Jump Park in Avoriaz, France

Cameras in the cold are normally a nightmare, but the Nikon D3 proved its worth. The updated batteries were excellent, not like the old D1x, where a slight chill would cause the battery to only take 4 shots before having to be warmed.

These shots were done in the jump park in Avoraiz resort in France, which a mix of large and small jumps and a array of different slide rails. Once I'd arrived at the park I tried to find myself a spot that wasn't already occupied by the other photographers and film makers, to cut down on the challenge of not getting in there shots. 

I tend to shoot most of my sporting events on Av (aperture priority) as the light can change quickly when on the mountain. You may have to use the exposure compensator to under expose a little to stop the camera burning out the snow, I tend to find -0.3 to -0.7 works well. You may wish to use Tv (shutter priority) so you can set you speeds to either freeze the action or a slow one for movement.

I had picked out a few different positions to shoot from the first was from right by one of the jumps using a 24-70mm.

 

I then moved to some off side positions and with a long lens (70-200) took some more shots to get that really compressed look.

Things to remember when doing shooting like this, be aware of your surroundings, you can get very tunnelled vision when taking pictures. Bear in mind that you may be stood on jumps so be careful when walking backwards. Keep an eye on any routes the skiers and boarders may be using. Watch your camera kit I had a boarder turn right on the end of the jump and he sprayed me and my camera with snow as he took off.

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