Cedric Bernardini was born just outside of Chamonix, but he didn’t become a skier until many years later. He has traveled all over, from Paris to Zimbabwe, but it was in the Sierra Nevada where he picked up his love for skiing. When Backcountry got him on the phone, Bernardini talked about days off, being lazy and skiing with friends.

Will Wissman has been taking pictures for longer than most people can say they have been skiing. He’s worked with magazines like Backcountry, National Geographic Adventure and Outside, and he carved out time in his busy schedule to chat with Backcountry about snowmaking, stoke and how avalanches can save lives..

Mattias Fredriksson is a jack-of-all-trades. He’s worked as an editor, had his own magazine and is now a professional photographer with almost 400 cover images to his name. This September, Fredriksson will add another shot to his already impressive portfolio: the cover of Backcountry’s 2015 Gear Guide.

Don’t worry; New Jersey’s governor hasn’t taken up photography. This Chris Christie, a resident of Squamish, B.C., has a penchant for stouts and big ski lines, and he doesn’t take being a photographer lightly.

Growing up on the prairies of Calgary, Reuben Krabbe marks his move to the mountains of Whistler, B.C. as one of the defining moments in his photography career. He’s a towering six feet four inches, which means he ducks when entering most ski huts, but that hasn’t stopped him from capturing the passion at the core of our sport.

Put Bruno Long in Rogers Pass (his favorite place to shoot and ski), and all he needs is a camera and a pair of skis to be happy. Long’s biggest weakness? Being so obsessed with photography that, he says, his friends tell him, “Dude, you’ve got to lay off. You’ve got to shut your brain off.”

Having grown up in Kansas, Cody Downard loves mountains like only those once deprived of them can. We caught Downard in between shoots for advice on photos and life. His suggestion to guys in their 20s? Get a Pomeranian.