Anvl Components. Right now they have a bar, stem, saddle, pedals, wheels,
Read More »Grammo Introduces 650b and 29er Full Suspension Bikes At Sea Otter
By John Shafer April 23, 2013
29er 650b Press and News Sea Otter Classic
Check out the new carbon 650b bikes and wheels that Grammo was showing off at Sea Otter!
Read More »2013 Sea Otter Classic Pro Downhill Photos and Results
By John Shafer April 22, 2013
Feature Articles Race Coverage Sea Otter Classic
Aaron Gwin and Jill Kintner win the 2013 Sea Otter Classic downhill and we’ve got tons of photos from the race!
Read More »2013 Sea Otter Classic Dual Slalom Photo Gallery
By John Shafer April 21, 2013
Feature Articles Race Coverage Sea Otter Classic
Check out photos of your favorite pro gravity racers in our 2013 Sea Otter Classic pro dual slalom photo gallery.
Read More »POV Action Cam Shootout – Which Camera Is The Best?
By John Shafer March 13, 2013
Buyer's Guides Feature Articles Gear/Apparel Video
Laugh all you want, but Photo-John’s new helmet is the ultimate POV action cam test rig and this shootout is the ultimate POV camera test.
Read More »JVC Adixxion POV Camera Video Intro
By John Shafer February 26, 2013
Feature Articles Gear/Apparel Video
The JVC Adixxion HD POV camcorder might not get as much attention as some of the other POV cameras. However, it’s got a different design and some cool features that set it apart from the others. We got one in for review but before we put it through the paces, I thought I should make
Read More »Sony Action Cam POV Camera – First Look Video & Photos
By John Shafer February 15, 2013
Feature Articles Gear/Apparel Video
First look unboxing intro video, photos and more! The win is a real camera manufacturer is now here to put the focus on the actual equipment and not just lifestyle.
Read More »2012 Red Bull Rampage Finals – Gallery and Results
By John Shafer October 10, 2012
Feature Articles Race Coverage
Red Bull Rampage 2012 continued the unique tradition of the world’s premier big-mountain event, bringing progressive moves and creative line selection to a world-renowned venue in southwestern Utah
Read More »2012 Red Bull Rampage Qualifying Video and Photos
By John Shafer October 06, 2012
Feature Articles Race Coverage
Yesterday was qualifying for the 2012 Red Bull Rampage freeride competition in Virgin, Utah, near Zion National Park. Some of the best freeriders in the world have gathered to show what they can do in Southern Utah’s unique terrain.
Read More »2012 Park City Point To Point Race Report & Gallery
By John Shafer September 05, 2012
Feature Articles Race Coverage
The Park City Point to Point (PCP2P) is one of the coolest mountain biker races in the US. The course is approximately 80 miles of mostly aspen-shaded singletrack at about 8000 feet of altitude in Utah’s glorious Wasatch Mountains. This isn’t just any singletrack, either. Park City was recently named a “Gold-Level Ride Center” by
Read More »Bryson Martin Launches DVO Suspension
By John Shafer July 23, 2012
Forks Parts Press and News
Recently, there have been a lot of questions about the direction of Marzocchi Suspension, one of the original mountain bike suspension manufacturers and arguably the originator of the freeride movement. Bryson Martin Sr., John Pelino and Tom Rogers, the main guys at Marzocchi USA, left the company earlier this year and there has been a
Read More »2012 Sea Otter Classic Speed & Flow Pumptrack Competition
By John Shafer May 10, 2012
Feature Articles Race Coverage Sea Otter Classic
It seems like Sea Otter gets better and better every year. This year I shot two new dirt jump events, the FMB dirt jump competition (Sea Otter FMB photo gallery) and the Speed & Style pump track competition. The Speed & Style event isn’t actually new to Sea Otter but it was the first time
Read More »A Visit With Ellsworth At Sea Otter
By John Shafer May 09, 2012
26er Feature Articles Sea Otter Classic
I stopped by the Ellsworth booth at Sea Otter a couple of weeks ago to say hi and see what was new. Specifically, I wanted to take a look at the new Dare downhill bike. I’ve owned a few Ellsworths over the years, including a Dare, and I wanted to see what they’d done to
Read More »2012 Post Office Jump Jam Photos
By John Shafer May 01, 2012
Feature Articles
The Post Office Jump Jam is an informal event where all the dirt jumpers in the Monterey / Santa Cruz area for the Sea Otter Classic show up the day after, polish up the jumps and then spend the day one-upping each other. For as long as I can remember there’s been a jump jam
Read More »2012 Sea Otter Pro Downhill Photos
By John Shafer April 26, 2012
Feature Articles Race Coverage Sea Otter Classic
Sunday, the last day of the Sea Otter Classic, dawned cool and foggy. The cool temps were a relief after an unseasonably hot Saturday and I’m sure the racers appreciated the cooler weather for the downhill finals. The fog made for interesting, atmospheric race photos, although it did hide the dramatic, green backdrop of the
Read More »2012 Sea Otter Dual Slalom Photos
By John Shafer April 25, 2012
Race Coverage Sea Otter Classic
The weather was near perfect for the dual slalom competition at this year’s Sea Otter Classic – one of my favorite events to shoot. I’ve been shooting it for over ten years and I still look forward to it. It’s one of the most photogenic venues for a race and the dual slalom racing format
Read More »2012 Sea Otter FMB Dirt Jump Competition Photos
By John Shafer April 23, 2012
Feature Articles Race Coverage Sea Otter Classic
A bronze-level FMB dirt jump was held at the 2012 Sea Otter Classic. Since it was at Sea Otter, the turnout and competition was excellent. Camera and Tyler McCaul, Paul Basagoitia, Mike Montgomery, Aaron Chase, Andrew Taylor, Kelly McGarry and a whole bunch of other top-level chuckers were there to show off their big air
Read More »Knolly Endorphin Sneak Peek
By John Shafer April 21, 2012
26er Feature Articles Sea Otter Classic
I believe I just scored an exclusive with this Knolly Endorphin sneak peek. Kevin Waterbury from Knolly showed me what I think he said was a one-off pre-production bike. It has a shocking day-glow yellow paint job that my photos don’t do justice and Knolly’s standard-issue sophisticated linkage with beautiful CNC machined parts. The Endorphin
Read More »29er Day Full Suspension Bike Gallery
By John Shafer February 29, 2012
29er Feature Articles Featured Photo
(photo by “chuky”) To celebrate the 29th of February, or 29er day as we’re calling it, here’s a gallery of 29er full suspension bike eye candy. Most of these bikes are the private rides of Mtbr members, although I also pulled a few tasty morsels from last year’s Interbike coverage. It used to be that
Read More »29er Day Hardtail Bike Gallery
By John Shafer February 28, 2012
29er Feature Articles Featured Photo
In celebration of 29er day, here’s a gallery of 29er hardtail bike porn, with plenty of full rigid singlespeed photos for the serious perverts. The photos are all of Mtbr community member 29er bikes. Click on the thumbnails below to see larger photos. Each photo has a link to the original post in the description
Read More »Park City Point-to-Point Race
By John Shafer September 07, 2011
Feature Articles
The 2011 Park City Point-To-Point mountain bike race took place in Park City, Utah over Labor Day Weekend. The PCP2P is a 78-mile endurance race almost all of which takes place on the endless and glorious Park City singletrack. The race starts at about 7000 feet of altitude in Park City’s Round Valley trail network.
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