rock climbing at Willow River, WI

my first time at this spot just across the Minnesota-Wisconsin border near Hudson. Beautiful area for climbing (see this other thread for a shot of the falls). Because it was my first time it took a little while to get used to the conditions. I wasn't used to shooting under such a big overhang, which made lighting tough, and hanging in mid-air didn't make positioning very easy. I finally decided to clip a long piece of webbing to the nearest bolt on the wall to keep myself somewhat facing the wall. Anyway, I'm hoping to get another opportunity to get out there, but the weather is going to be deteriorating fast.

#1 70-200 IS L, ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/100, 145mm, 580EX fired w/ Lumiquest ProMax System

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IMAGE LINK: http://justin.smugmug.​com/gallery/2108621/1/​108970858

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great pictures

#2 has the nicest angle IMO.

nice work.

great shots. rotation is a bit disorienting -- my first reaction was "they cant be doing those moves on an overhang."

love the facial expression & eyes in #1. makes the shot.

awesome pictures and awesome climbing!!!

thanks everyone for the comments. I agree with you David that these shots can be a little disorienting....these two guys (Damon Vaughan and Jon Marek) are buddies of mine from the U who I've known for a while now and they are two of the better climbers I have been able to photograph. The route they were on in those photos is called "Natural Selection" which is rated 5.12c.

Very well done. I would suggest, if possible, that you shoot some horizontal frames. I love the local Santa Barbara foothill climbing shots that include the sky and ocean.

DwightMcCann wrote in post #2239811
Very well done. I would suggest, if possible, that you shoot some horizontal frames. I love the local Santa Barbara foothill climbing shots that include the sky and ocean.

by horizontal frames do you mean shots that include larger features with discernable orientation? If that is indeed what you mean Dwight then I can say I tried to pull this off, however switching lenses while suspended in mid-air 40 feet off the ground is extremely tough and I only managed two lens changes (70-200->17-40->50). I do have one shot with the 17-40 in my gallery that I'm including in this post to give a little bit more perspective on things, although I have been told by some of my climbing buddies that this photo still doesn't provide the proper sense of depth. Unfortunately I can't back up while hanging on a rope to get the right angle.... Thanks for checking it out Dwight, I appreciate your time.

Good god, what happens if they slip and fall off? Nice shots!

Yes, that is what I mean by horizontal ... trying to get a sense of scale and height. Sometimes the most dramatic images do not coincide with the most technically difficult or dangerous parts of the climb nor do they require that the photographer also be a climber or in a route ... sometimes there are accessible ledges parallel to a climb allowing for dramatic photographs from places of ease and access. Shooting while climbing is very difficult and I don't/haven't done it ... I have only done a half dozen climbs under heavy supervision in Joshua Tree National Park (when it was a Monument). I guess what I am trying, poorly, to say is that I appreciate the difficulties and limits but also see WIBNIs ... if you could have shot from parallel to the climber in this last shot, from five feet away with a wide angle and significant DOF it might have been very impressive ... which doesn't mean your current images aren't!

very nice pictars!@

Jim G wrote in post #2239861
Good god, what happens if they slip and fall off? Nice shots!

No worries, Jim. all of us have waist harnesses that are attached to a rope. In my case, a rope was attached to two anchors at the top with both ends hanging down to the ground. One end of the rope I tied to my harness and the other went through a self-belay device (also attached to my harness) and an ascender. for the sport climbing, the lead climber has a rope tied into his harness and the belayer has the remaining end of the rope under his control. As the climber reaches certain points on the route, he attaches a quickdraw (two caribeeners connected together) to the pre-existing bolt, providing the necessary safety. Hopefully this will dispell some of your worries.

DwightMcCann wrote in post #2239889
Yes, that is what I mean by horizontal ... trying to get a sense of scale and height. Sometimes the most dramatic images do not coincide with the most technically difficult or dangerous parts of the climb nor do they require that the photographer also be a climber or in a route ... sometimes there are accessible ledges parallel to a climb allowing for dramatic photographs from places of ease and access. Shooting while climbing is very difficult and I don't/haven't done it ... I have only done a half dozen climbs under heavy supervision in Joshua Tree National Park (when it was a Monument). I guess what I am trying, poorly, to say is that I appreciate the difficulties and limits but also see WIBNIs ... if you could have shot from parallel to the climber in this last shot, from five feet away with a wide angle and significant DOF it might have been very impressive ... which doesn't mean your current images aren't!

I do agree with your take on this situation and climbing photos in general... This was my first time at this location, and in my opinion the more times you shoot climbing photos at any location, the better your shots get. I was going to be renting the 24mm TSE for that day but we decided to skip it because we needed all the time we could get with the sun setting at 5:20pm. Thanks again for your input, Dwight.

Jim G wrote in post #2239861
Good god, what happens if they slip and fall off? Nice shots!

Loved ones pray for good life insurance...

superdiver wrote in post #2240009
Loved ones pray for good life insurance...

I just sprayed water on my monitor from my mouth after reading this post.