New Year Updates: 2014

Andy Reger on his journey up Wise Guys Off Size 5.10c, Red Rock, NV.

Happy New Year! …  A little late, but now that I've said that I can move on with slightly more interesting ramblings.  The motivation and time to climb or shoot has fluctuated around the holidays as usual.  This phenomenon (as it seems) is actually relatively normal for those of us who choose to see our families, eat lots of great food, and have a few glasses of egg nog to unwind.  But now with the new year, the motivation is back in full swing and the great American West is looking like a lovely playground once again.  This year I plan to expand a little from the regiment of offwidth and aid climbing I have somehow found myself adhering to.  Not to say I will leave these fun disciplines behind, but rather I plan to take some time to explore a handful of challenging boulders, climb some finger cracks, and maybe take some massive sport lobbers off something I should probably be able to send by now.  Plenty of climbs to work on!

Slogging upwards after the crux on Malicious Mischief 5.10c.
Red Rock, NV.

For the first adventure of the year me and good friend Andy Reger decided to head up the non-classic Malicious Mischief 5.10c.  This route receives very little attention; I haven't talked to anyone who's been up it. Its position directly next to the classic Epinephrine 5.9 means that pretty much nobody really considers going up this climb anymore.  At first I thought it must be because the crux pitch is described as "scary" and begins in a "10-inch down flaring offwidth", but to me these things seemed relatively intriguing and moderately inviting.  Even before entering the crux, some complications were encountered and I soon had a few additional descriptive words to include. We pressed on through the sea of loose rock and on one pitch Andy selectively avoided the remains of an old webbing anchor wrapped around a now completely dead bush and opted for building a belay stance 15' below the crux pitch.  I then headed up the crux, which involved an unprotected traverse to gain the offwidth. After a few fist jams I was able to plug a piece and kept climbing.  I offwidthed my way through the flaring fun and soon was wedged into the base of long squeeze chimney.  35' feet of unprotected squeezing led to a neat flared tight hand crack corner, where I placed my second and third piece of gear on the pitch.  This brought me to a nice ledge which was an easy rest, but the spice was not over. 

This is when it got more interesting, again.  The climbing kind of halted, and it appeared that I would need to traverse 10' left to get into another wide crack system, which would continue to the top.  I envisioned a traverse route across, and as I started to climbing I ripped off a nice chunk of stone and stepped back down to the ledge. Yikes. Opting out of another unprotected free traverse on questionable rock, I chose to tension-traverse over (with the rope) and swung to the next crack system off to the left.  From here you enter another squeeze and offwidth up a ways until the crack becomes a tighter corner.  The rock quality is still pretty crunchy and many features are questionable.  I will leave it at that, an adventure for sure!

Inches from the send on Chinese Handcuffs 5.11d/5.12a.
Red Rock, NV. 

A little burnt-out on some of remaining obscure wide climbs in Red Rock, I decided to venture out into some smaller splitter cracks.  The Monument in Black Velvet Canyon features some nice splitters of the finger sized variety and a lot less loose rock to rip off.  It felt great to crank on just my fingers and toes after so many days spent jamming my whole leg or arm.  I still need to hone in on this smaller size, but overall I felt pretty good when I think about how these climbs felt over a year ago.  We'll be heading up soon for more work on these great crack features.  I sense sending soon. 

Snapshot from some preliminary moonrise time-lapse shooting. 

In my spare time I've also be pursuing a variety of video based projects.  I have been eager to explore some new shooting and editing techniques, so I found the challenge in time-lapse shooting.  I decided to start with shooting various moon-rises over Las Vegas and the desert at large.  As many of you know the colors at this time of day/night in the desert are incredible and very conducive for time-lapse work.  I have found time-lapse photography to be conceptually easy but more difficult to execute.  Lots of editing steps and lots of images to string together.  The procress has been exciting and things are coming together well.  Check back soon for some examples of this work.  

Experimenting with some angles for a video project on cycling. 

