Today is a holiday at the company I work for, so I am going skiing. Not sure if Copper Mountain has enough snow yet to ski the part of the mountain in the picture, but I hope so. I worked at Copper for 2 years, and pride myself in being able to find all the powder stashes. But it has to snow for that to happen.

I was waiting to write today until the canvas wraps I ordered from Canvas On Demand had arrived. I have always wanted to do a canvas wrap of a picture, but never really knew which one to do.

As it turns out, we are decorating one room of our house in a ski theme, and the two pictures here seemed perfect for it. So last week I sent the pics off to Canvas On Demand and waited anxiously. Once I got the shipping notice on Tuesday, I knew they would arrive today.

They come packed very well so nothing gets damaged in transit. Standard shipping is via FedEx ground, but you can pay more to expedite it. The quality of these images is superb. After having these two made, you can be sure I will be doing more. Maybe some small 8×10′s of my flower macros. I could even add a water-color treatment in Photoshop first before I send the file in. I’ll bet those would look really sharp. I am glad I bit the bullet and did this. You should try it too!

Yesterday I went skiing at Breckenridge as part of the KBPI Humpday Hooky promotion. Basically you get a lift ticket at Breckenridge for $10.50. That’s almost an $80 discount over their normal lift ticket price. Last year there weren’t a lot of people taking advantage of it, but yesterday there were a ton of people there. And of course, the weather was an issue higher up. I elected not to bring my camera with me, opting instead to just shoot pics with my cell phone camera if conditions warranted. But man, do I hate my cellphone camera. It is a Verizon XV6900 (also known as a HTC Touch), and it was definitely not designed for taking pictures.

After I got done skiing the knee deep powder at the top of Peak 7 (and learning how out of shape I am), I headed back down to the parking lot to get some pictures. The one above is the gondola that connects a parking lot in the town of Breckenridge with the base areas at Peaks 7 & 8. Parking there is $10, so I got to ski yesterday for a total of $20.50. Not bad at all. Next one will be in February. Keep an eye on my Colorado skiing website for announcements about the next Humpday Hooky. I plan on being there.

Today I am skiing at Breckenridge. The photo above, taken by a good friend of mine on Sunday, should represent what I will see when I am there today. Mike has been skiing and taking pictures for a long time now. In fact, he now sells his Breck photos to other people and magazines. If you are into ski pictures, you should check his out. Someday I hope to be as good at the action stuff as Mike is. Until then, I’ll keep doing landscape, portrait, product and real estate photography. Should be plenty to keep me busy for a while.

This week we are a little more in tune with the season. It is winter here in Colorado, and I present you with one of my favorite winter images.

I used to work at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado when I was fresh out of college. I worked there for two seasons. The first was all about quantity of skiing – I registered 75 days. The second season was more about quality – I only notched 55. But most were powder days of some sort.

The fun thing about working at a ski resort is that you learn it so well. I can still find untracked powder up to about 2pm on a powder day at Copper. Sometimes you have to work to get it, but it is so worth it when you do. Union Meadows, where this was shot, is not one of those places. Just traverse to the skiers left from the top of S lift and you will find this treasure trove of narrow, powder filled runs.

And after you have carved up some powder, order this print to remind you of what awaits you the next time you hit the slopes.

This is one of my all time favorite images, as it conveys how peaceful it was on the snow that day. Skiing, for me, is the ultimate way to make peace with the world. When I am out there, it is just me and the mountain, and I can push myself as hard as I like, or take it as easy as I want to. If I want, I can just lay down on the hill and stare at the sky for a while. Almost like meditation.

And this feeling doesn’t just come when I am skiing by myself. I ski with people of varying abilities all the time. If I am out with a beginner or intermediate, they always worry that they are keeping me from enjoying the mountain. That fear could not be any further from the truth. I am just happy to be there, and happy to share the mountain with my friends and family. With this photo, I hope to share some of that peace with you too. This photo is also available as one of the options for my Colorado-style notecard / holiday greeting card offering for 2008. Order your print today. For a digital download, or for commercial licensing, please contact me directly.