Women's Ski Jumping

It was kind of a last minute addition to the forthcoming issue of the Ski Journal, but they decided to run Vanessa Pierce's story about the exclusion of women's ski jumping in the Olympics. I was stoked for the opportunity to shoot a feature like this, but there is one minor issue.... it's August!

As i came to find out during the days i spent shooting, ski jumping is one winter sport that is actually a year round event. While they have twice as many competitions in the winter, they still do somewhere around 8 to 10 in the summer (maybe up to 15, I am spacing out on the number right now). Pretty cool, eh?

It was an honor and a pleasure to shoot these girls. Ski jumping looks to be about the closest thing to flying on skis. So these girls are tough, and they can virtually fly. I love it. What I don't love however is their exclusion from the winter olympic games. The more i learned about their fight to be included and every reason that gives them every right to be there, and awesome facts like "Lindsey Van holds the hill record on the new jump that was built FOR the 2010 olympic games" and they still aren't included, the more upset i became with every factor working against them. I think most of the girls have resigned themselves to the fact that they will not be jumping, and are probably sick of the whole thing and would rather go out and jump than be worried about the politics, but as a new-comer to this controversy, it was really upsetting to say the least. A make-you-want-to-punch-things kind of upsetting.

After all that though, I am happy to have had the opportunity to do my part in trying to bring more equality to the olympics. Be on the lookout for the article "DENIED" in the fall issue of the Ski Journal!

OIWC's Polly-Ester Party

Amy Luther contacted me a few months ago about shooting the OIWC's (Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition) Polly-Ester Party during the Summer Outdoor Retailer trade show.

I was excited about shooting the event, but it was even more fun than I expected with all of the fabulous 70's dresses, and suits, and platform shoes.... it was great. We set up a "prom style" photo set which was located between the main building and the outdoor tent space. Some people really got into it! it was great! If you missed the fun or never found your photos, you can check it out here: http://www.oiwc.printroom.com/

This party was more than just having fun in a 70's time warp though, it was a launch party for the OIWC's new Education Foundation and i am a sucker for helping in any way i can to see that other women achieve great things because that is just a normalcy in my life that I like to share with the world.

*also a huge thanks go out to Sarah and Sam for helping out that evening!