New Dawn

Squaw Valley Ski Resort, California
On assignment for Warren Miller

Camera: Nikon D700

What makes it special: Next time you find yourself in the moment, ask yourself how much of the bigger picture around you, all the things you cannot hold and see in that moment, truly are key components of how special that moment feels.

The story:  "I am seeing things in a fundamentally new way as an artist. My creative pursuit to translate how things feel, rather than merely to document what they are, has become my personal mission. Now, through the exploration of stitched ultra panoramic images, I'm able to use dimensions far beyond the standard 160 degrees of human vision. For me, this technique cannot be just documentation. It must allow me to instill the emotions we all feel, but cannot see.

I have been struggling with the dilemma of scale; whether to focus on the cliché tight commercial frame that summarizes all the variables into a neat, tight package, or to focus on an expanded, bigger picture. On one side is the practical application; on the other, an emotionally sublime exploration of how the space feels in that moment. I have been aware of each extremes and have tried to cover both whenever I could. In many cases I have used an assistant to help trigger the shutter on a second camera with an alternate perspective. At other times I would try to do it on my own, firing multiple cameras with contrasting perspectives, using a cable release triggered with my teeth. The unmistakable chasm between both realms remained.

Our journey to the top of Squaw Valley began long before dawn. As the signaled the coming day, I took in the view from all directions. On this particular morning something clicked. As the first rays of sunlight hit The Funnel, I clearly saw the tight frame on its shoulder and lined up Squaw's world class talent to ski that line. I had the boys ski it twice; each time I fired 14 frames. In the end there was one frame, one composition where their body language all lined up. Then, for the first time, using a consistent perspective (the same focal-length lens), I captured all the other frames I needed to encapsulate the bigger picture of the surrounding world. The additional 22 frames ranged dramatically in exposure, texture and light. Stitched together, they encompass a 270-degree view defining a much clearer, emotional sense of what it felt like to be there.

There is no other time than now. We cannot see all the things happening to define a given moment, yet we somehow feel what defines that moment. As such, New Dawn is an ongoing discovery.

Every one of my new ultra panoramas has it's own voice. Not only does each image resonate with its unique emotion, it also defines its own space, and has its logical beginning, ending and proportions/aspect ratio."