Extreme sledding

Keeping it all in the family with a brother and sister sledding crash.

I have been interested in photographing sledding for as long as I can remember. There are just so many cool possibilities when it comes to sledding that I am like a kid in a candy store when I get the opportunity to shoot sledding.

-There is great opportunity for cool light, (and it can pretty much suck too) depending on the time of day you are out shooting.
-Backgrounds can be terrific even if it is the side of a viaduct, like the image above.
-There is a possibility for great speed.
- Colors of the sleds, parkas, hats, and snow can make for some vibrant images.
-There are great faces kids and adults alike.

but the real reason for shooting sledding is....FOR THE WRECKS!!!!

I enjoy shooting sledding for the same reason I used to enjoy shooting auto racing. It is all about the crashes! If you tell me that you watch NASCAR or IRL because you want to see who wins you are either lying or you are in some sort of pool. Sledding is the same way when you have a camera in your hand.

Sure, you can make cute sledding photos of little kids sliding down a hill but the best photos come when they get a little older, heavier, and gravity moves them a LOT faster!

I recommend using the longest lens you have. It keeps the backgrounds clean and gives good separation between your subject and the background. Longer lenses combined with fast shutter speeds and small apertures will help your image scream "SPEED". When you are able to freeze pieces of snow in mid-air you get a real sense of action.

I also suggest that you experiment with the angle you are shooting from both in relation to the light and also to the sledder. Very few good images are taken from the top of the hill so plant your self a the bottom and be ready to move if you have a sledder come at you at high speed with little control. (Another reason longer lenses are good. They give you escape time.)

 

Make sure that you dress for the cold. Shooting sledding can be addicting and you many just find yourself saying "I will go after one more run" over and over. The most important thing is to have warm feet and hands. There are many times I have returned from shooting some amazing extreme sledders with numb fingers and toes!

As a newspaper photographer I can only shoot what I find. You on the other hand have the freedom to manipulate the situations asking sledders to sled a specific part of the hill or hit a specific jump that you may have even helped construct in an effort to get the "ultimate" sledding photo.

Sleds in the air are a necessary ingredient to the recipe of making a good, exciting and action-packed sledding photo. So maybe you will want to keep a shovel in your trunk to not only help you if you get stuck but to help get that amazing sled-wreck shot!

And for the record, no animal was injured in the making of the above images. However, many a sledder when calling it a day made their way home with a host of new bumps and bruises.