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see a lot of really staged photography, but personally I prefer to create the right condi- tions for loads of different shots to arise rath- er than force a particular shot. I usually plan a route in my head that either I know or I've got an idea of what it might look like. I de- cide a route depending on where the sun is rising. If I shoot at sunrise, I'm picking the angles to where the sun is. Around the equinox, a north ridge would be perfect because the sun will be going up 90 degrees in the east. I'll try to shoot along the way whilst doing a mountain route, rather than just going to one spot and working it to death until everything's perfect. Usually I'm working with very competent athletes and we just climb a particular route. I did a shoot a few weeks ago where I shot 7,000 images in 24 hours. e process of timing comes naturally. I don't need to force the im- age because if you choose the right route and the right conditions, the terrain unfolds before you. Sometimes I'll have the athletes go ahead of me or behind me be- cause I'll see something I like. I try to maintain a very fluid style. But managing safety, the thing that's really hard to predict is snow and avalanches. Most of the shooting I do, maybe about 60 percent, is on climbing routes where the biggest risk isn't an avalanche—it's falling off. Working in the avalanche terrain, it's pretty spooky. I try to work in conditions that are exception- ally stable. But if you're doing a ski shoot for instance, you're trying to find that white, fluffy powder where it's safe and there's no other tracks—it is definitely a challenge. You have to be prudent and it requires go- ing a very long way from where everyone else is. V U E N J . C O M 89

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