Summit Lake is a small ski hill serviced by one T-bar and rope tow near Nakusp, British Columbia, Canada. While working on a story about local community resorts, I came across this police officer skiing in uniform. He supervised one of his children at the hill, and I managed to sneak in beside him on the T-bar. I needed to be bold to get him to agree to let me photograph him, but when we got to the top of the lift, the closed signs we stuck in the snow as if I had planted them myself. Serendipity at its finest.

The Visual Storyteller

Bruno Long’s journalistic approach to ski photography

Framed
Photos by: Bruno Long
Words by: Matt coté

If you have ever driven from Revelstoke to Rogers Pass in British Columbia’s interior, you probably recognize this iconic snow shed. There is a handful of them along the Trans-Canada Highway, protecting drivers from the potential disaster of avalanches hanging above them. While driving up to the Pass to go skiing, Sean Cochrane and I had a closer look at this particular shed, loving the angles and deep snow perched on the narrow wall. Fifteen minutes later, we were shooting an image that would later grace the cover of Powder Magazine, kickstarting my photography career.

If you have ever driven from Revelstoke to Rogers Pass in British Columbia’s interior, you probably recognize this iconic snow shed. There is a handful of them along the Trans-Canada Highway, protecting drivers from the potential disaster of avalanches hanging above them. While driving up to the Pass to go skiing, Sean Cochrane and I had a closer look at this particular shed, loving the angles and deep snow perched on the narrow wall. Fifteen minutes later, we were shooting an image that would later grace the cover of Powder Magazine, kickstarting my photography career.

The moments collected inside moments, 

that’s what I see when I look at Bruno Long’s photographs. From feet ravaged by ski boots to a cop in a bulletproof vest on skis, to a long-haired woman boot packing to the top of some craggy peak—his images are ones that tell stories. Ten years into a career that’s spanned the world, there’s a depth in narrative and natural history that frames most everything the 42-year-old photographer now does.

When heading out skiing with a 5-year-old, you should expect just about anything. But when heli-skiing with a 5-year-old, expect superheroes also to show up. This was the ski setup for Kasper Treadway before taking him and his late father Dave up for their first day of heli-skiing together, as part of a project that Dave and his wife Tessa were working on about their family. My most memorable moment from that day was Kasper taking a power nap at the top of a mountain in Dave’s arms as the helicopter flew away. Dave’s patience and gentle nature were on full display, as was his unequivocal love for his family. Location: Great Canadian Heli skiing, British Columbia, Canada.

Skiers are not the only animals roaming around the backcountry near the lodge. These tracks, created by a rabbit as it searches for food or moves from one safe spot to another, have always reminded me of ghostly faces in the snow. And yet sometimes I just think that they, like us, are simply roaming around the snow covered landscape enjoying the beauty of all that surrounds us. Skier: Nat Segal Location: Whitecap Alpine, B.C.

When heading out skiing with a 5-year-old, you should expect just about anything. But when heli-skiing with a 5-year-old, expect superheroes also to show up. This was the ski setup for Kasper Treadway before taking him and his late father Dave up for their first day of heli-skiing together, as part of a project that Dave and his wife Tessa were working on about their family. My most memorable moment from that day was Kasper taking a power nap at the top of a mountain in Dave’s arms as the helicopter flew away. Dave’s patience and gentle nature were on full display, as was his unequivocal love for his family. Location: Great Canadian Heli skiing, British Columbia, Canada.

Skiers are not the only animals roaming around the backcountry near the lodge. These tracks, created by a rabbit as it searches for food or moves from one safe spot to another, have always reminded me of ghostly faces in the snow. And yet sometimes I just think that they, like us, are simply roaming around the snow covered landscape enjoying the beauty of all that surrounds us. Skier: Nat Segal Location: Whitecap Alpine, B.C.

It snows a lot in my hometown of Revelstoke. Wake up any morning after a snowstorm, and you will find people up early to shovel their driveway so that they can go to work, get to school or head out skiing. Frequently, the entire town is covered in a deep blanket of snow, quieting every sound and movement. That is, until you hear the snowplows rumbling towards you, in a seemingly never-ending route of snow removal that at times seems to build up as fast as they can take it away.

It snows a lot in my hometown of Revelstoke. Wake up any morning after a snowstorm, and you will find people up early to shovel their driveway so that they can go to work, get to school or head out skiing. Frequently, the entire town is covered in a deep blanket of snow, quieting every sound and movement. That is, until you hear the snowplows rumbling towards you, in a seemingly never-ending route of snow removal that at times seems to build up as fast as they can take it away.

It snows a lot in my hometown of Revelstoke. Wake up any morning after a snowstorm, and you will find people up early to shovel their driveway so that they can go to work, get to school or head out skiing. Frequently, the entire town is covered in a deep blanket of snow, quieting every sound and movement. That is, until you hear the snowplows rumbling towards you, in a seemingly never-ending route of snow removal that at times seems to build up as fast as they can take it away.

That’s because he’s never stopped putting himself in the middle of those narratives. As an accomplished ski-mountaineer, trail runner and mountain biker, Long goes deep in everything aspect of his life—which centers insistently on being outside, in hard-to-reach places. Along the way, that lifestyle has surrounded him with some of the most storied people in the action-sports world, and beyond. Though he counts friends like pro athletes Christina Lustenberger, Greg Hill and Chris Rubens amongst his closest, he’s just as entwined in the lives of the carpenters, lumberjacks, accountants and lawyers that make up the diversity of his circle.

