Over winter break this year I spent a week up in Mammoth, CA snowboarding like a mad man. It was my first trip to a real mountain, and my first exposure to snowboard photography. The US snowboarding Gran Prix was going off the weekend that I was up there, so before I left I packed up my Canon backpack with all my gear and stuffed my expired Arizona Daily Wildcat press pass in a side pocket, just in case the opportunity to shoot the event presented itself.
I could of applied for a photo pass online, but the form was a tad bit confusing and I didn't feel like calling up the AP and asking them about credential procurement...so I rolled with the approach that always works best for me: throwing up a prayer and winging it.
The tournament was going on all week, but the finals weren't till the weekend..so I decided to enjoy my vacation and board. I had a tough semester working hard on personal photo projects and school assignments, so I desperately needed a break to clear my head.
I made it up to the mountain early Saturday morning and ran into Peter Morning, one of Mammoths premier action sports photographer. I asked him how he approached snowboard photography and he was pretty short with me, but he did mention some key things like long lenses and early morning light, so I can't complain too much. I asked him what the deal was with photo credentials for the tournament and he told me to take my ass down to the media relations office and pick one up even though I didn't request one online.
After a 30 minute journey I finally found the conference room and casually asked the director if I could still apply for a media pass. I informed him that although my press pass was expired, I was a legit AP freelancer and was covering the event for my own personal portfolio, and that I’d truly appreciate a photo pass. He entertained my long winded story and told me that the best he could do was toss me a media pass because the remaining photo passes had been reserved by other photogs online.
The catch: media pass holders weren’t allowed on the actual superpipe during the competition. When I heard that I knew the day was going to get interesting…there was no way I was going to come this far and not get on that pipe.
To my luck, both the photo and media pass came with the same bulky yellow lanyard that stuck out like a sore thumb…so when I walked up to the security checkpoints I tucked the pass under my shirt, puffed out the lanyard and put my camera in my hand like I was getting paid to shoot it.
I walked through not only one, but three different security checkpoints without a problem, all because I walked into the venue like I was meant to be there. I held my camera near my chest (nice and visible) and purposefully put on my 17-40mm because it was the largest looking lens I own. I tucked my pass into my shirt and puffed out the bright yellow lanyard so it stuck out like a sore thumb. Each time I passed a checkpoint, security would first look strait into my eyes, then at my lanyard and then to my camera. By anticipating their thought process I was able to confidently portray myself exactly how their subconscious expected an accredited photographer to act.
An old boss once told me that it’s always better to ask for forgiveness than permission…and this situation was is a perfect example.
Walking up the superpipes’ steep, narrow and frozen pathway was probably one of the most nerve wracking things I’ve ever done. The walkway was only about 4.5’ wide and falling off it was flat out not an option…the 22’ drop to the ice floor would of wrecked your world…insta-death style.
As I clambered up the pipe, I observed what other photographers were shooting with and where they were positioning themselves. Most were somewhere in the middle of the pipe and had long lenses on their bodies (anywhere from 70-200mm to 400mm). The longest lens I had was a 50mm f1.4, so I opted to position myself near the top of the pipe where the riders would have their first big air out the gate (right under the area that the long lenses were pointed at.)
Getting a solid shot was pretty difficult. Each rider hit the pipe differently, so some runs they would fly right over me, but more often then not they would take off and land 20-30 feet down from where I was squatting or on the other side of the pipe completely.
I did my best to anticipate their trajectory, but what worked best was asking advice from the couple of groms (kids) that were standing behind me and sounded like they knew what they were talking about. “Shaun White’s gonna hit it right there man!” said this little ten year old who was talking with his buddies about the different tricks they were going to do when the pipe opened up to the public later in the day. I’ve found that if you open up your eyes and ears to the settings around you, there’s a really good chance you’ll pick up something that will make your shoot better. When in doubt, ask some one! You never know what can come of it!
I push myself to find angels that tell a story in a way that most media outlets chose not to. While I was busy moving around and trying to get a 360 degree view of the award ceremony, other photographers were busy taking the SAME photo for literally five minutes:
BORING.
How many times have you seen this kind of photo?! If I wanted to see Shaun White holding a trophy, I'd google it. Photos like this are necessary, especially if your reporting on the event for a publication...but there's no excuse for making this your only angle! There's so much more to this event than just this mundane overplayed view! It took me literally ten seconds to take the photo that these other photogs took 5 minutes making.
The secret: BE AGGRESSIVE!
This is how I (the guy kneeling down in the white jacket and yellow pants in front of everyone) made this photo ..I took a power step and slid on my knees like a ninja right to the middle, right under the vantage point of all the other photogs. Look at all that lack of creativity behind me. How disappointing. Mix it up people!
I just don’t understand the appeal of getting the exact same photo every other photographer standing next to you is getting. Sure, the one photo of everyone celebrating on the podium is necessary if your going to print and your photo editor is a conservative pussy, but c’mon! Why not run a wide angle shot of the whole media frenzy surrounding the podium and use the cutline to name the athletes that won?! Not only would the image tell a compelling story, but it shows the setting it's taking place in. I personally would much rather see a wide angle approach like the one posted here than a zoom in standard that everyone sees all the time.
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