When I first saw the cave, I knew I had to shoot there. The beauty of its chaos was overwhelming. We had never met before, but after a few minutes talking with @noapproachnate about the look I wanted to achieve, I knew the collaboration would yield something special.

I waited until the end of the session before I asked @noapproachnate if he would be comfortable sitting for a portrait. Something direct, and into the camera. He agreed and sat, cave to his back, a wall of holds and shadow. As I started making the images, I was reminded these are the moments of vulnerability and strength when I can learn so much about the individual I am interacting with and this felt like it was no exception

What will the subject bring to the camera? What will they ask of you as the photographer? How long will it take for each of us to become comfortable with the process? How will I respond?

All these questions and dozens of others are silently asked and answered in the process of making a portrait, which is why I believe a good session takes so much from the subject and the photographer.

I will argue if you are truly honest with all aspects of the process, there can be no failure in the result.

Unlike many of my shoots when it takes time for me to settle into a space and start generating the images I see in my mind, the first flurry of shots were my favorite. Specifically this image, which still stands out as special to me. It's one I hope to someday see printed LARGE.

In order to get the shot I set up a black backdrop at an angle to the climbing cave. It's one I use on almost all my shoots, and it is clunky and cumbersome, so to get it positioned correctly took some time. By the time I had a camera in hand, I was already frustrated. Did I mention it was over 100F in the garage at the time? Half of the stand was positioned on the crashpads, and the other dangled off in space.

I was shooting a rangefinder and was concerned about nailing focus, so we discussed which holds we would put into the problem they would climb in order to give me an advantage. As we discussed, they mimed the climb and I made a quick image.

This was that image.

I still come back to it often, but I have purposefully tried not to replicate it. Call it superstitious, but I believe it was a bit of luck that led me to this image, and like all things special, to try and repeat the act feels like it would only lead to a let down.

So I'll stick with this image and come back to it often, and wait patiently for the next moment to appear.