Film Photographers 🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 Bouldering

When the idea of writing this blog waddled into my mind, I of course ran it past some friends. “Have you ever taken your film camera climbing?”, I said, to which “why on earth wouldn't you?!” came as a response.

We did then come to a conclusion that my friendship group might perhaps look something like this:

If you, dear reader, fit within the middle part, I would love to know your favourite film to use for shooting climbing-related activities? And more importantly, what is the total number of times you need to wipe your hands to get rid of chalk to make sure your camera is not turning albino?!

I feel like there is a disclaimer necessary here too. I am very aware that I am exceptionally far from the likes of Simon Carter, Lena Drapella, Tim Kemple and Irene Yee but when the opportunity came up to drag Pentax 17 along with me to the bouldering session, it was silly of me to not do that, which meant that I ticked off another bucket list ‘want to try’ photography style. As for film stock, the old reliable Kodak Ultramax was loaded up this time, purely because it is reliable, and I knew what to expect from the film stock itself, to limit the surprise factor to 'just' lighting conditions within the gym.

How not to be a photographer’s dream environment – a guide by a bouldering gym

Ah an indoor gym, an indoor space filled with dust and lovely artificial fluorescent lights, what a dream environment for some film photos ... oh hang on 🤣 I think deep down when loading a 400 ISO film I knew that lighting is not going to be my friend on this occasion, and I was very glad that I left all of the lower ISO stock at home. The harsh contrasts and shadows created by the slanted walls meant that I truly did have to adapt and think twice as hard about where to position myself for each shot.

Being at a climbing gym meant that the climbing walls themselves would be part of my subject lineup. Looking through the viewfinder I found it quite hard to draw the line between what is visually interesting (think shapes, colours, contrasts) and what is just exceptionally cluttered (too many shapes, colours and contrasts)? As I reviewed the photos fresh from developing, I can confirm that sometimes I did not draw the line early enough.

Something that worked much better was getting a little closer and more personal with the brightly coloured holds: capturing their texture and the contrast between their colour and the chalk imprints from previous climb attempts.

However, regardless of the awkward lighting, harsh shadows and an overwhelming number of colours, having two friends who actually knew how to navigate the wall (with what looked like the ease and grace of a mountain goat) meant that I - someone who definitely doesn’t identify as a mountain goat - could still capture some pretty cool pictures from some pretty interesting angles.

Photographing movement - be realistic with the angles you can get

Photographing climbing was a little different compared to photographing the Bristol 10k/Half. Instead of just attempting to capture movement and the atmosphere, here, I also had to think about what truly looked interesting when frozen in a single shot. It was much more about dynamic movements, stretched bodies, moments of focus and attempts to reach the next seemingly impossible (to me) hold.

The smaller scale of bouldering walls (compared to their rope-climbing counterparts) also meant that rather than constantly focusing on the journey towards the final hold, I would more closely look for skill and strength involved in each move that was ready to be captured. Looking for a reach or an awkward yet strong position also led to one of my favourite photos of the day, which arguably happened by pure luck too.

Part of the climbing wall formed a tunnel, and one of my friends decided to tackle a climb within. As I was getting ready to capture his movements, I decided to use the flash, which turned out to be a fantastic decision on my part. When fired, the flash caught tiny specks of chalk floating through the air, creating what can only be described as sparkles in the final image.

Who could have known that chalk can make your photos look so magical?

I think photographing climbing is where the mindfulness of film photography really came into play. Without the ability to shoot a myriad of digital frames and simply pick the best one afterwards, I had to work much harder to anticipate the right moment. And considering my knowledge of bouldering (and climbing in general) is close to none (this is putting it generously too), it is safe to assume that I missed quite a few shots I attempted to ‘anticipate’. My friends were rarely positioned where I expected them to be, and my composition was not so spot on.

This is also where the Pentax 17’s half-frame format really came to the rescue, since having twice as many shots meant that I could afford to miss a few more frames than I otherwise might have, whilst also putting off the dread of reaching the end of the roll as fast as falling off the wall.

Unfortunately, having not done any indoor photography before, let alone photographing climbing or bouldering, I did break the first rule of bouldering photography of ‘no butt shots’, ending up with several of those sprinkled across the roll, although I do think that some of them are worked out pretty fantastically!

