“Being able to work with photographers has been integral to my career. Without them you wouldn’t be able to share the story and that’s the whole point. Some of it we can do on our own with our iPhones. But having someone there, being able to create an image of what you’re doing is pretty important for me.
In the last year I worked with photographer Jon Glassberg. We’ve done some amazing projects together in the last year. I did a free route on El Capitan, Golden Gate and he basically spent all six days up there, hanging from the ropes, lugging all his camera equipment up there with him, rigging shots, like these crazy shots from 3,000 ft off the ground. It’s so much work. The images are just absolutely amazing. My story wouldn’t have been near as special without him.
A few years ago I went to China with Tim Kemple. He took some shots of me climbing in this cave with these stalactites dripping down. There’s this shot that was on the cover of photography magazine. That was in 2008 and I still see that photo around.
Someone who’s photography I really like is Cory Richards. I’ve been on a couple of trips with him. He’s really open about talking about his photography. The way he describes his photographs, the work it takes, it’s pretty inspiring.
Things that don’t naturally look like climbing tend to bother me. I appreciate photographs of climbing that actually show the effort and intensity required to perform certain sequences. I like to see that kind of emotion and it’s really hard to get if you don’t understand climbing as a photographer. So that’s why I tend to be picky with who I work with. There’s an understanding there that has to happen to make it authentic. It’s definitely a partnership.
A favorite image of me? Probably one of the photographs that Jon Glassberg took recently on El Capitan on the pitch, Golden Desert. It was one of the most beautiful pitches I’ve ever completed – one beautiful long finger crack. The way he got the shot, you can see how high off the ground I am, the trees below. It’s a super classic Yosemite photograph, and something I always dreamed about having. As a kid as I’d always wanted to free climb El Cap and saw those shots of Lynn Hill on The Nose so for me having someone shoot a photo of me like that was pretty special.
Photographers are incredibly important for climbers. Outdoor sports are so just beautiful and capturing that is super important to share and inspire people.”
Photo © Jon Glassberg
Keep coming back to redbullillume.com for your weekly dose of action and adventure sports photography and galleries of inspirational images.
For more regular updates, head to Red Bull Illume on Facebook and Instagram.
The Athlete's Perspective: Emily Harrington
To celebrate action sports photographers and their work, we talk to their biggest fans – the athletes. Below, climber Emily Harrington salutes the photographers she’s worked with.

© Jon Glassberg, Louder Than Eleven (www.lt11.com)