Profile: The Effen Search

Revelstoke-based photographer Robert Sim has covered lots of ground in his search for the ultimate captures. The Brooks, Alberta native was drawn to the mountains from a young age, and enrolled in the Yamanuska Mountain Program, putting him on the mountain guide path.

Wheelie King Scotty Heale on Frisby Ridge. Photo: Robert Sim

He had second thoughts about shepherding others in the mountains, preferring to strike out on his own with camera for the big ski peaks of the world. He took up drilling work on offshore rigs to support his travels, weathering cyclones off the coast of Australia and the bitter swells of the North Atlantic to make it work financially.

Andrew Clarke gets enveloped in powder on Boulder Mountain. Photo: Robert Sim

While on the month-on, month-off schedule, he travelled the globe to get images, visiting New Zealand, Japan, Asia, Australia and peaks all around the world in his quest. “I was chronicling the whole journey of travel photography and living the less than beaten path. Taking the other option,” Sim said. “It’s something that works for me.” After residencies in Banff, Tofino, Fernie and more, a snowboard manufacturing gig brought him to Revelstoke. “I was blown away by this place,” Sim said. He’s worked his way into the scene, building a portfolio focusing on the sled and snowboard crowds while shooting with locals like Seb Grondin, Wasted Youth, Danny LeBlanc, Tyler Riddell, Jeremy Hanke, Rob Alford, Brodie Evans and Scott Heale. Sim is known for going on extreme missions to get the shot, sledding deep into the backcountry in search of unique mountain backdrops. “I really seek for more landscape photography than anything,” Sim said. “I’m trying to find those untracked areas — the backcountry experience is what I look for and like. I like to always look for interesting landscapes with the skiing included.” His signature style palette includes carefully framed landscapes, darker colouring, crisp detail, and desaturated images.

Photo: Robert Sim

Now, Sim is back on the guide path, taking certifications on his splitboard, with the goal of turning backcountry photography into a career. So, what’s The Effen Search? It describes Sim’s search for a lifetime of adventure. “It’s meant to be the purest form of it — the adventure — the way out there,” he said. He needed a website, and you can’t say the F-word in a URL. Check him out at www.theeffensearch.com or on Instagram at @theeffensearch