EP 37: Simon Carter
September 28, 2020
Simon Carter is an Australian photographer, and has been described by the editor of Rock and Ice Magazine as “arguably the greatest climbing photographer of all time”. We talked about building his first darkroom at age 15, pursuing full-time climbing in the early ’90s, action vs. landscape, camera equipment, the Taipan/Grampian closure, and Simon’s top 10 climbing photography tips. You can learn more about Simon at www.onsight.com.au
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Google Podcasts
Patreon:
Follow-Ups:
thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups
Videos:
‘Behind the Scenes’ w/ Simon Carter
Mountaineering Books:
The White Spider (North Face of the Eiger)
Everest the Hard Way by Chris Bonnington
Camera:
Simon’s Standard Lens Kit:
14 to 35mm
24 to 70mm
70 to 200mm
16mm (optional)
300mm (optional)
Simon’s Top 10 Photography Tips:
www.onsight.com.au/top-10-climbing-photography-tips/
Routes Mentioned:
‘Serpentine’ 29 (5.13b), Taipan Wall, Grampians, AU
‘The Man Who Saved The World’ 25 (5.11d), Grampians, AU
‘La Dura Dura’ 5.15c, Oliana, Spain
Taipan/Grampians Closure Links:
Simon’s Links:
www.onsight.com.au/shop (coffee table books, guidebooks, and more)
Nuggets:
1:50– The 2018 World Climbing Calendar, and the Onsight Photography business
3:14 – Early photography, and building a darkroom in the family bathroom at age 15
5:10 – Changing schools for photography and discovering climbing
6:06 – Reading mountaineering books, Simon’s childhood nickname, early outdoor adventures, and getting obsessed with rock climbing
8:19 – Working at the Australian University and losing his passion for photography
10:56 – Night school, becoming disillusioned with professional photography, and traveling around Europe for six months
12:26 – Getting a degree in outdoor education, working in gear shops, and saving up money to climb full time
15:38 – Living at Mount Arapiles and rediscovering photography
17:43 – Living on the dole, starting a business, and early work success
19:35 – Climbing ‘Serpentine’ on the Taipan Wall
22:42 – How Simon balances his climbing with his photography
25:55 – Simon’s plea for new climbing photographers to take the time to learn rope systems to be efficient and safe
28:43 – Simon’s elaborate photo rig for Nikon
30:14 – The advantages of using a chest harness
32:57 – Simon’s preferred jumar rig
35:23 – Action and landscape, capturing nature, and “the one thing”
38:32 – How Simon prepares for a specific shot, and balancing preparation with spontaneity
42:10 – Fuji Velvia, color palettes, and switching to digital
43:41 – Spiders
44:01 – Simon’s current camera (Nikon Z6), and mirrorless cameras
45:15 – Simon’s standard lens kit (see show notes for list)
46:07 – Shifting to more guidebook production
47:41 – The Red River Gorge guidebook, and a new way of presenting information
50:51 – The select and full guidebook publication dates, and why the Red is at the top of Simon’s list for climbing destinations
52:02 – Simon’s favorite international climbing areas, the Blue Mountains, a trip to Madagascar, and “what I love about climbing”
54:01 – Update on the Taipan Wall and Grampians closure and access issues
1:03:06 – The new management plan for the Grampians
1:03:40 – What we can do to help save the Grampians (see show notes for links)
1:05:28 – Why Simon is thinking about writing about about the Grampians issue, cultural surveys, and commercialization
1:08:48 – Capturing moments of people’s lives and “it’s about people”
1:11:08 – Simon’s top 10 photography tips (see show notes for a list and a link to an article)
1:15:14 – Getting the fitness back
1:15:45 – Gratitude
1:16:45 – Working on a guidebook to Sydney, putting work out there, and getting feedback
1:18:37 – Where to connect with Simon
1:19:05 – Wold Climbing Calendar 2022?
1:21:37 – The real reason Chris Sharma sent ‘La Dura Dura’