Beginning to shoot Adventure Rock Photos

I've started working on some photos for Adventure Rock Climbing Gym, which I've been eagerly awaiting to start after the arrival of my new camera. The projects have a handful of different applications and purposes so some are for safety, some are for promotion, and some just for updating the website and Facebook page. The first project I started working on is specifically for several vertical banners which are to be located and moved around the gym. The purpose of the banners is to promote common sense and safety while using the gym's very popular auto-belay systems. My current personal favorite is an image of human chalk outline on the ground next to the climbing wall with an autobelay. The poster will read something like "Check Yourself ... Before You Wreck Yourself." For the shot I used a Tilt/Shift lens to help ad (literal) focus to the auto-belay, while creating a overall more dramatic depth of field to the scene. This banner, although being very serious in its content, is presented in a way that will moderately entertaining, and thus making it easy to remember and potentially very successful. I'm excited to share this shot, but I am going to hold off posting a photo until it's been finalized, and sent off to be printed.

The second project I've been working on is getting photos of the staff setting routes, as well as actual shots of individuals climbing the new routes. I'm hoping to use these images on the website as a way of creating excitement about new and fun routes to help excite even the most couch glued of climbing bums. So far I've been enjoying how quickly it is to envision these shots, as well as actually achieve them. With 17 different auto-belays and over 25 pre-hung top ropes in the main gym alone, getting into the right position is considerably easier than when shooting in the great outdoors.

I'll be continuing work on these two initial projects in the next few weeks as I start to become more familiar with my new camera and the lighting in the gym itself. The next project in the immediate future will be to shoot portraits of the core staff to be included on the website as well. As always more photos and updates to come...