By Karen D. Lorentz
What started out as a fun winter sport on a school trip and a hobby — perhaps inspired by his artistic mother — led to a new vocation and lifestyle for Jerry LeBlond.
Born in 1946 and raised in Biddeford, Maine, a coastal French speaking community, until the 6th grade when his family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts, he first skied on a high school trip to Mount Snow.
“My main method of learning to ski was by imitation, watching Warren Miller movies and watching racers. It wasn’t until I moved to Killington that I decided to ‘get it right’,” he noted.
That was some years later as first he graduated from the Technological Institute (now part of the University Massachusetts in Lowell, Massachusetts) with an engineering degree. As a mechanical engineer he found work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard managing overhauls of the sea water cooling systems on submarines.
During this time, he continued with graduate studies in air and fluid dynamics until transferring to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California where he was responsible for the sea water cooling systems for a submarine’s nuclear propulsion plant. A return to Portsmouth followed before he changed direction and spent six months skiing, touring, and photographing in Europe.
“I came back stateside in the spring of 1972 with plans to relocate in Sugarloaf, Maine where I owned some land. After realizing that it would be challenging to live there on a full-time basis, I came to Killington where I had been skiing since the late ‘60s. In 2010, after more than 35 years, I moved to Rochester where I’m currently in the midst of retirement but still photographing what my imagination conjures.”
Q&A with Jerry LeBlond
Mountain Times: When did your interest in photography start and how did it grow?
Jerry LeBlond: It goes back to my high school days and my first Kodak Instamatic camera to photograph friends and family trips.
I upgraded to 35mm cameras while living in the Bay Area of San Francisco. That substantially improved the quality of my images. Photography was always a “hobby” until 1975 when it became a professional endeavor.
In the early 1980s, I spent time in New York City meeting with photo editors of major ski and lifestyle publications. Shortly thereafter, I had my first story assignment and soon became a regular contributor to Ski, Skiing, Powder, Ski Canada, and Snow Country. Regionally, I provided photography to Vermont Life, Yankee, and of course, the Mountain Times.
MT: How did your skiing progress?
JL: I signed up for Killington’s Learn How To Be a Ski Instructor [program]. The first step was being taped on video, which was shown to the whole student group with a “kind” analysis … I almost had to close my eyes. I really needed help. I finally learned the mechanics involved in skiing and how to teach beginners.
MT: So how did you become a ski photographer?
JL: I taught skiing at Killington for a couple of years until Pico offered me a position as an instructor and to photograph ski school groups. This change of venue was also inspired by Killington’s original resort photographer, [the late] Bob Perry, when I met with him about being his assistant. Not needing one at the time, he suggested I approach Pico since they did not have a full-time photographer. At that point, my aspirations to be a ski photographer really took off.
Up until the American Ski Company purchased Killington and Pico, I created images for Pico’s advertising and marketing material and managed their photography archives under Frank Heald.
MT: What are the challenges and rewards of being a photographer?
JL: The business is tough one. You’re essentially a one-person band, as many entrepreneurs are. Keeping pace with imaging technology and suppressing GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) due to economics, is another.
The rewards: Being an image maker has allowed me to be ever curious about my environment, its people, and the landscape. My interests have taken me on journeys to ski resorts for editorial, commercial, and World Cup Alpine event assignments from Quebec to South America and the Canadian Rockies.
MT: What is the greatest change you’ve seen?
JL: The most important change to producing imagery, still and motion, is the incorporation of AI into editing software that creators use. This technology has enabled boundless workflow efficiencies. However, it has also given rise to misuse allowing the creation of “fake” visuals and scenarios misleading content users.
MT: And life now?
JL: Being “retired” for more than a decade, I’ve enjoyed setting my own agenda in terms of image making and enjoying outdoor endeavors. I still regularly contribute to publications and complete requests from former commercial clients, some dating back to my early years at Killington. During the ski season, I produce event video for the weekly “World Cup Wednesday” ski bum races. Life Is Good.
MT: Any special influences or mentors?
JL: In 1971, I came across a book titled “The Creation” by photographer Ernst Haas. It really opened up my mind’s eye as to what is possible in landscape and nature imagery, from the grand scale to the intimate. The color and content were exquisite.
Bob Perry’s work, with his placing skiers within a landscape background, inspired my focus on ski photography. I was also impressed by Alois Mayer’s landscape images, ski racing action by Hubert Schriebl of Stratton, and David Brownell for his lifestyle imagery.
MT: Any memorable moments?
JL: One of my most memorable times was being immersed in a landscape totally devoid of trees at the Las Lenas ski resort in the Argentine Andes. It brought a new take on the meaning of sense of scale. As a photographer from the northern hemisphere, it took time to adjust to viewing sunrises and sunsets in opposing directions.
A more recent memorable venture was experiencing the wilderness of Olympic National Park, and visiting my daughter in Bellingham, Washington. More than one visit will be needed to grasp Olympic’s enormity and diversification.
MT: Insights on the artistic life?
JL: It’s been stated countless times: As an artist you find what stirs your soul, then explore, visualize, and capture it. This is what the niche of ski and resort photography has enabled me to do. My goal has always been to produce imagery that captured an excitement or mood, whether grand or intimate, in a chosen subject.
MT: What’s your take on the mountain lifestyle?
JL: When I first settled in Killington, I knew I was “home.” It just seemed familiar. The surrounding landscape offered so much. I could ski, hike, canoe and sailboard. And the coast of Maine (sea water is in my blood) is only a few hours away. I take advantage of that on an annual basis.
MT: What would you tell someone who wanted to move here?
JL: Since the Covid pandemic, Vermont has seen a rise of individuals and families moving to the state. Most, if not all, had careers and employment that would allow them to work remotely and succeed. Since then, there’s been an increasing need for trade industries personnel. Those already qualified or interested in a trades profession, and already enjoy participating in outdoor activities, would find the Killington area a welcoming location.