Being a regular bike commuter I have also been pretty interested in creating a cycling short video.  The concept remains mostly in my head, but the basic idea is to shoot a short ride using one camera placed in as many possible angles as I can think of.  Using a GoPro, this idea might seem trite before I even begin the project.  But using some artistic judgement I think this project could take on a life of it's own, and avoid being the helmet-cam catastrophe I see all too often. Although it might be a little time consuming.  I am currently in the preliminary stages of the project and have been working on bringing the ideas from my head into actuality.  A new and exciting process that I'm looking forward to figuring out. Well, that's all for now.  Hope everyone is having a fun a productive 2014. 

Flying above the snowy mid-west.

Untitled-2,12, 9

A few more photos from bike rides and the first recent roll on the Olympus-35RC.

Untitled-3

Lately I've been taking an old Olympus 35-RC around with me biking. The camera just stays clipped to my belt with a small carabiner and it easy to grab and shoot while riding. I like using the old film camera because of it simple functions and compact ruggedness. The camera has no built in light meter, so all of the exposures have to be evaluated and selected by your best judgement. Also you focus the camera by distance and before every shot you estimate your distance from the subject and then move the focus ring to that number. (It ranges from 3 feet - 15+ feet.) Every roll that goes through this camera is a surprise, and I enjoy the variety of shots that can be captured and juxtaposed.

Another Bike Inovation

I've seen this great bicycle/lawn mower a few times while biking though Okauchee. Today I decided to bike there and bring the camera so I could share it. I'm a huge fan of anything involving a bike and this Frankenstein lawn mower bike is certainly no exception. The bicycle is a very simple machine that can be easily adapted into new mini inventions and strange bikes, anyone with a little welding experience and creativity can make their own freak bike. So what are you waiting for? Lets go for a ride!

Bike Polo and No Sleep For the Bear

The summer is without a doubt in full force, and being a recent college graduate and fun-loving phenom means that to me, summer will never end. So far I've been catching up on some missed climbing opportunities, and have been guiding and climbing regularly at Wisconsin's own Devil's Lake state park. I definitely feel like I am getting a stronger connection with the unique rock here, and because of this have become a stronger climber all around. While in Milwaukee I have been doing my best to play bike polo regularly again, and have been feeling (at least for a while) like I've never played better. Its great to get back on the court and really give it a good go, every game is a new challenge and provides me with many exciting near misses, real misses and plenty of spills.

I took a weekend off to attend the North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Tournament held in Madison, WI. Here I was able to meet up with polo players from around the country, and even from as far as Australia and France, as well friends from Milwaukee and Madison. The competition was serious, but the off court conversation was friendly and I got to play in several pick up games that were going on throughout the three days. The temperatures were through the roof in the relentless sun, and it was easy to get exhausted with all the biking, sweating, and free Ale Asylum. On the first day one of Meg's friends gave me a disposable camera... it had 13 photos left on it that were quickly snapped away by many folks.

This tournament was only my second, and first outside of Milwaukee. It was an excellent time and once again I had a great time hanging with anyone with a bicycle and a moment to chat. I met so many great players and entertaining people, and I am excited for the next tournament to come around the bend so I can do it all again. Next time I hope to get a team of friends together to compete, lets see if I can handle all those games in a weekend!

While back in Milwaukee I was contacted by my friends in No Sleep For the Bear for a last minute photo shoot for their press kit and website. They were really open to my ideas, and after a short brainstorming session we compiled a few guidelines for successful images. The list was pretty entertaining, and the main guidelines were... no sexy eyes, no jump kicks, and no cut off t-shirts (unless everyone is wearing a cut off t-shirt). The list continued in this fashion, and the more and more we narrowed down the "lame" ideas, we thought of some seemingly less lame ideas to try.

The photo shoot was made easier by everyone just jumping into my station wagon and just driving around the city. We had our eye out for interesting street murals where I hoped to photograph the band playing a game of Jacks on the sidewalk. As always the ideas evolved with every turn, and one location would lead to another idea, and in the end a totally different photo. Overall we just improvised and tried to make the shoot a fun time, along with getting some not-to-cliche images along the way. So we followed our guidelines, and I kept snapping away...

In the end the above image turned out to be my personal favorite. The mural we found looked to be painted by children who attended the school is was near, and the mural was home to some really interesting imagery of historic people and places. All we had to do was walk up and down the painted wall looking for interesting renderings or people in the background to shoot in front of. We thought the one of The Beatles would be an interesting match, as well as the colors being relatively varied all around.

