XL Storm Pano

Copper Mountain Ski Resort, Colorado

Camera: Widelux

What makes it special: Often it is the intensity brought on by the collapse of a window of opportunity that pushes creativity over the edge. It forces thinking outside the box and seeing beyond normal perception, both essential to me and my art in order to translate what something feels like, rather than just to document what it is.

The story:  "It was the last day of the Colorado Ski Country Photography Contest and we were plagued by bad light and challenging weather conditions. I was commissioned to create two final images for the "Back Country" component of the competition. I was in the middle of an incredibly beautiful mountain range but I could not see a thing through the incredibly thick fog. I was to shoot a willing team of great local skiers, but the conditions were lousy and we all knew it.

As we trudged up the hill, not clear where we were going or what we were going to try and shoot, I processed my options. Snow conditions and available light were marginal, at best, and experience had taught me that these components were critical if I were to use traditional techniques to try to capture an inspiring ski moment. It was time to get creative, to push my personal boundaries, and to take this chance to explore the realm of the unpredictable.

With my customized swing shift panoramic Widelux camera modified to distort the focus of everything but the center of the film plane, I experimented with recording the ongoing trudge of the team through overlapping, multiple exposure compositions all rolled into one. I played with shutter speed, angle, frequency and focus, recording as the team plodded through the soupy snow and gloomy light. Roll after roll I played, uncertain of what, if anything, I was capturing, but very much in the moment, emotionally clear about what it felt like to be on this journey."