Wonderful Machine Interview on Himalaya expedition for The North Face
Blake Gordon Keeps Pace with World-Class Athletes to Get Imagery for The North Face
Apr 13, 2020
PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT
There are certain assignments, no matter how challenging, that you simply cannot turn down. Say, for example, you’re Blake Gordon: You're a veteran photographer who loves climbing mountains, having spent years honing both skills. This specific toolkit of abilities makes you the perfect person to accompany seasoned climbers on a trip up the world’s largest mountain range, the Himalayas, for The North Face. Usually, you’d need half a year — at minimum — to prepare for an assignment of this ilk, but you’ve been told of this project a month in advance. So, what do you do?
Christina Lustenberger glances back down valley while navigating the lower glacier
You go on the damn trip, that’s what you do.
One of the athletes on the expedition reached out to me about joining, which was a very rewarding way of joining the trip. I’ve spent many years developing my mountain skills out of a passion and love for the mountains and haven’t really been concerned with how I could capitalize on or commodify those experiences.
Blake had been corresponding with one of The North Face’s higher-ups, so he had more than one “in” with regards to landing this assignment. Of course, any photographer chosen would have to not only capture top-tier imagery, they’d have to do so while simultaneously keeping up with some of the best climbers on the planet. It’s a necessarily high bar that TNF’s people were confident Blake would reach.
I previously shot a more product-focused set of images for Scott Mellin, TNF’s Global VP of Mountain Sports, that made a strong impression. The quality of the images stemming from a critical eye, strong understanding of light, and attention to detail with minimal creative direction while being able to move comfortably and efficiently in the mountains with their athletes is what made that impression.
Still, even people at the top of their games like Blake need some time to get their lives in order ahead of an off-the-grid trip that spans weeks. But preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime experience — even within a truncated timeframe — simply has to happen, so Blake made it happen.
There are myriad challenges to prepare for an expedition like this, and you’d typically want six months to prepare. I was brought on less than a month prior to departure. I had to step up my existing work commitments to be able to step away and be out of service for nearly a month, while at the same time prepare for the trip in a condensed time frame.
You’d be justified in thinking that athletes who do this kind of activity would be stressful to be around, which makes sense because this is dangerous stuff. Not so, according to Blake — quite the opposite, in fact. The freelancer was more than happy to support the trio (as opposed to directing them for specific shots), which made for smooth image creation.
The North Face expedition team members (L to R): Mikey Arnold, Griffin Post, and Christina Lustenberger
The expedition crew of North Face athletes (Mikey Arnold, Griffin Post, and Christina Lustenberger) was nothing short of amazing. I don’t think I’ve been with a more relaxed, humble-yet-ambitious, and highly-skilled group.
Mikey Arnold leads an icefall on the lower mountain. A week before the team arrived this section of the mountain was dry loose rock
Operating in the mountains is a lot about decision making and risk management, and I took the position to be in support of the team rather than directing them for my own needs. For instance, visually it would’ve been stronger to travel at dawn/dusk more or move through more challenging terrain on the glacier. The strongest photos would naturally be from how far we could push our objective, so my energy went into supporting that vision.
Blake's trip generated a good bit of publicity, with the photographer going on popular outdoors-based podcasts and having his work show up on Outside Magazine's social media channels, among other places.
The athletes and The North Face have also been sharing Blake’s work since the team returned from Nepal, and the Coloradan has heard only good things about his work. Makes sense because, I mean, look at this work!
Overall, I’ve heard a ton of positive feedback and people have responded to both the authentic nature of the images and the rich sense of place that I strove to convey in the images.