We ventured onward and into the school playground, and gravitated towards a fence with a decent view of the city in the background. The lighting was pretty good, and waiting to shoot later in the day was certainly a strategic move on my part. The sun filled in the foreground with even light, which was warm and not over dramatic or too bright. I wanted to do a shot of them all sitting on top of the fence with only sky in the background, but because of the drop off on the other side, the band was a little reluctant to take this risk. We did a few of them climbing on the fence, but I liked the more straight forward look in the end. Overall the shoot was a good time, and a fun challenge and learning experience to do on such a short notice. I wouldn't say shooting bands is my calling, but it is certainly a fun way to work, and with every shoot I am getting more articulate and comfortable with art direction and in visioning how the final product will actually turn out.

48 Hours Free

The world that surounds us is powerful and moving, but this real value is often hidden or inaccessible because of an emphasis put on consumption and ownership. Material possessions are becoming perceived prerequisites for happiness, and increasing dependence on technology is smothering our innate ability to learn and understand ourselves through surroundings and experiences. Technology has conveniently replaced the need for knowledge and independence. Instead of learning about our surroundings by being outside and experiencing things first hand, it is now possible, and often preferred, to simply purchase the experience in a safe and controlled format. If you're lost you can download a map that knows where you are, if you're life is boring you can turn on the TV to tell you when to be excited, if you're lonely you can confirm as many friends as you secretly desire, and if you want to explore the world you can always "Google Earth"... These collective conveniences now saturate our day to day lives, and our attention is focused on maintaining not what is important to our core beings, but rather what we are told is important and necessary to live in the modern world.

It only took thirty minutes of reverie on my way home from work for me to commit to the idea of abandoning as much as I could get away with to spend my time alone in the great unknown. I set a goal of being removed from technology, trivial possessions, social interactions and indoor living for 48 hours. At the time I was unsure what I would do and how I would spend my time, but I knew it would all be revealed and unfold right in front of me as the time progressed. I had a few days to make sense of my "plan" and I made a list of stuff to bring and then started crossing things off the list. What made the cut was only what I could fit in one pack and the bare essentials included a tent, sleeping bag, bicycle, dry food, water, and a camera to document my findings. My journey abruptly started with a night of backyard camping in Milwaukee and lots of anticipation thinking about the unknown adventure ahead.

I woke a few hours after sunrise and packed up my belongings into the bright orange bag which had barely contained them in the first place. My load was one bagel lighter, and the excitement grew with every minute the sun greeted my skin. As I rode I found increasing joy in looking around at my surroundings, but also noticed an increasing amount of contrast between nature and modern development. Most all the plants had been contained to one small location tucked next to a road or building, and no land could be perceived as unowned open space. What once was a thriving patch of earth has now become the grounds for sales of newly produced (now environmentally conscious) automobiles, and where trees used to stand proud, now flagpoles existed only to confirm human's ownership of the land. As I got further from the city I found larger patches of earth that seemed to have been modified less by humans. Even though I appreciated these patches just off the paved roads I was traveling, my enjoyment was obstructed by power lines and distant development, a subtle reminder of the impending take over.

When crossing on a large bridge that was under construction I looked down to see the earth below was also being developed, and the river that once ran free was now being redirected to avoid the newly paved parking lots and buildings. This new construction of roads and parking lots for the industrial parks has left is mark on the land, and it seems that not even the location of a naturally formed river is safe to remain unchanged.

As I kept riding the view started to become more naturally aesthetic, and my mind was no longer flooded with discouraging thoughts of over development and industrialization of the land. I began to ride on open country roads that snaked between vast farm fields interrupted only by large trees and humble farm houses. It was all around more enjoyable, and I began to think new thoughts, the kind of thoughts I was hoping to find after temporarily abandoning so many conveniences. The world felt a little bit new, and I felt a little bit more human having biked almost forty miles with a pack of simple belongings on my back. It was hard work, and both my mind and body could feel the benefit of this work. The old Raleigh conversion brakeless fixed gear bike I was riding ensured my legs would be working for every second of the ride, and it became one of the many subtle metaphors for life I would discover along my journey. Nothing worth while would be achieved by trying to coast along my path leisurely. The hours spent spinning the wheels with an uncomfortable pack on my back were difficult and often trying...

