You go on the damn trip, that’s what you do.
One of the athletes on the expedition reached out to me about joining, which was a very rewarding way of joining the trip. I’ve spent many years developing my mountain skills out of a passion and love for the mountains and haven’t really been concerned with how I could capitalize on or commodify those experiences.
Blake had been corresponding with one of The North Face’s higher-ups, so he had more than one “in” with regards to landing this assignment. Of course, any photographer chosen would have to not only capture top-tier imagery, they’d have to do so while simultaneously keeping up with some of the best climbers on the planet. It’s a necessarily high bar that TNF’s people were confident Blake would reach.
I previously shot a more product-focused set of images for Scott Mellin, TNF’s Global VP of Mountain Sports, that made a strong impression. The quality of the images stemming from a critical eye, strong understanding of light, and attention to detail with minimal creative direction while being able to move comfortably and efficiently in the mountains with their athletes is what made that impression.
Still, even people at the top of their games like Blake need some time to get their lives in order ahead of an off-the-grid trip that spans weeks. But preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime experience — even within a truncated timeframe — simply has to happen, so Blake made it happen.
There are myriad challenges to prepare for an expedition like this, and you’d typically want six months to prepare. I was brought on less than a month prior to departure. I had to step up my existing work commitments to be able to step away and be out of service for nearly a month, while at the same time prepare for the trip in a condensed time frame.
You’d be justified in thinking that athletes who do this kind of activity would be stressful to be around, which makes sense because this is dangerous stuff. Not so, according to Blake — quite the opposite, in fact. The freelancer was more than happy to support the trio (as opposed to directing them for specific shots), which made for smooth image creation.