Photo of the Day

Mountains, sea, chess, ships in a bottle? It does not really matter does it? What’s your passion?

Photo of the Day

From the archive … Waiting for the sunrise at Indian Creek. If you ever said yes to a photographer (or perhaps a fellow climber) to wake up way before sunrise, leave the warmth of your sleeping back, walk in in the dark and all that just to maybe get a photo if the weather is good … then I salute YOU. Without you some of the best photos would not be possible and for me personally it is just one more proof of how much passion is out there in climbing. Thank you!

Photo of the Day

The always-looking-for-a-new-stuff crusher @dugmcc at the rather technical crux of Ice Age II at Pterodactyl cave in the Blue Mountains. If you want to know the 100% true story about discovering this unique arch check out the latest issue of Vertical Life magazine.

Photo of the Day

One of the beautiful and awesome aspects of traveling is that you never know what’s waiting for you around the corner. Vercha (aka @treeloveyoga) enjoying the early morning view of Mount Solitary. And for us climbers … Can you imagine how much climbing is waiting for us there?

Photo of the Day

Somewhere there … there was the famous Frenchmans Cap

Photo of the Day

Sends, a bit of a struggling, so much fighting and determination … all that happening in one day and everyone was having a great time on top of that. Ben Markham in the determination mode on Tuckered Out at Diamond Falls in Blue Mountains.

Photo of the Day

When I was a little kid I imagined the milky way as bottles of milk floating around held together by a giant net. Some of them were as large as elephants and some of them even larger … otherwise we would not be able to see them of course. Now when I am older and wiser I know that the bottles must be much much larger and the net way stronger than I thought When I was a little kid I imagined the milky way as bottles of milk floating around held together by a giant net. Some of them were as large as elephants and some of them even larger … otherwise we would not be able to see them of course. Now when I am older and wiser I know that the bottles must be much much larger and the net way stronger than I thought.

Photo of the Day

This picture is a couple of years old when road tripping in US. As I was traveling alone I met a lot of awesome people. Some of them I never got a chance to meet again some of them have become my close friends. I learnt a lot during this trip. I now know how to talk to rangers to not get fined … how to set up a campfire the Swiss way … what it feels like to throw a rock of a size of a fridge on your best mate … but the most important thing I realized while talking to people is … that it does not matter what your goal is and how far you THINK you are from achieving it is as long as you enjoy the process.

Photo of the Day

Joshua Tree National Park

Photo of the Day

After six months of waiting for the stars to align and temperatures to rise the idea has finally turn into reality. Thanks Chris & Chris for making this shot possible and a memorable and fun night out.

Photo of the Day

That moment of letting go … I always get quite nervous when shooting BASE. It is exciting to be part of it but hard for me to watch at the same time. Cannot stop thinking about something going wrong. The danger is obvious to me … It however reminds me of conversations with my mum as she feels the same when I mention climbing … The unknown is just terrifying for her Which makes me think of other things I’m scared of. Are they really that terrifying or is it just the UNKNOWN?

Are we really all selfish?

Given what happened this week at Hanging Rock I thought I would not post this photo for a while. But somewhere deep inside me I feel like it needs to go out. What happened on Tuesday is tragic, one young and beautiful soul full of life is not here anymore. It sucks, it hurts, it is not easy ... My condolences go to the family and all of us who feel miserable right now.

What concerns me though is the flood of responses and comments I hear all around me. Dangerous activities should be banned, people are risking their lives, lets fence these places out and fine those people. I am not surprised to hear those judging comments as most of them are based on the unfortunate media coverage which seems to follow every tragic event with a shock factor greater than ever increasing X. It takes much more effort to write a catchy story about a normal day of an adventure junkie. Yes, what we do is "obviously" more dangerous. However when I look around me on a typical day I see tens and sometimes hundreds of people having fun being cautious about their safety ... double checking and looking after each other. There is this unique sense of camaraderie and belonging to a group of people who really care and are willing to make sacrifices for others. There are people doing what they love, calculating the risks and quite often bailing on their dreamed and ambitious climbs, jumps, big waves due to not feeling ready, quite right or not up to the game yet.

The other day sitting in a "safe" coffee shop I talked about climbing to a friend of mine. He said what we do is dangerous and he would not be able to risk his life like that. Then when leaving the coffee shop he briefly looked right, then left and jay walked the busy Sydney morning traffic. I am not going to hypothesize what is more dangerous. It is always a fine line between safety and danger and accidents happen. My point is that danger is subjective and cannot be easily generalized, banned, fined. My friend calculated the risk and crossed the street. He was familiar enough with this situation to be comfortable to "risk his life". I can see some parallels here however with much less potential for exciting and blood-thirsty news should something go wrong.

Perhaps I am missing something, perhaps we really are all selfish, I really do not know... if you know, please let me know ...

On the picture here is Stepan at Hanging Rock last Saturday having a great time, doing what he loves ... in the safest way possible.

Stay safe guys! Peace!

Photo of the Day

Would yout get up or sleep in?

Photo of the Day

I went out last night to shoot the full moon and ended up witnessing this bush fire across the valley at Kings Tableland. I felt sorry and worried when I realized how close the fire was to the nearest houses. At the same time it was fascinating to watch the nature at full power. A quite rough reminder how small and temporary we are on this amazing planet.

Photo of the Day

I have never bolted a route but if I ever bolt one I wish it would look like this project of Chris Coppard at the Pterodactyl cave in the Blue Mountains. And then of course I would have to hire Chris as my fashion advisor.

Photo of the Day

Sun is a pretty precious commodity during these winter days in the Blue Mountains.

