PhotoJ: Stopping Motion

Action, movement, traveling through space. Nothing encompasses the motion of the human body quite like parkour. I attended a parkour competition for this week's assignment: to show motion with a picture. We could choose to use a fast shutter speed in order to capture a "peak moment" or use a slower shutter speed and pan with the movement to show motion with a slight blur. 

I managed to get some decent shots, but I was not completely satisfied with my take; making a crisp image in artificial light is not easy. 

“It’s a way to be expressive with movement,” says Dane Vennewitz, 32, about parkour, a growing athletic art aimed at moving from one place to another in the most efficient manner possible. Vennewitz swings between ropes on the third course in a Parkour Obstacle Course Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Parkour Visions in Seattle, WA. He says he enjoys parkour “partly because it’s so new and undefined. It’s not established like gymnastics.”

Parkour practitioners, also known as traceurs, move swiftly and precisely through obstacle courses.

PhotoJ: Honest Emotion/Relationship

This week the assignment was to capture "honest emotion." The emotion could be shared amongst multiple people or focus on an individual. Basically the purpose was to get close and document real reactions from people experiencing real circumstances. Emotions can range from despair to elation, and I ended up focusing on the positive end of the spectrum. Originally I had ideas to document emotions spurred by the superbowl, but I felt like it was much too expected. Instead I recorded the flurry of emotions that occurred backstage at a Toni & Guy hair show. 

“It hurts!” screams model Katie Lincoln, 19, as her stylist, Amanda Carter removes a headdress from her hair. Carter, 18, tells Lincoln, “Pain is beauty” to rationalize her discomfort. Lincoln and Carter participated in the Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy’s third annual soiree titled “Capelli Forte” that exhibited student ingenuity on Saturday, Feb. 5. About 1,075 people attended the runway hair show held at Mount Baker Theater.

(from left) Lindie Ellis, 18, and Katelyn McHarness, 17, admire another model's ostentatious dress.

Kestrel Garcia, 18, preps her "rockabilly" demeanor before rehearsal for the the runway show.

Lillooet Ice Climbing

     Ice cascades down a cliff. Upside-down spires and nodules of frozen water adorn the rocks, allowing us to ascend majestic waterfalls. We are on an Outdoor Center Excursion to "experience the thrill" of ice climbing in Lillooet, British Columbia.
     On Friday, Jan. 28 we set out for Lillooet, and about four hours later we were organizing gear and packing for the next day at the Mile 0 Motel. We woke up at 5:45 in the morning, anxious to snag the wall before any other groups.
     It was a long, uphill, walk in heavy mountaineering boots attached to crampons that gripped dirt, snow, ice, logs, and rocks effortlessly. Reaching the base of Rambles Center winded and sweaty from the climb, participants waited for the trip leaders, Andy Craig, Dustin Byrne and BJ Cassell, to set up an anchor for top rope at the crest of each pitch.
     After a brief but in-depth lesson on belaying we were able to start climbing. The pristine beauty of the ice didn't prepare us for the danger of dislodged chunks that hurtled down to the base of the climb as people tackled the frozen falls. But since we were outfitted with helmets and adept at communicating we were all able to avoid getting seriously injured by falling ice.
     Climbing the wall fully equipped with ice tools and crampons looks like an easy feat. Yet once you are balanced on steel tips from each limb of your body, the difficulty of scaling a waterfall becomes apparent. Maybe the challenge arises from the fact that climbing up waterfalls is a completely unnatural place for humans to be. Why on earth would someone think about climbing frozen water? Well, because it's fun, and probably the hardest aspect of climbing you can encounter.
     A participant, Mike Ruark, said, "The athletic component is just as formidable as any other type of climbing, but the ice is definitely more beautiful."
     Craig says that once he tried ice climbing "it wasn't a choice anymore, I had to do it." The euphoria one gains after conquering a climb is what continues to bring him back.
     The second day, we approached Deeping Wall in Marble Canyon by crossing a frozen lake. As the sun rose above the horizon, a copper glow lit up the trees and cast long shadows across the lake. After trudging through the woods a few steps we came upon the impressive cascade that we would be climbing that day. An ice cave off to the side displayed stunning formations that secured in our minds that ice climbing can bring you to some of the most breathtaking places.
     But along with beauty comes the frigid temperatures that keep the ice solid. Being warm doesn't last long and we bundled up in down jackets and danced like penguins to preserve our body heat. Luckily, we had warm cars and hotel rooms to return to at the end of each day.

Zach Holland, 18, stands next to Deeping wall for perspective. He says, "Ice climbing puts you to the limits of what you're capable of doing."

Icicles form while sunshine illuminates a nearby tree.

The sun send light through the trees as Jenny Petrut, 19, walks to the lake to warm in the sun.

(from left) Chelsea Cassell, 22, Bryce Whalen, 18, and Erin Bennett, 22, walk across the frozen lake.

Climbing Icy BC in Marble Canyon.

Dustin Byrne, 25, tackles the brittle ice.

Bryce Whalen, 18, drives his ice tools into the frozen falls.

"One thing I love about ice climbing is that ice is such a dynamic medium," says BJ Cassell, 28. "It's like a whole new climb and whole new experience every time." Cassell walks down the slope after a day at Rambles.

The group posing for a picture before heading back to Bellingham.

A sunrise over the lake.

And away we go in this land of ice and snow...

PhotoJ: Portrait

          This past week I was on a mission to take an environmental portrait of someone. The portrait needed to show a person in their environment (i.e. the natural setting of their job or hobby) and explain his or her personality. We were able to direct the shot, which means we could move the subject around in order to best capture his or her energy and surroundings. I chose to photograph a trip leader, Andy Craig, on an ice climbing excursion. Although I did make an attempt to control the outcome of some of my shots directly, I felt like my best photos ended up being those that were candid. Here are a few of the results:

Andy Craig, 26, rappels down Deeping Wall at Marble Canyon in Lillooet, British Columbia after setting up a top rope for ice climbing trip participants. The trip, hosted by Western Washington University’s Outdoor Center Excursions, lasted from late Jan. 28 to Jan. 30. Craig has been leading trips for the Outdoor Center for about two years and is experienced in technical mountaineering, ice climbing and rock climbing. Before Craig tried ice climbing he thought it was ridiculous to try to ascend a frozen waterfall. Now he says, “Ice climbing is exhilarating and it makes me feel alive.”