Commentary:

Every once in a while something extraordinary happens. That was the case when, travelling to Malham for a day on the crag with my climbing mates, I got a text which flipped the day on its head. “Ondra’s at Malham now and he’s trying Overshadow”. BIG news…

 

Thanks to the heads-up from Steve McClure, the first originator of Overshadow – a route which is widely regarded as one of the hardest sport routes in the UK, I was able to get a bit of thinking time before arriving at the crag. Would Ondra, probably the world’s best sport climber, be surrounded by a climbing circus, would there be climbing paparazzi hanging off every bolt snapping Ondra’s every move, would the light be good?

 

An endless stream of questions flashed my mind but I wrestled with one question time and time again; would/should I photography Ondra myself. As happy as I have been sticking a camera into the face of many of my subjects, most of whom are personal friends, I’m always anxious when it comes to photographing strangers – even more so when they are such big name stars such as Ondra.

 

The endless mind games were over though virtually as soon as we hit the crag; Ondra quickly pulled on his boots and set off for a spin on Overshadow. There was no time for the niceties of a chat; it was time to get the camera out and get on the case. Shooting off the deck is always a compromise, but this was one occasion when it was that or nothing. Ondra cruised Overnite Sensation (F8a+), the initial section of Overshadow but fell off the crux of Overshadow. He dogged the crux a couple of times then quickly climbed to the top of the pitch. It was all over in a few minutes.

 

The shot I’ve chosen here for the PoTM, is of Ondra bearing down hard on the crux. It’s a straight forward capture; the situation didn’t allow anything else. Sometime climbing photography is just like that and you have to think fast enough to get it right with no prep time. Would I have liked to photography Ondra from close-in? You bet, maybe next year if he comes back to finish Overshadow…

 

For more on Ondra’s visit to the UK see my blog entries here…

http://blog.keithsharplesphotography.co.uk/blog/_archives/2010/4/30/4517300.html

http://blog.keithsharplesphotography.co.uk/blog/_archives/2010/5/8/4524247.html

 

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300, 18-200mm AFS f3.5-5.6, 1/400 secs @ f6.3, ISO 400, Aperture Prioirty, matrix metering

 

Keywords:

Yorkshire Dales, Malham, rock climbing, sport climbing, Adam Ondra, Oveshadow, Steve McClure