I was stoked to hear that an unofficial Crankworx whip contest was going to happen, and basically dropped all my other appointments for the day to be there. Whips are so cool, and it's not often that the world's best downhill riders
and a handful of Whistler's top locals are shredding Crabapple Hits to pieces.
There are a few angles that whips are cool to shoot, and I had decided to start the contest by shooting straight up the trail at the riders. It's an easier angle to nail shots and I would also be able to study each rider better from this perspective. The light at that time was backlighting the riders and the forest, and that helped me choose this angle too.
Danny hart was doing some of the most stylie whips that day and it was super cool hearing the crowd freak out every time he nailed it. I was amped at the size of the crowd that showed up and wanted to include the people as well as other photogs in my composition to add to the vibe in the shots. It helps with the scale of airtime too when you can see a person beside the jumps. When Danny smashed this beer can mid-flight, I had no idea that he or the fan were trying to make it happen. I simply was shooting, and then saw through my camera that a drink had been smashed out of someone's hands. Later, when I was reviewing my shots, I realized that I had captured a sweet moment from the day.
I'm the first to admit now that it pays to run the motordrive on the camera!! I am most often guilty of not letting my shutter keep firing once the key parts to the shot are over. Whips get dragged around so so far these days...so that is why I was lettin' it run wild. That whip comp was so entertaining and amazing too that i am hoping we can do it all again at 2012 Crankworx....same place, same time - see you there!
*Note - this animated gif is a large file, so have patience while it loads!
The Pinkbike user with the comment that best captures the moment wins the schwag, an
Evoc FR 20L Protector series riding pack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V6T0lJc3dU
...or could be the guy with the guy of the beer also
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