Caption:

Chiselling the Dragon: Barry Rawlinson Chiselling the Dragon (F7c) at Malham during the 2009 spring heat-wave.

Commentary:

Malham Cove is undeniably one of the main crags in the UK - an international destination sport climbing crag in my opinion. The Cove is at its best during the spring, the sun regularly transforming the crag into a climber’s paradise when many other venues are locked down with freezing cold temperatures.

Spring 2009 was a case in point, when a sunny, dry spell provided some amazing conditions. On one particular mid-week visit the sun blasted the Cove all day. The temps were a too high for good climbing conditions – but it was stunning! By early afternoon the sun had swung westward and was starting to drop behind Malham’s Left Wing leaving the main wall in shade. The Catwalk, the ledge beneath the Main Wall, was empty save a couple of parties.

I always pack a fish-eye lens in my camera bag and conditions were perfect for a super-wide shot. Fish-eyes are complex lens and need to be used sparingly and with care; horizontals and vertical lines on the edge of the frame are bent like bananas and perspective is distorted. Conventional composition rules play second-fiddle with fish-eye shots and experience (a.k.a. trial and error!) is key.

Keeping the distant horizon level, I composed my image and waited until Barry climbed nicely into the sweet spot in the frame. It was simply a matter of blasting off a quick sequence of shots to capture a decent body shape and hey presto – job done. The dark rim of the Cove nicely framed the shot pushing the eye towards Barry.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300, 10.5mm AF f2.8G, 1/800secs @ f11, ISO 200

Keywords:

Rock climbing, Malham Cove, Yorkshire Dales, action photography, Barry Rawlinson, Chiselling the Dragon (F7c), fish eye lens