Friday, April 18, 2008

Focus on outdoor photography

Ketchum man wins award a second time

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

The man behind the lens, Karl Weatherly is honored for his sports photography. Photo by Karl Weatherly

One of the great jobs of the world has to be an outdoor sports photojournalist. Karl Weatherly lived in Ketchum in the 1980s, moved to New York and Seattle and by 1995 had returned to Ketchum pursue outdoor photography.

He was recently honored for the second time by the North American Snowsports Journalists Association in the category of Snowsports Photography. In awarding him the Harold S. Hirsch Award, the judges described Weatherly's work as having the best sense of light and composition, excellent action, and "shot by someone with obvious expert skiing skills."

"There are endless possibilities here," Weatherly said. "That's why I chose to move back. I looked for studio space in Seattle, but my first love and passion was sports and outdoor photography. I never did rent that studio. I got a lucky break, shooting for the Crystal Mountain Resort (in Washington) for several years."

He also worked for K2, shot stock images and took on various other outdoor assignments.

"In the back of my mind I always wanted to get back to Ketchum," he said. "There's world-class skiing, mountain biking, fly fishing, hiking and with weather to match. It's a natural fit for me."

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Weatherly said he was honored to be only the second two-time winner in the history of the awards.

"It's nice to be recognized by your peers in the press," he said. "I actually got a trophy and a pair of Head skis out of it."

Weatherly's photos appear on both the Getty Images and Corbis Web sites and in winter sports magazines. One of Weatherly's images recently appeared on the back of Backcountry Magazine, featuring Sun Valley Telemark Director Danny Walton on Bald Mountain.