COMP - Photography Days

This photo was taken during a spring session at Whitewater after the resort had closed for the season.  The weather was beautiful, and there was still plenty enough snow to build a little kicker jump and spend a few morning hours hiking up and hitting the jump before the sun softened the snow too much.  Sometimes, the best photos of a session are the in between shots, or "lifestyle" shots. I didn't have this shot planned, but when I saw this guy hiking up the hill in his tank top, holding his board behind him, I thought it made an interesting composition.  He was completely framed by the curves of the snow, isolating him beautifully.  In post production, I emphasized that by blowing out the white highlights to make them almost pure white, while darkening the trees to make them appear black. The contrast really added to the shot. It is unmistakably Whitewater.  To me, the shot shows the passion hehas for riding - walking up the hill in his tank top in complete solitude trying to get just a few more adrenaline-pumping runs in to feed his addiction before the snow disappears until the next season.