CHRISTIAN PONDELLA
When it comes to capturing those moments in time that only an athlete within a sport can truly appreciate there are few action sports photographers that can compete with Christian Pondella.
Always a ski fan since his late teens in college he would spend hours in the darkroom with a photography class he was taking. His friends were studying economics and majoring in business, but he wasn’t into heavy school work. When he graduated he didn’t graduate with the idea that he wanted to be a photographer. At the outset he just enjoyed taking photos for fun.
One stormy day on Lincoln Mountain, Christian happened to be skiing laps with a man he referred to as a “ripping skier”. About halfway into the day as the two men were on a chair lift, Christian asks the man what he does for a living, the man responds “I’m the photo editor of Powder magazine”. Christian later sent him photos to be critiqued and found a career and a lifelong passion. His career took off from there and now he’s one of the world’s leading extreme sports photographers.
His action sports photography not only provides powerful imagery of extreme sports but requires similar athleticism and precision on his part. His photography specializing on adventure sports emphasizing Skiing. His travels bring him to countless exotic locations as he tends to use remote mountain ranges for his work. He is an outdoor enthusiast himself and participates in many of the sports he captures.
“He tries to capture the images from the athlete’s perspective allowing his audience an intimate view of the cutting edge of adventure sports”. (Pondella) His career highlights are many. He has shot for many popular extreme sports and men’s magazines such as….Outside, GQ, Men's Journal, Maxim, ESPN Magazine, FHM, Sports Illustrated, Rock & Ice and Adventure. He is currently the head photographer for Red Bull USA. Below you can find his Photo on the Front cover of Powder magazine.
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| Eric Pollard over the top by Christian Pondella |
His pictures appeal to me for two main reasons. First, the conditions they are taken in do not allow for easy capture. Both timing and the environment can hinder the process. The conditions he photographs under can be cold, set in high altitudes with strong gusting wind, and extremely dangerous. Despite that he captures beautiful moments in harsh environments that tell each tell a story. Secondly, his timing allows us a freeze frame to what can only be described as “EXTREME”. Here are some more Christian Pondella Standout photos.......
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| Start by Christian Pondella |
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| Helmcken Falls Deadly Ice Climb by Christin Pondella |
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| Red Bull Photo phile by Christian Pondella |
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