Climbing Photographer On Assignment in Yosemite (Video)

climbing photography

Jimmy Chin Cover Photo

This video (shown below) has been receiving a lot of attention recently. It follows professional climbing photographer Jimmy Chin on a daring assignment for National Geographic as he attempts to tell the story of climbers who are on the cutting edge of what is possible.

Some of the greatest climbing feats in history have been happening recently on the cliffs of Yosemite, imagine if your job was to capture photos of those events.

The cover photo shown to the right was captured by Jimmy Chin and shows Alex Hannold taking a moment to reflect during one of his free solo climbs up Half Dome and El Capitan. Free soloing—climbing without a rope—represents the ultimate extreme in rock-climbing.

This 40-foot-long sliver of granite on Half Dome, named the Thank God Ledge, is the only way to get beyond the Visor, a massive roof that looms over the Regular Northwest Face route. Most people crawl, but Hannold prefers to walk it, face out. The 30 seconds it takes to get across requires absolutely no technical climbing skill, but even Honnold admits it’s sobering to look at 1,800 feet of air.

Many consider Jimmy Chin to be one of the best adventure photographers in the world. He is a North Face athlete and is regularly recruited by National Geographic to follow explorers to the edges of the earth. He was recently recognized by National Geographic as one of their Emerging Explorers. Although Chin faces the challenges of being creative under duress, he is still able to capture the experience to bring back and share with others.

Jimmy Chin says, “The success of the expedition and safety are the priorities. As a climber, you face a lot of challenges on these expeditions. As a photographer, one of the great challenges is trying to be creative under fairly stressful conditions. You try to be smart about what you are shooting by anticipating the key moments and being efficient with your creative energy as well as your physical energy.”

Video created Renan Ozturk and Camp4Collective.  Shot on the Canon 5d, Canon L series Lenses, Kessler Crane​ Pocket Dolly V2 and a Rodemic​ Video Mic Pro.

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5 responses to “Climbing Photographer On Assignment in Yosemite (Video)”

  1. Ted Warren says:

    I am a little too advanced in years now to do such energetic climbing, but I must express my admiration of your work and the skill behind your methods. Your results speak for themselves and readers of the National Geographic magazine are privileged to view the stunning pictures you produce. You do things I could never have attempted as I do not have the balance precision that you obviously possess. Thank you for this insight into your world of work. I shall be looking for more of your pictures. Best regards for the future!
    Ted Warren, Somerset, UK.

  2. Jocelyn says:

    WOW thank you for taking the risk to show me something I will never get to see or do. I admire the climbers and especially the photographer for this amazing body of work. I felt like I was there.

  3. Nata says:

    Tremendamente bueno. gracias por compartirlo.
    Por cierto, la pagina es realmente excelente!!!

  4. Tiberman Sajiwan Ramyead says:

    FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, I admire you Jimmy Chin.
    Bon Courage and Good Luck from Mauritius.
    Tiberman – DSLR beginner

  5. “Many consider Jimmy Chin to be one of the best adventure photographers in the world”

    Jimmy Chin is THE best adventure photographer in the world.

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