Welcome to BEST of On The Road. These articles were written to give photographers a brief insight to some of my favorite Sports Event Assignments, Editorial Jobs, and even a few of my Travel Projects. Written in a teaching style along with images, camera data, and personal commentary these articles are both educational and entertaining. So, please “click” on any image you want to enlarge and have a look at what events, assignments, and locations topped my list over the past several years. Adios, Dave

BEST of On The Road - February 2007 - Ice Climbing in Ouray

On The Road
February, 2007

Hi and Welcome to this edition of On The Road. Ouray is a small mountain town located in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado. It is a jump off point to the Telluride ski area and would be considered a ........ well, a quiet town by most folks who would visit. In reality, Ouray is a Mecca for ice climbers from around the world. Last year my good friend and premier climbing photographer, Keith Ladzinski covered the Ice Climbing competition in Ouray for the New York Times. Upon Keith's return to "the Springs" he showed me his images and told me how spectacular the area was. The wheels in my head instantly began to turn and I made it a priority to go to Ouray the following year and creatively light the sport of ice climbing. Keith and I decided to make this a joint venture and combine our photographic expertise in lighting in order to document this adventure sport in some new and creative ways.


Image #1 View from Ouray ... This is the view from the top of the gorge just outside of Ouray. The mountains surrounding Ouray are spectacular and a fresh snowfall made for a nice opener to our adventure in the high country. This is a composite image made up of 7 frames that have been stitched together to form a panorama of the mountains surrounding the gorge. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 1/250 at f10, WB 4300K, Nikon 70-200mm VR Zoom Lens, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod, SLIK Super Ball Head, Lexar 4G Flash Card.

