Snow King Jump Session

Snow King lifts.

It's snowing. I mean, it's really snowing. We've been getting dumped on all day. Being Sunday, and that there is really nothing else to do other than make a big breakfast and sit around, we thought it was the perfect day to go snowboarding. Snow King, the little resort just a few blocks from us, has had their snowmakers going strong all week. Now that we've got some real snow, it's actually starting to get fun over there. The lifts aren't open yet, but it gives us a chance to work off that beer we've been consuming all week by hiking to the top instead. Seeing all of my fellow photog friends unveiling winter 09-10 snowboarding photos, on Flickr and Facebook I thought it was time for me to get shooting.

We hiked up to this big mound of snow where David had discovered a "jump" yesterday, or at least a wind lip that could easily be converted into a jump. As we were hiking up, these two other dudes, Toby and Jason, were hiking up the other side. They ended up having the same idea we did and decided to help build up the lip. David and the two of them hiked up to an area that seemed like it would provide enough speed for the jump. After a few hits and the ice finally wore off their boards, they were able to catch a little bit of air. Before I show off these lovely photographs, let me just justify a few things...

1: It is really hard to shoot photos when it's dumping snow. It's cloudy, my LCD screen is covered in water droplets, and I can barely focus on the point that I want to...so some are a little bit out of focus.

2: My flash is a work in progress. Right now, the only flash system I can afford is one Vivitar 285HV and two Pocket Wizards. The Vivitar is powerful, yet has a really slow recycle time. About 10 seconds. Oh yah, and the battery power reduces to about 60% in the cold. That means it only fires when it wants to. It probably didn't even fire 50% of the time. I don't know. I couldn't see. That also means that when the flash didn't fire, photos were only taken at 1/250th of a second, making the rider blur.

So, here's what I got from today. Notice the huge amount of snow puking out of the sky.

David BS 180.

This is Toby. A rare moment with flash.

Jason method.

Building up the "MONSTER."

David, best photo of the day probably.

Testing the flash...no, it's not firing.

So yah, that's it. I guess they turned out okay considering the size of the feature and the conditions, but let's just say, it was good practice. And it was fun. I can't wait to get out there tomorrow when there is even MORE snow! Oh and also, David is going to make me a battery pack for my flash so that it recycles faster and lasts longer. Then I won't have to carry around 2 lbs. of AA's. Yay!

P.S. It's 23 degrees and still snowing!