Switzerland? No, Yam.

Of his new route on Mt. Yamnuska, Sonnie Trotter says:

The climbing is WORLD CLASS and overhanging (slightly) the whole way. 5.12b, 5.13b, 5.13a, 5.12b. So far we have dubbed it the Mistress, but maybe there should be a refrence to the golden nature of the line. Tangerine? Climbing such high quality sport routes, this high off the ground is like nothing else I’ve done in North America, maybe Mexico. But topping out on a mountain is more than this soul could ask for.

After a lot of talk about making a photo collaboration, Sonnie’s schedule and mine finally aligned and I accompanied him and Derek Galloway to Mt. Yamnuska the day after I returned from the Bugs (my toothpick legs still haven’t recovered).

Derek (L) and Sonnie (R), Mt. Yamnuska, Alberta ©AQ

I have to admit that I have not been as ambitious as in past years when it comes to elaborate, top down climbing photo shoots. But it felt really good to be up there in what I can now comfortably say, is “my element”. The line of ascent is striking; basically, an orange streak on a constantly overhanging wall of atypically good Yamnuska stone. Over the years I have photographed several routes on Yam; none of them looked this fine.

Firing the crux. ©AQ

Sonnie quickly dispatched with the crux .13b pitch. Fluid, deliberate, controlled: that’s how I would describe his climbing style.

Second crux.

If I’ve noticed one thing in my latest flurry of entries, it’s that they’ve been heavily climbing-centric. In my effort to diversify and distance myself from the adventure photography I’ve come to realize that heck, I really enjoy shooting climbing. In the world of sports it’s unique. Unlike organized sport, climbing has no sidelines and the photographer is actively engaged with the subject(s). In the alpine that level of connection goes even one step further as I’m making pictures of my partner whom I’ve usually known for years. Open up todays sports section and I bet you’ll be challenged to find a photo of the Olympics not taken with a huge lens. I love that my telephoto lenses do not even make it to the base of the cliff; all those pictures are made with nothing longer than 35 mm (I’m talking about the alpine, not what you see above). There is an intimateness inherent in climbing photography. In what other sport is the photographer actually physically connected (via rope) to his subject? In what other sport is the photographer so mentally reliant upon his subject and vice versa? My climbing photographs are much like self-portraits for these reasons, even if I’m not actually in the pictures.

Climbing doesn’t really fall into the realm of ’sports’ photography in the traditional photojournalistic sense. I’m not quite sure what you’d call it when the photographer has such a personal relationship with the subjects in his pictures. And of course, by having this personal relationship, the nature of the photographs is influenced to a great degree, blurring the lines between photojournalism and ‘art’ photography. Climbing is one of those subjects that would be actually impossible to photograph if the photographer did not have some kind of relationship with his subjects. So yes, there would seem to be a certain lack of objectivity in my Climbers series but in the end this is also what drives it.

Avenue Magazine

Avenue Magazine used a couple of my pictures to illustrate a piece written by Geoff Powter.

Bugaboos 2008

Living only 3 hours from one of the finest alpine rock climbing areas in the world, there is no excuse not to make at least one trip into the Bugaboos per summer. It’s an obligation which I have dutifully fulfilled for the past several years running. I’ll never take it for granted that I can leave my house in Canmore in the a.m. and by the evening be sipping a hot beverage in Applebee under the cover of stars and granitic spires. Too wild.

©AQ Walking beneath Pigeon Spire in bad rock climbing conditions.

Over the years I’ve been extremely lucky with the weather so I wasn’t too bummed when the first few days of the trip saw most parties leaving for drier rock elsewhere. Despite extended periods lightning, rain, hail, wind, etc., and coming home to find our tent missing on day one (it blew away; our neighbors saved it from becoming a prayer flag) we managed to to have a productive trip, even if some of our objectives fell into the “obscure” category.

On one particular outing where we were caught in the middle of Bugaboo glacier in a totally whited out electrical hail storm, I found myself too mentally preoccupied to take a picture, despite wanting to. I also wasn’t sure if the marble sized hail stones were going to smash my glass. Unfortunately, because of this, I let a couple of good ones get away. It might have been worth smashed glass… I’ll never know for sure.

©AQ Sarah racking up in deceivingly good weather.

©AQ Same Sarah, few hours later.

©AQ Chris and Paul, Applebee Camp

As usual, I shot a few frames with the Ricoh which I’ll develop in the next few days. Hopefully, there’ll be something more to show.

Action:Reaction

I just participated in this ongoing multi-photographer group project thought up by Aurora Photos, an agency that I work with. Once notified I had 47 hours to upload 3 pictures that somehow related to the previous photographer’s image. An editor picks one and the next photographer is then notified and must come up with another 3 images based on my photo. In this way, the project becomes an ever evolving entity with no fixed destination.

Off to the Bugaboos for a few days…

©AQ Snowpatch Spire from Bugaboo Spire, 2006

My Flesh and Blood

This documentary knocked me off my feet the first time I saw it three years ago. It’s so finely crafted that it doesn’t lose its impact on the second or even third viewing. The film pulls you through one year (to the day) in the life of the Tom family, which after watching, may stay with you for a very long time.

House of Cards- Radiohead

Sugar Cube

Chris, unknown route, Helen Lake, AB

A little alpine cragging gem hidden in the Canadian Rockies and a sweet reminder of why I live here.

Reality

This being my professional photography blog, I’m quite certain that it’s not smart to admit that I’ve spent the last week working another job. Despite several episodes of being ‘full-time’, I have always, eventually, been forced to seek out supplementary income. Historically, tree-planting has bridged the dry spells but I’ve also been lucky enough to have friends with successful businesses who were willing to hire me knowing that I wouldn’t be sticking around. I’ve more than dabbled in urban tree removal and most recently, welding. Or more precisely, welder’s bitch. Both of these skills, whether the photography goes anywhere or not, will come in handy at some point in the future I’m figuring but this rationalization doesn’t exactly hide the fact that I’d prefer to be drawing steady income from pictures.

It’s a conundrum that I’ve been struggling with lately. Do I seek out more lucrative photography work (like weddings) while I continue to work on stories that interest me, or do I just start fostering an alternate career in an attempt to diversify. I’ve always believed that if I just pursue my passion relentlessly, the economics would eventually just fall into place but I’m ready to admit the naiveness of that line of thinking. Either I get more commercial/ corporate toute suite or face an uncertain future while I try to persevere as a editorial photographer. If you’re a photographer and reading this, there’s no new information here, I know.

In other news… a new website is in the works in response to feedback that my current one is difficult to navigate. The new site is being designed around the premise of ‘user friendliness’ and simplicity. It is quite a departure from what I currently have. I actually do like the aesthetics of the site as it is now but I knew I had a problem when an editor emailed to say that they couldn’t see all the pictures, which was followed by a second email that said, “Never mind, I figured it out.” In the words of Myles Bernie, this is “UNACCEPTABLE”.

Finally, if you haven’t checked out the blog of Scott Semple, I’d suggest it. He’s given it a face lift but more importantly his command of the English language paired with his generally critical outlook seem to offer something original or pretty close to it. Check out The Talent Myth.

Sarah

Sarah, Lake Louise, 2008 ©AQ

More Kowa

Jon, Applebee, Bugaboos ©AQ

Chris, Applebee, Bugaboos ©AQ

New scans from older photos (2006).  Jon unearthed the pin from somewhere on the East Face of Snowpatch Spire (behind him) while attempting a new free route.