Peak Photography

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2010-04-12T07:47:00.001-07:00

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Mandy & Martins' White Wedding in Banff!

2010-04-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather and fresh snow on the mountains and trees makes for a perfect white wedding in Banff. Mandy and Martin came all the way from Cumbria, UK and picked just the right day!

Despite the wintery backdrop it was warm enough that we didn't have to rush too much while we were shooting at the Bow Falls

Mandy & Martin were having a great time and it shows.

Winter was the theme and their cake topper covered it all plus thier dogs!!

It's been a very busy month and keeping up with the blog has been tough but stay tuned for more!

A beautiful Buffalo Mountain Lodge Wedding in Banff!

2010-03-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day in March for Andrea & Ross's wedding at Buffalo Mountain Lodge, warm and sunny. The girls were ready in plenty of time and having fun. The walk from the bride's ready room to the Wapiti Longhouse, where the ceremony is held is one of my favorite times to get fun candid shots.

The ceremony was performed by Banff's Rick Kunelius and as always he had everyone relaxed and enjoying every minute of the most important part of the day.

It is March after all and in the afternoon it got a bit cooler but our chivalrous groomsmen saved the day. Who could say no to these beautiful girls anyway? Fortunately, as the sun passes behind one mountain there are usually other sunny spots to find in the valley and so we did.

The late afternoon light in the spring is one of the most beautiful times to shoot in the mountains. Andrea, Ross and thier wedding party had a terrific time with lots of laughs during our shoot. They were a great couple to work with and I'm very happy with the results!

Our wedding schedule for the spring is starting to fill up and I'm beginning to enjoy posting these blogs so please check in from time to time and have a look at what's new.

Cheers

Malcolm

Whew! We did it, all Olympic Alpine Events finished in Whistler!

2010-02-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

The last two days of Olympic competition at Whistler Creekside did not come easily. Some of the worst weather we had experienced so far (and that's saying a lot) descended on our venue. The volunteer course workers were on the mountain all night clearing snow in preparation for the Ladies' slalom event.

Somehow everything was ready on time and despite the heavy snowfall the first racer came out of the start gate on schedule. At the top of the course the fog added to the almost impossible conditions for the photographers. Some of my friends were frustrated that there were really great shots to be had but they were pretty much ruined by the terrible visibility but that's ski racing!

Again our Canadian athletes had some excellent runs that would have been celebrated results at World Cups but were off the podium here. This is young up and comer Erin Mielzynski from Edmonton. She skied a great race with an almost flawless first run. Watch for her in the future.

Yesterday (Saturday) was our last event at Creekside. Again the challenges facing the course crew were huge. Less fog and snow was a blessing but warmer temperatures were a big problem. Here water is being poured on the track to help firm it up for the run. Everything worked well and we saw two phenomenal slalom runs by the men.

Here's a shot of me and the Director of Alpine Sport, Banff's own Peter Bosinger. Peter has been in Whistler for the last few years, working for Vanoc, building the race courses and running the test events. No-one has been under more pressure than Peter and somehow he made it all work. Banff can be very proud of him.

It was a bit sad watching the last racer cross the finish line yesterday but it was mixed with a feeling of accomplishment and relief that every scheduled alpine event had been completed succesfully

In the early evening all of the staff and volunteers from the alpine venue met for a wrap up party in the finish area. Peter gave a hertfelt speech of praise for everyone who had helped make the games a success at Whistler Creekside.

As darkness fell I looked up at Whistler Mountain and took a quiet moment to soak it all in.

What an experience. 28 days of stress, ridiculously early mornings, pressure, politics, amazing ski racing and parties! I saw things that I'll never forget. The joy of the winners and the heartbreak of those that missed maybe thier once in a lifetime chance of glory. The Olympics are special just like they say. It sounds cliche but this was my second Winter Olympics and this morning when I woke up, for a moment I felt just what I felt 22 years ago the day after the games at Nakiska. A bit sad that it's over but a wonderful feeling that I was there at the greatest party in the world. Sochi 2014? Stay tuned!

Down to the final races at Whistler!

2010-02-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

Whistler weather is back with a vengance. The ladies Giant Slalom was sheduled for Wednesday but after completing the first run, heavy fog forced the postponement of the second run until today, Thursday.

Here's a photo of Nick Didlick the Chief of Photography for the 2010 Olympic Games (center, our boss), me in my stylish blue Vanoc uniform and some of the photographers waiting in the early morning for our clearance to enter the race course.

