"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it." - Theodore Roosevelt
Kid's Shots
These are hilarious. Basically I go to take photos in an area of the mountain that is closed off for teaching kids how to ski. Though some start earlier and some later, their ages range from 3 to 10. The smaller they are the more laughing and picture taking I do. I should have video of this, but the above pictures give justice. The closed off kids area is the smallest of small hills. It only has a slight pitch and is about 40 yards long. This is so the kids can barely get momentum while mainly working on turning and stopping (the two hardest things in skiing). The kids are taught the ski wedge or "pizza" as instructors call it. Adults are actually taught this way as well....just not sure they use "pizza" as a reference point!! "Pizza" means you effectively position your skis in the shape of a pizza slice with the bottom of the skis wide and the tips of the skis barely touching each other. See lower left picture above for the example given by the little girl. This "pizza" shape or wedge is how skiing is taught. You do this because the "pizza" formation naturally makes your ski edges dig into the snow. Just as with a snowboard, the more edge you have in the snow, the slower you go and more you turn. The rest is weight and balance. It's really hilarious to see some do it well and others just not get it. Those that struggle generally end up going straight skis or "french fry". See lower right picture above for example given by another little girl. With "french fry" skis, a kid typically runs over another kid because they are going too fast. Funny, huh? No one is hurt. For work, I stop them, put an Elevation Imaging sticker (with today's date) on their ticket and take pictures of them. Most of them smile, some cry and others want more pictures taken. They turn into little models. For sunny days, I have a small pair of kids sunglasses so "cool" shots can be taken without having them squint. I put their goggles up onto their helmets. The real funny part is when I end up teaching the kids. This is when I feel the instructors (younger people) are slacking in their work. It is chaos and I will give them that, but when a kid falls, I have little patience for them taking their time getting to the poor (sometimes yelling) kid. I don't think the instructors like it when I help. Too bad. I take about 100 pictures of these kids, most stand still and some action. Everything from the kid's having fun to the kids not having fun make this a unique time for being a mountain photographer. Some kids that won't stop crying actually ski while crying. It is sadly cute. All in all it's a great way to start the day. Quick story. One little boy was coming down the kid's hill (again it's only 40 yards long) and I looked at him as he was moving. I noticed his helmet was pressing downward on his goggles. This effectively made his goggles look more like a covering for his nose and mouth. The edge of his goggles were actually covering his eyes so he could barely see! Is this cute? Sure. But again, instructors should notice this and help the little one out. He could barely see where he was going! In any case I fixed him...he is the little boy (he was the tiniest kid on the hill) in the upper right picture above. He let me take a picture of him after I fixed his goggles. He looked like the little boy in A Christmas Story that was uncomfortably outfitted in his snow suit. Very funny, but he was happy I fixed his goggles.
Action shots
These photos are self explanatory and there is less drama then with the kid's photos. People come down an area of the mountain, a trail called Misty Maiden, where we set up signs to let them know we are taking pictures. We set one sign up that says "Photographer Ahead". They generally see this and then put there skiing and snowboarding skills into action. After they cruise by us there is a second sign that has a number on it. Their actions photos will be under this number for when they come into the shop to view the photos. Best part about actions photos...you don't have to stop families and ask if they want photos taken. Worst part...depending on how busy the mountain is, you take anywhere between 400-1,000 photos and your arm gets tired. It's a bigger lens and you're holding it upright for about 2-3 hours. I really enjoy doing it because in those several hundred photos I am always looking for the perfect shot. It makes time fly, but can be frustrating to not get the perfect shot. When I do get a great shot, I yell to the person, they stop and I run over to show them the shot on the LCD screen. It's a nice sales strategy because they see it right away and 8 out 10 times they come in and buy it. Nice action photos are generally of a person turning. If you can get them turning with skis parallel....maybe a little snow kick out...then you have a good photo.
On Day 51 (3/11/10) I posted a video of what I do on the job. Looking back, that was a boring video. Seriously. I just wanted to give you a little perspective, but there was not much excitement to that video. Today's video will be a little better:
Quick things on the video. Frist, sorry I talk while chewing. Not how I was raised, but finding time to eat on the job is challenging. Second, I hope you liked the song. The band is Guster and they are from Boston. The Guster members formed the band in 1991 while attending Tufts University in Medford, MA. They played at Babson College while I attended there.
My quote of the day was reflective of my job today . Shooting kid's and action photos is very different than shooting still family portraits. Previous to today, I had never taken photos specifically of kids and/or skiers/snowboarders in action. When they asked me to do this, I did not even hesitate to think "I'll figure this out". It's a great approach to take with any new work. Unless the line of work falls under a industry like Bionuclear engineering, why not give it a shot, right?
I hope you are well and good night from Telluride. PS - After the kids go down the small kid's hill they get taken back up by an escalator type runner named "The Magic Carpet". It's flat like the airport ones and moves slowly up the kid's slope....kid's in their skis on it. See the upper left picture above. It's really funny to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment