Feb 25: Night Skiing

Our first night-skiing adventure of the season.

Here are the warm-up shots:
Sarah Scott.

Justin Wright.

JP Schlick.

The next set was much cleaner, as we figured out our methods. (I'm saving those images for later.)

Hint: strategically place headlamps on the sneaky trees and bushes, to avoid face shots of the wooden variety.

Also: pick lines with nice easy run-outs, to avoid colliding with the gear.

Lastly: choose your moment wisely, to avoid planting a tree on JP's head.

Thanks to the athletes for courageously bombing the Aspens in the dark.

It was rather tricky, with all the snow and trees. Exciting and fun too though.

Here's our exit strategy.

We'll try it again when the snow is better.

Feb 23: Redesign

Everything must go!
Replace it with newer, better stuff.

Check out the new website: www.JeremyKoons.com
(There are a few pages still in progress, but it's very close.)

And a new logo:

And a new ski-specific logo:

See it in this new window graphic:

New smaller graphics (for your skis!) coming soon.

Order now!

Send a message to my new email:   Jeremy@JeremyKoons.com


New shout out: Big props to SAC at SACS Impact for the graphic design collaboration.
http://www.sacsimpact.com/SACS_Impact/Home.html
Check her photography blog here:
http://sacsimpact.blogspot.com/

Feb 19: Shooting Cliffs

I can't figure out why the video playback is so bad in slo-mo. It worked fine before... hmmmm.
Here it is anyway. Watch out for the ending.


Shooting Cliffs in Little Cottonwood from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.
Gray sky, as usual.
Sending little cliffs.
Pushing new angles.
Missing lines and nearly getting crushed.
Whoops.


Here's the image from Hazen's line.

And the one from Keenan's, right before he landed on us. Luckily, my boots took the worst of it.

I got some better images, but I'm saving them for later. Sorry.

Feb 18: Repost for a friend

A friend reminded me of a few things.
This video repost is for her.


Body Scapes from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.
I see shape, color and texture, ignoring context.
I see intrinsic beauty, in the curves of bodies, in the curves of horizons.
I see blurred boundaries between human and earth, when a sand dune becomes skin
or skin becomes sand.
I see landscapes in bodies, and bodies in landscapes.
I see reality transcended
in Body Scapes.


My prints are an attempt to recreate the mental images that I see when I view a landscape in its human form.
The images are fleeting moments of beauty, intangible fantasies, melting shapes.
They fade from view faster than I can create them, before I can truly experience their splendor.
The images leave me, and I feel alone, deserted, incomplete.
In my state of longing,
I am sad.

Feb 11: Avy Tests

Nate Hansen and I went out to poke around in the new snow (5"), look at the Avy conditions, and try to ski some powder (which has been very elusive lately in the Wasatch).

Here's a video of our cornice cutting avy tests.

Avy Test from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.
We cut a few cornices to see the reactivity of the snowpack.
5" of new snow, with a little more windblown snow on top.
Crusts everywhere, from warm preceding days.
The first cut produced nothing.
The second produced a small slide. 5-10" deep, ~60' wide, running not much more than 100', although the visibility was bad enough that we could only see ~100'.
The target slope was E-NE, just over 30 degrees.
The sliding surface was the old snow surface, not all the way to the depth hoar ground layers.
We were just East of Alta, SE of Rocky Point.

A ski cut on a small sample slope produces a slide. Due South facing, windblown dense snow on top of the suncrust. 4-10" deep. 40' wide. Ran not far at all.

The toe of the 'debris' pile. Not more than a foot deep.

Profile of the test slope. Small and forgiving.

In case you were wondering why all these photos are grey and ugly, it's because I'm trying to show you contrast and detail in the fractures. If I exposed it for a ski photo, it would look like this. Pretty (maybe), but you can't see the debris.

Oh yeah, we also skied a little bit. Jealous? Hahaha

Feb 11: Scrabble Test

Scrabble from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.
Stop-motion 4 person Scrabble game.
It needs some improvements, but the concept seems ok.

Feb 10: Tetons Touring

Finally, I made it through the edits.
(Also, the video is a large file, for your viewing pleasure, so be patient while it loads.)


Tetons Touring Feb '10 from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.
We spent 3 days touring the Teton Pass area.
I shot 3000 images, about 75% time lapse, and a bit of HD video.
We stayed in Driggs, ID, at the NOLS branch, where they provided $5 meals and free housing.
All we had to do was clean the walls. What a deal!

Feb 5: Tetons Recap

3 days in the Tetons.

Nearly 1000 miles in the car.

16" of new snow.

Free housing (trade for cleaning).

$10/day food.

Total spent, per person, ~$75. Wow.

Oh yeah, heaps of video, and ..... over 3000 images.

The crew: Nate Hansen, Andrew Hansen, Andrew Yue, and Jeremy Koons

I check out the Teton Valley with Nate and Andrew.
Andrew.

Andrew.

Nate.

Nate.

Andrew (mirror).

Andrew.

Jeremy.

Jeremy.

Earning our room & board, cleaning the laundry room walls.

There are 1000's of images yet to come, and video too.

A time lapse video of the entire trip is in the works.

It should be interesting.

Check back soon to see it.

Jan 29: Video Test

Time lapse, riding the chair.

Using a new video host.

Jan 22: Shout Out

Pro skier Vanessa Aadland has a new website that features my images.

