Kari Medig
Kari Medig won Best in Show at the 2008 Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown. He adds to his swag-haul of accolades the 2010 Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Festival's Coldshot Photo Competition, for this incredible stop motion animation, Pillow Lines.
Originally from the East Kootenays, Kari Medig currently lives in Vancouver and divides his time between shooting for magazines, traveling and backcountry skiing. His work has appeared in various outdoor and news publications including Climbing, Gripped, Kootenay Mountain Culture, Backcountry, SBC Skier, the Westender and the Star.
The TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival checked in with Medig just before the 2009 Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown, as the tiara was about to be passed to Jordan Manley.
What was it like to see your mounted on-screen at the 2008 Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown?
It was a pretty surreal experience because I had never attended the Showdown, so I didn't really know the format. When I walked in there for the test screening I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is a little bigger than doing a slideshow at the Kimberley highschool gym.’
What makes the show a unique experience for a participating photographer?
It is really great to see my work displayed on the big screen and with the photos so big. I found out pretty early in the process that the key to the whole thing is the music. If you have a shot that displays emotion, the right music will really enhance that overall feel, just like when watching a movie. It's valuable because seeing the order of the shots and putting them in sequence made me think about my style and where it was heading, and how it has progressed since I first started shooting.
Does screening to a live audience of 2000 people have an impact on the show’s reception?
It was great to hear the audience react, but also surprising to which photos they reacted to most... The Whistler crowd really knows their photography, being in the heart of where so much of it is shot. It is really nice as a photographer to show to a crowd that knows good photography. They aren't fooled by pretty sunset shots, so if you have a show with some substance, and something grittier and different, the audience will appreciate it.
Did you think you were a contender?
I honestly didn't think I would win when the participants were first announced. I don't really fall into the realm of being a pure action sports photographer. I kind of define myself as a documentary photographer for all parts of life, who can also shoot ski action. I definitely never wanted to be a pure action shooter. So I felt that the quieter ski culture shots might be misunderstood amongst a lot of the big cliff hucking. But as I put the show together, I knew I had a chance because I knew it would relate to everyone in the ski community, not just the higher octane crowd...
But on the night I think anything can happen, and the timing and everything was just right and my show seemed to strike a chord. It felt pretty good. Winning means you become instantly known to everyone in the industry, and that has led to a lot of opportunities and allowed me to meet a lot of great people.