I was at the start for the first run. It's a really eaciting place to be. There is lots of excitement in the air and when the racers throw themselves out of the gate thier coaches and teammates are shouting at the top of thier lungs! This is Canadas' Britt Janyk launching onto the course. All of our girls had great runs but didn't crack into the medals.

Backstage just before the award ceremony in the finish area you can see up close the flowers that are presented to the top three winners. They will receive thier medals at the Medal Plaza tonight in the center of Whistler village

Today the Gold went to Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg, the Silver to Tina Maze of Slovinia ( her second) and the Bronze to Elizabeth Goergle of Austria (her second also).

It was great to see Patty Schwartz in the finish area chatting with Canmore's Shona Rubens. Patty has been helping run Alpine Races fo the Sunshine Ski Club for as long as I can remember and is dedicated to the sport. Shona put in some great runs at the Olympics and now is off to Europe to finish the World Cup season.

The ladies slalom is scheduled for tomorrow. This event is shorter and relatively immune to bad weather so I think we'll get it off the card. Cheers from Whistler!

Wonderful Skiing in Whistler then back to Racing

2010-02-23T21:02:00.000-08:00

Finally a day off with beautiful weather. Time to go skiing and explore Whistler-Blackcomb. From the top of Blackcomb Mountain the view of the famous landmark "Black Tusk" in the distance was spectacular.

Somehow in the vast expanse of this huge resort we ran into my friend Canadian Ski Team member and Olympian Britt Janyk skiing with fellow Olympian Chemmy Alcott who is Britians' top female racer. They were on the upper mountain with Chemmy's coach, free skiing in preparation for Wednesdays Ladies Giant Slalom.

At the top of the Peak Express Chairlift on Whistler Mountain there is this enormous Inukshuk. There is a constant line of skiers waiting to get a picture posing at it. Here are a few of our Olympic Press Staff that we met up with after lunch. I never seem to ski Whistler when there isn't cloud and fog so I'm really glad that we had such a great day. I finally know my way around this massive resort (mostly).

Today it was back to racing with the Men's Giant Slalom. The clouds had come back into the valley and by the end of the second run it was raining lightly. The forecast is not great for the last few days of events but unlike the speed events, Downhill and Super-G, we can run the technical events in almost any weatther.

Swiss Carlo Janka put two great runs together to win the Gold Medal with Norway's Jansrud and Svindal claiming Silver and Bronze.

No-one has worked harder than the volunteers on the mountain. Here is a group shot of the Ladies Course crew. Anyone who has worked at the Lake Louise World Cups would recognise alot of faces in this bunch. Most of them run those events and are helping out here and doing an incredible job, hats off to them!

Tomorrow is the Ladies GS. Looking forward to watching Britt and the girls have great races, stay tuned!

Speed Events finished, a day off and then on with the Technical Events in Whistler

2010-02-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

Lots of news to report from the Olympics in Whistler. Yesterday (Sunday) we hosted the Men's Super Combined and on Staurday we saw the Ladies Super-G. That means the speed events, which are the thrilling, action filled top to botom races are finished. We have a day off to do a bit of skiing tomorrow (Tuesday) we start into the Technical Events with the Men's Giant Slalom.

Saturday morning the view from the Women's start hut was amazing as usual.

It's hard to describe how steep and treacherous it is on these courses. People are working, equipment and cables are everywhere and the snow under your skis has been shaved down to hard white ice. It's important to be confident on your feet because there is nothing more embarrassing than to loose control of your skis in front of this crowd but someone does it almost everyday!

Lindsey Vonn again had a medal run. Here she celebrates just after crossing the finish line. As for our Canadians the frustration continues. Britt Janyk shows her disappointment at the finish despite having a great run and finishing in the top ten!! Medals are everything here, whether that's right or wrong that's the way it is.

Austria certainly had something to celebrate Saturday as Andrea Fishbacher claimed the Gold in the ladies Super-G with Tina Maze from Slovakia taking home the silver and Lindsey a bronze.

I had a very quick chat with Lindsey in the finish area while she signed a few photos for our daughters. For the last couple of years she has taken a second to pose with them in the World Cup Media Lounge at Lake Louise and I've had a few copies in my jacket for her to sign. She said that she remembers them because they are all so cute! (they are)

Sunday was the Men's Super-Combined event. Here I am up on the roof of the broadcast center on the top of the grandstands. What a place to watch the race! With me is one of our photo service volunteers, Jon Margolis from Squaw Valley Resort in California. He's a budding photographer and full time ski patroller and like all of our volunteers having a blast at the Olympics. (We have the best volunteers of the games). Jon is not standing on somthing he's actually that tall.