Rogers Pass is well-known for its huge mountains, massive vertical relief, and as a ski touring Mecca. So not exactly a place you might expect to shoot big park-style jumps. Yet when Sammy Carlson and I rolled into this area, on his birthday nonetheless, he eyed up a beautiful spot for a jump into a tight landing. With the light firing, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Sammy on the first drop. I soon realized the meaning of the saying ‘Expect the unexpected.’

Greenland has never been very high on my list of ski destinations, but an opportunity to join a crew from Salomon on an expedition to the Greenland Ice Sheet was something I could not pass up. While we couldn’t fly all the way to our intended destination, it allowed us to explore some never-before-skied areas, like this large face bookended by massive granite walls. Chris Rubens swoops big turns in beautiful corn snow back down into the cold shade in eastern Greenland.

Raised in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, to a teacher mom and social worker dad, Long came from blue-collar roots that have imbued him with an everyman quality. When he first moved west, he spent years driving a snow cat for a living, serving in bars and restaurants, and building trails for Parks Canada. Because of that, he now moves easily between all kinds of people, carrying conversations with genuine interest and rapport. This is at the heart of his images—the instantaneous relationship he’s able to form with people and places.

I remember seeing an image that looked very much like this shot on the cover of Powder Magazine, shot by Jordan Manley. As I was honing my craft for years, I always looked up to Jordan and his unique ability to be highly creative with his action photography. Years later, much to my delight, he and I became close friends while working together on a project. And it just so happened that during an assignment shooting skiing in the North Shore mountains of Vancouver, B.C, Jordan was sitting next to me on the chair at Mt Seymour Ski Resort as I shot this image that was influenced by the very man next to me.

Travelling halfway across the world to ski in Scotland, when you live in one of the snowiest places on earth, seems a bit backwards, don’t you think? Well, so does a chairlift that crosses almost no snow and travels almost entirely sideways instead of up the mountain. Yet this is the beauty of travelling to go skiing, enjoying different ski cultures and experiences, all while having planks strapped to your feet.

That’s why he settled in Revelstoke, British Columbia, 16 years ago, to live at the intersection of mountain and working-class culture. As such, he first learned his craft serendipitously, from a co-worker, Rob Buchanan, who designs media for Parks Canada and is an acclaimed photographer and visual artist at large. At that time, getting into photography was a way for Long to record the production of getting to the places that meant the most to him. But along the way, he also learned a camera looks back in time on anything you point it at: the expression on a moody and weathered face at the end of a long ski trip, or shadows that took the planet 365 days to align just right over a skier in one exact place.

The locker rooms at Red Mountian in Rossland, British Columbia, are as iconic as the resort itself. The colourful doors line the hallways of each row, giving the changing area a unique feel. Walking the hallways and getting a nostalgic feeling emanating from these hallowed halls is a must-do. I wonder who uses these particular lockers??

I was fortunate enough to be invited to photograph a group of sit skiers who were going to be cat-skiing at Mustang Powder in British Columbia’s Monashee Mountains for the first time. A specifically designed apparatus was created and pulled behind the snowcat en route up the hill to make it easier for them to ski deep powder. While the deep powder was also extremely heavy and not ideal, the crew persevered, and we all had a great time, with loads of laughs and shared camaraderie.

Now a senior photographer for some of the world’s top outdoor magazines, Long is never absent in his work. Everything is a careful composition giving the viewer a looking-glass feel, rather than some hidden perspective. He invites you to see things as he does—with textured backstory. It’s a vision that sets him apart.

Over the course of the last eight years, as a writer, I’ve been fortunate to have him as my main editorial partner on assignments that have taken us from Scotland to his native New Brunswick. In that time, I’ve watched him miss hours of sleep to get the simplest of shots and seen the smallest of details consume him; ones the average eye fails to see. He’s just as possessed by culture as he is by action, whether it be Sammy Carlson buttering a turn in powder, or the historical artifacts on a shelf at McGillivray Pass Lodge.

For a lot of years, I thought I was the storyteller on our trips. But over time, I’ve learned to see that Long is truly an equal partner—recounting nuance I never could.

While ski touring on this glacier in British Columbia’s Selkirk Mountains, the rest of the crew was ahead of me while I shot images with a drone. After putting away my gear, I hurried to catch up. Cresting up onto the flats, I noticed this incredible snow texture created by the wind the day earlier. Without any time to stop the crew, I quickly pulled out my camera and got this shot before mountain guide Ruedi Beglinger, and Nick & Louise Arkel walked out of frame. About an hour later, the textured face in the background was littered with creamy powder turns.

For many, being a ski patroller is a dream job. Ski everyday, saves lives, be part of a team, ski everyday. Did I mention ski everyday? But ski patrollers also have very serious jobs and are many times underappreciated. They put themselves in dangerous situations, need extensive training and work long hours. So, make sure next time you see a patroller fixing a boundary line, skiing down with a toboggan, or getting ready for a round of avalanche control, give them a shout of thanks. And don’t be a dick. Location: Revelstoke Mountain Resort, British Columbia, Canada.

BRUNO LONG is focused on immersing himself in the action that he aims to capture, following some of the most accomplished skiers and mountain bikers globally in search of the beauty and unique moments in far-flung destinations. Storytelling has become an essential part of his photography over the past few years, turning his gaze onto the people who make incredible stories while also trying to capture the natural beauty surrounding these people. Bruno lives in Revelstoke, British Columbia.

brunolong.com | @eye_b_long

BRUNO LONG is focused on immersing himself in the action that he aims to capture, following some of the most accomplished skiers and mountain bikers globally in search of the beauty and unique moments in far-flung destinations. Storytelling has become an essential part of his photography over the past few years, turning his gaze onto the people who make incredible stories while also trying to capture the natural beauty surrounding these people. Bruno lives in Revelstoke, British Columbia.

brunolong.com | @eye_b_long

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