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mickaeltournier
A man in front of the sun 2
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A man in front of the sun 2



behind the lens badge
cameraiPhone 5s

settings Aperture f/2.2 ISO 40 Shutter 1/13700 Focal Length 83/20 

upload_dateFeb, 2015

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2235

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Show Snowflakes Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Outdoor Action and Adventure Photo Contest by Focal Press
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Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#sun #mountain #snow #tempest #wind #ski #winter
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Behind The Lens

Location

It has been taken in the Ski resort named Le Chinaillon in France near the Swiss border.

Time

I will remember this day for a long time! We where just arriving at the top of the mountain around 2PM when a real storm started. It was really scary because everything suddenly stop working due to a very high wind. We where stuck at the mountain top because few small tornadoes where turning around the slopes. It was really really hard to stay up, the wind was pushing us to the ground and, well, snow is snow..

Lighting

I wanted this image to show the wind coming up from the slope and pushing the powder behind my friend. The problem was the sun as it was clearly in front of my lens so we tried to go bit more down in the slopes, after 20m we stopped, it was not possible to go down anymore the wind was too heavy so I put the sun behind my friend silhouette.

Equipment

I would love to say I used a nice camera here but when you discover that it's -40°c at the mountain and you are here for more than 20min, your camera simply refuse to start.. So I took my iPhone which was warm in my pocket and start shooting. The problem with these kind of weather is that each 30KmH step of wind you loose -10°c in feeling temperature. The other problem is the equipment, have you ever looked at an iPhone screen in full white sunny environment? Personally I was only able to see my 3 photographies once back to the car. Let's do the math, around 120KmH of wind is equal to -40°c.. -40-40= -80°c. I now understand why I have only been able to remove my gloves for 3 shots and then feel the need to get warm very quickly :)

Inspiration

The mix between huge wind, snow powder and a lots of sun was magical to ride, You where feeling the slopes as if it where living, I really mean living. It was like you where riding a snow wave, despite the hard condition and the helplessness feeling, it was fantastic, probably one of the most magical and beautiful things I have been honoured to experience. My inspiration came when we where stuck at the mountain top, I decided that I was in needs of sharing this experience and I try to replicate it the most carefully possible.

Editing

Even if it's shot with an iphone, I like to go over nice shot in Lightroom . I only use basic modification as curves, white balance, dark, white and clarity.

In my camera bag

I always have an A6000, it has a great sensor for his price which is providing pretty decent shot even when printed in big resolution. I'm use to always have 3 lens with me, the kit lens Sony 16-50 f3.5, my grand-father lens a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f1.4 (45yr old lens!!!) and my night photography lens a Rokinon 12mm f2. I'm also a big fan of Lumu light lettering solution, a small plug on my iphone let me get an exact and professional measurement of the light level and degree. I have a really cheap tripod, an Hama which cost less than 100€ but which does everything I'm asking him to do, you know it's sometimes more about complementarity than quality ;)

Feedback

If you plan to photography in this kind of conditions, my very first advise is to not go here alone and always warn someone of your localisation, make sure to have very warm clothes, especially for your hands if, like me, you're not able to shoot with ski gloves :) Then enjoy guys! This is kind of magical moments you have to enjoy, mother nature do not offer this to everyone!

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