The Super-Combined consists of a Downhill run in the morning followed by a Slalom run in the afternoon. The times are combined to determine the winner. The slalom is on the bottom of the course and almost the entire race is visible from the grandstands. The noise the crowd makes is amazing.

Here's a shot from the finish area of a racer speeding past the giant Olympic Rings that look down the hill from a tree island where the Men's and Ladie's courses meet.

Unbelievably strong skiing and an unfortunate fall for the event favorite Norways' Aksel Lund Svindal gave Bode Miller his third medal of games. First Bronze, then Silver and now the Gold. What a show!!

We're starting to call it the "Bodium"

So far there has been at least one American racer on every Alpine Olympic podium of these 2010 games. Congratulations to them. I just wish we had a bit of that luck for our squad.

I don't know how I manage to be so lucky but I honestly think that I have the best job at the Olympics. I'm in front of the people in the front row seats (I try not to block thier view) and I work with really fun, dedicated people and the worlds best ski racers. I'm going to enjoy my memories of these Olympics every bit as much as I do that last games I worked at in 1988.

Here again is Bode Miller who brought all of his coaches and staff from his team out into the finish area for a photo. This is what happy looks like!!

Lots more action to come, stay tuned but for now I'm going skiing!!!

The races are on in Whistler!!

2010-02-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Our race schedule is in full swing at Whistler. Great weather, cold temperatures and blue skies are allowing us to get back on track, making up for lost time and allowing us to put on great events every day. Thursday was the Ladies Super Combined. One run of Downhill racing in the morning followed by a Slalom run in the afternoon. Here is a view from above the finish area as a racer rips onto the last pitch in the morning run.

After a horrible crash yesterday in the Ladies' Downhill had her suffering from deep bruising in her lower back and legs, Sweden's Anja Pearson stormed to an amazing third-place finish and claimed the bronze. Here she is in the Slalom run. Germany's Maria Riesch won the gold and Julia Mancuso, the American racer who was second to Lindsey Vonn in the Ladies' Downhill, added to her Olympic medal collection with a second-place silver.

As for Lindsey, a straddled gate with the finish in sight ruined her chances of medalling two days in a row. She had a great quote: "If I had skied safely, I could of had the bronze, but that's not what I wanted." Tommorow is the Ladies' Super-G, and I don't think that we've seen the last of this amazing racer yet.

Near the top of the course at today's Men's Super-G, Rick and I stopped to have a chat and photo with Hiro Yakushi. Hiro has been photographing the World Cup since it was formed in the early 1960s and is a quiet giant in our world. He is one of the people I admire most in our business, and this is a picture that I will keep for a long time. Twenty years ago Hiro gave me a lift from a World Cup in Itay through the Alps to the next event in a tiny village in Switzerland. Racing through snowy mountain passes in the night in his little Audi coupe was one of the most memorable (and frightening) experiences of my life, and we always laugh about it when we meet.

The Men's race today was spectacular. Aksel Lund Svindal (below) won the gold, Bode Miller claimed his second 2010 Olympic medal with a silver, and his teammate, Andrew Weibrecht, walked away with the bronze. Canadian Eric Guay again just missed the podium by .03 seconds! Eric has had his fill of fourths and fifths, and I think he is due to get what he has earned. Manny Osborne-Paradis came off the course, Robbie Dixon had problems as well, and again Banff's Jan Hudec had to wait out delays as the course softened in the sun, and despite a great run finished well off the pace.

Tomorrow is the Ladies' Super-G. The weather forecast is excellent, and maybe it will be Canada's day finally!!!

Lindsey Vonn rules the Womens' Olympic Downhill in Whistler.

2010-02-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

Finally, we have a break in the weather that is supposed to last for about a week. Blue skies and cold nights mean that we are going to catch up for lost days on our schedule and start running great races. At the top of Whistler Mountain it was beautiful this morning and we were ready for the Womens' Olympic Downhill. The story this week has been all Lindsey Vonn. An American, one of the winningest women racers of all time but suffering from a painful shin injury suffered in training two weeks ago. Could she have the race of her life and realise her Olympic dream?

Here are all of the ladies race bibs strung out at the start waiting for coaches to collect and hand to thier racers.

