It's always nice to get oriented to a place in a climbing photographer interview, since many shots are often based in and around where you live. So, tell us about where you are from and where you currently live.
I grew up in Southern California in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest. Since then, I've lived and worked throughout most of California - attending school at the University of California Davis, working as a River Guide on various rivers throughout the west, and as a Mountain Guide in Northern California on Mt. Shasta. For the past three years, I've spent the winters working and living in Jackson, Wyoming.
In the spring and summer my van, "Appa," is my home as I travel throughout the west, skiing (with what little snow is left), climbing, and working on photo projects.
I grew up in Southern California in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest. Since then, I've lived and worked throughout most of California - attending school at the University of California Davis, working as a River Guide on various rivers throughout the west, and as a Mountain Guide in Northern California on Mt. Shasta. For the past three years, I've spent the winters working and living in Jackson, Wyoming.
In the spring and summer my van, "Appa," is my home as I travel throughout the west, skiing (with what little snow is left), climbing, and working on photo projects.
Erika Moncada (IG: @Erikalopolis) on "Scarface" Indian Creek, Utah (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
You are multi-outdoor sport lover - climbing, skiing, mountaineering, and rafting (did I miss any?) - and guide. Tell us about the intersectionality of these activities in your life and lifestyle.
I'm most drawn to the movement of the human body and trying to push the limits of what it can do. I love climbing, skiing, trail running, and surfing. I find that each sport is unique, requiring its own specific body movements, muscle groups and mental space - not to mention the beauty of varying environments where these activities take place.
Another draw to these sports is the seasonality of them. For the most part I enjoy being able to commit 3-4 months of the year to each of those as a physical mental break from whatever goals I may have for each of these activities - if I can. However, that doesn't always work out. There's the classic saying “Jack of all trades, master of none." I used to feel that was more of a negative comment, but I'm totally ok with being a J"ack of all trades." I find I have more fun that way.
Galen Rowell said it best, "adventure photography is participatory." That's why I enjoy bringing my camera into these spaces to show and capture the beauty of the human body in pretty wild places where these sports take place. That being said, as much as I love and admire and respect surf photography, surfing is one of those sports that I'm trying to keep as just for fun for me. It's my activity where I leave the camera behind and just focus on myself and having fun.
I'm most drawn to the movement of the human body and trying to push the limits of what it can do. I love climbing, skiing, trail running, and surfing. I find that each sport is unique, requiring its own specific body movements, muscle groups and mental space - not to mention the beauty of varying environments where these activities take place.
Another draw to these sports is the seasonality of them. For the most part I enjoy being able to commit 3-4 months of the year to each of those as a physical mental break from whatever goals I may have for each of these activities - if I can. However, that doesn't always work out. There's the classic saying “Jack of all trades, master of none." I used to feel that was more of a negative comment, but I'm totally ok with being a J"ack of all trades." I find I have more fun that way.
Galen Rowell said it best, "adventure photography is participatory." That's why I enjoy bringing my camera into these spaces to show and capture the beauty of the human body in pretty wild places where these sports take place. That being said, as much as I love and admire and respect surf photography, surfing is one of those sports that I'm trying to keep as just for fun for me. It's my activity where I leave the camera behind and just focus on myself and having fun.
Wade Spiner (IG: @wadespiner) on "Weak Sauce" in Ten Sleep, Wyoming (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
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How long have you been climbing and is there a style of climbing you prefer?
I started climbing my freshman year of college at UC Davis. I hung up the baseball cleats that I had been wearing most of my life and found the climbing club. It hasn’t been very consistent until the last couple of years. As far as preferred style, I'm really trying my hardest to not fall into the trap of only pursuing a specific type of climbing. I love trying to push my limits projecting hard sport routes, but long days in the alpine with good company is also pretty hard to beat. Do you have a favorite place to climb and a favorite place to photograph climbing and why?
Lately I've been attracted to the routes and style of climbing in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. This last fall I spent my first season in Indian Creek, Utah and fell in love with the climbing there as well. I have hopes of making it back to Index, Washington as well as ticking off bigger, and longer routes in Yosemite, California and Lofoten, Norway. When did photography enter the picture and when did you start photographing climbing?
