Living life over the edge.

For this assignment, I chose to document a new experience, rock climbing. I have never been rock climbing before, and having lived in Utah for almost 3 and a half years, I find this a surprise and a shame. I have a ton of friends that are avid rock climbers, and my first experience was truly amazing. The thrill and excitement you feel from scaling a rock face, and then the accomplishment of reaching the top is a release from life. 

To most people, this wouldn't seem like an important picture, but it is to me. It reminds me of those  initials carved into trees. I found this drawn on the side of the smooth rock face in climbing chalk. It made me think of the circumstances of who wrote this, and who BW is. It makes me ask a million questions about their relationships. Do they spend their time rock climbing? Is that how they met. It it mysterious and  creates a backstory to events. 

This is my favorite picture that I took. This picture is raw, and when in reality it was a mistake, it turned into a story about rock climbing. Her hands are rough and have remnants of chalk from the rocks and climbing. It is candid, and has a shallow depth of field which adds a intensity to this extreme close-up. She's covering her face, yet you can tell so much about her from just her hand. It is the focus of the picture, and applies the rule of thirds even with it being in the center of the photograph. I found that in rock climbing, having chalk is a good idea, and you hands will get destroyed from gripping the rock, but you do it anyways. 

I like this one because it shows adventure and risk, and was the inspiration for the title. Dallin is being held up by the rope and not holding on, where I am holding on for dear life because I'm trying to take this picture. I loved how this came out. The smile on his face that he always has when rock climbing. The medium shot gives you enough detail about him, but also shows the background of the canyon. 

This one I picked because I liked the fact that it showed the support and relationship of rock climbing. You have to trust the person who is belaying you. You have to know that they will catch you if you slip or fall. The light behind it adds a little drama to it too, but also a sense of security from being held on to by a friend.

This last one was just a fun shot that I took after I climbed up the rock face. Below me is a long crack that you can see a down. Not big enough to fall down, but still cool to look down. There is a strong balance with the rule of thirds in this picture which I liked. When I took this picture, my only thought was how excited and accomplished I felt for climbing up a mountain. 

I had a lot of fun taking these pictures. Each one represents a little piece  of what I think rock climbing is about. Each element gave a difference feel, whether it was the thrill of hanging over the edge, or the peace you feel from knowing your friend has got your back.