Slopestyle
Jan, 2018Views
161
Likes
Awards
Winner in Winter Sports Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
All Star
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was a photographer for the BC Winter Games in my home community of Mission in 2014. When asked which of the many sports I wanted to cover, I asked for the downhill and slopestyle skiing competitions, as I have never had the opportunity to photograph these kinds of sports.Time
Day one for the downhill (slalom) competition was bright and clear, but day two for the slopestyle was blizzarding so hard the downhill competitions were cancelled due to safety issues. Apparently slopestyle is skiied in any conditions so this part of the event went on. Light was flat all day and sometimes blowing snow obscured the competitors giving many images an artistic feel as opposed to a sports competition.Lighting
As mentioned, lighting was really flat all day, so was easy to dial in a manual exposure and leave set for the entire event.Equipment
I shoot exclusively Canon, this event was shot with a Canon 7D2 crop sensor body with a 70-200 2.8 L Canon lens. Because of my vantage point direct below the largest jump, I hand held and between competitors kept the lens pointed down to eliminate any possible snow on the glass.Inspiration
I was a volunteer for the Winter Games, mainly because it was a way I could give back to my community, but also for the opportunity to challenge myself with shooting a new sport in what turned out to be pretty adverse conditions. In the end, all the kids received all the photos free, hopefully memories that will last them a lifetime!Editing
Not much for post processing....low dull light meant having to shoot at a high ISO to keep the shutter speed up, so a little noise reduction was used in PS, also some brightening of dark areas and a boost of vibrance as the snow sometimes muted the colors of the competitors outfits. Finish with a little sharpening.In my camera bag
All equipment is Canon, 2 main bodies...the 7D2 crop body is great for sports as it can shoot up to 10 frames/second, and the crop gives my 200mm lens a reach of 320mm, and a 6D2 full frame I use for pretty much everything else. Lenses include a 100-400, 70-200, 24-70 and a 10-22. I use only two filters, a polarizor and a 10 stop ND for long exposure landscapes. Add a carbon fibre tripod, several extra batteries and lots of lens cleaning options, and my camera bag when fully packed is about 45 lbs! I have learned to pare down to the essentials for weight for what I intend to shoot.Feedback
Once you understand the concept that sports requires a fast shutter and shallow depth of field (unless you are going for a more artistic approach) then it is mainly practice. Understanding the sport you are shooting so you can be in the right place at the right time and to be prepared for anything is also essential in getting that once in a lifetime shot!
