Richard Walch: “The Mountain Is My Studio”

Richard Walch’s photographs represent the perfect combination of sky, snow and action — snowboarders leaping through the air at impossible heights and angles, huge, blue skies, and trails of snow exploding in the sunlight.

This specialist skiing and snowboarding photographer readily admits: “the mountain is my studio”, and he makes his craft look remarkably easy. But the truth is very different. Working in extreme conditions presents some unique technical challenges for a photographer, not least the need for specialist equipment. His working environment might be beautiful but conditions can be unpredictable — light can fail, snow can start to fall and there’s the ever-present threat of avalanches.

Richard Walch working on his MacBook Pro.

Walch, who’s been photographing skiers and snowboarders for over 20 years, says: “I’m trying to capture the perfect moment in an image. It’s a combination of a lot of things — the perfect light, the perfect snow, and the perfect trick or turn. Only when everything comes together have you got the shot”.

But such is the nature of his work, Walch considers himself lucky if he gets more than a single opportunity in any given day to capture the kind of shot for which he’s become famed. He explains: “You only have one chance to get the shot, when a rider skis down an untouched snowfield or jumps off a big cliff.  You and the rider both have to visualise the image you’re looking for. That’s why I only work with professional athletes”.

When timing is paramount and the best laid plans can change in an instant, Walch needs to start each day with a concrete gameplan — even if he knows it will almost certainly change along the way. But most importantly, he needs to know that he can rely on his equipment. “In an environment where everything can change”, he says, “it’s great to have the Mac and Aperture on my side”.

Apple’s Aperture software running on a 15-inch MacBook Pro is the foundation of the mobile digital darkroom that Walch carries in his backback — rain, shine or snowstorm — when he goes on a shoot. Walch shoots RAW at up to eight frames per second in a bid to capture his fast-moving subjects, so Aperture’s RAW-focused workflow is particularly important to him. He explains: “When I get down the mountain after a full day’s shooting, I normally have around 10 gigabytes of data. Aperture handles it so quickly and so easily”.

Typically, Walch and the riders he intends shooting start off early up the mountain and hike significant distances to access remote, pristine snowscapes. He says: “That’s what I enjoy, when it’s just you and the scenery, and you can start to create something. Then I look around me and remember what kind of studio I have — it never fails to amaze me”.

Because of these remote locations, and because Walch is himself a rider as well as a photographer, it’s important to travel light. Walch can fit everything he needs — cameras, lenses, laptop, supplies — into his backpack, so that he can begin importing shots into his MacBook Pro while he’s still on the mountain. He explains the advantage: “We normally break for food at some point, and I take that opportunity to import and organise my shots in Aperture. This is great for me, because I can isolate any shots I’ve missed during the morning session, and get them in the afternoon”.

By the end of the day, Walch is frequently exhausted, which is where Aperture’s backup facilities come into their own. Walch says: “During a shoot, I usually hike for many miles, often just to get a single shot, so the last thing I want to do when I get home is spend an extra two hours backing up my work.

“Aperture is smart enough to know which photos haven’t been backed up to my external drive. With one click I can start the process and Aperture does the rest. For me, it’s one less thing to worry about”.

Walch also values the range of publishing options offered in Aperture. “The ability to publish my shots to .Mac within minutes of making my selection is a really useful feature“, he explains. ”This is a service that my clients appreciate, and it gives me a real advantage over the competition”.

Richard Walch shooting the halfpipe in Laax, Switzerland.

One thing Walch always keeps in mind when shooting is the potential danger he and his subjects face. “For me, the key thing is to have respect for the mountain. Where we go, it’s usually dangerous and if you want to get the best shots, you need to be focused. Having the right tools — like Aperture — helps me focus on my work. Aperture is a part of the team now, and at the end of the day it’s all about teamwork. To capture great moments you need to work with great riders. Only the combination of their style and your creativity can create a truly outstanding image”.