Climbing with: Kelley!

    So, for this "Climbing with:" post, I photographed Kelley.  Now, I must admit, I hardly know Kelley. I had seen her climbing at the gym a few times, and the first time I talked with her, I asked her if we could do a shoot for a post on my blog and she said sure.

  



       As I started photographing, she told me she only had about 90 minutes to shoot. With so little time to shoot, I had little time to talk to her, so I don't have much to write about. So, most of what I write in this blog will be my own observations of her.  ...And their all good!

      Hair's up, shoe's on! I noticed she has one dread lock? Cool, but I've never seen just one. Maybe she's just an undercover rebel? I've always  notice  that climbers shoes are so small. Many take their shoes off between climbs.
                                                                                                                                                                       

    

    
     One thing I noticed about Kelley is there is no wasted movement when she is climbing. she hits every hand hold and every foot hold with a purpose. Every move is strong and precise. It is the kind of climbing that is beautiful to watch and easy to photograph!

     Another thing I noticed was her focus.  There was not a lot of visiting or chatting. She was , of course, polite with the other climbers, "Hey, how are you? Good! See you later!" She'd fall off the wall, look at the holds for a second, and Bam! back on the wall! This may have been because of the hour she had to climb, but she was focused!

        after an hour of climbing, she did a short cool down stretching routine, and then she was off to an appointment. It was the shortest, most productive shoot that I've ever had at the climbing gym!

      In closing, I'd like to just say that Kelley is a beautiful climber. Every move she makes on the wall is a photograph. Thanks for allowing me to photograph your climbing day!

Climbing with a gymnast: Anandae!

     I have been a huge gymnastics fan for many years. From college, to the Olympics. There are few sports that can match its power and beauty, and even fewer can surpass it. One sport that can match it is rock climbing. Yes, rock climbing.

    I've often wondered, how would a gymnast do at rock climbing? Well, then I meet Anandae.  Anandae is ripped. She's got muscle's in places most people don't have places! So, I asked her if she was a gymnast, and she said she was for 17yrs or something, so a long time. But when her school cancelled the gymnastics program, she started pole vaulting and got a scholarship for that.    ...And she was quite good at that, breaking many records.

     About 6 months ago, as her pole vaulting career was winding down, she was on the hunt for a new sport, tried rock climbing and it looks like she found her next sport! In this post, i will attempt to explain how the attributes of a gymnast help in rock climbing. Please keep in mind that I am a fan, not an athlete or a coach, so please, if I am wrong on something, just laugh it off!

                                                                            
















 
  Before she started climbing. she did a little stretching and warming up, which at times, looked more like a gymnastics podium training session than stretching!







                                                                           











  
  Strength and power. Gymnast have it. Rock climbers have it. Think climbing upside down is hard. Unless your spiderman, it is hard. Your grip has got to be strong and your core is working overtime! All your muscles are tense and you also still have to be looking and thinking about your next move.

 

   
  Flexibility.  All gymnast have it. All rock climbers want it. All the great rock climbers do, and Anandae mast definitely has it. Rock climber need to not only have flexibility in their shoulders, wrists, hips, ankles, but also in their fingers!

     Endurance. By the end of a gymnast floor routine, they are exhausted. That's why the great gymnast have their most impressive pass last! Not necessarily their hardest, but last pass the harder they make it, with the fewest deductions, the more impressive, because they are tired! The above photo, It has taken Anandae so much energy to get to that point during the route, that the next move is super tough,...and Anandae is the only climber, that afternoon, I saw, to complete it!

      Body control.  When a gymnast is flipping and twisting in the air, they need to know what their body position in the air is and how to correct it so they don't land on their head or side, and so they can land square on the beam. Rock climber need to know how to angle their hips or shoulders or feet, so they can reach certain hand hold or foot holds.

       







                                                                       

           And lastly, (I'm sure there are more, but for this post, there's not.) repetition. A gymnast goes over their skills and routines over, and over again. No matter how many times they fall, they get, do it again, then again. Though pain, broken toes, fingers, cuts, rips, bruises, torn tendons and other painful things, they just keep going! Rock climber also known repetition and pain. They fall off the wall hundreds of times and just get back on it!



      After she was finished climbing, she went up stairs to cool down, and that lead to these shots! Remember, she just got done climbing hard for over an hour!

                                                                                                                                                                            So, In closing, I'd just like to say that Anandae has all the tools to make it as far as she wants to go in the Rock climbing world and I would also say that she has the drive and determination to go all the way to a national championship! (Or whatever the competition is where they crown the best in the country?)  I wish her all the best and hope to continue to photograph her "climb" to the top!

      Thank you Anandae for allowing me to photograph your climbing day!                                                                 

Climbing with: Alex!

         It's been said that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I now believe that you can't judge a climber by their height.  With that being said,  I repeatedly by comic books buy how awesome their cover art is, but I will never judge a climber by their height, at least, not after meeting Alex. 

        

      During her stretching time, she doesn't say much. I don't think that it means she doesn't have much to say, I believe that it is just a silent confidence. Being the shortest person on the bouldering floor, she will not be overlooked as one of the best on the bouldering floor.                  

             I've seen Alex at the climbing gym many times, sometimes alone, and sometimes with friends. "Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my girlfriends and I love climbing with them," she says "...but I think I push my self more and try harder when I'm by myself." And I will say that her and her friends do talk, a lot....when they are together!

          When she does climb with her friends, they are taller than her, and sometimes, because of their reach, have no problem with some holds, whereas Alex can't reach them as easily. "It's a challenge, It just means I have to figure out a different way around the problem." And she does. "I really like that about rock climbing."

      

  










          As she finishes climbing, and goes about her cool down stretching routine, with chalk still covering her hands, she thanks me for photographing her, and I thanked her for allowing me to photograph her and for giving me the chance to do what I love...

               ....And making me realize I should read all those comic books with the great cover art!!