Photographer Profile: Guy Fattal finds inspiration at home and in the mountains

In the 2018 Photo Annual, we’ve asked seven photographers to dish on the inspiration behind a favorite photo of their choosing. These featured photographers capture the landscapes, community and emotion that that evoke the untracked experience, from dawn’s light to skintracks cutting across a blank white canvas.

In the next installment, photographer Guy Fattal explains how his shooting has taken him from documenting Israeli culture to capturing the slopes of Whistler.

Guy Fattal steps out from behind the lens. [Photo] Ryan Kenny

I am originally from Israel, so I didn’t grow up skiing, but my love for photography and the mountains has led me to travel all around the world chasing snow and photos. But, really, the place that inspires me the most is Israel. I used to just enjoy shooting markets and colors and streets—the warm vibe of Israel. I had been skiing a few times as a kid and loved it, so one year I spent a winter season in Europe, and that’s how I started to shoot. It’s been five years since that winter, and now I am based in Whistler.

Colter Hinchliffe | Whistler Backcountry, B.C. | Guy Fattal

This photo was actually the first shot of the day. Colter Hinchliffe and Todd Ligare were out with me. They had their eyes on a shoot with good early-morning light up Rutherford Glacier in the Whistler backcountry. So we headed up there very early, and Colter dropped in first.
I was pretty amazed—they had this line in mind, and I was just there for the show. We were in pretty rough terrain, but definitely not the sketchiest. I was standing on the side of the face, shooting with a 70×200 lens.

I am always trying to shoot everything from a different perspective because, at the end of the day, when you are shooting skiing and action sports, making shots dynamic can be hard. In this case, Colter is showcasing some amazing action—but I am always trying to search for an angle to make it look unique.