Photo of the Day

I wanted to upload this pic last week but the internet refused it with a message - “Quota of snow photos from the Blue Mountains exceeded”. 

So here you go world … Australia & Snow. Leura mall last Friday early in the morning before the circus started.

Photo of the Day

I felt like Doug McConnel must have invented a time machine when he showed me the most recent addition to the Blue Mountains crags … The Pterodactyl Cave. Here is Doug himself on his pumper project The Ice Age II (29?). More pics coming soon.

Photo of the Day

It is so exciting and inspiring to see Vercha, my awesome partner and soulmate, to always follow her heart and passion when it comes to those hard “career-defining” moments. If you are into yoga, love nature or just need an inspiration check out her website at www.treeloveyoga.com .

Feeling incredibly lucky, excited and most of all humbled to end up among the finalists of CVCEPHOTO .

Big big thanks to Lee Jackson for plummeting down the Frechmans Cap. Without him my photo would not be even half complete and huge congrats to Petr Piechowicz for the overall win.

If you have a spare moment and want to get inspired check out this little video full of incredible work by some of the best "adventure" photographers out there.


There is also an online gallery if you prefer browsing through it at your own pace: http://www.cvcephoto.com/index.php/engl/galery

Photo of the Day

Sunrise at the summit of Frenchmans Cap. If you are in the OzLand then have a beautiful long weekend guys!

Photo of the Day

One more shot of Andrew Macfarlane from the awesome Bentrovarto wall at the Sublime Point. If you like technical and slightly overhanging climbing … check this place out.

Photo of the Day

Another shot from the recent trip to the Frenchman’s Cap in Tassie and one of the few indoor shots on this trip. Pete Wyllie making sure his BASE canopy is packed as it should be … Tahune Hut under Frenchman’s Cap.

Photo of the Day

Bentrovarto wall last Saturday just before the sun hit us and made this lovely day at Sublime Point even more awesome. Andrew Macfarlane solving the puzzle of Neil Monteith’s excellent route Sadomastication (26). And if you look very very hard you may spot some of the heroes of the North Face 100 down in the valley ;-)

Photo of the Day

It felt somewhat magical to watch hundreds of runners, participants of The North Face 100, making their way through the Jamison Valley tonight. Good luck to everyone! I am sure your Sunday coffee will taste extra good tomorrow.

Photo of the Day

From the archives … Matt Wade testing friction in Bishop …

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Weather update from Blue Mountains … climbing awesome (a bit biased) … otherwise cold and windy ;-)

Photo of the Day

Pete Wyllie high up on the Frenchmans Cap scaling yet another tricky section of Lorax. A stunning climb, nestled deep in the Tasmanian Wilderness, where most of the time everything kind of faces the wrong direction and running it out is often the only option to keep moving.

Photo of the Day

Pete Wyllie and Martin Buchauer getting an early start to climb ‘The Lorax’ at the Frenchmans Cap in Tassie. A route where the actual grade does not mean much and a second layer of underpants comes handy most of the times.

Photo of the Day

Small and vulnerable …

Photo of the Day

“There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.” ~Rumi

Photo of the Day

Searching for rock in the Tasmanian Wilderness

Memorial Maria Luisa Photo Contest

Every year for the last 25 years a Memorial Maria Luisa Photo Contest takes place in Spain. The winners for 2014 have been selected and breathtaking galleries and slideshows have been put up online.

Felling grateful for making it among the highly commended photos in the Mountain Climbing category (http://ift.tt/1EcyEdp).

As always rock climbing photography is a team effort. So huge thanks goes to Michael and Tye for being such awesome arete-climbing models.

Photo of the Day

The Totem Pole was on Martin’s mind for months. Somehow every attempt to organize a trip to climb this unique piece of Tassie rock failed. It drove him crazy and we could see that even ticking almost his entire Tassie bucket list did not fill the hole. The plan for his second last day in Australia was clear. Here he is Mr. Martin himself on the first pitch of making his Tassie dream a reality.

Photo of the Day

Still going through the photos from the recent Tassie trip. I must say the beauty of the Tassie nature does not make it easy. The final edit is starting to take shape though and here is one photo from a timelapse taken during sunset on the summit of Frenchmans Cap.

Photo of the Day

Monsieur Aurel way too strong for this “warm-up” climb at The Pitt - Blue Mountains, Australia

Photo of the Day

Two hours from Sydney, a few minutes from the car … yet it feels like a completely different world.

Photo of the Day

Filling the void … sufferfest at its best at Ewans Crown Nature Reserve.

Photo of the Day

Somehow there is always a new crag being developed in the Blue Mountains. Big respect to the guys who spend their days off covered in dust and glue to put up these amazing new climbs … Here is Simon at one of the new crags “The Pitt” pushing his dynamic style to the limits …

Print Giveaway - final days to join

Hope you had a nice Christmas break and had a chance to spend some time with your loved ones.

Even though the year 2014 is over, there is still one unfinished business ahead. The last photo duel has not been closed yet so there is still a chance for you to win a FREE print of your choice.

The voting is closing on Sunday 11th January and everyone is welcomed to join. The registration takes only a few seconds ... just click on one of the photos below or follow this link. As always I am curious to see which photo of these two shots from Indian Creek is your favorite.

Jonas on Pat's Blue Ribbon (Indian Creek, USA)

Simon on Pente (Indian Creek, USA)

I hope you enjoyed the 2014 photo duels and if you have not happened to be the lucky winner so far do not worry there are going to be more opportunities in 2015.

Good luck, thank you and have a wonderful day whatever you are doing!