Once I got to the approximate area I deemed a destination, I walked as deep into the woods as I could. I looked around intensely, looking for whatever it was that I hadn't yet discovered. I took note of the sounds I was hearing in order to try and identify them before night fall, as well as looking for signs of animal life, which also included artifacts left by humans such as beer cans and shotgun shells (a reassuring reminder of potential human interactions that might be soon to come). Everything was new and the only way for me to understand was by problem solving, there was nobody to ask a question or advice. I was on my own in a small woods, and it felt gigantic. After exploring for an hour or so I decided on a spot to set up my tent. It was free of the dense growth common to the area, but still surrounded entirely by trees and wildlife.

Once settled in to this lovely spot, I knew that the time had come for my first haircut in five years. With the increasing summer heat, my "super dread" now becoming ever increasingly "super" and my admiration, enjoyment and time spent in the outdoors all meant that short hair would be the most appropriate hair style for me in the years to come. I grabbed the scissors I had packed in with my bike tools and started cutting away. The first one was probably the hardest to cut, but once I got started it was very entertaining to see them go. I snapped a few photos along the way for memory's sake and eventually was transformed into the "short hair, used to have dreads, but still unwashed and uneven" look. I have never been prouder to have cut my own hair, and to do so without looking in a mirror was exciting. I feel as if this simple act in context of my journey perhaps represented me more truthfully than the dreads ever could have. After all, the hair style I ended up with was entirely more unique...

Once all the dreads were gone, I took some time to do the final touch ups on my new do. I walked a few feet away from my tent, which was randomly located in an unnamed woods, and I bent down and cut the remnants of the dread roots from my head. As I was cutting, and subconsciously looking around the ground I found something that looked familiar, but I wasn't sure for what reason. When I took a closer look I knew that what I had found was a unique and valuable mushroom called the "Morel."

What I had found specifically was a Black Morel, and when I looked around I found approximately five more in the immediate area around my tent. Needless to say I was completely ecstatic about finding my own food, now if only I had brought a way to properly cook them! They were still on the small side, so I decided to let them be, not to mention I had no room in my pack to bring them back with me. I remembered the location very well though, and I came back in my car a few days later once my 48 hour journey was over. When I returned to the spot I had found they had grown only minimally, so I decided to focus my energy on finding others. I knew that they grew in the decaying roots of Elm tree's, so that is where I looked. Within an hour I had found nearly an entire pound of much larger Morels!

I dried them that same day to help preserve the the freshness and enable them to be eaten gradually over the next month or so... my entire apartment embodied the aroma of delicious Morels! I came back to where I found them a few times after my first harvest and continued searching for the edible mushroom, which only has a three week window to grow and be harvested during the year... (I guess my journey was well planned after all.) When it was all said and done I estimated having found almost three pounds of fresh Morels. The most fitting way I knew to celebrate was to invite friends over to my apartment to help cook and eat the tasty delights over some equally fresh beers. It was quite a treat for all, and a very unique reason to gather my friends to hang out. The Morels were a unique reward for an equally unique journey, and I will never hesitate to abandon what is convenient again... after all, I found something that can't be reproduced and controlled by man, and to me that means my trip was not only a success, but proof that perhaps the best time to explore is when you're not sure what you're looking for...

The Small Bike Revolution

I took a trip over to Dave's house with my good friend Drew, I wanted to get some photographs of the living space, and see what I could find within the plethora of dusty bike parts, miscellaneous musical electronics from the 90's, and other oddities that seem to capture my interest while being there (I should had snapped a photo of the "Worlds Best Pants" Trophy). Drew and Dave were preparing for their upcoming trip to Portland, and were mostly focused on putting the finishing touches on their small bikes, while also arguing fruitlessly about how they were going to fit both the bikes into make-shift cardboard box package that was cut to airline specific requirements for checked luggage. Their bikes looked pretty slick, and although they were made mostly with parts of other abandoned bikes, they looked like they were sturdy and reliable conveyances. I wasn't about to jump in with the whole box conflict, and figured there was no wrong way to cut a big box into a smaller box, so I let them work it out.

