Thursday, February 23, 2012

Downhill slalom skier in race

This downhill snow skier is racing on the slalom course. My location was carefully chosen so that the skier would be heading for me after rounding the red gate and coming toward the blue gate. I like how this position can show the athlete's extreme body angle and I also like to see the face. The shot immediately before this one showed the skier contacting the red gate but the body angle wasn't so extreme.
The position was also chosen because the background was less cluttered than other places on the hill. The chairlift apparatus is present, as well as a gatekeeper, but those couldn't be avoided. Fortunately, they are slightly out of focus and the attention is squarely on the skier.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Off-camera Flash on Alpine Skier

Here is another sports image lit with an off-camera flash. The alpine skier is rounding a gate during an evening giant slalom race. I placed a light opposite the gate to the skier's right. This allows me to get a frontal shot without putting the light into the athlete's face.
This photo was taken about 6 pm and there wasn't much ambient light. Even so, there was a chance to get some ghosting so I opted for a fast shutter speed. This was shot at 1/1250 at f/3.5, ISO 2000, 70-200 lens at 180mm. Speedlight on auto.