Count Dracula (5.10d) at Joshua Tree National Park sucks the blood from another poor soul's fingertips as she works her way past the crux of the climb. Tiny, sharp, fingernail crimpers are about all you have to hold onto at that point in the climb.
a very good friend of mine was the editor of several climbing guide books, he is also one of the editors of a popular uk climbing magazine. He taught me a lot about how to get good action shots of climbers. His secret was to abseil (rappel) down and take shots from alongside the climber. In that way he was able to get perspective and detail.
Thanks Maarten and Keith. Keith, this was my second trip climbing and only the second roll shot of this kind of action, so I'm still getting the feel of how, where, and when to shoot. With that in mind, any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I've found it very difficult to capture the contortionist positions climbers get into as well as the angle, height, and difficulty of the climb in the same image. It seems in many cases that you almost have to choose one or the other based on the angle and zoom range you use. It seems that shooting from above may be the best option to capture this in many cases, but I haven't had the chance to use the camera while I'm up on the rock. I'll be adding some more shots from this trip over the next few days, some of which better show the difficulty and drama of the climb. Please check back and leave more comments/suggestions if you'd like. Thanks, Adam
many years ago I was capable of this sort of feat, sadly no longer, though the mind sometimes tries to fool me into believeing the body can still do it ;-)
The photo is a classic climbers shot of a climber on a hard move, flat on and from the back. Unfortunately this sort of viewpoint does not give non-climbers any sort of feel for the extraordinary skill, difficulty or atheltisism required to make such a move. It is a pure representation of the technicality of a 5.10d move.
Maybe a different angle, where we could see her face, or a close up of those fingernail holds, a side shot maybe showing just how 'thin' the climb is. Something to give it synamism or drama. From you photo I can't tell whether this is 2feet from the floor, or 200ft from the floor, I don't have the context in which to place the technicality/difficulty you are trying to represent.
I hope that is not too critical, and is constructive.
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