A selfie in Lofoten, Norway, in April 2013. This was at the end of a trip to Trollfjordhytta (Trollfjord Hut). We had arranged for a local fisherman to pick us up a few days after originally dropping us off, and at this point we were on our way back to the town of Svolvær.
Growing up in Stamford, CT, the first thing Re Wikstrom would do with a ski magazine was flip right to the photos. The images captivated her. She’d review the photo credits, and over time, noticed there weren’t many women in front and behind the lens. So, after college, she made it her mission to do something about it.
As both a freelance photographer and in her previous roles as Senior Photographer, Managing Photo Editor, and Marketing Photo Manager at Backcountry.com, Wikstrom has spent the last 20 years honing her skills. Her photos have graced the pages of publications including The Ski Journal, Freeskier Magazine, Skiing Magazine and Powder Magazine, as well as major ad campaigns. She's also made a point of creating more space for women in the outdoor media space, even publishing an annual “LadyShred” calendar series aimed at celebrating the many incredible athletes in her community.
Now based in Salt Lake City, UT, her career is a testament to believing in a mission and seeing it through no matter the obstacles. As someone who googled “female ski photographers” 10 years ago, I remember discovering Wikstrom's work and was deeply inspired by her photography. I’m sure I’m not alone, and her work has created ample space for women like myself to feel part of this amazing community.
I sat down with Wikstrom to learn more about her path to photography and the motivation behind her work.
The Ski Journal: When did you start skiing?
Re Wikstrom: I’ve been skiing since I was 3. As far as I can remember, I’ve always loved skiing. If you talked to my parents, they’d say, “We thought she was more into sitting and eating the snow.” But then I discovered I didn’t have to walk up the hill, and that changed everything. We went to Ski Windham in Windham, NY when I was young. We’d do day trips up to Mount Snow and Haystack Mountain in Vermont. We’d do a family trip each year up to Mount Tremblant, QC, so that kind of felt like a home mountain growing up.
Was there a point in which you wanted to make skiing your career?
I was around 12 years old when I got a subscription to Powder Magazine. One of the first articles I read was about the Clambin Kids—Ace [Kvale] and Mark [Shapiro]—and I remember thinking “wow there’s this group living in the Alps and doing ski photography, and that sounds so cool.”
“Ferda girls. [Lexi Dowdall] sending it wide, spread eagle style, for my pal Meaghan at Alta Ski Area, UT.” TSKJ 18.1, "Gallerie: Lexi Dowdall's Why in Watercolor."
When did you start dabbling in photography?
My older brother Drew had a friend who was really into photography, so when I was in middle school, that sparked some interest. I started using my mom’s point-and-shoot camera and would go around the neighborhood taking artsy photos. In high school, we had photography classes, and I ended up taking both of them and then doing studio art with a focus on photography. My high school teacher, Peter Rembetsy, is the reason I went to photo school. To have that recognition and encouragement was really huge.
What was your photography school program like?
It was a 4-year program at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. The facilities were out of this world. It was interesting because the program either focused on photojournalism, commercial, or fine art, and since I wanted to go into action sports photography, it felt like I needed all three disciplines.
There wasn’t an action sports career track, so I did an alternative option, which was designing your major. I was also required to take graphic design classes, which was the right choice for me. It’s influenced how I compose a photograph, and it’s helped with thinking about how a photo will be laid out in a design. I didn’t want to be a graphic designer, but I appreciate a good magazine or advertisement layout.
“Heather Smith and Holly Walker had put up a shelter for some shade and pulled out the Jetboil to refill their water bottles while ski touring in the Eastern Sierra Mountains near Bishop, CA. With extended daylight and brighter sun in early May, this is sunburn-the-underside-of-your-nostrils or the-roof-of-your-mouth territory, so it’s worth the time to put up a quick shade tent for any amount of extended stopping.” Opening gallery, TSKJ 18.3
When did you move west?
As soon as I was done and submitted my last paper, I loaded up my car and drove west. A friend in Salt Lake City told me that it was dumping snow in Utah and that they had a futon, and I knew I was going to move somewhere in the intermountain west—so that’s how I ended up in Utah.
