Altitude Rush
Nov, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this shot in 'Magic Wood' in the Avers Valley, Switzerland. Huge blocks of rock are scattered through the whole forrest like rolled out dice. It's a spot for bouldering that has become a mecca of rock lovers right now that share your passion for hard moves.Time
Since the bouldering people are a pretty relaxed tribe, there's just no point in getting up early, hurrying to get a shot of empty rocks. So I met this group from Germany and England around noon. Before noon usually, bouldering folks can be found in the van or tent after a long camp fire night with stories and beers.. so take your time, too.Lighting
I took to flash guns with me. Even if it is the brightest summer day, the trees luckily give so much shade that you will need them. If a block is not in bright sun light, it will most probably look utterly dark under it. So I put one on the right side to add some drama and drop shadow along with the lines of sight of the folks around. The seconds was only used to light the whole scene and rock a little from below. If you overdo the flashes, I will have too much a plastic look you definitely want to avoid when shooting outdoor sports in nature.Equipment
I took that shot with a Canon 6D (EF 24-105mm L) and two wireless flash guns.Inspiration
This boulder is called 'Höhenrausch' which translates into 'altitude rush'. It is not especially high but if you watch someone try this last move of the bouldering problem over and over again, the atmosphere gets denser every attempt… all of the folks were cheering and spellbound at the same time. It looked a little like 'the last supper' for me while the rocks and trees gave an amazing natural frame. After about an hour of continuous trying, he made the jum up to the edge and could actually hold it without falling back onto the crash pads. So all the energy and effort condensed in that that one photo right before reaching up.Editing
The postprocessing actually wasn't a big deal. I had to correct the overshooting brightness of the sky as well as level up the dark lower half of the shot. But cleaning up of the shot area in advance made no retouching necessary. That usually saves the most time in bouldering photography.In my camera bag
When shooting in the mountains, I usually like my gear not to weight as much as I do. So every extra pund also wants to be carried up to places that are sometimes only accessible by climbing in the first place. So I take my Canon 5d m3 or even the 6D - wich I love for being even lighter with reasonable performance. The EF 24-105mm L is a must for its versatility as well as the EF 50mm 1.4 for its amazing lens speed if necessary below dark rocks. I often times carry a tripod though I almost never use it. The fast and subtle shifts in perspective that are often required to get the shot right make it somehow cumbersome to handle.Feedback
To get a bouldering shot right you need to be fast and slow. First, clean up the shot area because bouldering folks with explode their shoes, chalk bags, brushes, bottles out of their bags and all over the place which is most of the time not what you want your shot to look like. Then second, be fast to get the lighting right since the first few attempts are often times the best ones. And third, be super patient. Maybe the athlete will need hours untill success at the block so sometimes you will waylay for the shot like for deer to cross your way.
