One of the most satisfying images I’ve ever made; it took some years from concept to creation. I first visited Devils Tower in Wyoming, USA, in 2003 on assignment and photographed this climb, Mr Clean (5.11a). The result didn’t look much like this and it really got me thinking…. Because, instead of been stuck in the normal abseil position, what I really wanted was to get my camera out in space, out from the cliff, to get a perspective looking in, to really show the incredible formation of the rock. So it took quite some years but this was the climb that inspired me to develop my “photo pole” apparatus. That set up is basically a pole and rigging for getting the camera 8 meters out from the cliff — and a video feed to see what you’re shooting. It also helped that over those years good digital cameras had come along. The rigging is a little tricky but having worked it out at home I returned to #DevilsTower in 2010, met up with Brittany Griffith who was just the woman for the job – an absolutely awesome “model” for this shoot — and despite a bitter wind that tried hard to blow the pole over and smash my #Nikon D3s and 14-24mm lens to smithereens, we got the cloud cover I wanted and we nailed the shot. Thanks again @brittany_griffith you legend! #boomtish #goodtimes
Image from my book World Climbing: Rock Odyssey. @sterlingrope @patagonia @patagoniaaus @blackdiamond @lasportivagram @nikon_australia #climbing #rockclimbing #climbingphotography #adventurephotography @thinktankphoto
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Perfection. I can stare at this image for ages.