Thousands of race fans packed the finish area and the noise was amazing. It was a picture perfect day for an Olympic Downhill.

The course was fast and treacherous especially near the bottom as the women rocketed of "Hot Air" a huge and blindingly fast jump that they had only had one chance to train on a few days ago. You have probably seen the clips on television but I have never seen so many horrible crashes in one race in my life. Somehow all of the girls involved, even the one flown off the course by helicopter apparently are OK. Thank God!

Lindsey Vonn actually did have the race of her life. She skiied almost a perfect run. On a couple of the bumps she had to open up a bit but was immediately back into her tuck. It was an amazing display of skill, determination and bravery. Of course I was hoping that our Canadian girls, Britt, Emily and Shona would see thier dreams realised today but it just wasn't to be. They all had good runs with Britt finishing 6th, Em 17th and Shona, after long delays in the start finishing with an excellent run ending up in 21st place.

To add to the American teams' joy, Julia Mancuso, Lindseys' teammate finished 2nd and claimed the silver medal. I can guess what picture will be on the front page of pretty much every newspaper in the U.S. tommorrow!
I feel a bit sorry for Julia. Her performance was every bit as remarkable as Lindseys' but after a couple of questions at the press conference it was all Lindsey Vonn. She has star power and there is no denying it and the press eat it up. Her story, conquering all of the many obstacles that have been thrown in her path and never losing her desire to win is amazing, that's for certain.

Of course tommorrow is another day and we need to be on the mountain at 6:30 am to get ready for the Womens' Super Combined a race that has two parts. A Super-G in the morning and a slalom in the afternoon. Lindsey again is favored but certainly not by as much and we have a couple of girls who shoud do well.

Whistler village continues to rock at full volume. On the way home I stopped to enjoy a couple of tunes by The Barenaked Ladies performing a free concert in the town square. Amazing!!

Stay tuned.

An Incredible day in Whistler! Men's Olympic Downhill

2010-02-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful sight! Overnight the sky had cleared and the temperature in Whistler had dropped. By myself in the quiet of the early morning, the view from the start hut of the Mens' Olympic Downhill was a once in a lifetime thing to see. The race course fell away down the mountainside twisting throught the snowy trees. The track which had been soft over the last few days was frozen into hard white ice. Finally we knew we were going to have a race and that it was going to be a good one. Many Weasel Workers believe that the ghost of Crazy Canuck, Dave Murray, a Whistler local, smiles down on the race course that bears his name and brings it good ski racing weather when it needs it most. There might be something in that.

And what a race! The top three medallists were separated by less than 9/100ths of a second!

Swiss racer Didier Defago won gold, Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was second and the (non-Canadian) crowd favorite, Bode Miller of the United States silenced his detractors with a superb performance and a bronze medal.

Our Canadian men had an epic day unfortunately without medal results despite some great skiiing. Eric Guays' run was clean and mistake free but he missed the podium by less that 2/10ths of a second. Manny Osborne-Paradis who must have felt the enormous pressure of being the hometown boy at the Olympics, who seemed tight and probably would give anything for another crack at it, none the less finished well. Robbie Dixon, risking everything, crashed, and Banff's own Jan Hudec skied beautifully but with a late start number and a softening course couldn't make up the difference.After the race there was the usual press conference in the media center. Here's Bode Miller speaking with journalists. The North American Press cover Bode intensly because he is controversial and gets results but no other North American seems even to be on thier radar. The European Press are ski mad and thier countries racers are worshipped.

While the athletes and thier families and fans are heading to the medals plaza or a good nights rest, the race jury is planning a 4 o'clock start and the next day's races.

All in all it was a great day in Whistler Creekside. The Men's race was excellent and the ladies completed thier training runs as well so we are ready to go with 10 more medal events. Stay tuned.

Battling the elements in Whistler

2010-02-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

It's proving to be a struggle to run the speed events at our venue in Whistler. Unseasonable warm weather mixed with precipitation is causing delays in the schedule as course crews work around the clock to keep the course race ready. Just when it looks like we'll be getting a break with colder temperatures the fog rolls into the mid-mountain making it too dangerous to send racers. However, the weather forcast is looking favorable and I think we will start handing out Alpine Medals soon. Early in the morning we head up the lifts to the top of the mountain where it is a different world. The snow is light and deep and the views are amazing.

