Hanging by a thread

Tonight I had an indoor wall climbing date with my friend Eleni who I haven’t seen in practically forever, so I brought my camera to the climbing centre hoping I might find an opportunity to get a couple of cool shots. Thankfully, Eleni brought a friend with her so I didn’t need to multitask with the camera while belaying her down the wall (kidding! I wouldn’t do that. Really. Well maybe Not even for the perfect shot.)

It’s a bit difficult taking pictures while others are climbing, probably because everyone on the wall knows how exceedingly unflattering the angles are from below and people tend to to be wary of the person wielding the camera - even if you’re not actually pointing it at them. From above however, it’s a different story: climbers look concentrated and the ground looks three times as far away as it is, making for a great shot. Of course, I neglected to bring my camera up while I was on the wall and regretted it afterwards. On my last ascent, one of the superstar climbers who can Spiderman up pretty much any tiny foothold or crack followed me up an adjacent rope and just as I turned to descend, I caught sight of her effortlessly pulling herself up an overhang - beautiful.

So in the end, I settled for this guy taking a breather. Not bad, but I’d do well to remember the number one rule of great photography: be in the right place at the right time. With your camera!