THE PHOTOGRAPHERS OF MOUNTAIN SPORTS THAT INSPIRES US THE MOST
Although our adventurous spirit is more about acting than seeing, we found it interesting to make a compilation of some of the photographers specialized in extreme sports who inspire us the most with images as amazing as the ones you will see below. The vast majority of them have tried the extreme sports that they now take photos of, so they have the ability to accurately portray the feeling of the athlete with their camera lenses. Do you stay to meet them?
Going back a bit in time, we are going to talk about Toni Frisell who, although she is known as a fashion photographer, offered the world the publication of the first photograph of the Sport Illustrated magazine . It shows several skiers descending a snowy mountain. In Sports Illustrated you can find the images of the sports photographers who have stood out the most in this profession.
Current Canon Ambassador Richard Walch began his career as a photographer capturing the best moments of snowboarders and skiers. Its objective is to freeze everything that is moving in a photo. His speciality? The water and the snow.
he was lucky enough to photograph one of the most prestigious sailing regattas with the German America's Cup team. This experience is reflected in his book The German dream of the America's Cup. On the other hand, at the age of 26 he also released another book in which he summarizes his best mountain trips called Fascination Snowboarding.
We cannot forget either that he has worked for important brands such as Apple, Audi, Red Bull or Tommy Hilfiger. His recent works are more focused on high definition movies or commercials. According to Walch, a mix of still and moving productions, but with a strong action element.
Among the most famous photographers in the world is Jimmy Chin who with his camera captures the essence of climbing and leaves us images that surprise us because of his landscape and risk . In addition, he has other ambitions such as cinema, being an Oscar winner for his documentary Free Solo. He has risen to the top working for National Geographic. Jimmy Chin stands out for his ability to take photography in sometimes complicated circumstances, but with a highly refined technique.
The Spanish Chechu Arribas is another of the great photographers of the moment. A nature lover, he has lived in the Benasque Valley since 2001 where he dedicates himself to what he is most passionate about. Arribas has been dedicating himself professionally to extreme action photography for 9 years now. In an exclusive interview for ULLER the photographer assures “the possibility of traveling and meeting passionate people in many sports disciplines have made my motivation feed back with theirs.” In addition, he is a true mountain lover and has practiced climbing and mountaineering for more than 25 years.
Another of the Spaniards who have marked a before and after in photography is Yhabril Moro. He was born in Bilbao, although now he has been in Villanúa for many years as a snow teacher in Astún. His photos have gone around the world thanks to a combination between skiing and the moon that leaves us with images that are as special as this one. And we love it!
This Basque is a lover of freeride and the mountains, so his work has become his passion, achieving worldwide recognition for the originality of his photos and the awards that you have received. However, the place where he has the most followers of his photography is on his social networks. On Instagram it reaches 19.4k!
Jesús Andrés Fernández is really known in the world of snowboarding for his photographs and the precision with which he captures the athlete's most spectacular moment. What started with a compact camera photographing his high school classmates has become his true passion. For more than 20 years now, he has been giving athletes images that best show the impact that extreme sports have on people. Jesús confirms that he does not have any tricks to take good photographs, he simply allows himself to be influenced by the moment, the light or the people. However, sometimes you are faced with clients asking for specific content so you have to adapt to what they are asking for. One of the most important jobs for the photographer was the one he did when he traveled to Japan. He points out that this work was the search for a breather and a return to what is important: making snow and taking images.
For the photographer Philipp Klein the state of alarm did not stop his originality or his desire to freeride. This young man took advantage of the time of confinement to make one of his most popular videos. Thanks to him, many people began to gossip about his work and right now he can make a living from something that was just a hobby. Klein says he was about to take a trip to La Grave to freeride when suddenly a state of alarm was declared and he saw his plans cut short. Once at home, he began to browse through his own skiing photos and came up with the idea of recreating one of them by animating the different parts of the movement. For the photographer, freeride equals freedom "going down a virgin slope at full speed, in a remote place and leaving your furrows on the snow is the ultimate definition of freedom."
Cam McLeod is a photographer who works reflecting the essence of the mountains, adventure as a lifestyle and the authenticity of new experiences. His photographs are characterized by clarity, cinematic style and vivacity of colours. He has traveled to the most remote places in search of the most impressive images. He considers photography an art and seeks to express it through his images.
Another professional cameraman is Silas Stein, born in Germany, he began shooting photos at the age of 14. In 2013 he began his studies in this profession in Rottweill, Germany. Although Stein cycles through the Black Forest in southern Germany in his spare time, his true passion is BMX and skateboarding. So it all started when he would photograph his roommates riding skateboards and together they would take little trips to local skateparks where Stein's camera would work its magic. Sports photography gives you the opportunity to capture a moment that will not be repeated in a split second. For Stein this is more than a job, his goal is to produce images that are of the highest possible quality.
Finally, Dimitrios Kontizas, graduated from the Athens Institute of Technology as a Graphic Arts and Design Technologist. He started working in the photo digitizing and editing department at a major Greek newspaper. He loves taking extreme sports photography and for the past three years has been the official photographer for a company that organizes base jumping events around the world. For the photographer there is nothing as satisfying as the race of a human being who jumps from a safe place and falls to the ground with only a parachute. In addition, he has his own climbing and photography equipment with which he pushes his limits no matter if he is 20 or 100 meters from a helicopter or a plane.
Today more than ever we are submerged in a world in which images predominate over words. However, we see how not everyone can take photographs and that it requires originality and a precise technique. The best thing to learn is to be inspired by these camera professionals, they are cracks!