As we descend and enter the race courses we see legions of "Whistler Weasel Workers" battling to remove the accumulation of snow with any means available. The dedication and effort is inspiring. These volunteers will not give up!

Down in the finish area photographers are hoping to get glimpses of racers skiing through so they can at least get some images to send out to thier agencies that day. Canon and Nikon both have camera repair and service centers set up at the media center here in Whistler and I think they are getting a lot of work drying out cameras and lenses!

With the events on hold we have time to open up boxes in the media center and see what's in them. Here I'm putting up some signs that we found in the finish area. Attention to detail is what we as Olympic Alpine Photography Management are most proud of.

We might be a bit behind schedule but Whistler is bursting at the seams. The world is here and they are shopping.

With any luck we'll get a Ladies' Downhill Training run off tomorrow and Monday we will have the Mens' race.

Stay tuned!!!!

Men's Downhill Training starts at Whistler

2010-02-10T22:21:00.000-08:00

Finally, after all of the preparation and hard work, today we had our first Men's Downhill training run at Whistler. A 6am start for our crew had us arriving at Creekside in the early morning darkness with hundreds of course workers, volunteers, athletes, coaches and media. Excitement was in the air.

It was absolutely thrilling to see racers on the Dave Murray Downhill. After making sure that the photographers were in place and all of the technology was up, running and on-line I had a chance to move around the course and enjoy watching the race from different vantage points which is a luxury that I don't usually have when shooting for the Canadian Team. I just happened to run into Banff's own Jan Hudec and Peter Bosinger having a quick chat before Jan's run. I don't know how many hours Peter is working as the Sporting Director for the Alpine Events but it's alot more than I am and I've totally lost count of mine!!

Soon afterwards Jan was flying by where we were just standing. The cheers from the workers and spectators lining the course when the Canadians came by was awesome but just a hint of what is to come on race day!! I can't wait.

Tomorrow we have both Men's and Women's training runs scheduled and we are up even earlier It is going to be a huge day and the first full real-time test of all of our systems. I'll be posting in a couple of days with more news. Cheers from Whistler!

We are ready for the World in Whistler!!

2010-02-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

One more day and we have our first training run on the Dave Murray Olympic Downhill course in Whistler. Everyone is getting excited and ready to see some racing! The track is in great shape. The warm weather is posing considerable challenges but will be managable.

While crews finish "wrapping" the venue with colorful Olympic decoration, we are on the course. Here's a shot (above) of representatives of the worlds largest press agencies touring the course and inspecting thier access points. The amount of state-of the art technology and infrastructure in place to get images to all corners of the world as they happen is mind boggling.

Some lucky volunteers got to pretend they were Olympic medal winners at our podium rehersal in the finish line today. Lots of fun and cheering, a nice break from the hard work that is happening almost around the clock on our venue. By the way, not many people will have seen this beautiful hand crafted wooden podium before the opening day so enjoy.

I have to say a huge thank you to Mike Kay and Volkl Skis for supplying me with my new AC 50's. They are absolutely amazing skis. Fast, stable and easy to ski. I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a new pair of skis this much in years and years, they are beautiful. I can't wait to take them off course and do a little exploring aroung the upper part of Whistler Mountain. All I need is an hour or two off!
Stay tuned. Our first training run will be on Wednesday morning and I'll be posting that evening. Cheers from Whistler!!

2010 Olympics in Whistler - Whistler welcomes the torch!

2010-02-05T22:19:00.001-08:00

Day 5 for me at Whistler and everything is "ramping up". Journalists and photographers from all over the world are beginning to arrive. The finish area and the race course are all in the final stages of preparation. Long, long hours of work by people who have been here alot longer than I have are starting to pay off. At this point the groundwork is set and the ball is rolling. Here's a shot of what our daily 5 o'clock venue management meeting looks like. It's not all business, these are fun people if you look closely there is a birthday cake made out of choclate cookies on the table (and a case of beer, after all it is a ski race!)

The torch arrived in town today and I could tell that it was really motivating for everyone. Of course it was in Banff 10 days ago but it was great to see it again.
We had a great view of the torch festival from Rick's hotel room balcony. It was really amazing to see Steve Podborski, one of my all-time heros and one of the reasons that I do what I do and am in Whistler right now, ski the torch to the cauldron and light the flame

After the festival the managers from the different venues were invited to a private reception for pictures with the torch. We're bringing home some great souvenirs!

Stay tuned for my next post. The venue will be almost TV ready in the next day or two and we'll also be spending more time on the race course.

