Up Against the Wall

As rock climbers ascend, Dalton Johnson zooms in on the action with his Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC G2 telephoto zoom.

Author: Jenn Gidman

Images: Dalton Johnson

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As rock climbers ascend, Dalton Johnson zooms in on the action with his Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC G2 telephoto zoom.

It’s hard to nail Dalton Johnson down: On any given day, the California lifestyle and adventure photographer can be found road-tripping along the West Coast, on the hunt for wildflowers, or frolicking in the surf, camera on the ready. But for Dalton, there’s something particularly special about his rock-climbing photography, whether he’s trying to navigate his way up a rock wall in Joshua Tree National Park or bouldering in the Buttermilks or Pacific Northwest.

“Rock climbing is a countercultural endeavor,” Dalton says. “Whenever I photograph an athlete in an extreme sport, the photographic process for me involves building a bond with that person, seeing them for who they are, and then taking pictures of them. And every single person I photograph has an amazing story. I’m not a super-amazing rock climber, so I’m not sure I would connect with these types of people otherwise. Taking photos of them allows me to dive deeper into what drives them, as well as experience these places for myself. As they’re pushing the edge on the rocks, my goal is to push the edge with my camera.”

70-180mm (83mm), F2.8, 1/400 sec., ISO 640

Key to that mission is the Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 DI III VC VXD G2, a fast, lightweight, compact telephoto zoom lens for Dalton’s Sony mirrorless camera system, offering him ultimate portability on the rock face without sacrificing image quality. “I need to be quick and nimble when climbing, so the light weight and easy-to-carry size of this lens go a long way,” he says. “The built-in Vibration Compensation helps keep my images sharp, and I’m able to achieve remarkable compression. I also can’t neglect to mention the maximum F2.8 aperture. You can see the beautiful bokeh behind some of the climbers here, keeping the focus entirely on them.”

70-180mm (180mm), F3.5, 1/800 sec., ISO 640

DALTON’S QUICK TIPS

Set up for shooting freedom.
My goal is always to preserve the climber’s authentic experience as much as possible. To do that, I need to understand both the terrain and the climbers I’m working with to capture the best photos. After figuring those out, I then set up what I need beforehand. I’ll climb the route before the climber does and set up a pulleylike system with a rope that I can attach to my harness. That way, I can simply move up and down on the rope with my camera and concentrate more on taking photos, not executing rock-climbing moves.

Show how hard the climbers are working.
Zoom in with your 70-180mm G2 on the climbers’ determined facial expressions, or on the meticulous work they’re doing with their hands as they keep working their way up the wall. Sometimes I want a more intimate shot that really relays the intensity and solitude that climbers feel when they’re nose to rock—depicting that steely gaze of utter concentration, that exhilaration, that whole body high that is climbing. I have wider-angle lenses I use as well when I want to show off the grandness of a place, but a lens like the 70-180mm G2 allows me to more closely highlight the nuances of rock climbing that people on the ground wouldn’t necessarily see.

70-180mm (180mm), F2.8, 1/800 sec., ISO 640

The 70-180mm G2 also allows me to alter perception a bit. I can use this lens to zoom in on the climber’s face or body and make it appear as if they’re way up there, even if they’re only a few inches off the ground. I can get in tight and capture the climber just staring down the rock, seemingly high above the ground.

70-180mm (70mm), F2.8, 1/800 sec., ISO 640

Take a step back.
But every shot has to be in your face. Sometimes I’ll take a wider view with my 70-180mm G2 and peer down on a climber on the ground from my own perch, incorporate more of the background, or even move back a little so you can see the climber is indeed clinging to a boulder just a few inches above the ground.

70-180mm (70mm), F2.8, 1/640 sec., ISO 640
70-180mm (70mm), F2.8, 1/640 sec., ISO 640

To see more of Dalton Johnson’s work, check out his website.

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