The Ski Life Blog

I continue to think about the challenge of digitally capturing ski days. Powerful, imaginative images can be a source of joy forever. But I don’t want shooting to diminish the ski experience for myself or others.

There’s something I like about this sequence of images. They’re sharp enough, the conditions were decent, and Rochester Mark is a great skier.

But there’s more to it than that. The series was taken with a continuous shooting feature. If you (click to) enlarge the panel above and glance from image to image, you can almost imagine Mark in action. When I run quickly through those photos in a digital album, it’s very evocative of skiing. In a rudimentary way, it simulates movement.

Continue reading →

In the spring of 2007, I started skiing with a camera. The next summer, I realized how enjoyable it is to look back at photos from the winter, and since 2008, I’ve carried a camera whenever I’m out on snow.

I’ve always considered myself a skier, with a camera, as opposed to a photographer on skis. My primary goal has always been skiing, with photography serving to enhance the experience and memories.

But this year there’s been a shift in my thinking. Especially when I’m skiing alone. I’m starting to see skiing and photography as an integrated activity seeking out images — sometimes to the point of interrupting a great string of turns to pull up and capture the moment. A few times, like in the photo above, I’ve relinquished first tracks to capture a shot. It’s not unusual for me to take 150 pictures in a day.

Some label bug season the Fifth Season. In my mind, the Fifth Season comes after fall and before winter. Maybe hunters think this way too.

Days like today defy categorization. It’s November. As a skier, you want it to be cold. You can’t call it Indian Summer — while it’s way above the average temps for this time of year, it’s still cool. If it has to be 55 degrees, in November, in the mountains — I’ll just have to enjoy it. Today challenged my ideas about this time of year.