Check her out at VanessaAadland.com.

Jan 21: Core Shot

Today was an amazing powder day. 15" on top of 10" on top of 15". Choking face shots.

I worked my way to the front of the line and was the first to make turns at Alta. What a day!

However, I sent a 20 footer without proper scouting. I didn't take enough speed, landed on the cliff face, and nearly broke my ski.

Check out this core shot (yes, that's a quarter for a scale reference):

My Katana's have a metal core, which is now cracked, scratched and dented.

I also cracked the side wall.

See the close-up. (Click to see even closer.)

Are those for me, or the ski?

Yikes.

Apparently, just because the slopes are bottomless doesn't mean the cliff faces are.

Dumb.

Jan 21: WAVES in Peru

I'm working with a non-profit group called WAVES for Development.

Check them out at WavesForDevelopment.org

To keep it simple, watch the video of the project here: LINK.

Get involved, make a donation, and enable this amazing project to flourish.

Thanks

-Jeremy

Jan 15: Traffic Teaser

The traffic video is coming along.

Please enjoy the clip, while you wait.

I'd call it a 'trailer' but it's more of a teaser.

Jan 13: Traffic Control

There's another mini-project I have been planning for a while.

After a couple months of thinking, I finally decided to tackle it.

I shot 1315 images tonight, and 15 minutes of video.

Tomorrow I begin the editing process.

The final product will perhaps contain all of the images, and some of the video clips.

Here's one shot to get you started.

More to come, after video edits. (again)

Jan 12: Sunrise Video

I'm a better photographer than videographer, but I created a video detailing the early-morning photoshoot from Jan 8.

It's too large to post here, so please check it out on my website.

JeremyKoons.com

Click here for the link.

Jan 8: Sunrise Teaser

The snow and weather finally aligned for us: 5" fresh and clear skies.

With our practice sessions complete, it was time for the real deal.

2 still cameras, 1 video camera, 2 tripods, 2 shutter releases, 2 strobes, 2 light stands, 1 battery, pocket wizards,..... head lamps, hand warmers, puffy coats,..... shovels, beacons, probes,..... food, water, candy,.....

Each pack weighed ~40lbs. Even with 4 strong young athletes, it was a challenging haul. (The downhill portion was also challenging, and comical at times.)

Big big thanks to Matt, Nate, and Vanessa. Each pulled their weight, and a lot of mine, and completed their tasks with skill and efficiency.

I am preparing a video to detail the project, but I want to share a few early images to whet your appetite.

Vanessa belays Nate, as the sunrise belays the moon.

Heber City glows in the distance. Matt and I work to set up the lights. Nate and Vanessa stomp out the take-off.

More to come, after video edits.

Jan 6: Storm Rider

A 1-on-1 with Vanessa Aadland.

Check her out at VanessaAadland.com. (It's a triple 'a'.)

Cables collide while infinity fades.

Her first tele season. Killing it.

I take shelter in a cave. A cave with a view.

Thanks, Vanessa, for the motivation and creativity.

Jan 5: Big Day

Today was one of my best ski days ever. And I only rode 1 lap.

Sometimes the quality of the one lap makes it all worth it.

Starting at 7am, we toured to a cliff that I have been eyeing for 10 months. I have previsualized the line and the photo for most of a year, and it's finally time to send it.

We spent an hour probing the landing, scouting the take off, getting everything dialed in and ensuring it was all safe.

Nate acted as sherpa, assistant, safety manager, belayer, photo assistant, and most importantly, guinea pig.

Here's Nate sending the corner of the cliff, ~25', as a 'small' test.

Nate saved the glory shot for me. We set up the shot and I stuck it.

We used a rope to measure the drop. 40' is our estimate.

Next time, when the snow is right, we'll start at 4am, set it up pre-dawn and hit it right as the sun rises. That's the shot I've envisioned for a year.

The day continued. In the afternoon, we set up a huge poppy booter in the woods, hoping to frame up a sunset shoot.

The sunset never happened. We regretfully missed the good one last night. We still practiced the shot, so that when the time is right, we'll have it dialed in.

Justin, a photog's ideal athlete, does exactly what I ask of him: huge, I mean gigantic, straight air with a tight grab.

After sunset, we sent it a few more times. Mr. Dependable nails tricks in the dark.
Trying to let the background fill in, I brighten the image, but Pete's huge back flip turns ghosty.

Hazen stomps a 3 in the dark.

Jan 4: Night Lights

Here's my preliminary test for a sunset photoshoot concept.

I learned that even if I frame a nice image, the athletes are capable of going Uber huge and missing the frame.

Hazen goes big & inverted.

Justin removes his ski mid air, again.

From a different angle. Nate was a great photo assistant, shooting bursts while I shot strobes. And Hazen, background right, shoots video. With 2 other photogs, we had at least 5 cameras on the action. Hopefully something turns out.

Finally, we start to dial it in.

It was a great practice session. Hopefully tomorrow we can line it up on a sunset and create some stronger images.

Dec 31: Snow, Finally

It's starting to pile up a bit now.

18" of super light Wasatch powder.

Thanks to Vanessa (pictured below) for hiking the lines.

So fresh and so deep.

Mo-hawk, faux-hawk, how about a Rime Knit snow-hawk?

Utah's famous 4% snow.

It's also good for tree jumps.

A nice way to finish off 2009.