Christopher D. Thompson Photographs @christopherdthompson - Tumblr Blog

Annular Solar Eclipse - 10/14/2023

Hoping to keep this blog updated again — a couple recent shots.

‘1907 Wedding Present’

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Week Thirteen: The Cruelest Month (11”x14” edition of 10) “April is the cruelest month, breeding  Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing  Memory and desire, stirring  Dull roots with spring rain.  Winter kept us warm, covering  Earth in forgetful snow, feeding  A little life with dried tubers.” -TS Eliot These are Lamb’s Tongue pictured (outside of Aspen, CO), but I think the metaphor holds. The contrast between the anxiety and despair of The Current Situation and sprouting flowers and chirping birds only enhances the surrealism of the current moment. If we were already hunkering away from terrible weather that would make this all a whole lot easier, wouldn’t it? Print available via the link in my bio/on my website. For those who revel in and are ‘warmed’ by the winter, yesterday would have usually been a rowdy day spinning laps in retro gear with beers in the backpack, music wafting out of trees and over wooden balconies. I’ve included a bonus photo (diptych) just for you all, from one of those days at Park City in the spring slush and sun. It’s ok to mourn the loss of a day full of nonsense. #throwbackthursday #tbtprintingproject #photoprints #colorado #wildflowers #aprilfoolsday #nomoreskiing #boohoo #tseliot #lambstongue #covidsucks #stayhomestaysafe https://www.instagram.com/p/B-epbH4DBIG/?igshid=63sfkw77g7oa

#throwbackthursday #tbtprintingproject #photoprints #colorado #wildflowers #aprilfoolsday #nomoreskiing #boohoo #tseliot #lambstongue #covidsucks #stayhomestaysafe

Week Eight: Cold Smoke I hadn’t even met Nate Deschenes when I took this (heli went back to pick him up from the lodge while we were taking early runs), but I knew it was a keeper even while the shutter was open and the viewfinder blacked out. It was quite a way to be introduced to someone—epic roost, hand dragging lightly on the surface, perfectly placed in between trees’ shadows. I’ve been waiting to post this, my favorite pow shot, and the last week of February feels like the best time even though this was taken mid-March—but that’s just how it goes in interior British Columbia. I was awed by Nate’s riding on this trip, but also struck by his story of injury and recovery via yoga and meditation. It’s taken me a bit to come around to slowing down long enough to take deep breaths to clear my mind of anxiety and love my body instead of beating it to a pulp in pursuit of endorphins and adrenaline—certainly a lesson that’s become more necessary with age. Last I saw on facebook, Nate was in Northern Africa building igloo-like homes, still inspiring in his pursuit of new experiences. Nate, if you see this, I’ve got a print of this for you with your name on it. #whiteroom #powder #britishcolumbia #snowboarding #monashees #powderturns #coldsmoke (at Kingfisher Heliskiing) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9E_qc4lnfE/?igshid=1rid3ouyxg4pv

#whiteroom #powder #britishcolumbia #snowboarding #monashees #powderturns #coldsmoke

A lot has changed in seven years. Drones are the predominant aerial photography/videography tool now, and the days of intrepid cameraman hanging from open helicopter doors are few and far between, if not nearly extinct. They were already on the way out of fashion when I had the chance via @warrenmillerent to shoot alongside @daharbfilm (with a hefty 35mm rig!) for @winterparkresort. In retrospect, I should have brought my own harness, as I ended up tying a seatbelt around my waist in order to stick my telephoto as far out the open door as possible. The veteran pilot told me it’d be fine, and well, I’m here so he was right—though I won’t pretend I wasn’t momentarily distracted a few times during our flight by imagining what it’d be like to fall out and hit a pine tree. Anyways, this is one of my favorite shots from that two hour flight, and it’s available as a print in my store. #snowboarding #winterpark #notadroneshot #droneshot #colorado #freestyle #terrainpark #blackandwhite #photoprint #photography #actionsports #behindthescenes #shittyrigs (at Winter Park, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ypdFEF68S/?igshid=1m09tsdikd4xc

#snowboarding #winterpark #notadroneshot #droneshot #colorado #freestyle #terrainpark #blackandwhite #photoprint #photography #actionsports #behindthescenes #shittyrigs

