Daher’s ability to see and understand an unconventional scene continues to make him one of the most sought-after ski photographers in Europe. In 2018, good friend and six-time X Games Ski Cross medalist Enak Gavaggio approached him with a unique idea to shoot skiing in the summertime, dressed in astronaut suits and descending bare rock faces to simulate the act of skiing on the moon. With no promise of great financial return, only of an unconventional way of documenting skiing, Daher was in. He relied on the day for night technique, often used to simulate a nighttime shoot during daylight in old film productions. “At the beginning, I wanted to help them for free, docu-menting this crazy idea,” Daher says. “When we got on location it became clear that we had something amazing photo-wise.” Daher never really did anything with the stunning photos from the project but was driven by the prospect of bringing a friend’s idea to fruition. The value Daher puts on friendship extends back to his earliest days in the Skieur office. Iconic French climbing photographer Stef Candé was working for Skieur ’s sister pub-lication Grimper and noticed the young photographer’s zeal for creative imagery in 2000. Almost immediately, Candé took Daher under his wing. “He allowed me to shoot alongside him, gave me advice, and pushed me. We were working with analog still, and he taught me about the chemicals and different types of film,” says Daher. Eventually Daher passed that knowledge on, helping a young up-and-comer named Jeremy Bernard get a foothold in the photography game. Nowadays, the two tag-team photo duties on the FWT. “In French the saying is, ‘envoie la censé, it means ‘giving back the gift,’” says Gavaggio. The photographer’s polite disposition, generosity, and eagerness to shoot has helped him build the strong relation-ships with photographers and athletes that have formed the backbone of his entire career. He also knows that the work often leads him to other pho-tographic opportunities away from skiing, which has allowed him to expand his portfolio. It helps that he’s still an avid 092 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 14, Issue 1: Page 92
