Trade Secrets: Keep Chipping Away

Featuring ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHER Lee Cohen

Home Base / Alta, Utah.

Insider Knowledge

“Oftentimes the client is asking you to use your expertise and talent to come up with the look and feel of a shoot. They bow out. I love working on the fly. One of the beauties about having a portable system instead of old-school large format gear is being able to keep moving and chipping away. Not every shot is going to be a winner, but the method leads to success. You’re working with the athletes, the light, and the landscape setting up new shots and locations. There’s a discovery process in winging it; you can stumble on a good idea and build on it. You’re improving right there on location.”

There’s a discovery process in winging it; you can stumble on a good idea and build on it.

“I also have a bunch of places I regularly visit that produce results. I worry that I’m getting formulaic, but I always think I can get the best shot I’ve ever gotten there. It’s a different take on that chipping away theme. Using different lenses gets you a myriad of looks.”

This shot became a cover for Patagonia, Powder, and SKI. It just kept getting published. It became one of my most prolific shots ever. And I almost didn’t take it.

Quick Tip:

“It was the last run of the day in the Wasatch and we were on our way down when I saw what looked like a great hit across the gully. We’d shot a bunch and had quite a bit in the bag and I was thinking, ‘Ah, leave it alone, it’s already been a great day.’ But the other voice inside me was saying, ‘It’ll only take 30 seconds. If you don’t speak up right now it’s going to be too late.’ I shot three frames of Grom (above). The moral of the story is, if you see something that catches your eye, take the shot. That opportunity might not come again.”