We are blessed with an extraordinary synergy as co-creators. We each bring upwards of 50 years of experience in the Rocky Mountains, and in particular in the Columbia Icefield.
This accumulated experience means neither of us is a mere visitor. We have each internalized an enormous body of sensory, cognitive and intuitive knowledge that informs everything we see and do on these shoots.
Jim’s decades of climbing, pioneering new routes, have demanded a very particular kind of attentiveness that he describes as “listening to the mountain”. His pioneering ascents are not assaults, he takes the time to connect with the mountain, its moods and tempers. There were times when he decided not to attempt the climb, not merely because of some observable threat, but just from an intuition that the mountain wasn’t receptive to him that day.
Roger has gone to the mountains all his life, to find solace and inspiration. As a busy professional in an intensely technical visual field, time in the mountains has been an opportunity to commune with all that he sees and feels without the demands of commercial film production. He can open his eyes to the formation of clouds in the rising air, the play of light and shadow on the faces of rock and ice, thereby opening his heart to a deeper sense of belonging.
For both of us, it is a place of spiritual meaning that runs deep.
On a shoot, that synergy between us is not just invaluable, it is essential. We have a plan and objective laid out ahead of time, but when the helicopter lifts us into the airspace of the Icefield, we are facing a rapidly changing visual field of opportunity. There is no time for discussion, and indeed, with Jim hanging out of the aircraft in the noise of the rotors, speech between us is impossible. A few hand gestures sometimes help.
Jim is handling the camera with his rapidly chilling finger on the shutter release. Roger is on the tethered laptop exerting control over shutter speed, aperture, depth of field and ISO. Between them is utter trust: Jim knows Roger is doing everything necessary to capture the shot, including directing the pilot to reposition the aircraft as needed. Roger knows Jim will frame the shot and hit the shutter at the precise moment needed to capture the image they are seeking.
On the ground, our collaboration is more contemplative, and more individual. We can shoot from the tripod, and have the space and time to wait for the perfect moment.
