The Spirit of Skijoring with Mark LaRowe and the Sprocket Rocket

Somewhere between the frostbitten peaks of the Rockies and the dust-kicked chaos of a rodeo arena, Montana-based photographer Mark LaRowe is chasing moments you can’t stage. From adrenaline-pumped skijoring races to quiet portraits of the Montana way of life, Mark’s lens has seen the raw, the real, and the wildly unpredictable. This winter, at the Teton Valley SkiJoring Competition, he ditched the digital precision of his usual gear to embrace the quirky charm of the Sprocket Rocket, all while navigating snowstorms, 1/100th of a sec shutter speeds, and the occasional side eye from a curious horse.

Armed with an array of Lomo film stocks and an eye for this odd-ball sport, Mark slowed things down to let the stories breathe—and in doing so, found new life in the old-school rhythm of analogue photography. We caught up with him to talk about the fast-paced world of equine sports, capturing fleeting moments, and how picking up a plastic film camera might just change the way you see everything.

Hey Mark, welcome to Lomography Magazine! Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and your photography work?

My home base is Helena, MT and is where I maintain my gallery and studio. From there I venture out to photograph western lifestyle portraits and events such as high school seniors, families, weddings, rodeos, skijoring and other equine-related western sports. The original reason that I threw myself seriously into photography was my love of landscape imagery. I quickly discovered that photographing people was going to be a much more achievable and sustainable path. However, I still dedicate a considerable amount of time to landscape image creation, as I find it very fulfilling. I’ve photographed landscapes from Maine to Washington, and Arizona to Montana.

Alongside your portraiture and more classic photo services, you’ve shot so much of the Montana and western equestrian scene. Where did your interest in photographing rodeos, horses, and all things equestrian begin?

Through various connections I became introduced to some equine-related events in MT and was asked to shoot them. Those opportunities opened some doors for me. Then in 2013 a good friend and fellow photographer in southwestern Montana suggested that we camp and photograph a remote rodeo over the weekend. The action, drama and purely western aspect of it infected my soul. I soon found myself living in the midst of a horse culture. This lead to photographing my first skijoring in 2014.

Equestrian events often involve a strong connection between the rider and the horse. How do you capture that bond through your lens?

For someone like me who didn’t grow up having a horse, or really spending a lot of time with them, I didn’t realize how strong of a bond existed between a good horse and rider pair. Once I started to understand that bond, and how each of them had separate jobs to do, and how they worked together to form a true team, things started to click for me. And of course, some feedback from the contestants was very helpful, as well. Like anything, the deeper understanding you have of the subject matter the larger the window through which you “see” it more completely.

How do you approach capturing the energy and movement of such a dynamic and chaotic sport?

I have a strong foundation with rodeo and other equine sports, and possess a basic understanding of downhill skiing. This is immensely helpful with interpreting the action and drama in skijoring. Now, having almost 50 races under my belt since 2014, I’ve come to really understand the photographic angles, lens selection, shutter speeds, and likely locations on the track where the best action and drama will occur, at least most of the time. But, with skijoring, as in rodeo, you just never really know for sure. Anything can happen at any time, anywhere.

You typically shoot digitally, but decided to take a leap into the Lomography world with the Sprocket Rocket. Tell us about your experience with the camera and the Lomo film stocks you got to shoot with.

The idea of shooting film again really piqued my interest. The light weight and portability of the camera is really nice because I could just stick in my pocket, move around the track, and keep an eye out for compositions that might work. I was really curious to see how the different film stocks with color grades turned out. And, the Sprocket Rocket was a great conversation piece when people noticed me holding a film camera. So, it was a good story to tell to break the ice and convince them to let me shoot them. As it turned out, there wasn't a lot of convincing required.

What were some of the surprising elements you found shooting with the Sprocket Rocket?

The biggest things that I found challenging were the fixed shutter speed, limited aperture, and then having to remember to wind the film. I know I double-exposed more than a couple of shots. The camera was great for shooting still, slower-moving, subjects. But with the limited shutter speed of 100th/sec it challenged me into thinking of how I could use that to my advantage with more creative shots, rather than shooting the fast action.