Photography first entered the picture back in middle school when I would skate around town with my friends and I'd bring along my mom's old Pentax k1000. We would look through the local real estate ads for houses for sale and skate the empty pools (or swim if it was still full). At the end of high school I went on a road trip to Yosemite and the Northern California coast camping and hiking, I brought my camera along and realized that I could combine my love of photography with my love for the outdoors. |
Blake Cason in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
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My love for sports was a natural progression to wanting to capture movement in these wild places.
Do you ever find it difficult to decide whether to climb or photograph climbing?
Climbing is unique in the sense that you can control your schedule a little more compared to most other outdoor sports when it comes to photography. For example, surfing is strongly dictated by swell, or wind, and skiing with storm cycles. So you have to be ready to go at the drop of the hat. For climbing, I can shoot on rest days or plan projects around specific times.
Climbing is unique in the sense that you can control your schedule a little more compared to most other outdoor sports when it comes to photography. For example, surfing is strongly dictated by swell, or wind, and skiing with storm cycles. So you have to be ready to go at the drop of the hat. For climbing, I can shoot on rest days or plan projects around specific times.
Andy Liu (IG: @Andyliu84) on “Shark Fin Arete “in Alabama Hills, California (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
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You have worked as a mountain guide and river rafting guide. Is guiding still part of your life?
I've actually stepped away from guiding to focus more on climbing, skiing, and photography full time. That being said, guiding is a great way to learn, meet new people and gain experience. A lot of guiding outfits offer guide training once brought onto the program to teach you and refine the necessary skills. The hard skills and technical knowledge can be taught, but the soft skills can’t. So if you’re thinking about getting into guiding but don’t have a ton of experience yet, that's ok. Reach out and see what you can do! For the techies out there, what photography equipment do you use to photograph climbing?
I'm currently loving the Sony mirrorless system. Camera bodies: Sony A7rIII Sony a6500 Canon Glass: 24-70 f/2.8 70-200 f/2.8 16-35 f/4 Adapter: Sigma MC-11 Full disclosure - I switched over from Canon and so am still shooting Canon glass with a Sigma MC-11 converter. Slowly but surely making the switch to the Sony G line (amazing glass). I have a 15l sling bag for when I'm shooting on the wall, static line, jumars, slings, carabiners and a rope bag to coil the rope when I'm hanging out so it's not in the shot. I've found that less is more on the wall and being safe and efficient is way more important than the camera gear you bring up with you on the wall. |
Becca Droz (IG: @becca_beatbox) in Ten Sleep Wyoming (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
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Vanessa Lo on an unknown chimney at Tahoe, California. (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
Finish this sentence. I hope that...
I can be someone that helps keep the door open, to help others enter this space and to amplify and advocate for the voices and people that are currently underrepresented. There have been people in my life that I look up to that could have easily closed the door behind them but they helped me enter this space and I hope to be a resource to anyone and everyone out there.
I can be someone that helps keep the door open, to help others enter this space and to amplify and advocate for the voices and people that are currently underrepresented. There have been people in my life that I look up to that could have easily closed the door behind them but they helped me enter this space and I hope to be a resource to anyone and everyone out there.
Name a favorite song in your current playlist.
Been on a big Goth Babe kick lately.
Been on a big Goth Babe kick lately.
Filip Babicz (IG: @Filipbabicz) on “Southwest Arete”
in Bishop, California (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
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Do you have any goals or visions you are working towards?
I keep a lot of goals and aspirations close to my chest so you’ll just have to follow along to find out! (Ed note: Check out Clayton's website and Instagram account below) Any last words for our readers?
I think I'd just like to leave on the note that you don’t need permission to pursue whatever it is you're looking to get after. For the longest time I was hesitant to start shooting climbing. I felt like I needed someone to tell me its ok to try something new, and that just isn’t really going to happen. So, if you’re looking to get into climbing, guiding, to hop on a new hard route, to go backpacking, or go camping for the first time, just go, fail, and make mistakes. Figure it out as you go because that's the only way to start. Everyone started from the beginning at some point. Now it's your turn to have fun going through the process of figuring it out. (Ed. Note: These are the perfect parting words for our current themed edition Firsts...and Lasts.) |
Isha (IG: @anomalisha_) in Indian Creek, Utah (Photo Credit: Clayton Herrmann)
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