This weeks #tbt print is one of my favorite shots from what was a fairly mundane assignment to cover the opening day of @eldoramtnresort back in 2012. Eldora has grown quite a bit since then, if not partially due to the extremely overcrowded Summit County options (insert photos of Vail’s 3 hour lift line here). Growing up in Ohio learning to ski & snowboard on family owned small hills I always looked up to the big resorts as an aspirational goal, as many of us do. ‘Someday I’ll shred ______ Resort!’ And there are some real benefits and special experiences to be had at the big resorts, but the older I get the more I just want a short walk from the parking lot, a slow ride up a fixed chair, and a cheap lunch. So when you’re making decisions about where to ski/board, keep these smaller areas in mind, and you may just find a community. #throwbackthursday #skiing #skiresorts #supportlocalskiing #colorado #snowboarding #photography #photoprints #staywarm #optoutside (at Eldora Mountain Resort) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8g-z0yFwS0/?igshid=771g353e7rqt

#tbt #throwbackthursday #skiing #skiresorts #supportlocalskiing #colorado #snowboarding #photography #photoprints #staywarm #optoutside

"Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” -Dylan Thomas It’s been a week filled with darkness and it can feel like the light of our ideals is being extinguished from our nation. I’ve certainly struggled with feeling this way over the past three years. Beyond a lack of decorum, the march of cruelty against the most vulnerable members of our society has been supercharged by an atmosphere of fear. But there is still light in this darkness. For the first time in US history, a Senator has voted to convict a President from his own party—an act of moral courage that has won him far more vitriol from his own party than praise from across the aisle. In doing so, those who have chosen fear and darkness have been revealed in the contrast of the light of truth. The revealing of the darkness by the light should not be confused with a takeover by the night. Now we must rage against the dying of the light, no matter how dark it gets. Register to vote. Check dates and make plans far ahead of time. Vote the assholes out. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8OpdduFCkO/?igshid=2qo1lqx71z9q

Not gonna lie, feeling a bit off my game this week, so instead of a long article, I’ve got some doggos from @rancholunalobos - highly recommend taking a sled dog tour with them if y’all are ever in Park City, UT. . . . . #doggosdoingthings #sleddogsofinstagram #parkcity #utahisrad #utah #rescuedogsofinstagram #throwbackthursday #tbt #puppylove #photoprints #52weeksofprints (at Park City, Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/B79CW4-lwxD/?igshid=1vfsn08yo1cxb

#doggosdoingthings #sleddogsofinstagram #parkcity #utahisrad #utah #rescuedogsofinstagram #throwbackthursday #tbt #puppylove #photoprints #52weeksofprints

Skiing with two broken wrists Simon Dumont didn’t even think he’d make finals in the 2013 X Games, much less be in medal contention. Five weeks prior Dumont had decked out on the Dew Tour pipe in Breckenridge, shattering his left wrist and breaking another bone in his right arm. He had surgery immediately and doctors put a litany of metal in to hold it all together, but he still headed to Aspen to compete. Skiing without poles because he couldn’t hold them, the consequences of any fall were magnified from the significant usual risks.

He skied well in practice and qualifying rounds, building confidence, though still only barely qualifying on the ‘bubble.’ But when the night of finals rolled around he was ready—and you can see the focus in his eyes in the first image above (probably my favorite X Games shot). He brought his trademark amplitude to finals, landing the double cork 12 that had been elusive in practice. When the dust settled and everyone’s runs were done, even with two broken wrists, he won the Bronze. A Rocky Balboa story from X if I ever saw one.

(at Buttermilk Mountain, Aspen Colorado)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wm54slwVx/?igshid=1vk1dmxkpbj0x

#xgames #winterxgames #winterx #aspenxgames #aspenx #espnxgames #slopestyle #halfpipe #skiing #freeskiing #snowboarding #bigair #behindthescenes #xgamesbts #colorado

I was grounded from TV for some reason. Not entirely sure why anymore, but I was not allowed to watch TV during the X Games. So I snuck a busted old no-remote, dial changer with UHF, faux wood grained brick wall of a TV into my bedroom closet to watch Mike Metzger do the first competition moto backflip. My mom caught me eventually, saying “I KNEW it was too quiet up there!” It was so worth it.

