That’s snow business
After six weeks of bright sunshine the snow had come down heavily the night before the scheduled shoot, a sudden snowstorm covering the pistes with a fresh layer of powder. But the forecast for the day ahead was mixed. “We might just be lucky,” Dan explained to Michelle as they headed up towards the alpine peaks in a gondola to the ski resort above Les Houches. “For the moment, the sky is looking a brilliant blue. Whether that lasts for half an hour or half a day is anyone’s guess at this point. When it comes to the weather, anything can happen in the mountains.”
Accompanying the professional adventure-sports photographer and his Apprentice was Oscar Jones, their model and athlete for the day. Raised in France but born to British parents, Oscar had grown up in the alps and was an expert skier, having had been an accomplished ski jumper in his school years. “I don’t normally have a shot list,” admitted Dan as they made the slow ride up the hill, “but as we don’t know how long the blue skies are going to hold out for, we’ll need to make sure we get working fast to get the shots we want.”
SETTING THE SCENE
The gondola reached the station at the summit and the three made their way towards the pistes, but Dan stopped Michelle as she was about to step into her skis. “Let’s set the scene. A ski shoot is all about telling a story, so we’ll start with a moody portrait of Oscar and the peaks.”
Ascending a small hillock the trio were presented with a stunning mountain vista lit by the sun. Dan had explained to Michelle his go-to manual exposure settings for
