Keep Your Tips Up...! And Don't Forget The Sunbloc.

Winter is just around the corner, "officially" December 21st.  So, I thought it would might be a nice idea to dust off some of my old alpine ski racing  images from an earlier life as a sports photographer.  That short lived, heavy on unique experiences career exposed me to a life very few are fortunate enough to see first hand.  As a staff photographer for Ski Racing Magazine, I was on the road for pretty much all of winter.  From Park City, Utah, to the French Alps, I was credentialed through F.I.S., or known as the International Ski Federation which provided all access to the mountain top ski race courses.  The races encompassed all disciplines; slalom, downhill, GS, super G, freestyle...  The poor chap in the above image from Park City was captured as I was running for my life along with 15 other photographers.  We were bailing out of our designated shooting pen as the skier from, are you ready for this... the Virgin Islands Ski Team missed his gate.  Lots of snow I understand in St. Thomas, eh.  Sports photography is loaded with many components in order to come away with a great shot.  You need luck, anticipation, good light, knowledge of the sport and of course a compelling subject.  Well, the stars aligned for me on this one.  The skier was coming right for us like a bowling ball barrelling down the center of the lane for a strike at the pins.

Meribel, France, women's pre-olympic super G race.  I'm in mental lock down to capture every last U.S. racer entered in the first run.  Forerunners, buzz by... first few racers fly by.  No U.S.A.!  What gives here?  I'm the mushroom stuck at the top of a French Alp ski race course... last to know anything in earthly news outside of the "white circus" bubble.  On this day, Bush One decided to have a little fun in the desert with some wacky leader over in Iraq.  So, as a safety measure, all the U.S. Ski Team was pulled out in the middle of the night and sent back home.  Your intrepid photographer stayed (didn't know otherwise!) and just keep shooting.  What ever else was there to do.  Got some great French powder skiing in with that free all access credential!  I highly recommend visiting Meribel for a ski holiday, or try in the summer months.  Natural beauty beyond description.  Of the scores of European ski resorts that I feel blessed in being payed to "visit", I'd put Meribel right up there as one of the most beautiful.  Of course, how about those Swiss Alps... hmm.

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