MILAN — Name the skater who has skated the most times at this Olympics. No, this isn’t Alysa Liu or Ilia Malinin. The skater who spent more time on the ice than any Olympian wouldn’t win a medal at these Olympics, but he still opened up the image of skating in a whole new way.
After each skater completes their routine, Jordan Cowan steps onto the ice and accompanies them to the couch where they kiss and cry. He circles them, capturing their emotions while deftly skating backwards to accompany them off the ice. There are many jobs you can get into without experience, but “skating photographer” is definitely not one of them.
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Cowan grew up in Los Angeles but fell in love with ice dancing and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to train. He also excelled and joined Team USA as an ice dancer. In 2012, he finished seventh at the U.S. National Championships with partner Anastasia Olson.
Videographer and former ice dancer Jordan Cowan is on the ice after American Alysa Liu performs her short program. (Reuters/Amanda Perobelli)
(Reuters/Reuters)
Still, he’s been working on the videos, making fun clips, and having fun with himself. As a kid in Los Angeles, his first love was movies. After retiring from skating, he observed how cameras in ballroom dancing revolutionized the viewing experience. Steadicams can move with dancers, bringing a new level of intimacy to shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.
Then an idea occurred to him: What if the camera could move with it? skater?
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Cowan is a freelance photographer who shoots Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square Garden. But he knew there was an untapped opportunity for filming on ice, so he began developing his own Steadicam rig, a hybrid of various systems and equipment tailored specifically to his needs. He founded On Ice Perspectives, which provides skating photography for television and national competitions. He photographed three U.S. Championships, including breakout moments with stars like Amber Glenn:
The Olympics represent a new reputation and responsibility. “It’s a very traditional sport and has been shot basically the same way for the past 50 years,” Cowan said. “Fans love the tradition of skating. So having a camera on the ice is a very important privilege. I respect it very much.”
At the Milan Olympics, Cowan entered the rink after skaters completed their routines, cinematically showing their expressions of joy or sadness. He skates around them in slow arcs, carrying a camera on his chest – which he says weighs as much as a bag of groceries – to capture the range of emotions on the skaters’ faces.
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“I recognize and respect their emotional privacy,” he said. “I try to bring the audience closer to the story and make the audience relate to it. The skaters understand that I’m not putting the camera in their face, but showing them in the best light possible.”
He also strives to keep a low profile. Two skaters he’d photographed before – Britain’s Lewis Gibson and Canada’s Paul Porrell – were excited to see him on the ice… but only when they saw him photographing other skaters. They didn’t even notice him when he was on the ice in front of them.
“That’s the best feedback I could get,” Cowan said. “I’m not taking anything away from the skaters on the ice.”
This is partly because he blends into the ice. Cowan wore a smart, custom-made white suit that he said was a nod to fashionable host city Milan.
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“Sometimes I get stuck in a wide-angle shot,” he said, “so instead of trying to make a feeble attempt to hide myself, I try to match the mood of the skater wearing expensive designer clothes.”
With a gala featuring famous skaters, a showcase of figure skating medalists and special guests on Saturday night, Cowan will have a chance to shine. “This is my specialty. I love filming live performances,” he said. “It’s a celebration, a crowd-pleaser.” Freed from worries about competition, both Cowan and the skaters will be able to break free, have fun performing, and take the crowd along with them in skating.
“Being on the ice, having people watch live and behind the scenes at home as the skaters perform their stunts on film,” he said, “is even better than having a front-row seat.”