On Assignment: Two Days in and Tired but Happy

What is it about photographing an event that makes my muscles feel like I've just run a marathon? Yesterday was my first day off and I was just about too sore to walk! My triceps and knees were burning, my eyes were strained and it took forever to force myself out of the comfort of my bed. I've been working like crazy and up on my feet for hours at a time is quite the workout. But when I finally got going, I felt pleased with the work I've done so far in Snowmass for the National Brotherhood of Skiers.

I left Denver Saturday afternoon, and It took me only 3 hours to drive to Snowmass because the weather was fabulous, sunny and bright. My first assignment was that same night, covering the Welcome Party at 9 p.m. hosted by Snowmass. My main assignment was to shoot the welcome comments from the NBS president Haymon T. Jahi and Snowmass city officials. The 900-strong group was deemed the largest to ever come to the ski resort town.





After that I was pretty much on my own to shoot whatever I thought showcased the event. The party was all about dancing.







What i wanted to capture during this event is all the happiness and joy people were experiencing when they reconnected with friends, many of whom they haven't seen since the NBS summit last year. I loved seeing the hugging, kissing and hand shaking. Even though most of the members live in states that don't have snow or skiing such as Florida or southern Texas, they share this passion for the sport that they only get to experience together in places like Colorado. Their enjoyment was infectious.



All of these photos have minimal editing, just sharpening, noise reduction and some curves adjustment. The NBS media director said she would like to look through some proofs and pick out the photos the she wanted me to edit in full to save time. She also suggested that I take fewer pictures, so I wanted to make each one count rather than shoot as many as I could.