The Spirit

What is the heart of Snowboarding ? Is it the biggest jumps or is it what snowboarders do when nobody is watching ? What remains of the spirit which started it all ?

Photographs from the 2011/2012 winter, shot mostly while riding down freely after a day of shoot in the mountains, trying to catch a bit of that mysterious “spirit”. It isn’t mysterious at all, in fact. Jumping side hits with your friends, a spray in your face, a good old backside-air, a backflip, a struggle and a prayer to land a trick, smoking a joint without a care in the world, an ollie off a pillow on the last run of the day when the cameras are in the backpacks. Surfing mountains for fun : the Spirit.

Shot with Nikon FE2 and Ilford 3200 iso film, home developement to maximize the grain. Crop into the negative to enhance grain even more. Darkroom prints of 30 x 40 cm, on baryta paper with selenium toning for century proof conservation. I kept two almost identical prints of each final proof; then destroyed all test prints and burned the negatives. They can’t be reproduced anymore; they are like drawings, unique silver-salt drawings.