Luckily, looking back at the photos, I also seemed to stray away from ‘oh wow they are so high up, let me take a picture from below them’ approach and instead positioning myself slightly to the side of the climber in action (thank you past self) rather than directly underneath them.

This small change resulted in some fun images, capturing the fascinating combination of strength and strain that went into each move (especially when hanging off the wall as dramatically as Sam).

If you, dear reader, fit into the middle of the Venn diagram, you might be familiar with the ‘view from above’ shots that are often very popular in the climbing community, capture the raw emotions, expression and focus of the climbers below the photographer.

Unfortunately, due to the limits of the gym (i.e there being no possible way for me to end up above the bouldering walls), I was limited to shots from the ground up or from the ground to the side. However, whilst yes, this did somewhat limit my creative freedom, I do think that it also pushed me to be a little more creative with my shots too!

It’s all in the details

One of the things that truly made the Pentax 17 stand out for me here (apart from the built-in flash, a feature that my other cameras lack) was its ability to take up-close macro shots of various textures around the gym. And if you know me, you know that this is something I truly love and something I can’t exactly do with my Olympus Trip for example. Being in a bouldering gym meant that chalk was one of the biggest contenders when it came to textures worth photographing.

One such shot was completely accidental, and happened only because out of the corner of my eye I noticed a perfect print of one of my friend’s hands on her trousers. The stark contrast between the dark fabric and the perfectly complete white chalk print made it feel like something just waiting to be captured on film.

Another well-deserving subject for detailed, up-close shots is hands. I am always fascinated with how different our hands are and by how much detail there is in the texture of our skin, the nails as well as the textures we develop by engaging our hobbies. For example rowing, climbing and lifting are sports known for developing calluses, which is not a particularly photogenic sight, however the climbing-esque dusting of chalk that emphasises the natural texture of the skin was definitely something I wanted to capture.

This meant that I would often grovel and ask my friends to hold onto hold for just a little longer so that I could measure the correct distance. Yes, you did read that right, I am still measuring the distance with the trusty wrist strap, as until my eyes develop an in-built ruler, guesstimating is not a risk I am willing to take. I am happy to report that the patience both climbers had to exercise was worth it, with the photos turning out really quite well. Thank you, my beloved Bokeh mode.

My future as a bouldering photographer and tips if you decide to partake in this too

Overall, hand-on-heart, I think I am better off outside with natural light and maybe just a little less floating chalk but I am very happy that this is something I got to test out and learn. By the end of the roll I did feel like I was somewhat slightly more aware of what exactly I am looking for and what I prefer photographing when in a climbing gym, for example for me it is most definitely more up-close shots of the climbing process and the intricate positioning of the arms and legs, rather than the more wide shots that I prefer when in great outdoors.

If this has inspired you to try bouldering or try bouldering and bring your camera along, I do have some pointers I can offer:

1. Be very aware of your surroundings, aka don’t stand in a fall zone – you are still in a climbing gym, regardless if you are there as an avid climber or photographer. Don’t be silly, scooch back (or to the side) if necessary, be mindful of health and safety. Otherwise not only you, but also your camera will turn into a pancake (the real tragedy).
2. Be mindful of people around you – this is an obvious one for any photography situation, but when climbing, people can end up in somewhat compromising positions or just generally not be up for being photographed. Make sure that you are either getting consent* or sticking with your friends, that are hopefully willing and consenting subjects.
3. Use the flash – this is something I found very helpful, especially when I wanted to light up the subject and add some separation between them and the background.
4. Go for higher ISO film – whilst ISO 400 worked well, I think some of the lower light and more shadowy areas of the gym, where it was a little inappropriate to use flash, would have benefited from a higher ISO (more light-sensitive) stock and some faster shutter speeds to help with the blur. It would also take your mind off thinking whether you need to manually compensate too.

*This is good advice for all photography - and indeed all situations in life.

I absolutely love this article from Masha. There are so many blogs and social media posts that show someone's photos when they have already mastered a certain style/genre/environment - but the reality is that this is a tiny percentage of anyone's photography journey! I'm much more interested in seeing someone progress and learn, as that's how I feel with my cameras, and I can only thank Masha for her continued openness and dedication to sharing her adventures with our community 🫶🏼