News from The 2010 Olympics in Whistler

2010-02-03T23:06:00.000-08:00

It's day three for me here and I'm beginning to get a handle on just how enormous these Olympic games are and find my way around.

Everywhere there are people working, helicopters flying overhead slinging loads up the mountain and constant motion. I've been working in the finish area and the media center getting ready for tomorrow when press, writers and photographers from all over the world will be arriving. The grandstands and all of the other buildings and infrastructure that were already standing when I arrived are all now being covered in huge, colorful Olympic wrapping. It's starting to take shape.

I'm working under Rick Wilking (see pic) an incredibly talented and established American photographer and trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can about managing something like this. it's a part of ski racing That I've never been really involved with and there is alot to learn but it's fascinating.

As for the race course or "Field of Play" in Olympic jargon, it looks good. It's getting colder everyday and the track is in nice shape. Peter Bosinger and his crew including lots of familiar faces from Banff and Lake Louise have pretty much everthing under control. I can't wait for the training runs to start next Wednesday. stay tuned for more news. Cheers from Whistler!!!

2010-01-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

A Wedding in Banff, Snowboarders Crash a Ski Wedding and a 2010 Olympic announcement all in one blog!!

Great weddings with nice people and good weather are always reasons to be thankful as a photographer but when you learn a few interesting things as well it makes the day even more rewarding.

Lindsay & Michaels wedding, December 27th at The Rimrock Resort in Banff was one of those. We had the weather, with a beautiful late afternoon, jet blue winter sky filled with whispy clouds. It was cold but having everything ready to go helped alot. Lindsay & Michael were amazing to work with.

Interesting thing #1
Kangaroo? Lindsay's Grandfather is the founder of the Alberta Boot Company in Calgary and gave a pair of gorgeous custom made boots to both Lindsay and Michael as wedding gifts and later at the reception when I commented to him how beautiful they were he said "Kangaroo". So there you go, according to him, and he should know, the most durable, longest lasting and attractive leather in the world is Kangaroo. Who Knew?

Interesting thing #2 Cheese Cake! Not Cheesecake but a tiered wedding cake made only of enormous wheels of gourmet and imported cheese! It looked amazing and you could smell it a mile away!! Way to go Lindsay & Michael that's something about as unique as you can get!!!

And now to the snowboarder.... Natalie and David were halfway down Standish Mountain at Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Banff.

We had chosen a lovely semi-secluded spot where Robin White was perfoming, as he always does, a heartfelt and meaningful ceremony when I happened to look uphill, behind us and noticed two snowboarders watching the goings on with more intent than I would usually expect when it dawned on me what the were planning. Sure enough an instant later they blasted, one after the other, through our little gathering, off the ledge we were standing on and down the mountainside. I just had time to fall back into the snow to get the entire scene in frame. Instead of being upset David, the groom, and an excellent skier, laughed and said "That`s brilliant, good snowboarders!!

Natalie and David were thrilled recently when an image from thier wedding album was published as the Picture of the Month in The Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Magazine in the UK, congratulations!!

Now from weddings to the Winter Olympics. It`s been announced and I`m happy to say that somewhat out of the blue, or at least as a suprise to me, I have been hired by VANOC, The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee as the Supervisor of Photography-Alpine Events in Whistler at the 2010 games in February.

It will be a very interesting experience being at this event and not actually shooting race photographs but I am excited to be a part of the games to be able to contibute and in a front row seat as well!

Fortunately, almost as soon as I return from the games I will be back photographing race action with the team at the Canadian National Championships at Nakiska so I think I can keep the shutter finger from twitching until then!!

Stay tuned for further reports from Whistler. I hope to be able to post a few notes here and give my friends a bit of a `backstage`view of whats happening.....

Here are a couple images of our team members to keep an eye on at the Olympics. I shot these images at the Winterstart World Cup Races at Lake Louise in November and December.

This is Manuel Osborne-Paradis. He is healthy and ready to go. He ended last season with a win in the Kjitfell Downhill in Norway and started this season off with a Super-G win at lake Louise.

This is Whistler`s own Britt Janyk. An everyday top 15 contender, healthy and as you can imagine, trying to manage all of the emotion and pressure of being a contender and facing the Olympic Games in her own back yard!!

I will be watching them and all of the other amazing athletes on our National Ski Team and hoping for the best!

Stay tuned.

Blog Coming Soon!

2009-10-08T10:03:00.001-07:00