PHOTO:
9/14/2025 // The Lake Effect
Digital // Shot on Sony A74// 14mm-24mm, 15mm, 70mm-200mm, 24mm-70mm
I first visited sandpoint and met the 7B crew last year around november, when I got a text from Tim Zimmerman saying some dinos were eyeing up a spot, and they were going to need a photographer.
Throughout that last winter, Sandpoint and the boardshop began to be a second home. I was heading up there quite a bit, shooting up at Schweitzer, in the backcountry, sidecountry and even a bit in the street. After the shoots we generally would go out in town and scope out the few local bar scenes, or just kick it back at the warehouse where Stu, the person zim had connected me with, was staying at the time.
During these times in Sandpoint, everyone I was meeting kept telling me “You really need to see sandpoint in the summer!”. Based on what everyone was saying its apparently a completely different place compared to winter. I had always wondered why they stressed this so much and why it seemed like everyone kept saying the exact same thing. I thought sure, I bet the lake is beautiful and the town is more alive since summer brings in the lake tourists and the people who spend summers up there, but is seeing it in the summer really going to change my perception of this seemily small resort town, nestled on a lake, up in North Idaho?
Short story, it certainly does, but not in the way you think it would. I was correct in my assumption that it is a bit busier, some people at the bars roll with a different crowd, and the overall vibe is much more beachy summer, but what I hadn’t accounted for was how my perception of what’s availible in sandpoint would change.
I went up this past weekend to chat with Stu about winter plans, see the boardshop homies, and get out on the boat with Rory and the crew. Being out on Rorys boat and seeing mountain all around, was what really changed my perception of the area and really showed why sandpoint was an incredibly unique spot. When you are in sandpoint you can obviously see the lake, its huge. Being on the Mountain you can also see the lake and the mountains all around. However when you are out on the lake its a completely different experience. Suddenly there’s water for miles and you are surrounded by mountains every way you look. After a while of being out on the lake theres a feeling of being quite small in the vastness of everything you can see. Being out on the boat, seeing that view, I started to understand what everyone had been talking about. It isn’t just that the town feels different; it’s that the whole place opens up in a way you can’t see from town or from the mountain, its the lake effect.