Climbing Partner

[Ralph Thornton]

I'm a pretty poor people photog. Too shy to take street shots or try studio work. But I do try to take some shots of my climbing partners when I can.

I try to carry a DSLR in the mountains but on some trips I just can't afford the weight and space. These shots were made with a little Olympus 3 mp camera. I managed to get a nice 8x10 out of the first one after a bunch of post processing.

 

[Thomas brookes]

Well I'm happy to lurk in the depths of derelict buildings and hang out with gasman and horseface, but that first pic scares me!!! How high up are you?

 

[Darren Turner]

I am with you on that Thomas..... that freaks me out BIG time that climbing in mountains melarky...........think i will pass on that.

Great photo though Ralph, especial form a tiny camera..............!!!

 

[Hamish Gill]

That first one is a real gem!
You could imagine that in a broshure for climbing holidays!

And I also agree ... You wouldn't get me doing that shiz!

 

[Ralph Thornton]

... How high up are you?

Here's a pic of Mount Saint Nicholas in Glacier National Park. The summit is 9,375 feet. It's about 1,000 feet from the notch (where there is snow) on the right side of the mountain to the summit. The first photo was taken about 200 feet below the top. The second photo, which was taken on the ascent, was taken earlier about 150 above the notch. So there's a lot of "air" under us in both views.

My suggestion to folks that are bothered by the exposure is to "Pay attention to the business at hand AND don't look down!"

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Ralph - that first one is a stunner

Not sure I'd be able to hold a camera, let alone take a picture - ever been close to dropping one?

 

[Ralph Thornton]

The camera was tethered by a longish cord to the button hole in my shirt pocket. I didn't want to take the chance of dropping something really valuable so I took my old Olympus on this trip. I had a friend drop a camera bag once. Besides the camera it had some money in it. 30 seconds or so after the bag went down the couloir there was an updraft and a few dollar bills were seen floating by. He never recovered the camera or bag and the money blew away too. Real bummer.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Ouch!

I have a habit of putting the camera strap over my neck when approaching the edge of a cliff or canyon now, after seeing someone drop their nice shiny DSLR into the depths.

The rest of the time I'm way to caviler and tend not to use a strap - I know I'll have to pay for that one day...

 

[Ralph Thornton]

I don't have a strap on my DSLRs either. I usually carry my camera in a bag when hiking but when shooting frequently I'll just carry it. I try to be careful but no stuff always happens.

 

[Bryan Hunt]

I am with Tom & Darren you would never get me up there .I'm happy 60 feet under water but hate hights.
I can only agree everyone the first photo is stunning.
looking forward to seeing more

 

[Laurie Parker]

Fab adventure shots, wouldnt get me up there either, tried rock climbing once years ago at Cader Idris got up alright, but not a chance was I going down backwards ended up taking ages following a path down lol carrying loads of bags!!!

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Thanks for the comments guys. I will admit that the first shot involved a lot of luck. But what the heck, it did come out OK.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Luck had nothing to do with it - you were there, with a camera - that's just good old fashioned dedication

 

[Glen Roberts]

Great shots Ralph, I'm happy to walk up mountains but I couldn't do rock climbing like that.

Not sure I'd be able to hold a camera, ever been close to dropping one?

I think if it was me up there I'd be dropping something, and it wouldn't be from my hands or pockets!!! ....