Commentary:

For most of late December 2009 the Peak District was locked down tight in nature’s grip by freezing temperatures. For days snow lay on any ground not touched by the sun. Yet many climbers took to the grit to grab what test-pieces they could in the good conditions. Stanage Plantation was alive again following weeks of horrible wet weather and folks meant business. Careless Torque, for example, saw two ascents in a single day from Ben Bransby and James MacHaffie - for more click through here ttp://blog.keithsharplesphotography.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/12/20/4408826.html.

Seldom does a day pass without someone pitching at one of the Plantation’s many classic boulder problems. One though is tucked away in what appears at first acquaintance to be a dank and squalid pit. Once an infamous long-standing project, now a must-have tick for any aspiring boulderer; Brad Pit (Font 7c+) is its name.

Photographically, it isn’t difficult to shoot Brad Pit given that it’s in a pit; simply stand on the bank behind and blast away. Yet get too square on and you’ll not get the climber’s face in the shot and the image will loose impact as a result. The ground is studded with some quite nasty boulders and hence a spotter or two don’t go a miss. Capture them stood with their hands in their pockets and that’s another shot for Room 101. The contrast between the dark and dingy pit and the hillside beyond will exceed the dynamic range of most sensors so it’s go tight-in and exclude the background or else go wide and use struggle. Alternatively, spend hours in the digital darkroom and combine something of all these solutions.

So perhaps shooting Brad Pit isn’t that easy after all. Especially when you just happen across someone trying Brad Pit and you haven’t set up the shot. In which case grab what you can when you can!

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300, 18 - 200 AFS f3.5/5.6, 1/40 secs @ f5.6, ISO 800, aperture priority metering

Keywords:

Dan Walker, Brad Pit (Font 7c+), Stanage bouldering, rock climbing photography