Featured Picture: Rick Sorensen | Skier: Jeff King
Deciding on a canopy is not any straightforward course of. Yearly, FREESKIER receives numerous submissions from the best photographers within the extensive world of snowboarding. Every shot has a novel story and sometimes that backstory by no means sees the sunshine of day. Behind the Cowl is supposed to alter that. We dialed up photographer Rick Sorensen to get an inside have a look at how the idyllic shot that landed on the duvet of FREESKIER Journal Quantity 27 Difficulty 2 got here to fruition.
Thanks for speaking, Rick. Congratulations on touchdown this epic cowl shot! If you had been out taking pictures for this one, how did the day begin? Did you start with excessive expectations?
It was an actual sleeper day on the finish of March. We had been in an honest storm cycle in Aspen however hadn’t had a lot of a break within the climate for good gentle. When it regarded like we had been going to get a little bit window on this explicit morning, Jeff [King] and I pulled it collectively rapidly and caught the primary bucket up. We knew the snow could be good, however didn’t have excessive expectations for gentle.
It had been tremendous flat gentle for the previous couple of days. Once we made it to the spot, nevertheless, we had been fortunate sufficient to get simply sufficient of a break within the clouds to gentle up this cliff band for a couple of minutes. I obtained into place rapidly, and Jeff nailed the flip. We obtained socked in for the remainder of the day, and this was just about the one shot we obtained.
Sounds just like the snow was nice that day. How about in the previous couple of days?
Yeah, the snowboarding was all-time. Aspen was having an epic season, and we had been in the course of a basic late-season sleeper storm cycle. So it was actually full on storm snowboarding for many of the week prior. Tremendous chilly and windy, however epic. On this explicit morning, although, most likely 14 inches of recent had fallen the evening earlier than. The wind had died off and the storm broke for an ideal, albeit quick, window to go bag a shot.
Was this an space you had shot earlier than or had been you getting acquainted with a brand new zone?
This can be a zone I had shot just a few occasions, however by no means on this explicit spot. There’s not a ton of distinction up there, so we had been drawn to this cliff band due to how out and in the sunshine was that day. I needed Jeff to leap off it, however he wasn’t too eager on that [laughs]. I’d say it labored out even higher this fashion.
What speaks to you about this shot probably the most?
A number of the finest days I’ve ever had on skis are those I least anticipated. Coming to Aspen on the finish of March, I anticipated to be engaged on my goggle tan and snowboarding slushy bumps, not choking on chilly smoke pow. I really like how one can inform how chilly and lightweight the snow was within the picture. It seems to be prefer it was shot in mid-January. I’m fairly certain the following day it went sizzling and all the pieces turned to mush. The shot actually signifies the great thing about being in the precise place on the proper time.
With “good” being a time period that’s so subjective in artwork, what do you personally search for in a great picture?
Oh man, everybody has a unique eye for it. Personally, I’ve at all times tried to seize as a lot of the setting as doable. We don’t ski in little packing containers. We ski in these large, lovely landscapes, with all these loopy cool and distinctive options, just like the pink rock cliff band and large cornice on this picture.
I’ve at all times been simply as impressed by the locations we ski in as I’m by the snowboarding, so I attempt to seize as a lot of that as I can once I shoot pictures. Generally, that makes the skier actually small. Not everybody likes that, however I take pleasure in telling extra of the story than only a single flip. For me, a great picture explores extra of the setting and the encompassing elements.
Who’s one skier you suppose everybody ought to watch nowadays?
Preserve your eye on Zeb Schreiber. The younger buck from Tahoe is on a tear. He’ll make waves, for certain.
