The Cadence of our world: Duuuuuuude, greetings from Winter X 12

This week, I'm up in Aspen for the Winter X Games shooting for EXPN.com. I got this opportunity through my colleague Brett Wilhelm who has been working as a photo editor at Winter and Summer X for the past 5 or 6 years. This year, the EXPN crew has grown significantly because the web site has continued to draw more and more people to it, especially in the last year. Thus, they've added more photographers, writers, bloggers, video people, and editors...about 30 people in all.

We had a large meeting this morning during which we 'brainstormed' (if you want to call it that) all the different stories we'll be covering this week while we follow around these nutcase athletes. The EXPN crew is a colorful, yet motivated bunch and I'm really excited to see the work that we're going to produce for the website throughout the week.

I've been assigned with another photographer to cover Skier/Boarder X (where 6 skiers or snowboarders race down a course at the same time) and the Snocross events where guys race snowmobiles around a track that is like a motocross track, but obviously made of frozen water that most of us refer to as 'snow'. I'm really excited to shoot these events since there is a high 'wreck factor' in both of them and it will definitely provide tons of opportunities to make some sweet photos.

Additionally, they've asked all of the photographers to contribute a feature gallery of some sort. While the other photographers are concentrating on everything from the newest fashion at the games to the hottest chicks (I'm not kidding...that's the level on which the fans who visit expn.com think), I'm going to shoot something a little different. Since these sports attract people who are three dead brain cells from being totally crazy, I want to get into their psyche and show it. Thus, I thought a creative way to portray this would be through magnetic poetry. I cut small pieces of sheet metal into handheld size tablets on which fans and/or athletes will create poems that show just how idiotic they really are. Just think about it for a second...If you've played with magnetic poetry on a friend's fridge, you've come up with some pretty weird stuff, right? Now, think about how weird it will be when you have snowboarders with 9 brain cells do it.

I'll be posting pics throughout the week. I don't know if I'll have time to write very much, but please check back every day or two for some fresh pics. Until then, enjoy a few pics that I shot today while scouting out various positions for the events I'll be covering.

Talk to you later!

-TSB2

My snowmobile ride to the top of the Skier/Boarder X course. Yes, I almost fell off while taking this photo.