Swipe to see entire image and the RAW unedited image: I’ve never posted this image, a semifinalist in the 2023 Red Bull Illume within the RAW Category (absolutely no edits, straight from the camera), one of 250 semifinalist images of tens of thousands of images submitted around the world. Sometimes the simple shots are worth your time. On this particular evening, a major storm had cleared, revealing a pristine canvas blanketed in deep snow, graced with cold December skim light. With daylight fleeting, I noticed an inconspicuous hump that would allow Alex to get airborne and leave a contrail of blower snow. With a circular polarizer mounted, the deep blue sky and backlit snow was heavily contrasted, perfect for a black and white composition.   Assuring Alex the minuscule feature was worth our time, I persuaded him from a desired nose-butter to a straight air. Quickly communicating, we calculated his takeoff angle and positioning in the air. Skiing down the slope and blasting into th...