Rangefinder Magazine
March 2006

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Xtreme Xposure Kayce Baker

I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to photograph the Winter X Games VIII. The X Games are broadcast in 145 countries in at least 10 languages. The average age of the athletes competing is around 24. There are three separate snowboard events, and each of them have a men’s and a women’s competition (Superpipe, Slopestyle and Snowboarder X).

Photographing snowboarding requires a fairly specialized checklist of gear: snowboard, boots, cold-weather gear, hat, goggles, scarf, gloves, more gloves. One also has to think about getting to the event, whether driving or flying to it. The latter requires questions like, “What’s my carry-on weight limit?” and “How am I going to carry all of this around an airport?”

Planning is essential. You’ll need to organize all your critical camera accessories, decide on which film to shoot, and plan which weather-related items you’re going to make extra room for.

Pack layers—not just for you, but also for your camera. It can and will snow on you. The competition does not stop for light snowfall; it takes blizzard conditions to make it stop. You will be right in the middle of everything. When the action is happening, the snow blows all around you—on your lens, your bag, your camera—everywhere!

You should always have sunscreen, paper towels, lens cloth, plastic baggies, plus hand and foot warmers. The warmers can make all the difference in the world. The day starts out great it’s sunny, and you’re shooting at ISO 100 all day long. The sunset is the most magnificent thing you’ve ever seen, when all of a sudden you realize your fingers and toes are going numb. Pop a couple of these warmers on, and you’re set.

Film and batteries can always be shipped ahead of time. For last year’s X Games, I shipped it all FedEx. My gear was ready and waiting for me when I arrived. I also avoided delays in the airport and more importantly, I avoided extra baggage and weight. Batteries are needed in quantity as the cold weather tends to suck down the power in everything extremely fast.

Most of the events take place during the daytime and are all subject to the “Sunny 16” rule (i.e. 1/ISO at f/16). However, an indispensable piece of equipment is your ambient light meter. The lighting conditions change so often up on the mountain that a simple (and frequent) cloud shift can drop you more than a whole stop. When working with transparency film or in digital, it’s especially critical to get a proper exposure.

The film of choice for 90 percent of the photographers out there on the snow is Provia 100F. It has the extra pop they need in the blue sky, has superfine grain, and gives great color.

I use a variety of camera formats to capture the sport of snowboarding from as many views as possible, and I shoot Fujifilm Velvia 100F, Provia 400F and Neopan 1600 films.

There are also nighttime SuperPipe competitions, which have become much more popular recently due to the high-powered lighting systems that are now installed at half-pipes across the country. You’ll want to use faster films and digital in these situations.

The digital SLR lends itself perfectly to proofing your exposures and getting the shots you need now. For editorial purposes this works quite well since you know if you got the money shot or not, and you can get the image to your editor faster. DSLRs, however, do not like extreme cold conditions. I once heard severe cursing coming from many other photographers on the half-pipe during a balmy –10° SuperPipe competition.

All the events at X Games are planned around TV time slots and for the most part, they keep to these schedules pretty well. It’s important to get up the mountain and in position to shoot before the camera crews take over. Simply put: It’s their airtime, not yours. Practice sessions are the best times to get the best shots. You have more flexibility. You can use a variety of lenses and are able to get in close. I shoot with a rangefinder camera and my digital camera of choice tends not to go faster than three frames per second. Previsualization is the key to getting good shots.

Beware that there are dangers on the slopes. It is just as dangerous, if not more so, for the photographer as it is for the athlete. Recently, I witnessed a seasoned press photographer climb up and set himself squarely under a jump with a 14mm lens—a beauty of a shot right? The snowboarder saw him at the last second, missed the landing and almost took the photographer’s head off.

You will be doing a lot of hiking up and down the mountain and to the various venues. Bottled water is essential, and so is a properly fitting camera backpack, which will make the experience less fatiguing and will make it easier to concentrate on being creative.

Photographing in these conditions is not as easy as one might think. I’ve talked with many editorial photographers who first trek up the mountain, then realize they don’t know what they are doing there. I’ve heard questions like, “What are those metal slidy things?” and “Aren’t they supposed to do flippamabobies or something like that?” No kidding!

Photographers who are not prepared for these conditions or are unfamiliar with the world of extreme sports should ask a lot of questions before hiking up the mountain. Research the sport online or buy some magazines to get a better handle on what is what. Or consider employing one of the struggling photographers entrenched in the sport. It can never hurt to share the love of photography and brief employment with someone who is in the same position as you once were.

If you are serious about photographing the sport, then there is education. There are specific workshops that exist just for photographers interested in photographing snowboarding. One of the best is run by renowned snowboard photographer Trevor Graves at High Cascade Snowboard Camp at Mt. Hood, Oregon, just one hour outside of Portland (www.hcscphotoworkshop.com).

Camera Gear

Here’s what I usually take in my gear bag: Fujifilm Finepix S2 Pro and Nikon F100; Tamron 14mm, Nikon 20mm and 80–200mm lenses, Tamron 2X Teleconverter; Hasselblad Xpan and 45mm lens; Nikon SB-28 and SB-50 Speedlight, Quantum QBC1 battery, Minolta Flash Meter IV, PocketWizard, lightweight tripod or lightstand, and LiteDisc; Provia 100F and 400F, Velvia 100F, Astia 100F, Fujicolor NPZ, and Neopan 1600 films; Motorola walkietalkie, spare batteries, filters, lens cloth, Sharpie, tape, paper towels, toe warmers, hand warmers, sunscreen, wire ties, baggies and (phew) business cards.

Meet Kayce Baker at the “All Day Spanish Programs” at WPPI 2006, Saturday April 8, at BALLY’s Las Vegas Rooms 4–5.