The Cover Shot - Wild #192

High on the heady exposure of Malte Brun’s East Face—and perched on an eagle’s eyrie, my ski tips hanging over thousands of feet of cold air—I snapped this over-the-shoulder shot of the ever-graceful Jim Ryan as he laced turns down a hanging panel above the first crux on our descent, a short rock choke.

Having only picked up a camera in the six months prior to this descent (as one aspect of a desire to expand my methods of self expression and creativity), I find it rather amusing to have already landed a cover shot—and surprisingly, it’s Jim’s first as well—especially considering my precarious position and a lack of any photographic technique or style; absolutely zero thought went into shooting it. It was the very definition of being in the right place with the right people at the right time.

I sure wish my actual camera hadn’t died in the dark hours before this glorious moment though; I had to shoot it on my iPhone instead.

You can read Sam Smoothy’s accompanying feature story in ‘XXIV’ starting on p88 of Wild issue 192.

(Ed: Check out the image to the right; that’s the position Sam shot the cover from, just looking the other way. When he said his ski tips were hanging over thousands of feet of air, he wasn’t joking!)

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