Seven young climbing photographers already at the top of their game.
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seven u n d e r thirty by julie ellison
Lukasz Warzecha
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Photo annual 2012
2012 photo annual
28–80mm lens, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO 100
“Early morning was just right for ice conditions and beautiful light” as Dougal Taverner fired up an overhanging serac on Mont Blanc du Tacul, Chamonix, France.
climbing.com
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Dean Fleming 10-22mm lens, f/3.5, 1/160, ISO 200
27 | Sonora, California californiaclimbermagazine.com
As a double threat in the
industry—writer and photographer—Fleming originally picked up a camera so he could sell more of his writing by providing a complete package to editors. Lately he’s found himself more inspired and driven by images than words, though he thinks capturing a great climbing image is one of the hardest things he’s ever attempted. Fleming says shooting with veterans like Jim Thornburg or Jerry Dodrill and comparing images at the end of the day is frustrating but inspiring, “like watching Peter Croft onsight free-solo your project.” Columbia, California, where Fleming started shooting, is still his favorite location, thanks to its untamed surroundings and the marble rock formations that are utterly unique to the area. He calls the setting “a piece of art with a rock climber garnish.” After earning bylines in almost all the major U.S. climbing magazines, Fleming has started his own quarterly magazine, California Climber. Look for the free print edition in gear shops and climbing gyms throughout California after June 1, or find it online.
Alexandre Buisse
Lukasz Warzecha
29 | Manchester, United Kingdom lwimages.co.uk
As an “obsessed and hungryfor-knowledge” beginner, Warzecha used Kevin Walker’s Learn Rock Climbing in a Weekend as his bible for the first two weeks of his climbing career, and then applied that same combination of hard work and study to his photography. Seeking ideas from shooters like Australian Simon Carter and Americans Tim Kemple and Keith Ladzinski, he found inspiration not only in their images, but also in their business practices. In this way, Warzecha has built a life that he had previously only dreamed about. He calls Scotland his favorite
place to shoot, thanks to the variety of landscape and outdoor activities mixed with unpredictable Scottish weather. That climate was the background for his recent film The Long Hope, which documents Dave MacLeod’s free ascent of The Longhope Route (E11/5.14-) on St. John’s Head, Hoy. Though he shoots breathtaking images of bouldering, trad climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing, and everything in between, Warzecha’s goal is singular: Be evocative.
26 | Chamonix, France | alexandrebuisse.org
Packing for an alpine trip a few years ago, Buisse com-
This image of Conrad Frausto on Soap on a Rope (5.12d) at Jailhouse, California, took two days of scouting, a half-day of shooting, and instructions from the photographer to “get a little wild with your feet.” dean fleming
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promised on the rack rather than the camera, which made him realize he was officially a climbing photographer. Shooting since 2005, Buisse has already built an impressive portfolio of alpine images, aided by growing up in Lyon, France, not far from Chamonix, and by his deep personal connection to the mountains there. Despite his proximity to that alpine mecca, he didn’t start climbing until early 2006, when he was an exchange student in Uppsala, Sweden, and an Australian friend took him to the gym. After that fateful session, Buisse went through what he calls a natural transition to alpine climbing. With photography that’s been described by other photo professionals as “landscape photography in which action takes place,” it’s no wonder he’s been featured in several mags, including the cover of Climbing 290. Inspired by the mountains, the humility they induce, and the never-ending drive of the climbers he shoots, he says he’s happiest with “an ice tool in one hand and a camera in the other.”
