FACES OF 2018 BLADING CUP

JONATHAN LABEZ’S 360 PORTRAIT PHOTO ESSAY DETAILS THE FACES IN ATTENDANCE AT THE 8TH ANNUAL BLADING CUP



Photographs by Jonathan Labez for Be-Mag

Written and Produced by Ryan Loewy


Knowing the caliber of the Blading Cup competition and how it sees itself through each year as the “it” event to attend in North America, we wanted to make sure we documented it accurately. We spent 5 months working with the Blading Cup staff to accurately execute a proper portrayal of the staple competition. Among the many ideas penned that came to fruition was that of a portrait booth. Heavily inspired by Wes Driver’s portrait booth from the 2007 Bittercold Showdown, the goal was to set up a pop-up studio and document as many faces in attendance as possible. I was initially convinced that my workload would be overwhelmed by the general 2 day coverage, and rightly so, I in turned enlisted the immensely talented ( and our new associate photo editor ) Jonathan Labez to man the booth while I jumped in and out myself. Jonathan not only held down the ship, but managed to crunch out 360 beautiful portraits, which you can enjoy below…


























































































































Jonathan Labez is Be-Mag’s associate photo editor and staff photographer.

He is currently based in Los Angeles, California.

You can follow him on Instagram here.