Skiing in the morning, surfing in the afternoon: Everyone was freezing after surfing the Arctic Ocean surrounding the Norwegian Lofoten islands, but that couldn’t stop them from smiling and enjoying a perfect moment in such a spectacular environment. This shot is a perfect example of what it means for me to capture the “soul” of the sport: it’s absolutely unstaged, I’m just documenting the scenery, not getting involved. The wide-sangle lens captures both the landscape with snow covered mountains above the arctic ocean and the guys coming back to the beach, all smiling, while the girl in front gives them a thumbs up, not realizing that I’m standing right behind her. Long shadows, fluffy clouds, soft reflections and the minimalism of the black and white conversion all add up to what makes this a very special image for me.
Christoph Oberschneider

About the shot

Biography
Doc turned photographer: 1983 born and raised in Salzburg, Austria, Christoph was just finishing his studies at Medical University in Graz when he got his hands on his first camera. Coming from a strong skiing background, his vision has since then been to capture the very soul of the sport, to infect the world around him with his absolute passion for skiing, be it on the piste or in the backcountry.
But it’s not just about skiing: Every sport has its special, unique feeling to it, and Christoph loves to make this feeling visible with his images - whether it’s mountain biking, surfing, trail running, climbing or just hiking and enjoying life in the mountains.
Christoph’s images have won numerous awards, have been published in magazines worldwide and made it possible for him to work with world class athletes like Sandra Lahnsteiner, Henrik Windstedt, Stephan Goergl and others. Clients like Red Bull Media House, GoPro, BMW, Tamron and various tourism boards like his clean visual style, his creative way of working with new technologies like drone photography, and his reliability and eagerness to “get the shot”.
Christoph is currently working as a freelance photographer and filmer in Salzburg, Austria; in the off-season he is also working as medical lecturer.