The Art of Climbing - A dramatic collection of photographs revealing the world's most beautiful climbing locations, from Tsaranoro in Madagascar and Teplicke in the Czech Republic to Mount Huashan in China. (Available now in Australia and the United Kingdom. Available in North America on May 28 and can be pre-ordered.)
Jean-Philippe Dumas on Southern Ocean Wall, West Cape Howe, Western Australia, page 154 (Photo Credit: Simon Carter, IG: @simoncarter_onsight)
Simon Carter has come to be one of the foremost climbing photographers throughout the world. In this day and age that is a serious accomplishment, every climber with a phone takes happy snaps of their vertical adventures. To rise above that static through progressive generations of climbers, to keep images fresh and enlightening, to capture the leaders in our game doing incredible feats in amazing locations, well that takes discipline. Few of us have that. Simon Carter does and his new book, The Art of Climbing captures a lifetime of his work.
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I first came to know of Simon in the 1980’s, back then he was a committed climber, giving every moment learning his craft and extending it to hard sends throughout Australia. He likes to take his camera with him. The book balances reflections of his climbing and photography through short texts and an array of images.
If you have been around a while, you will see recognizable climbers from the 80‘s and 90’s, living fully, on some beautiful climbs. You will also notice the grain of the shot, as that was what technology had to give Simon at the time. His book captures the progress of film and camera quality. You will also see the development of theme in his craft; the importance of capturing, climber, climb, and landscape; the trifecta of climbing photography uberness. In the digital world of today, having 20 frames per second helps get the shot, but knowing what second matters, that’s all the photographer. Capturing Simon’s photography journey, this book is like a right of passage. It has depth in its pages. Simon has done something else; the book has chapters based on climbing features (Overhangs, Aretes, Walls, etc), each of these with a climbing icon sharing their take on those features and what climbing means to them. |
Brittany Griffith on Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, USA, page 116. (Photo Credit: Simon Carter, IG: @simoncarter_onsight)
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The climbers captured in these photos are a mirror to the esteem Simon has garnered from leaders in our community: Adam Ondra, Steve McClure, Greg Child, Alison Osius, Amity Warme, Liv Sanzoz, Dailia Ojeda, and Tim Emmit. Their words are reflective and they lead the pictures, but it is Simon’s images that pull the reader to sit, study, and dive deeper into our own experience. For non-climbers, there is both reason in the words and romance in the images to have them sample the delights of the vertical and come away thinking higher.
For those daring enough to take up a camera and work to hone their craft, a section at the end of the book shares skills Simon has acquired through his globetrotting career. It is like a passing of the baton to those who want to focus their lens on capturing the alure of a climb, a place, and a climber.
There is one photo that stirred me. It is of a climber called John Smoothy (also known as Crunch). John was a Blue Mountains stalwart pushing hard and developing new climbs throughout his life and leaving us early due to illness. Simon’s capture of his effortless flow on a towering Blue Mountains wall had me reflecting on friends that have passed, but also how they live on through images caught on camera.
For those daring enough to take up a camera and work to hone their craft, a section at the end of the book shares skills Simon has acquired through his globetrotting career. It is like a passing of the baton to those who want to focus their lens on capturing the alure of a climb, a place, and a climber.
There is one photo that stirred me. It is of a climber called John Smoothy (also known as Crunch). John was a Blue Mountains stalwart pushing hard and developing new climbs throughout his life and leaving us early due to illness. Simon’s capture of his effortless flow on a towering Blue Mountains wall had me reflecting on friends that have passed, but also how they live on through images caught on camera.
ABOVE: (Click to enlarge and view caption. Photo Credit: Simon Carter, IG: @simoncarter_onsight)
From the array of frames found in the text, my favourite image? Such a hard call. The double spread on pages 82-83 is sublime.
The world has (and has had) some iconic climbing photographers who have captured history and redefined excellence in this platform. Galen Rowell, Uli Weismeier, Glenn Robbins, and Jim Thornburg have made their images an art form. Simon Carter stands on the same ledge as these.
Simon’s work displays the ephemeral and the hundreds of climbers and climbs featured in The Art Of Climbing capture the zeitgeist of our game. It is a vibrant portrait of a photographer who continues to capture it all.
The world has (and has had) some iconic climbing photographers who have captured history and redefined excellence in this platform. Galen Rowell, Uli Weismeier, Glenn Robbins, and Jim Thornburg have made their images an art form. Simon Carter stands on the same ledge as these.
Simon’s work displays the ephemeral and the hundreds of climbers and climbs featured in The Art Of Climbing capture the zeitgeist of our game. It is a vibrant portrait of a photographer who continues to capture it all.
ABOVE: Simon Carter in action (left) and portrait (right) (click on image to enlarge)
Simon Carter is an Australian rock climber and photographer. He began working as a professional photographer, and established Onsight Photography in 1994. Since then, he has travelled widely and built up an extensive body of work encompassing many of the world's best climbing destinations. Carter is the recipient of several photography accolades and the author of four previous coffee-table books, including Images from the Edge (2005), which won the Mountain Image award at the Banff Mountain Book Festival.
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