I’ve heard it said, “You will never get hired for the type of work you want to shoot. Shoot the type of work for which you want to get hired.” Basically, you can’t wait for clients to go out on a limb and hire you to do a project that you have no proof you can complete.

At the end of this week I am going to the Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow in Salt Lake City to show my outdoor adventure portfolio to potential clients. When I made the decision at the end of December to go I had nothing to show in the “Snow” area of my portfolio. I couldn’t assume that winter sports companies would hire me based on my rock climbing portfolio, so I headed to Colorado. I contacted several resorts outside of Denver, and Breckenridge responded positively. They allowed me to shoot and even got me in contact with several skiing and snowboarding professionals to use as models. I cannot thank Austyn and Missy enough for all the help they provided me.

Jake Black hitting the terrain park at Breck

Don’t stop there! More Photos After the Break!

John Mason carving Peak 8

Jesse Ambrogi getting some air.

The summit of Peak 8 of Breckenridge sits at 12,998 feet above see level

The hike from the highest ski lift in North America to the peak may only be 300 feet, but at almost 13,000 feet of elevation my lungs felt like they were going to burst. Carrying my skis, poles and all my camera equipment I would take a break after every few steps. Light headed, I struggled to keep myself from falling backwards from the weight I was carrying.

But the views from the top are worth the hike.

View of Copper Mountain from the summit of peak 8

The drop into the Lake Chutes, the reward of hiking to the summit.

Jeff popping off a log in the woods.

Damian navigating a log jump in the woods of Peak 9

Jeff finishing the day just right.

I learned a lot from this shoot. My first day out I felt very ill-prepared. I had equipment failures and wasn’t placing myself well to catch the jumps. Day two with John Mason and Jesse Ambrogi went much better; I felt much more natural shooting in the high alpine environment. Saturday I spent climbing up to the Lake Chutes in perfect weather, but finished the day in the terrain park with no sun. Sunday I got connected with Damian and Jeff and got exactly what I was looking for, happy to shoot with lights in a much more controlled environment. I was hoping to stay monday, but a very large storm threatening to strand me through Tuesday chased me back to Denver. I have to leave Tuesday morning to get back to Indiana to teach at IWU. I was looking forward to shooting in great snow conditions, but I know I’ll be back. This was a great first outing.