WV Action Sports Photographer: On the Mountain Year-Round
Most photographers can show up to a mountain and take pictures. That's not the same as knowing the mountain.
If you're an athlete building a sponsorship portfolio, a brand looking for authentic product-in-use shots, or a resort marketing team that needs footage to move tickets, the difference between a good photographer and the right photographer is whether they can keep up with the action before the shot even happens. In West Virginia, that's a short list.
Wildhare Media is based near Snowshoe Mountain, and lead photographer Kurt Schachner has spent a decade shooting on these trails, slopes, and ridgelines.
Knowing the Mountain Is Half the Job
Great action sports photography starts before the camera goes up. You have to know where the light hits a jump at 8am versus 3pm. You have to know which section of trail gives you a clean background, which ski run has the pitch that makes a skier look like they're charging, and where to position so the athlete's line tells the full story.
That knowledge takes years, not a scouting trip.
At Snowshoe, we're talking about one of the best four-season mountain venues in the East. The bike park runs lift-served trails from spring through fall. Winter brings serious vertical drop for skiing and snowboarding. The terrain draws legit athletes and brands who want the shots to match the riding, and generic outdoor photography doesn't cut it at that level.
Kurt has shot skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking at Snowshoe across hundreds of sessions. He knows where to be, what to expect from the light, and how to anticipate the move before it happens. That's what puts the shot in the portfolio instead of the trash bin.
Drone Footage Changes What's Possible
Ground-level shots are essential. But aerial coverage is what separates a content package from a content package that actually performs.
Kurt holds an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, which is the commercial certification required to legally fly drone operations for hire. That matters for brands and resorts who need footage they can actually use in commercial campaigns without legal exposure.
The aerial angle on action sports creates shots and video clips that are impossible to get from the ground: overhead tracking of a rider dropping into a trail section, a sweeping pullback from the top of a ski run, or a bird's-eye follow of an athlete through open terrain. Combined with ground-level photography and video, the result is a full content package, not just a single angle.
For athletes, it's portfolio material that stands out in a sponsorship pitch. For brands, it's the kind of cinematic product-in-action footage that actually runs in campaigns. For tourism operators and resort marketing teams, it's the visual storytelling that puts the destination in the frame alongside the athlete.
What We Shoot, and Who We Work With
Wildhare Media covers the full range of outdoor and action sports disciplines in West Virginia: skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, motorsports, and golf. That breadth matters because mountain terrain means different things to different sports, and each one requires a different technical approach.
We work with athletes who are building their profile, whether that's a rising junior competitor who needs clean content to pitch sponsors or a seasoned pro who wants fresh material for the season. We work with outdoor apparel and gear brands that need authentic mountain shots of their products in real conditions. And we work with resort operators and tourism boards who need content that sells the West Virginia mountain experience to a national and regional audience.
If you're coming to Snowshoe or anywhere in the West Virginia mountains for a shoot, or if you're a local athlete or brand looking to put together a serious content day, this is the work we do.
Ready to Book a Shoot?
Get in touch through the contact page at wildhare.media to talk through your project. Whether it's a single athlete shoot, a brand content day, or an ongoing media partnership, we're available to connect and put together a package that fits your goals. You can also browse the gallery at wildhare.media to see the kind of work we bring to every project.
West Virginia has serious terrain. It deserves serious photography.