The fact that the skier is against a 'clean' background is critical to the composition. The 'splotchy' light streaming through low cloud-cover ads an ominous flavor. The contrast between direct vs. diffused light and soft, powdery slope vs. angular ice blocks adds a level of tension and seriousness. No, the image may not make the cover but for many other reasons, with which I can empathize, I enjoy it.
Where one may see flawed style I see adventure and 'making do' under the conditions. In this case it is not about heavenly turns in bottomless powder but battling gear – the 'less-than ideal' gear under foot and too much on the back – and emerging unscathed in order to carry-on for another day of adventuring.
Tough audience here, critiquing the skier’s form. Valid and well-intentioned, of course, but perhaps a little context is needed. The skier is not a ‘model’. He’s a mountaineer on Denali (20,320' or 6,194m) at, I'll speculate, approximately 12,000'...an area called 'Motorcycle Hill, perhaps? (The large blocks are not soft by any strecth...more like brick wall.)
No 're-shoots' here. Mountaineers climbing difficult terrain cannot afford the luxury of proper ski boots. While he'd prefer ski boots he's probably in mountaineering boots; analogous to the handling of a Porche 911 vs. a pick-up truck. Pretty hefty pack for making casual turns…hardly lunch and an extra layer. From experience I can tell you this combo of soft boots and heavy pack forces you to 'steer' from the backseat for fear of going over the handlebars. Taking a dive into a few inches of dust over a hard crust and having a 40 lb. pack drive a shoulder or face icebound could bring one's expedition to a screaming halt. He may well be thinking 'all that matters is getting down some gnarly terrain any way (I) can.' Put him in ski boots, lose the pack and he will ski circles around most.
I fully appreciate his 'position' in every sense. Nice work by both.
Glacier Skiing
in Sport
Posted
The fact that the skier is against a 'clean' background is critical to the composition. The 'splotchy' light streaming through low cloud-cover ads an ominous flavor. The contrast between direct vs. diffused light and soft, powdery slope vs. angular ice blocks adds a level of tension and seriousness. No, the image may not make the cover but for many other reasons, with which I can empathize, I enjoy it.
Where one may see flawed style I see adventure and 'making do' under the conditions. In this case it is not about heavenly turns in bottomless powder but battling gear – the 'less-than ideal' gear under foot and too much on the back – and emerging unscathed in order to carry-on for another day of adventuring.
Tough audience here, critiquing the skier’s form. Valid and well-intentioned, of course, but perhaps a little context is needed. The skier is not a ‘model’. He’s a mountaineer on Denali (20,320' or 6,194m) at, I'll speculate, approximately 12,000'...an area called 'Motorcycle Hill, perhaps? (The large blocks are not soft by any strecth...more like brick wall.)
No 're-shoots' here. Mountaineers climbing difficult terrain cannot afford the luxury of proper ski boots. While he'd prefer ski boots he's probably in mountaineering boots; analogous to the handling of a Porche 911 vs. a pick-up truck. Pretty hefty pack for making casual turns…hardly lunch and an extra layer. From experience I can tell you this combo of soft boots and heavy pack forces you to 'steer' from the backseat for fear of going over the handlebars. Taking a dive into a few inches of dust over a hard crust and having a 40 lb. pack drive a shoulder or face icebound could bring one's expedition to a screaming halt. He may well be thinking 'all that matters is getting down some gnarly terrain any way (I) can.' Put him in ski boots, lose the pack and he will ski circles around most.
I fully appreciate his 'position' in every sense. Nice work by both.