So this weeks #throwbackthursday print is to the kids of #WinterXGames — from the kids watching at home just hoping for a ringside seat like this, to those with dreams of competing — dream big & go big. Who knows? Maybe this little girl will be at the top soon, with her coach, visualizing the run ahead, hearing “30 seconds to drop” followed by the countdown. 5…. 4…. 3…. 2… 1…

“Dropping!”

Photo taken at the 2013 Winter X Games.

Limited edition print: https://www.christopherdthompson.com/prints/2020/1/23/aef416axpnn45zki1c6js3ui55xjcm

#xgames #winterxgames #winterx #aspenxgames #aspenx #espnxgames #nextgeneration #slopestyle #halfpipe #skiing #freeskiing #snowboarding #bigair #behindthescenes #xgamesbts #colorado (at Buttermilk Mountain, Aspen Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7q1zolFxdc/?igshid=6jr7w85gtlrq

#throwbackthursday #winterxgames #xgames #winterx #aspenxgames #aspenx #espnxgames #nextgeneration #slopestyle #halfpipe #skiing #freeskiing #snowboarding #bigair #behindthescenes #xgamesbts #colorado

Week Two

“There is a hell of a huge difference between skiing as a sport—or even a lifestyle—and skiing as an industry, a boom-time fad like golf or bowling. Or beating up Peace Freaks on your lunch hour.” — HST in a letter to Mike Moore of the Skier’s Gazette, May 1970, in the midst of running for Sheriff of Aspen.

X Games is next week, and I’ve been going through my archives from coverage, but given the timing with impeachment moving to the Senate, and in advance of the spectacle of X Games, this image from the Woody Creek Tavern seemed appropriate. I also find the story behind this image to be one that will soon be relegated to history, as Anita, Hunter’s wife, has opened Owl Farm to occasional visitors. When I wanted to try a glimpse at Owl Farm, a colleague and I ended up driving in circles and then getting told by the bartender at the Tavern, “No way I’m giving you the address.” I tried to explain that I just wanted an exterior photograph for a photo essay and that Hunter had inspired me as a journalist and visionary writer, but she was having none of it. “Leave that woman alone.” We respectfully ended our search at the Tavern, in Hunter’s booth, and that seemed poetically perfect.

This is offered as a limited (10) edition 10″x15″ print on my website: www.christopherdthompson.com/prints

#hunter s thompson #hst #aspen #owl farm #xgamesaspen #hunter thompson quotes #woody creek tavern #colorado #gonzojournalism #peace freaks #throwback thursday #weekly print #christopher d thompson

In “hindsight” for 2020 ;) I’m doing a weekly print project.

I’ve gotten a tad nostalgic as I’ve gotten older, and on the occasion of the turn of a new decade, I started going through my archives and realized how many images have been sitting on a hard drive doing nothing. So every week for #throwbackthursday I will post another image from my archives and offer a limited edition print. I’m using @ProDPI for photographic prints so these will be something a bit more special than an inkjet print spat from a printer—these are images that have been exposed onto the paper.

To start the year, I wanted to pick an image with some significance. Warren Miller said in a 2010 interview with the Seattle Times, ‘‘I really believe in my heart that that first turn you make on a pair of skis is your first taste of total freedom, the first time in your life that you could go anywhere that your adrenaline would let you go.”

As a kid in Ohio skiing and snowboarding weren’t very prominent around me, but when I saw what it was all about in a Blockbuster VHS copy of WME’s ’98 release “Freeriders,” it was all I wanted to do. I’ve told this story before, but it just highlights the simplicity of what is special about skiing and snowboarding — the simple freedom of flying down a slope; mountain or molehill equally valid. Powder turns, however, are EXTRA valid. I hope you all get some this year.

About this image: Taken on a dream trip to the interior of British Columbia for multiple days of heli accessed champagne powder between old growth evergreens. I honestly can’t remember if this was a skier or snowboarders tracks, and I actually really love that. It all comes down to the turn, no matter the sticks.

To purchase this limited-run print, follow the link in my profile to my web store. Prints start at $39.99.

(at Kingfisher Heli) https://www.christopherdthompson.com/prints/week-one-print