‘Inspiration’. Pretty much the main word to sum up my Veko experience. Whether I was at an event shooting the athletes hurtling over waterfalls or watching the daily video edited to perfection and packed with extreme action, all I was thinking was, “I’m going to start base jumping! No, I’ll pick up speed riding, mmmm, or perhaps white water kayaking will be my new summer sport”. Now I just need to implement some time management strategies in order to maximize time each day to allow for the new means of getting the stoke on.

At Vallerret our vision is to enable photographers to push boundaries, enjoy and maximize their free time and ultimately do what gives them a kick each day. This week and being surrounded by extreme sport people, fully enforces that philosophy.

Being involved in such an event and talking with people who are lifestyle orientated and not just career orientated creates huge motivation to keep pushing for those small adventures each day, to get your kicks and highlight the adventure in life as much as possible.

Frøydis Asp Ormåsen is a very bubbly and talented local professional photographer. Originally from Oslo, she came to Voss a few years ago during Veko. She met a group of base jumpers during the week and ended up following them around for a year shooting for them as the left the exit points. Veko adds value in many ways, fun, lifestyle and career opportunities as a photographer.

”I really like to shoot action. I focus on the face because it gives it feeling and adds emotion to the shot. Seeing what the athlete is feeling makes a great shot. I still try to tell a story by shooting the surrounding, but the focus point is on the athletes face. This is highlighted directly with base jumping as the athletes are completely focused and your immersed in their experience.

I also really like the kayaking, specifically, the event called Brandseth, because the emotions of the kayaker’s are so visible on the face and they are close enough to get detail.

There are so many disciplines throughout the week, thus a lot of athletes around. They are very easy to pick as they glow with adrenaline and excitement after their days’ adventures.

I didn’t participate in any of the extreme sports this year. I was content in shooting the action. Now after watching some of the events, inevitably getting wrapped up in the atmospheric hype, contagiously soaking up the energy that the athletes beam, I’m definitely going to put down the camera for a day or two next year in order to compete.

I had an absolute blast over the week. Was fully inspired, tired and stoked all at once. I’ll be making the effort to get even more involved next year.

Check out http://ekstremsportveko.com/ for info on the event. Don’t forget to rummage through the photos 

Also feel free to chuck me an email at carl@photographygloves.com if you have any questions about Veko or this blog.

Cheers

Carl