Techniques and Rigging for Rock Climbing Photography
The best shots require imagination and skill. We can’t give you imagination, but we can give you the skills to get safely into a great position to capture the moment.
We look at a variety of techniques and concepts for safe, effective and expressive rock climbing photography. We will look at equipment, composition, working professionally and choosing a shooting angle. We spend lots of practical time on safe safe positioning from simple handrail and tether systems to abseiling and ascending techniques.
Who is it for
This course is designed for those who want to learn the access skills to get in a great position to capture the shot and also the photographic technicalities of working at height.
Rock Climbing Photography – Course Overview
During the two days, we look at many aspects including choosing and looking after your equipment, composition, editing, working professionally and publishing images.
Beyond the Edge are one of the UKs most experienced providers of rock climbing, mountaineering and adventure training courses and they are both highly informative and run by hugely experienced trainers and instructors. Importantly in our opinion, they are also fun and run in a friendly manner. We take great pride in the very high percentage of individuals who return for further courses.
The courses will be run by Alex Ekins a qualified photojournalist and a Mountaineering and Rock Climbing instructor with over 25 years experience of photography and rock climbing throughout the world. Alex has been published in the mainstream media including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Economist, Le Monde and National Geographic as well as in climbing magazines throughout the world. Some of Alex’s magazine covers are shown here.
Rock Climbing Photography – Course Format
We start at 9am with a chat over a cuppa in our training room, watch a presentation covering some theory and techniques before heading outside. During the course we will cover:
- Camera Equipment
- Specialist climbing and rigging equipment
- Composition and framing
- Fitting and using a harness
- Rigging rope systems for abseiling and ascending
- How to choose a location and positioning
- Working with professional climbers
- Editing photographs
- Options for publishing and/or selling your images
Course Details
- Location: Peak District
- Cost: £205
- Duration: 2 days
- Ratio: 1:6
- Level: Intermediate
More Information
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Course Dates
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Bespoke Dates and Locations
If there are no dates suitable and you would like a Rock Climbing Photography or filming course, please contact the office and we will arrange some dates and a location to suit your diary.
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Meeting Point
The course will meet at The Sir William Hotel at 0900 in the village of Grindleford. The village has good bus and train links with Sheffield and good train links to Manchester.
The hotel has ample free parking.
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Equipment Required
A full kit list with recommendations as to what works best is contained in the Joining Instructions. Any digital camera will be fine and a laptop for editing will enable you to fully participate in the evaluation process.
Outdoor clothing including waterproofs will enable you to enjoy your time outside.
We can provide harnesses and helmets in addition to the technical rope work equipment (ID’s, ASAP’s, jumars, Gri Gri’s etc) please just let us know if you require this.
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Fitness Level
You certainly don’t have to be super fit to enjoy this photography course. Average fitness is all that is required and the ability to spend most of the day in an outdoor environment.
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Accommodation Options
This Beyond the Edge course is non-residential to allow you to select between a thermarest or 5 star hotel as you require. There is lots of accommodation in the Hope Valley and we recommend The Sir William which offers BtE clients a discounted rate and most courses start from here.
Further details and other options are listed on our Accommodation page.
FAQs
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How do I book ?
The best way is via this webpage. Choose the date from the options on the above and then submit your booking. You only need to pay the deposit if your course is more than six weeks away.
For bespoke events get in touch first so we can check diaries and if required give you a quote. Get in touch by either calling the office on 01142 631 155 or emailing us.
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Does the course include accommodation ?
Not usually! We prefer to let you choose where you will be most comfortable. This may be in a tent or in a luxury hotel.
In the Peak District we work out of the The Sir William hotel. This is a comfortable Inn with stunning views over the Hope valley and it also serves great food (try the game pie if it’s on!). We recommend that you stay here as they are well versed in looking after walkers and climbers and it’s a 30 second commute from the breakfast table to our meeting room!
Further details and other accommodation options can be found on our accommodation page.
For bespoke courses and events we can arrange whatever you desire from a bivouac under the stars to a spa hotel.
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Children, Parking, Dogs, COVID and everything else...
You will find all of the most frequently asked questions and their answers on our FAQ webpage.
