Before I became a photographer, I was a rock climber. It was my life. I traveled around the country in search of the ultimate climbs and even to France where I lived for a few months. To this day I never feel as home as I do in the mountains. Although I don’t do much climbing anymore, it still defines who I am.

My photographic career actually began with me photographing my friends as they attempted some of the best and hardest climbs in the world. Often I lived in a tent or in a house with a dozen other climbers. Looking back, those moments were some of the most blissful in my life. Today, when I show up in Camp 4 in Yosemite or traipse through the oddly rounded boulders of Joshua Tree, I may not know a soul, but I still feel as though feel surrounded by long-lost friends.

In years past, when I’d aim my camera towards climbers, I’d focus on the steep rock and physical beauty of the scene. These days, I’m more interested in the people. It’s what I call the other side of climbing. Even though I don’t climb much anymore, I’m still a climber through-and-through. It’s part of my essence and my language. This album of images tries to capture that.

The following images are presented in the context of the printed book in which they appear.

The guy on the left is John Bachar. The impact he’s had on my life is indescribable. He was at one time the undisputed best rock climber in the world. In college, I had posters of him climbing - without rope - vertical granite walls that I only dreamed of. Awhile back, the sport changed and John went in his own direction. Still he remains an icon.

Which is why it’s fitting that I placed his portrait next John Long’s, another giant in the world of climbing. (The first one day ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan ranks as one of his great achievements.) I first ran into him when I was just starting to climb. My partner had taken a long fall to the ground - screaming the entire way down. Fortunately he was mostly ok, though shaking and babbling.

Largo - as John Long is known - came over to see if he was okay. Jeff, my climbing partner, still scared from his experience quickly perked up at the sight of this climbing legend. Jeff mumbled  something about this being the end of his climbing career. Largo responded in his trademark booming voice, ” Ho man! Don’t give up the sport!”

Those words still ring in my ears whenever giving up begins to feel like an option.

These two fellows are brothers, Alex and Thomas Huber. Understanding what great climbers do is difficult for nonclimbers to even comprehend. These two climbed the 4,000 feet of vertical to overhanging rock of El Capitan in Yosemite in two hours and 45 minutes. To put this in perspective, it takes most people about four hours just to hike that distance. Imagine climbing a 4,000 foot ladder with most of the rungs missing (and death the certain consequence of screwing up) and you’ll have an idea of the stamina and fearlessness required for the feat.

For those interested in the technical details, the portraits were all shot with my 4×5 view camera using a 150mm lens. The film I used was Polaroid Type 55 - now discontinued. The borders you see are inherent in the film - they’re not some digital effect. With a 4×5, there’s no ability to focus when shooting. I instruct he subject, who’s about two feet from the camera, to stay absolutely still while I load film, close the lens and snap the shutter. The focus is so shallow that any slight move will ruin the image.

Still, there’s a look to the images that can’t be duplicated with anything else. The Polaroid produces a negative which I scan and then print from the digital file. The other images were either shot with my 1d MII or my 5D.

John Mireles

In the midst of all my getting ready for WPPI in Vegas, we spent the afternoon in Balboa Park for a little fashion shoot. We tested out the eyelashes that Jeffrey created - he did the hair and makeup - for another shoot that he’s doing.

I liked all the lines and tones of this scene. When I set the shot up, the back wall was lit up by the sun. By the time we started shooting, a cloud rolled in and softened up the light.

I’ve shot a few wedding ceremonies at this spot. Usually, they’re in front of the well, not on top of it. This one’s my favorite…

Jennifer, the model, was freezing at this point. I suggested that she put on 30 lbs. Guess that’s not really an option…

John

Have questions about improving your business? Wondering about your pricing? Need feedback on your photography? Trying to figure out your marketing? Well, here’s your chance to get some one-on-one feedback from yours truly. I’ll be doing two 30 minute mentoring sessions each day before the trade show opens on Feb 17 and 18. I’d love to meet you and help you out with your burning photography questions!

I’ll be at WPPI in Las Vegas with my www.PhotographersToolkit.com booth where I’ll be selling the world-famous Lookbook (more on that in future posts). I’m looking forward to to meeting some folks from out in blogland. Because I get a lot of questions that I don’t have time to answer during the show, I figured I’d set up some mentoring sessions during non-show hours.

I’ve set this up as a fundraiser for my old high school, St. Paul High. It’s a parochial school in a working class suburb of Los Angeles that I support however I can. (I’m the photographer for career day.) Each of the four sessions is set up as an auction on Ebay; all the proceeds from the auctions will go to the school.

For more details and signup info, here’s the link to the site that I’ve set up: WPPI Mentoring Website

See you in Vegas!

