Danny Davis (USA) crashes on his final run in the men’s snowboard half pipe final during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

I was excited to return to my extreme sports roots today by shooting men’s halfpipe qualifications and finals. My previous experience at the Winter X Games was one of the reasons I was brought on to the Olympics in the first place, so being back at the halfpipe was comfortable territory.

Shooting snowboarding is enjoyable because of the massive air the competitors get. Couple that with fantastic natural backgrounds of the mountains here, and you have a recipe for some great images. At night, the black sky can also provide a great backdrop for the colorful snowsuits to pop against. Just make sure to avoid the 20 light poles and the cables for the overhead fly-cam (easier said than done, believe me).

The big competitor I had to keep my eye on was defending USA champion Shaun White, who looked to take home his third gold medal in the sport that made the 27-year-old a multi-millionaire. Sadly for Mr. White, he would go on to finish fourth and leave Sochi without a medal, but the upset meant that the jubilation from top finisher Sweden’s Iouri Podladtchikov was through the roof.

Guy’s Russian Word of the Day is, “????????? ????,” pronounced, “Spaqueneh noche,” which means, “Good night,” as in, “Guy is saying ????????? ???? to you right now!”

Johann Baisamy (FRA) competes during men’s halfpipe snowboarding qualification.

Nikita Avtaneev (RUS) competes in the men’s halfpipe snowboarding qualification.

Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) celebrates his second run during the men’s snowboarding halfpipe finals of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Ilkka-Eemeli Laari (FIN) competes during the second run of the men’s halfpipe snowboarding qualification.

A worker applies dye markings onto the halfpipe prior to the men’s snowboarding halfpipe semifinals. The markings are used so the riders can more clearly see the edges of the pipe’s walls. The blue color is simply food coloring added to regular water.

Ayumu Hirano (JPN) during warm-ups for the mens snowboard half pipe final. This is a 1/8th second exposure with me rotating the camera around in my hands counter-clockwise.

Yiwei Zhang (CHN) competes during his first run men’s snowboarding halfpipe finals.

Shaun White (USA) hits the lip during the mens snowboard half pipe final.

Shaun White (USA) reacts after his final run in the mens snowboard half pipe final.

Iouri Podladtchikov (center) celebrates on the podium with Taku Hiraoka (right) and Ayumu Hirano (left) after winning the gold medal in the mens snowboard half pipe final during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.