Shooting a lively event like Skijoring is often a very precise form of photography. How did you feel switching up your shooting style with film?

Using film forced me to really slow down and think about my shots because I couldn’t rely on my instincts, experience and muscle memory that I employ with my typical rigs in fast moving events. I found it necessary to become more thoughtful as I chose my subjects and compositions. Hopefully that resulted in some good, impactful images.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges when photographing fast-paced sports like Skijoring or rodeos?

The biggest challenge is learning the sport and knowing what to look for. If you see something happen, the moment has already passed and you missed the shot. So, there is quite a bit of pre-visualization going on, as well as knowing what usually occurs right before the shot you want to capture. When you see the "pre-event", you're ready for the shot. But you have to always be looking and analyzing and processing, as great shots sometimes occur when you least expect them. Also, continually trying to create something new that you haven’t done before, or mastering a difficult concept, keeps me engaged. I find myself constantly asking, "How can I capture this thing in a different and unique way." That keeps things fresh.

Is there a particular shot you’ve captured with the Sprocket Rocket that stands out to you as a moment you really nailed?

I really enjoyed the wide-angle, portrait-style images of the contestants. I have known many of these people for quite some time now, and many are good friends, so getting in their face was easy and the images reflect their personality and moods, especially during game day.

Can you share more about your experience with Skijoring culture? What is the Skijoring season like for a photographer like yourself?

Skijoring is a very unique sport because it blends two different sporting worlds, or cultures. On one hand you have the equine side of it where many of the contestants come from typical western backgrounds like ranching, rodeo, or other western-lifestyle sports. On the other, you have the downhill ski racing world which is often more eclectic. Witnessing how the two have to come together to form effective, communicative teams has been quite something to experience. While it might seem like an odd pairing on the surface, both worlds are uber-competitive and want very much to achieve at a high level. So, the best teams have three heartbeats united in that common goal.

This past year, I shot seven skijoring events, starting in early January and ending in late March - two in Colorado (San Juan Skijoring, Estes Park Skijoring), three in Idaho (Wood River Extreme Skijoring, Teton Valley Skijoring, Sun Valley Invitational Skijoring) and two in Montana (Big Sky Skijoring and the Red Lodge National Finals Skijoring). That’s a lot of highway miles and many hours shooting outdoor events in the dead of winter in the northern Rockies. Being adequately prepared for below zero weather, blizzards and even 55-degree Bluebird Rocky Mountain winter days is a necessity, whether driving or shooting. I love seeing the west from my driver’s seat and have made so many good friends up and down the spine of the Rockies, so I have no complaints.

Since embracing the Lomographic way, do you find that it’s changed your creative approach or inspired you to experiment more in the future?

I definitely have an itch to pick up a film camera again. It feels very organic and I enjoyed knowing that I had limited shots. Being more thoughtful was important. Slowing down the photographic process usually results in a more compelling image, in the long run. That’s hard to do in action sports, but there is plenty of subject matter behind the scenes that is available for that approach. Very much of a “story-telling” type of approach.

What are some of your recommendations for shooting with this wide-angled beast?

Just start shooting and getting comfortable with it. Use it as an icebreaker to get in close to a subject. Be sure to hold steady, as I’m sure I introduced camera shake into many of the shots. It is so light, that my normal way of holding and shooting a heavier rig was probably too forceful.

Do you have any last words you’d like to share with the Lomography Community?

I immensely enjoyed using the Sprocket Rocket and would encourage people to explore the creative camera options that you have available. Using a different platform definitely wakes up your brain and causes you to put more effort and thought into the images.

Thanks Mark for switching up your gear and talking with us about your experience with the Sprocket Rocket.

written by chloefuller on 2025-05-19 #gear #people #places #sports #horses #winter-sports #sprocket-rocket #equine #lomochrome-turquoise #skijoring Share Article