Behind the Lens: Winter Games
Snow falling from a bright blue sky? There's something not quite right about this picture. Photographer Cameron Spencer explains.
This image captures Jordan Rehrer of the USA competing in the men’s snowboard slopestyle during the Winter Games NZ at The Remarkables ski resort in Queenstown, New Zealand. What makes the image stand out is the contrast of the brilliant blue sky against what appears to be snow. Snowy weather is usually dark and stormy, so the effect here is slightly strange.
As a sports photographer for Getty Images, I often cover extreme sports such as snowboarding. The main thing I always look for is sunlight and the direction it’s falling in. I also seek out the most interesting background, like the spectacular mountain range you see in this image.
In order to photograph Rehrer launching off the jump, I placed a camera with a wide-angle lens underneath the ramp on a mini tripod with a remote trigger linked to it. As he began his air launch, Rehrer’s board was spinning and collected a large amount of snow on the nose, which sprayed into the sky. The snow scattered across the frame resulting in the sky being filled with small white dots. This was a one-off: from an entire card it was only image in this sequence that the snow sprayed, creating a graphic and unexpected shot which was my favourite from the event.
CANON EOS 1D MKIII 16-35MM F/2.8L. EXPOSURE: F/8 @ 1/2000s, ISO 400.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images (image: 90026008).
Story first published in Australian Photography + digital (August 2012).