Ski Mammoth!

Just shot these at Mammoth ski slope on Sunday. Great spring skiing weather, though it's getting warm fast (it's been a warm spring there). A few shots of the snow-boarding and ski jump area. C&C appreciated.

Taken with Nikon D200.

GB

wow, i didn't think mammoth would still be open.
the first two are good, classic mammoth shots - the rider near the gondola. a few gripes though.
The first one isn't very flattering for the rider. he's out of balance and not doing anything "cool". This was a throw away jump for him.
the second one is good. you caught it at the peak of the action. good X and grab.
the third one... is kinda boring. did you like that one because it shows the rider over the mountain in the background? ...... He's not at the hight of the jump (i hope... for his sake) and he hasn't gotten the grab. Shooting stuff like this depends much on the rider. how quick they can get to the trick and hold it.
one last thing. usually riders want to show off how BIG they're going with pictures. so showing some ground under them helps, the landing or take off, or both.

Boring...? whatya, nuts? :) It scared the %#^$# out of me even watching them do their stunts, but I hadn't skied in over 10 yrs so just getting down the blue-circle slopes without wiping out made me happy.

I thought # 1 was the best (?? It looked good to me.. I thought his body position was intentional) and that # 3 was the sharpest. I don't think the # 3 guy was at the apex at that pt. # 2, she did a good spin around but the pic wasn't all that sharp.

I post the original shots for comparison. Was wondering if anyone would notice that I removed the wires behind # 3 :D It was easy w/o clouds. I learned that getting shots like this is extremely challenging, for

1) you have to use a wide aperature and fast shutter, so your focal pt must be right on
2) you have to manually focus
3) since your focal zone is so small you have to predict exactly where they will fly through your zone. This is hard because the ramp is about 15-20 feet wide
4) depending on where you're at, you might not be able to see them coming in for the jump and will have to depend on sound etc. (That is almost impossible)
5) placing yourself where they won't hit you is a major consideration. I would of loved to be right under the ramp, but I prob wouldn't be typing right now if I did

I think I shot ~ 80 shots and these are the best of the lot. I'm pretty happy with what I got but will definitely be back next yr.

Anyway, thanks for the pointers! Yeah Mammoth is usually open at least into May.. last year I think they were even open into July (they set a snowfall rec in 2005/06).

gb

You wanted to be under the jump? something like this?
http://photo.ringo.com/190/190235405O713522086.jpg
to get this kind of shot, you really have to know and trust the skier. if they come up short, you're dead.

with the first one, now that i can see more of the jump. it looks like this guy tried to spin, but something went wrong. i'd be shocked if he landed this.

i actually like the crop and everything of your original shot of the skier. a little off the top and i think this would be pretty darn good.

Taking shots like this is though. i've spent a LOT of time sitting on the park with my camera. the toughest thing for me is metering. you have to get the detail in the whites and in the shadows.
In many ways, it helps that i'm a bit of a park skier myself. i know what to look for and where everyone's going to be.
for example, i can tell where they're going to come off by the way the start their run. if they're making big carving turns into the jump, they're setting up to spin. if they're lining it, they're trying to go for a big grab or maybe a flip.
also knowing how people spin really helps in positioning. i''ve found that for shooting a skier doing a 360, it's best to shoot from behind him. usually you'll get him with a nice grab and looking down at you 1/2 way through his rotation.

before you go back next year. watch some skiing and riding on TV. watch how they approach the jumps and spin off of them. also, once you get to the mountain, hang out at the top of the jump line and just watch them. watch their speed and the size of the jumps. talk to some kid with a camera and ask him about angles and stuff. if you can anticipate where they're going to be in the air, you'll have a much better idea of where to set up your shot.

I haven't been to Mammoth in years, must go back one day.

I like the shot of the girl rotating but prefer the original, which I would print very large.

Excellent shots

Roger

Z - Nice shot there, but I think I prefer daytime shots. But it's the type shots I want. :D I definitely appreciate your advice here - I think the more you know about the skiers/boarders the better chance you have .. none of this stuff is easy to me cause I hardly ever shoot sports or wildlife.

Roger - Thanks for commenting. I think I should have used a faster SS on her cause those spins are really movin. You like the bigger angle? I guess it tells more of a story. Mammoth is fun but quite a ways out in the middle of nowhere (400 miles from San Diego). The main ski lodge area is at about 9000 feet so you can get out of breath if you walk uphill too fast :D (it's fun to actually notice that..).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GB1

Roger - Thanks for commenting. I think I should have used a faster SS on her cause those spins are really movin. You like the bigger angle? I guess it tells more of a story. Mammoth is fun but quite a ways out in the middle of nowhere (400 miles from San Diego). The main ski lodge area is at about 9000 feet so you can get out of breath if you walk uphill too fast :D (it's fun to actually notice that..).

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I remember it well and a climb from the car park onto the piste, loads of snow when we were there.

400miles piffling, its 5720 miles from Basingstoke (approximately) :lol:

Roger

Good, good, please bring some on over to sports, too !
I really like those shots with the cable cars in the background, great context.

Did you shoot RAW or JPEG?
That second shot the whites look crushed, maybe you can recover the highlights a bit.

Nice work GB. I like the one where you can read the bottom of the board. It gives it a great since of height. You really did a good job exposing against the sky. Did you do much PPing on these or are these out of camera?
Greg

Paul - Thanks, I did shoot RAW. I agree about the loss of detail.. maybe I can recover a little. I didnt even think about the sports forum :D

Roger, that's a long ways to ski! But the eastern Sierras have a lot of great scenery for photograpy too. Several professional photographers like Galen Rowell (deceased) are or were based around that area. I might head back in the summer.

Greg, Thanks. I also really like the text on the board, gives it a little pizzazz.. I did do some PP as some were slightly dark... I used aperature priority and between +1 and +2 exp compensation when there was snow in the shot, but some fellow there said that I should really shoot pure manual using the ol sunny 16 rule (which I've, uhmmm..., forgot). I'm not a very experienced or fancy PPer so all I normally do is exp adjustment and a little touch up. Next time, I take Z's advice and study up on these guys beforehand. It's hard enough where you need whatever you can get to give you an advantage!

GB