Extreme Action Sports

If you’ve never seen videos of Beth climbing, this is well worth a look. She is an amazing athlete who continues to amaze us. You can read more about her here.

Photographer: Rainer Eder

The icefall is not far from where my home in central Switzerland is, and I noticed it a while ago when passing nearby. It is such a bold line. pretty exposed with several sections of freestanding ice columns, but it takes the reference of a climber to show its whole majesty. The problem was that good, safe conditions, with a thin ice line from top to bottom are rare. After a period of cold weather I decided to check out the condition of the icefall. It looked good and I had a quick talk to Walter Hungerbühler who lives right next to the icefall’s exit.

As luck would have it, Walter told me he was going to climb the icefall the next day. I decided to take the chance and get some ‘wide’ shots from the opposite side of the valley. So, when I went back, fresh snow had covered the landscape – breathtaking! I did not have to do much more than wait for the climbers to get in the right position. later, they told me that during their ascent, the whole icefall ‘settled’ (released tension) with a ‘whoom’ sound. Scary if you are climbing, but I did not even notice. Walter and Stefan Suhner, who is belaying in the photo, topped out without any problem.

I have shots that required a lot more effort from my side, both physically and mentally, but in the end, that’s not what makes a great photo. Sometimes, all it takes is being at the right place and not missing the ‘magic’ moment!

PHOTO INFO

Photographer: Rainer Eder
Athletes: Walter Hungerbühler
Location: Wolfenschiessen, Switzerland

Nude Climbing by Dean Fidelman

We at EAS love this photographer [and his subjects] so much that we decided to feature him once again. Thanks again Dean for all the great photos, your 2011 calendar rocks! You can visit Stone Nudes to view the complete gallery.

Nude Climbing by Dean Fidelman

No one captures nude rock climbing like Dean Fidelman. As said by himself, Stone Nudes are an extract of the art of climbing. Intended to inspire and celebrate the human form. Stone Nudes draws from the community it represents. Over the last ten years, a body of over one hundred photographs drawing from three generations of climbers has evolved.You can see his gallery and order prints from his site.

Bruno Dias in São Tomé das Letras, Brazil

ABOUT THIS SHOT

The original idea was to take a climbing picture using the light-painting technique combined with the night sky in long exposure. I did the first tests in 2008, shooting with film, which made me understand how to make the picture I wanted.

In October 2009 I visited my friend and climber Bruno Dias, who took me to some rocks in São Tomé das Letras and we found the perfect place for the photo. We spent two nights shooting and this was the first picture we made. The picture is a mixture of residual light coming from the city, LED light, flash and headlamps. It is a composition of three different pictures of the same scene with different shutter speeds, white balances and lights. I used 1/250 to shoot the climber; 30 seconds to shoot the rock; and 28 minutes to shoot the stars.

I was very happy with the outcome and eager to produce more pictures using a mixture of different types of lights.

PHOTO INFO

Photographer: Marcelo Maragni
Athletes: Bruno Dias
Location: São Tomé das Letras, Brazil

TECHNICAL INFO

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
ISO: 200
F-Stop: f 3.5
Shutter Speed: Various