Spring Fling | Ober Gatlinburg | March 9, 2014

As you know, it's usually Allan that heads up to Ober Gatlinburg to photograph their skiing and snowboarding events, and that's fine with me because I don't ski or snowboard, the idea of hurtling down a snow-covered mountain isn't all that appealing. I'm good at finding a place to hang out, sit in the sun and read a book. Or enjoy a Bloody Mary. {Not a Ober Gatlinburg, but at Beaver Creek in CO. Perfect way to enjoy a day on the slopes as far as I'm concerned!}

Allan is ready to ski!

Well, Allan asked me to come along to photograph the Spring Fling on Sunday, March 9th and I gave in. And I am glad I did! It was a lot of fun, the weather was amazing and everyone had a great time competing in the various events and participating in the much anticipated pond skimming. Yes, pond skimming. The idea was to skim across the pond {more like a small pool} and get to the other side without taking a dip. The majority of the participants made it across. A few, not so much.

We arrived early in order to get a good parking spot so we didn't have to lug our photography gear uphill then we set about figuring out where all the events would be held and what time they would begin. Then we ran into our friend Joe Thompson. Joe, along with his awesome wife Kelli, is instrumental in organizing one of our favorite charities to photograph, Eskimo Escapades. Joe had brought along a couple of SnowBikes to ride and talked Allan into taking one for a spin. It didn't take much to convince Allan to do this because he loves anything fast and kind of sketchy. Think mountain biking meets motorcycle racing...

Allan had skied up to the photograph first event of the day, Giant Slalom, while I stayed at the bottom and chatted with Joe. Then it was time for the Big Air contest and I trudged up the mountain {carrying Allan's heavy equipment bag just in case he took a break from snowbiking for photography} and captured most of the event. I wasn't paying attention to the schedule and missed some of the competitors. The last event we shot was the pond skimming. You have to see the photos to appreciate this event! In between events there was some lively competition between the ski school instructors and the ski patrol. The ski school instructors won the overall competition and were awarded a golden ski boot at the awards ceremony where Ober Gatlinburg was excited to announce they had been open 100 days this season. Sweet!

We will be back next year to shoot the events in the Terrain Park and Spring Fling. Yes, we. I loved it and it was kind of like a date for Allan and I, spending the day together doing something we both love. Here are some photos from the day and you can also find all of the images available for free download here and on our Facebook page here and via the box below. There is a listing of winners below as well.

 

Post by ALM Photo.

Here are the top finishers from the Spring Fling:

Overall Combined (GS and Big Air)

Skiers Adult Division

1. Chad Jensen
2. Sean Pross
3. Jimmy Kuneman

Snowboarders Adult Division

1. Daniel Holtkamp
2. Brian Beauchene
3. Jesse Hudleston

Skiers Grom Division

1. Garret Soehn
2. Derele Martin
3. Colin Kuneman

Snowboarders Grom Division

1. Bailey Allo
2. Karsen Cramerhack
3. Parker Vance

Best GS Time

Skiers Adult Male – Chad Jensen
Skiers Adult Female – Stacey Henderson

Snowboarders Adult Male – Daniel Holtkamp
Snowboarders Adult Female – Hannah Denny

Skier Grom – Garret Soehn
Snowboarder Grom – Bailey Allo
Skier Grom Female – Felecity Fulcher

Best Big Air Score

Skier – Sean Pross
Snowboarder – Tyler Catlett
Lady – Stacey Henderson

See you next season!!

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Eskimo Escapades 2014 | January 18th at Volunteer Landing

One of our favorite action events to photograph each year is the Eskimo Escapades. Eskimo Escapades is held to benefit the Patricia Neal IRC, the Amputee Adventure Camp and Dream Connection. This marks the 20th event and it is held no matter what the weather is! There have been years when it has been so cold we can barely stand it to days when we've had to strip off almost all our layers. It's snowed, rained and been blindingly sunny. This year participants can expect it to be cold, but partly sunny. The frigid fun takes place at Volunteer Landing on Neyland Drive in Knoxville on Saturday, January 18th from 11am to 3pm.

