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Shooting action sports in the snow is already a wild ride, but doing it in the dark? That takes some next-level skills. Swedish photographer Daniel Bernstål has been dialing in his craft for years, using lighting and especially artificial lighting to capture snowboarding in a way that hits different.
Whether it’s backlit fog, silhouette shots, or creative use of long exposure, his work turns the darkness of winter into pure visual gold. We caught up with "Bernie" to talk about how he got into the game, why flash photography can be such a game-changer, and the shots that keep him coming back for more.
Every season me and Nils Arvidsson try to link up at our home ski resort ”Järvsöbacken”. It's a tiny resort but you don't need much to have fun on your board. On this day it was cold as hell so I wasn't too hyped on going cause I knew I was gonna freeze being out there. Anywho, I decided not to stay in bed and go shred. Once I got to the mountain I noticed this crazy light phenomena (light pillars) in the sky. I've seen it once before but it's rare and only happens when it's super cold and there's tiny ice particles in the air that the sunlight hits. I unpacked my drone and yelled to Nils the classic four words, "lights good, do anything!!!". He made a nice backside carve, I snapped the photo and the rest is history. I was stoked that I didn't stay in bed on that day!
DJI Phantom 4 Pro | 1/2000s | f/4 | ISO 100
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Daniel: I got into photography when I seriously injured my knee in a motocross accident back in 2010. Being sidelined from the sports I loved made me pursue a teenage dream of being a snowboard photographer instead.
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Daniel: As a teenager, I always looked up to Swedish snowboard photographer Vincent Skoglund. He was the first guy to bring flashes up to the mountain, and his style was so unique. That’s where my inspiration comes from and why I wanted to work with artificial lighting.
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Daniel: I always try to plan as much as possible, but a lot of times you have to adjust on the fly. There are so many factors that can change, so it’s almost impossible to predict everything. Test shoots help a lot — they let me figure out what works and what doesn’t before the real deal.
Sven Thorgren – BS Carve, Kiruna
This was one of the most challenging shots I’ve ever taken. A GoPro, two Elinchrom flashes, and a whole lot of patience. Since the GoPro can’t trigger flashes, I set the shutter to five seconds and triggered them manually. It had to be pitch black, and timing everything was chaos. After a ton of failed attempts, we finally nailed it.
GoPro | 5s | f/2.8 | ISO 100
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Daniel: Both. I have a general plan, but when you're out there, things rarely go as expected. Weather changes, the spot looks different in real life, or the light isn’t what you thought it would be. You have to be flexible.
The glacier of Folgefonna in Norway is known for its changing weather. It can be blue skies and all of a sudden the fog rolls in. That’s what happened when this photo was taken. Fortunately I had my biggest flash with me. I turned the exposure down a few steps and lit Ludvig Billtoft from behind. I’ve always loved to work with flashes this way and create silhouette shots as they are so simple and stunning.
Nikon D850, 35mm | 1/800s | f/10 | ISO 320
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Daniel: If you want to get into flash photography, don’t drop all your cash on the most expensive flashes right away. Start with a couple of speedlights and work from there. Try to replicate shots you like, figure out what makes them work, and most importantly — have fun!
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Daniel: My most memorable shot is probably the one I took of Niklas Mattsson in Kläppens halfpipe. That was just one of those ideas I had that actually worked out better than I expected. When that photo popped up on the back of my camera, I was sooooo pumped. Those moments are exactly why I keep shooting.
I have been experimenting a lot with long shutters and freezing the action with flashes. This photo is a result of that. The idea with this photo was a snowboarder riding down the pipe and lighting it up with a headlight and then doing a trick at the end of it. To be honest it didn’t look like this in my head at all. But this time it turned out to be better than what I had envisioned. Niklas was actually supposed to be riding in a straight line but he misunderstood me and rode on the walls which was actually way better. Then the flash missed him and hit the pipe-wall a few meters back. That created a silhouette of Niklas and made him pop even more. For me this is the pinnacle of the creative process and what I thrive on as a photographer.
Nikon D850, 50mm | 48sec | f/6.3 | ISO 200
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Daniel: In the next few weeks, I’m going to try another lighting idea. I’ve done one test shoot, and it works really well, so it’s going to be exciting to bring this one to the snow. Keep your eyes open!
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This was shot just a few minutes from my home at Hemlingbybacken, one of the smallest ski hills in the world. It just proves you don’t have to go halfway across the planet to get a sick shot. The fog rolled in on this November night, and I backlit Anton with a flash while he sent a frontside 180 over a picnic table.
Nikon D850, 50mm | 1/200s | f/7.1 | ISO 200
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Shooting with Halldor was always a dream of mine, and in 2017, it finally happened. This spot was tricky as hell, and getting a solid angle was a struggle. I slapped on a fisheye and went for an artsy composition instead of focusing just on the trick. Good call—this shot ended up on the cover of Transworld Snowboarding.
Nikon D850, 16mm fisheye | 1/2000s | f/6.3 | ISO 200
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Classic Riks weather had us waiting for days, patience running thin. Finally, one evening, we decided to hike up Vassi. Two hours in, the clouds rolled back in, but we pushed on. After two more hours in the fog, we suddenly broke through—we were above the clouds. At 11 PM, with 24-hour daylight, Niklas sent a perfect backside air off a side hit, and I knew we had something special.
Nikon D850, 35mm | 1/1000s | f/4.0 | ISO 1250
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Daniel’s ability to mix raw action with creative lighting makes his shots stand out in a sea of snowboard photography, capturing the surreal beauty of winter at day AND night. His work is proof that the best shots happen when the sun goes down and the temperatures are low.
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