Crankworx Whistler
Crankworx is the defining celebration of world-class mountain biking. The event collects athletes at the top of the sport and challenges them on phenomenal terrain while excited crowds watch these athletes compete to refine and define the sport.
Our current Photography students went to check out what all the fuss was about and most importantly snap some awesome photographs of the athletes. Filming action sports is one of the most exciting and challenging types of photography. Capturing the action requires a lot of attention to detail both ahead of time and during the filming process. In order to be prepared, photographers must have an understanding of what they are filming and in the case of Crankworx, what tricks the athletes are going to try so they can capture their best angles.
“We started at the small jumps next to the skatepark, where I got used to the rhythm of the jumps and was able to adjust my camera settings to the conditions of the day. Our instructor, Phil Tifo taught me lots of key tips before the main event. After some practice we worked on recognizing the best angles for each jump. Even though it was a packed event, I managed to find spots I pre-visualized that focused on the subject. So then was just a matter of patience and capturing the right tricks and at the right moments” – Flor Pellandini
With so many talented athletes buzzing around Whistler there was potential for many great shots. Students in this summer’s photography course had opportunity for lots of practice and an instructor focused on guiding them. Tereza Skoumalova explained that “the challenges of getting footage from an event like Crankworx is that it is difficult to set the right focus and be ready for subject”.
While Sofia Leverin found it was “hard to get an unique shot, there is so many people talking pictures of the same jump, same angle, same trick”. But in the end, the photographs speak for themselves.
“It was really beneficial that we were a small group of students so we got a lot of help from our instructor. He really adjusted the program to what we wanted to learn” – Sofia Leverin
Whistler Adventure School’s photography course focuses on the foundational skills of photography, with specific attention to analyzing photographs and delivering professional products. The course challenges students with a variety of in field filming days and offers students unique opportunities to become a part of this exciting, fast-paced industry, new angles for everyone.” Flor Pellandini