  Image #2 Tools of the Trade ... I have always enjoyed photographing the details of the events and subjects I document. Ice Climbing requires many tools including ice screws and I found them interesting to photograph. I believe that these kinds of images of the supporting pieces that make up the whole experience are important to total coverage. Nikon D2Xs, ISO160, 1/60 at f9, WB 3600K, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, Nikon SB800 Speedlight with Warming Gel at a power output of +1 using a LumiQuest Snoot, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the Speedlights, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod, SLIK Super Ball Head, Lexar 4G Flash Card.
Image #3 Up The Daggers ... This is Mike Anderson, a renown rock climber with scores of big wall first ascents to his credit. He is a very experienced ice climber as well and was a source of education to me during our week in Ouray. Mike and his wife Janelle were very generous in their willingness to guide and teach me about the sport which made the week of climbing/photography a great joy from start to finish. This early morning climb was a good opportunity for some images that Keith needed for his clients who are always in the market for strong images of adventure sports. I used this time to scout the area, take some general stock pictures like this one and get acquainted with the sport in an effort to further envision the kind of pictures I wanted to create later in the day and into the night. Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/200 at f5, WB 4500K, Nikon 200-400mm G VR Zoom Lens, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch spiked Crampons.
  Image #4 Ice Ax ... The Ice Ax is an all important tool for the ice climber and Janelle Anderson was willing to allow me to get so close to the action that ice chunks bounced off my protective lens filter. There is no sunlight in the gorge or on the ice. This unlit environment would be perfect for the use of lighting and a stylized approach to photography. This is why I came to Ouray. I wanted to make images that are creatively lit and that are truly unique to the sport. Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/640 at f4, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 3600K, Two SB800 Speedlights (tandem) power output +2 with warming gels placed behind the ice wall and a Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the Speedlights, Lexar 4G Falsh Card, 2 inch spiked Crampons.
Image #5 Ice Curtain ... This is Chris Alstrin climbing an ice curtain in the bottom of the gorge. Chris is an internationally known ice climber of great skill who's abilities and patience were key to the success of the pictures. Here again I used two Nikon SB800 Speedlights rather than shooting with the ambient light on my subject. I wanted to illuminate my subject with creative lighting. Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/200 at f5.6, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 3600K, two Nikon SB800 Speedlights (tandem) power output +2 with warming gels and a Nikon SU800 Commander, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch spiked Crampons.
Image #6 Ice and Rock ... This image of Mike maneuvering along side a massive out cropping of rock appears to be shot at mid day but was shot at dusk and illuminated with one Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery powered strobe lighting system with a fast recycle time (Speed), and an asymmetrical (AS) power distribution. The Ranger RX Speed AS is an 1100 watt sec. pack with strobe head that is the self contained portable brother to the Elinchrom Sport Strobes that I use for indoor arena lighting ... (see Workshop at the Ranch: April and May 2005) Giant outdoor location lighting is one of Keith's specialties, he is the best in the adventure field. We decided that a natural look to the lighting would be best and so we located one Ranger RX Speed AS system above the route that Mike would climb, set the camera exposure for one stop under the ambient light conditions and illuminated the entire scene with one strobe. Just because there are no catwalks to secure strobes to or AC outlets to plug into does not mean that arena lighting is not possible ........ the Ranger RX Speed AS system makes it possible! Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/60 at f4.5, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 4500K, One Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS Pack and Strobe Head with sport reflector, One Bogen Lightstand Pocket Wizzard Multi Max Transceivers to trigger the Ranger, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch spiked Crampons.
Image #7 Day in the Gorge ... Chris appears to be climbing up from the deep darkness of the gorge on a sunlit ice wall ... but there is no sunlight in the gorge, the light is produced by two Elinchrom Rangers RX Speed AS systems. The two Ranger RX Speed AS packs and strobe heads are located on the cliff overlooking the gorge approximately 100 feet away. The strobes are angled to make a long narrow shaft of light that runs from the rim of the gorge down 3/4 of the ice wall. Nikon D200, ISO200, 1/250 at f7.1, Nikon 70-200 VR Zoom Lens, WB 4500K, Two Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS packs and strobe heads with sport reflectors, Two Bogen Lightstands, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch spiked Cramp-ons. This was my favorite strobed image of the week. It has a wonderful alpine feel and it is the use of lighting that makes it distinctive. Without the light produced by the Ranger RX Speed AS system this image would be average and lacking in excitement and depth.
Image #8 Bottomless ... OK, this is the BIG reason I came to Ouray ... LIGHTPAINTING ! Alright, I admit it ..... it's a passion, but check this out. As if ice climbing in general is not dangerous enough Mike and Chris said "no problem" and were more than willing to make night ascents of some of the most difficult ice terrain in the gorge. I will not go into detail about the technique of Lightpainting as I have written several Workshop at the Ranch articles about it ( see Workshop at the Ranch: May 2005, May 2006 and November 2006. ) In this image, Mike has climbed up from the bottom of the gorge. At certain intervals I asked him to hold completely still while I made an exposure of 30 seconds and Lightpainted him and the gigantic section of the gorge. I could hardly believe the pictures as each climber took their turn and made their way up the big ice wall ... at night!!! Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 30 seconds at f5.6, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 3000K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod, SLIK Super Ball Head, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers to trigger the camera remotely from my Lightpainting location 200 feet to the right of the camera position along the top of the gorge, Two Brinkmann Q Beems ( 2 million candle power each ) ... one Brinkmann had a blue gel, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch spiked Crampons.
Image #9 Stairway to Heaven ... This image was shot one hour after sunset which gave me an exposure time of 13 seconds. Chris is slowly making his way up some "gnarly" (Keith taught me that word). I Lightpainted Chris and sections of the ice wall each time he stopped to survey the route for his next placement. I did not ask him to hold still but allowed him to start and stop on his own and Lightpainted him only when he was motionless. Nikon D200, ISO100, Aperture Priority (13 seconds at f8 with EV-2), Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 3000K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod, SLIK Super Ball Head, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers to trigger the camera remotely from my Lightpainting location across the gorge and directly above Chris, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch spiked Crampons. I used Aperture Priority because the ambient light was in the diminishing faze of the twilight hour. I was located on the other side of the gorge just above Chris, too far away to adjust the exposure manually as the twilight faded.
Image #10 Fantasy Ice Climb ... I loved all the Lightpaintings I made in Ouray but this image of Mike illustrates what really can be done with this technique. It was the last night climb of the week and Mike began his ascent one hour after sunset. He masterfully routed out from underneath an overhang of ice and came around the face which aligned him perfectly for this view of the gorge and giant ice formations. His head lamp illuminated the ice directly in front of him while I Lightpainted his route and the ice formations across the gorge with my Brinkmann Q Beem spotlights. Nikon D2X, ISO100, 30 seconds at f5.6, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, 3000K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod, SLIK Super Ball Head, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers to trigger the camera from my Lightpainting location directly across the gorge and slightly above and behind Mike so as to backlight him and 3/4 top/sidelight the ice formations with 10 seconds from one Brinkmann (daylight,no gel) and 20 seconds from the 2nd Brinkmann with a blue gel, Lexar 4G Flash Card, 2 inch Crampons. It is the backlighting and 3/4 top/sidelighting of the ice formations combined with blue color that gives this image of Mike the look of ice fantasy.

  WOW,....what a great week! Each day/night offered something new and completely unique to photograph. I want to thank Mike and Janelle Anderson, and Chris Alstrin for putting out 110% effort to make this photographic project possible and a rewarding experience from start to finish. Their expertise, patience and eagerness to help make great pictures made them wonderful to work with and a joy to be around during our week in Ouray.

My thanks and gratitude goes out to a great friend and partner in this project Keith Ladzinski ...... DUDE! (Keith taught me that word) ... You made it a great week of fun, learning, adventure and pictures ... Thank You! Team work is not often found in the ranks of photographers but this project combined the collective knowledge and the desire to make new and exciting pictures from all of us who where involved. We each had a vision of what could be done and we accomplished our goals together.

Hope you all enjoyed the adventure and I'll see you next time On The Road .................... Adios. Dave