My first job was with a mountain photo operation, Star Photo, at Brighton Ski Resort. We’d shoot film, and someone would come around halfway and collect the rolls. It was a super chill job, and it gave me the flexibility to take time off to photograph various freeskiing competitions. Plus, if it was dumping snow, we couldn’t shoot, so we just got to go skiing, and that’s how I learned how to ski powder.
Tell us about your time with Backcountry?
I started by working with the Backcountry product and content team in the Fall of 2004. As the company grew, I started shooting first a few days a week and then full-time. They also had a small creative team, and I got recruited for that and spent the bulk of my two decades with them too. I had various titles over the years—Senior Photographer, Managing Photo Editor, and Marketing Photo Manager— but generally I was managing all of the marketing photography and shooting a lot of it.
How did that in-house role inform your thinking as a photographer?
I got a lot of experience from it. I got to work closely with all the designers and art directors and plan a lot of photoshoots in a lot of different locations. It also gave me the experience to develop a concept from start to finish with a brand and it showed me how the photos were being used.
You’re a force for capturing more women in ski media. Tell us more about that goal.
I come from a pretty egalitarian family because my mom is a small business owner. When I fell in love with ski photography, I started to notice there’d be a token female stereotype in the ski industry—and I didn’t like that representation. I didn’t want to complain about it, so I thought about what I could do to change it. It came down to a “what if.” What if there was a woman with a camera working with female athletes? I noticed that in the movies, the male athletes wouldn’t be limited to one type of skier or personality, whereas there’d always only be the one token female.
How did the LadyShred Calendar start?
A friend of mine asked if I’d make a calendar in 2018. In 2021, I made another one, and have made an annual calendar since then. Showcasing women being rad is my mission in life, and there are even people who buy the calendars for their kids to see. I get all misty-eyed thinking about it.
The seventh annual LadyShred Calendar.
What goes through your head when you’re going to take a shot?
I wish I could record what’s going on. It depends. Am I shooting a campaign that has a very defined shot list? Or am I just out there trying to make beautiful photos? When I think back to art school, putting a photo together feels like collage work. With skiing, you’ve got the mountain, the slope, and the skier, and they’re like three collage elements to arrange. I don’t always get to dictate it because the skier might want to ski somewhere in particular, but I can still play with all those pieces. It feels like a photo-design-thought collage experiment.
Is there a photo that stands out as one of your favorites?
It would have to be a top 5 or 10. Though there’s a photo of my friend Holly Walker at Mt. Baker, WA, that’s one of my favorites. The season prior, she had a stroke at 29, almost died, and didn’t know if she’d be able to ski again. She made it back to skiing, and that next ski season we shot some photos and created one of my favorite photos of all time. It’s extra special because of that backstory.
You’ve also worked with some pretty legendary female skiers. Tell us more about working with Rachael Burks.
Rachael did the math on our friendship—21 years! She said it’s old enough to drink now. When I first met her, I approached her about shooting photos. She had this serious conversation with me, essentially sharing her philosophy as an athlete: letting her skiing speak for itself. She didn’t want to exploit her femininity, and drew a hard line in the sand. I just remember thinking, “Did we just become best friends, because that’s what I want to do!” Our friendship and one of my favorite photos of Rachael will be featured in an upcoming ski film, "Winter Elements."
“Leah Evans dropping a cliff in BC’s Cariboo Mountains while filming for her segment in Pretty Faces (2014) with Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing. Evans, along with Izzy Lynch, organized, produced, and funded their own segments for the film. Leah's skiing was absolutely firing during this trip. She was already so talented, and I remember thinking she had leveled up again and it was an honor to capture it. Sometimes the flakes were so big we joked that they were the size of spinach leaves.” TSKJ 18.3, "Profile: Leah Evans and What's Greater."
Why do you love print media?
I love it! It had a huge influence on my career and life. I also love being able to sit with something. There’s something special about a story that’s taken time to be created, and being able to digest the photos and words together. Even the layout of print media is not the same as words and photos on a computer screen.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.