John

My heart always skips a little when I read on a forum about someone who lost images from a wedding. Usually, the problem isn’t with the CF card or the equipment, it’s with the photographer’s system for downloading cards to the computer. It’s not too hard to get confused and overlook a card when downloading CF cards after a wedding. Usually the photographer doesn’t realize this until weeks later though at which point the card has already been overwritten and the data is irrecoverable.

But, wait, there’s a solution! This video shows my process for making sure that everything you’ve shot safely makes it onto your computer. The last thing you ever want to do is tell a client that you lost their wedding photos so here’s a little help.

John

Bil Zelman may well be the best photographer you’ve never heard of. He’s one of the very few photographers who not only shoots weddings, but also does a lot of high-end advertising and editorial shoots. And everything he does, he does with raw honesty. By that I mean his images aren’t overly Photoshopped or treated with the canned action set of the moment. You won’t find any “Diffuse Glow” applied to his images.

In the quest to become a better photographer, it’s so tempting to rely on Photoshop and better, faster equipment - new cameras, bigger lenses, HD video, more megapixels. Bil’s work and words are a perfect reminder that great work comes from within. Inspired work doesn’t come from Photoshop; it comes from the mind and imagination of the photographer.

Anyhow, I’m posting this narrated slide show of Bil’s just to share some creative inspiration.

John

In the first two parts of the series I talked about the histogram. In this installment, I talk about how to put that knowledge to work when you’re shooting. Plus, in this video, I wear a hat!

Thanks everyone for the kind words and comments about the series. There’s more stuff to follow!

John

I’m in the middle of producing a magazine fashion shoot that I’ll be doing next week. We’ve got one model cast and now we need the second. We’re going for more of a European look rather than guy-next door, but that look is tough to find in San Diego. Today, Jeffrey - my art director/hair/makeup/stylist guru - brought by a potential model that he’d scouted. He’d shown me a few snaps but they didn’t impress me so I was a little skeptical. 

Right away, I could tell that the camera like Damon and that he’d be a good fit for our shoot. A lot of guys have one look and don’t know what to do with themselves. Even though Damon had no experience, he felt and looked comfortable in front of the camera.

Discovering new folks like this is always fun. With these shots, he’ll probably be able to get an agent and start working. I shot all of these with available light against a gray paper seamless. Nothing fancy although I did some work in Photoshop to deepen the shadows and play with the color.

John

Ah…. nothing like going home for the holidays. Here’s a little film that I put together from my trip to Los Angeles to visit my family. My youngest brother flew in from New York; his birthday is Christmas Eve. I’m the one with the cap and the glasses if you’re trying to keep track.

A Mireles Christmas - 2008 from John Mireles on Vimeo.

John

Here’s part two of my Nailing Your Exposure series. In this installment, I show a series of images from a recent wedding and talk about what I’m looking for in setting my exposures.

John

For those of you who’ve followed my work for awhile, you know that I love photographing trees. One of my other loves is hiking in the nearby mountains. Combine the two, throw in some snow and I’m in hog heaven! The Cuyamacas as they’re known are about 40 minutes from downtown San Diego and they top out at 6,500 feet. They’re just high enough to get snow, but it takes a cold storm and big dumping for it to stick around.

Five years ago, a massive firestorm fed by Santa Ana winds burned through a huge swath of San Diego before turning around and heading up into the mountains. The Cedar fire burned almost the entire Cuyamaca range - blackening lush forests of oak, pine and elm trees (along with hundreds of houses) in the process. In the place of the greenery, nothing but black branches and ash remained.

I tried photographing the stark sticks, but I never came away with anything that I liked. I decided that I wanted to wait until they were blanketed with snow so that I could capture the contrast between the black limbs and the white snow. Over the past couple years, there hasn’t been much snow and what snow we’ve had has melted pretty quickly so I haven’t had a chance to get my shots.

Well, this week, just shy of two feet of snow dumped in the mountains. The morning after the storm, I dug out my old Pivetta mountaineering boots, gaiters and long underwear, played hooky from the studio and headed off to Stonewall Peak near Julian. It’s a popular hike so I figured that there would be plenty of folks out playing in the snow. There were, but none who made it past the parking lot. I ended up being the first person breaking through the snow on the two mile trek to the top.

Man, that was a lot of work! I’ve run the trail in about 45 minutes, but trudging through the snow took three and half cold hours there and back. For those of you in colder climes, a little snow is no big deal. But for those of us in perfect weather all the time, no-need-to-wear-anything-other-than-shorts San Diego; it’s cool.

Anyhow, here’s a few of my photos…

Finally, here’s a link to a slide show with a bunch more photos. (They’re in color and haven’t been retouched.) Winter Wonderland

John