Dave has been collecting bikes of all varieties ever since I've known him, and I could only assume that most of the bikes were salvaged from dumpsters and alleys around Milwaukee. Not a single bike was ready to be ridden, but given a little ingenuity and determination one could get a bike up in rolling in about a half hour's time. While they were working on their own bikes I took a look around for parts to build my own small bike for the evening. Before long I had all the basic parts to build a one of a kind machine, one that every grade schooler would envy. I found a pair of handle bars that came off an exercise bike, dug around and found a "BMX" brand saddle to put on, inflated the tires and tightened the wobbly hubs, and tried to tighten everything else so it wouldn't fall apart while I was on it. Evidently in Portland they meet once a week on top of a large hill by a Zoo to do what's deemed "Zoo Bombing". The story goes that everyone meets on top of the hill at a certain time, so they can all careen down it simultaneously on small bikes! Sounds like a riot to me... Here is a shot of one of the collective small bike piles...

Although I knew I wouldn't be able to experience the Zoo Bomb myself, I was certainly eager to hit the streets of Milwaukee and find some hills to bomb with Drew and Dave. I got adjusted to my frankenstein small bike, but after doing a few wheelies and jumping a curb, I realized that everything I had previously tighten had become loose again. My handle bars still looked awesome, but now could be moved forwards and backwards about five inches, at times, deeming them mostly useless. In a similar way the wheels still spun pretty good, but instead of maintaining a straight path, would wobble back and forth and shift significantly while turning. Needless to say I adapted to the bikes minor flaws and continued to ride outside while Drew and I waited for Dave to come outside. Eventually Dave was ready to hit the road, so we headed to the nearest destination, which was the 6th St bridge, a great view of the city and also a good hill for my first bomb.

There is a simple joy I get when riding bikes, especially when it is one that I put energy into fixing up. Not only does a bike have no fuel emissions, but reusing old bikes is a very simple and direct way of recycling trashed materials. Granted these bikes won't be great for the daily commute or touring, and my bike personally was less than solid, they function rather as a unique form of entertainment and skill sharing that helps to reinforce the unique qualities of the biking community, which is a hodgepodge of people and experiences within itself. I really enjoy the bike's ability to bring so many different people together, as well as seeing how many different ways people will decided to use their bike. Over the last four years I've lived in Milwaukee I've seen the increase in popularity of bike polo along side with the single speeds and fixed gear craze, which can also embody the same ingenuity, if one wants to build their own. The world has endless ways to benefit from the bicycle! Although I don't know any other small bike riders here in Milwaukee, I know they're out there... and if their bikes are not small lets at least hope they are TALL...

Glue of the World

Today I was finally available to go back to the studio and pick up a roll of 120 Color Negative I shot with the Mamiya RB67 almost two weeks ago. I was especially excited to see portraits of my old roommate Jason, who recently moved to California, and some shots from playing bike polo on a rained out court, and even playing once again in the old garage! Turns out my worst fear had come true, and there was absolutely no information on the negative strip, must have loaded the film wrong... But I must move on, after all what was I doing shooting polo on that beast without slave flashes anyway? On the other hand, I've been focusing my energy to photographing polo digitally, rather than taking my thursday night off to play, I've been snapping away for as many games until the light runs out. I've been getting some alright shots, but because of late classes, I run out of natural light far to quickly, perhaps I'll talk to Jessica or Dane about using their pocket wizards sometime.

I also biked over to Estabrook park Sunday to check out the skatepark there that Dane was shooting at. It was a little late in the evening when I got there (work and school steal all the good lighting!) but still enough light to use, but found myself using a flash simply to stop motion and provide some fill on the backlit scene. The skaters there had an all day cookout/skate session that also functioned as a fundraiser for more wood to build ramps with. They had built a fire to burn off some of the old wood (I'm assuming) and end of the night with a grand finale. It was very entertaining and the energy was pretty high, there is more to be seen from both activities, and it looks like I've got more places to keep me busy for a while.

Fisheye Self Portrait Diptych