The last three days in the Wasatch have been absurd. As in, over-the-head pow absurd. As in, call the medic, I think I’m gonna be sick. As in, this is so sick it’s ridiculous. As in, that was sick bro. Sickter McRichter. Deepter McSchfeepter. I’ve shot so much pow in the last three days I’m now making up words to describe it. Sweet.

Parker Cook plays submarine at Alta, UT

In short, if you haven’t been partaking of Mother Nature’s bounty in Utah, you best get on your horse and book a flight. It’s not slated to let up any time soon. While the snow has been epic, the light has been a battle. Light has been extremely fleeting at best, and it always seems to poke through when you’re riding the lift, only to tuck behind the clouds once you arrive at your shooting location. Despite the lack of light, however, I feel I’ve been given that extra push to explore different shooting angles and techniques. It’s been a good thing to actually have to put forth a lot of creative and mental effort to make an image work this week.

Below are a couple of thoughts that may help you in your own quest to get some winter action keepers. Now get out in that goodness and enjoy!

1. Tack sharp is the only way. Make sure and either pre-focus where your skier is going to turn or air, or start tracking them early so your camera can lock focus before they hit that perfect spot. If it’s not sharp, it’s really just taking up room on your hard drive.

Daryn Edmunds, skiing among giants at Solitude, UT

2. Tack sharp isn’t really the only way. Know when to break the rules. Throw tack sharp out the window on certain images. Let your creative side take over, and experiment with slower shutter speeds, panning, blurred action or otherwise. It is good to understand “the rules” of proper action photography, but rules were made to be broken, no?

Weston Deustchlander rolls deep at Snowbird, UT

3. Communicate with your athlete. The biggest obstacle in coming away with a five-star image is being able to articulate to your athlete exactly where you want them to be, and how you want them to look in that moment. Do you want them in the deepest part of their turn? Should they be popping out of their turn, transitioning to the next? Is this going to be a straight air or a trick? Where will they be taking off? How far will they travel? Why are they making that weird face when they make a powder turn? These are all questions you should be reviewing in your mind, and asking to the athlete as well. Communication is key–everything looks different from where you’re standing, and you have to be able to verbalize what “the shot” is so they can nail it.

Daryn Edmunds samples some product at Solitude

4. Visualize your shot. Understand where you need to place an athlete’s head in relation to the frame. Understand what will happen to the snow when they ski through it. Understand what will happen to the light as the athlete enters the frame. Try and pick apart your image before you shoot it, and this will help you come away with a keeper.

5. Be speedy! Try and get numbers 3 and 4 done in a timely manner. Nobody wants to stand around in the cold, and it’s important to help keep the athletes warm and feeling good about their skiing.

6. Have fun. That is, after all, why we’re doing this, right? Go get it.

Julian Carr gets some hang time at Alta, UT