Intersections: Ski Racing and Photography; More Thoughts, Part 5
Do close-ups of racers on course tell us much about their personalities? I'm not so sure. The faces of particular racers often show similar emotions in each race, and a racer who looks very determined in a photo from one race usually looks very determined in photos from other races. But racers' expressions are often situational and reactive, triggered by what is happening to them, by course and weather conditions, by how they are performing, and, perhaps, by the imminent prospect of crossing the finish line. They may be reacting to challenges (a surprise bump in a flat-light course, a dense snowstorm, or a difficult gate), or to successes (getting safely through a difficult passage or recovering from a misstep). In any event, their on-course expressions may never reappear off course; conversely, racers who are placid and friendly off course may display fierce concentration on course. Here are a few more examples, with displays of:
curiosity (about what's ahead)
apprehension (at what might be ahead)
surprise (at an unexpected flat-light Super-G bump or giant slalom or slalom excursion)
nonchalance (after recovering from a wild moment)
determination (to maximize everything)
concentration (on the race line)
aggression (self-imposed)
disdain (for a slalom gate in a snow storm)
self-possession (how to relax while going fast, and accept the coach's comments with equanimity when a race goes awry)
commitment (dedication to each moment)
perseverance (to succeed and finish)
confidence (believing in success)
pleasure (at personal achievement racing and training)
satisfaction (one good turn at a time)
relief (at making the gate or at approaching the last gate and the finish line - when greatly enlarged, the goggles are seen to reflect the last gate and the finish line)
stoicism, inscrutability, and impassivity (saving all the emotion for relaxing later and all the energy for going fast now)
Many thanks to my fine and fast models for this exercise, a very few of whom may be aware of the camera at times, but most of whom are completely focused (so to speak) when on course.
This particular post has taken weeks to draft and complete, because selecting and categorizing and re-editing some representative images from a great many image files accumulated in only one season of racing have absorbed many hours. It hasn't helped that COVID masks obscured the faces and expressions of many fine racers. Next season, perhaps.
All these and many more, images of racer faces are already in galleries for the last two race series (FIS tech races and U12/U14 Championships), plus the Brian Russell race. Many more to come for Alyeska Cup and then finally Coca-Cola Classic. There will be a special gallery for the versions of the image files contained in this post. Some files have been edited, re-edited, revised, and uploaded into different galleries several times. For the pictures in this post, the latest versions will have an exclusive gallery all their own. And since these tend to be very significant enlargements, they often can't be displayed or printed nearly as big as usual. So the face galleries limit the file and print sizes to maintain quality.
May 29, 2021: This is the link to the Racer Faces gallery that holds all the face photos in this post and in the immediate prior post:
https://bobeastaughimagery.zenfolio.com/p481595709
Comments
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.