Photo Friday – Racer Ready

Blog Q&A education Technique / Ski Improvement

Photo Friday is a short blog capturing skiers on the slopes. It’s a journal of present and past photographs captured from resorts across North America.

Situation

Here’s a photograph I took during a GS Race in Ontario, Canada. The event was during a Club Championship where the staff member completed a forerun on the course.

“Club Championship” – An end of year event where all members of a private ski club compete in various alpine events (GS, Slalom) and all age categories. Usually over a weekend at end of season.

The Turn has already been completed

Type of Turns

This skier was performing some Giant Slalom turns on course. The speed and slope were on a Black run. You can see by the spray coming off the ski that the turn was completed already and she is releasing the edges to impulse over to the next gate. The skis are just coming off of max edge and are being released into the new direction.

Time of Year

This photo was taken in late March at Craigleith Ski Club (Ontario, Canada)

Slope

The photo was captured at approximately 10am Black Run

Snow Conditions

Conditions were firm and the course was in prime condition (groomed corduroy.

Camera Settings

  • Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
  • Canon Zoom Lens: 70-200mm(Full)
  • ISO: 200
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter: 1/1000 sec

PHOTO TIP: Where to stand to capture the best shot?

It’s all about safety first. You do NOT want to be in the spill zone or apex of the turn when capturing the image. You also don’t want to be in the line of sight of the racer. You cannot distract the racer in any way. That said, I positioned myself over the ridge and off to the side where the skier was NOT looking. Being over the ridge enables us to shoot UP into the blue sky while the skier appears to be coming right at the camera. Probably 80′ away from subject

Andrew Elsdon
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