Ski Racing, Again, Part 11, Faces of Racers; April 2018
To me, the best race photos tell something about racers who are executing a complex sport under pressure, perhaps seemingly without effort and perhaps under obvious stress. The former thrill of seeing a print develop in the darkroom has been replaced with seeing large display-screen images depicting micro-details of racing: snow peeling off edges; stance momentarily captured in optimizing something difficult (making/clearing a gate or trying to stay on or return to line); and especially, facial reflections of effort and achievement. Most athletes want to see boots and skis and knees, so they can tell if they were stacked and carving cleanly, but most parents like the idea of seeing the human inside the armor.
To me, these are action portraits. Here are some images, all from the 2018 U16 Western Region Championships, to illustrate.
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After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.