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The photographer captured this image of a rope team returning from a climb, with the north face of the Grandes Jorasses peeking out of the fog, just as he was roping up to climb Mont Blanc, Chamonix, France. alexandre buisse
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A graduated neutral density filter was the key to keeping the background from blowing out on this lateafternoon shot of Scott Bennett toe-hooking Sinestra (5.11), Indian Creek, Utah. garrett grove
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climbing.com climbing.com
Garrett Grove
29 | Leavenworth, Washington | garrettgrove.com
Grove’s photographic focus on authenticity, simplicity, and imagination—finding a new angle or exploiting unusual light—helps make him one of the best new image-makers in the field. Although he spent his childhood playing in
the woods of Washington, going to college in Bellingham, near the Cascades, was his first step into climbing. Eventually he became “the guy on climbing trips who wants to take pictures as much as he wants to climb.” What people could do and where they could go in nature
Ben Herndon 26 | Moscow, Idaho benherndon.com
“I don’t have rosy, romantic notions
of making six figures by following my friends around 50 weeks out of the year. It’s not all beer and Skittles,” Herndon says. “You definitely pay your dues, but when you put pretty people doing awesome stuff in stunning environments, there is this overflow of metaphor and beauty.” Herndon got his start shooting at a community newspaper in Port Townsend, Washington, after finishing college. His shooting style is self-described as clean and dramatic without compromising authenticity, but he realizes the value of keeping the climbers aware of exactly what he’s looking for. Thanks to its ability to capture the up-close-and-personal aspect of climbing along with the beauty of the surrounding environment, the 16–35mm f/2.8 wide-angle lens is Herndon’s go-to piece of equipment, as long as he can manage to keep his feet and other extraneous body parts out of the broad shot.
Ben herndon
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“Close-up with a wide angle wouldn’t have done this climb justice,” so the photographer hiked up a large scree field nearby to shoot Craig Pope on the two-pitch Zenith (WI6+), Banks Lake, Washington.
fascinated him, which led to breathtaking visuals. Among his personal favorites are images that “just pick up on the passion and dedication that is found in the climbing world,” he says. “Beat-up tools, torn jeans, duct-taped harness, no retirement account—just drawn to the beauty
and personal challenge.” Grove himself spent the last seven months living out of a truck-camper with his wife, Bridget, and his dog, Gus, while skiing, climbing, and photographing around the West.
Rich Crowder
27 | Sydney, Australia, and Boulder, Colorado | richcrowder.com Rescuing a subject who had passed out from dehydration in a 400-foot-long offwidth on the highalpine Black Wall in Colorado makes Rich Crowder just the type of photographer you want on an expedition. Whether it’s alpine routes or beach bouldering in Virgin Gorda, a Caribbean island for which he’s writing a climbing guidebook, Crowder
gets “overwhelmed with excitement” at beautiful light. That, combined with his ethos that “there is nothing more authentic and convincing than real people doing real things,” makes Crowder’s photography a perfect fit for the climbing world. With a degree in fine art photography from Arizona State University, he splits his time between the climbing
hub of Boulder and the coastal metropolis of Sydney, and although he has shot in beautiful locations around the globe, he has yet to nail his dream assignment: shooting advertising in the Alps with an art director who gives him complete creative control.
Forest Woodward
25 | Brooklyn, New York | forestwoodward.com
This soon-to-be 26-year-old found his way into climbing photography via an unconventional path. Instead of starting as a climber and eventually incorporating photography, Woodward began working as a general outdoor/adventure photographer and then developed a desire to shoot his climber friends in their aesthetic and exciting environments. After dabbling a bit, he realized he needed to be a better climber to understand the sport and get stronger images. Relatively new to the game, he’s already traveled to climbing meccas like South Africa and Patagonia. He broke his right hand a week before going to Patagonia on assignment, and not only did he successfully shoot the story for publication, he also may have invented a new crack technique that he calls “cast jamming.” Woodward attributes a lot of his success to recognizing two things: “You can only get the shot if you’re flexible and can adapt, and you must be engaged and aware of your surroundings.”
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Scott Bennett runs solo laps on an unnamed spire near Frey, Argentina, after everyone else in the party had gone to bed. when a hold broke, the photographer decided never to ask his subjects to do what he wouldn’t do himself. forest woodward
Although most shooters want to capture a high crux, the photographer deliberately shot Mike Lee resting just before the crux of Icebird (19/5.10b) at Australia’s Point Perpendicular, because he wanted viewers to think, “Well, how the heck is he going to do that next part?!” rich crowder
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