Participants pay a registration fee of $30 to waterski, wakeboard or tube {you don't get wet!} in a generous loop on the Tennessee River. Local boat dealerships donate the use of boats from local boat manufacturers and they are driver by experience boat drivers who volunteer their time. And speaking of volunteers, there are a bunch of folks on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly and everyone gets their turn in a timely manner. Here is the 'Home Crew', the folks who work hard throughout the year to make this event a reality. Plus there is an announcer/DJ to keep everyone entertained. There is also food available, most notably from Bayou Bay Seafood House who sets up on site, and Calhoun's on the River, located right next to Volunteer Landing.

Riders don't have to worry about being cold because Ski/Scuba provides a complimentary wet suits and Aurora Pools, Spas and Billiards will have a hot tub ready for a toasty plunge post frosty lake around the lake. 

Come on down and see what all the fun is about! Bring your mittens, your dog and your camera! We'll be set up on the on of the Landing 'points' with the 600mm lens as well as shooting from one of the boats for an up-close capture of the action.

Here are some photographs from 2013...

Dogs love the water!

It was very foggy in the morning. This is NOT a black and white photo.

The water was warmer than the air and there was snow on the bank.

Allan captures the action from the boat while I hang out on land with the big lens.

The fog disappeared...finally.

You can also kneeboard!

Tubing is fun!! And you stay dry!

Portraits with the 600mm...yeah, that works!

Matt gets ready to hit the water

This guy was ready for a balmy day at the beach! Love it!

Larry Bohanan, developer of the Quadriciser, rides on a stool on a wood disc. You HAVE to see him do this to believe it!

The boat crew

And there is also barefooting!

Joe Thompson takes a spin in the tube. He's always smiling!

There was a little B Boy action for entertainment too!

We hope to see you there!

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Wake Love | Why we photograph watersports

ALM Photo has had a long love affair with the waters of East Tennessee, but some of you may not know the whole story. So, let's take a little trip back in time...back before digital cameras were held in the hands of nearly every person on the planet. Back before the 'A' and 'L' of ALM Photo even met.

Allan doing a 'spinny flippy' trick

Allan wake surfing

{cue the way back machine music}

Allan has always had a love for being on the lake getting pulled behind a boat whether it was waterskiing, wakeboarding, tubing or even kneeboarding. In the later part of 1990's and early 2000's, he was the co-owner of Precision Sports LLC a watersports shop and boat dealership in the Karns community. Prior to opening his own shop he worked at Alpine Ski Center, selling snow and water sports equipment, and was instrumental in introducing wakeboarding to East Tennessee. It was actually a combination of taking photographs of boats and equipment for the shop and spending long days on the lake riding behind a boat that refueled Allan's interest in photography. It's also where I got my start behind the lens. After all, Allan couldn't photograph himself. The movements of the wakeboarders, from smooth butter slides to popping in the air to do their 'spinny-flippy' tricks taught me how to follow the rider and maintain focus as well as how to manage the changing light. In addition to learning how to photograph action sports, I learned how to hold my camera steady while hurtling over the water and stopping, starting and turning. Definitely the best on the job training ever!

Allan looks fantastic upside down...

Several years ago Knox Wake had a weekly winch-pulled wakeboarding and wakeskating competition at Wild Wing Cafe and we would head over there as our scheduled allowed to capture photos of the riders. They loved to see what they looked like hitting the rails and kickers and sometimes we even brought out the strobes to really get some cool shots. More than anything though, it was Allan's love for the wakeboarding community that brought us out each week and it's what keeps us involved with the wakeboarding community that exists today in East Tennessee. So, now you can see why we love to photograph watersports events.

Wakeskater at a KnoxWake Wild Wing Cafe event

It was this love and expertise for photographing watersports action that interested the Tennessee INT League early last year. This is the second year ALM Photo is photographing the wakeboarding tournaments put on by the Tennessee INT League. The INT League is turning the recreational sports of wakeboarding, waterskiing, kneeboarding and wakeskating into a competitive, but fun for the whole family, sport. Drop by their website and find out more about what they do for the watersports community.

From the boat

From the shore

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