Real life Spiderman!

So after the Boston Rock Gym's Heart of Steel competition the other weekend, the boys got to take a picture with one of their real life heroes, Vasya Vorotnikov. Vasya is no doubt one of THE BEST climbers in the United States.



The physical ability he posses is nothing short of superhuman. I have been fortunate enough to photograph him at all of the Heart of Steel comps and I thought it was very nice of him to give the boys a few moments. They have come to watch him every year, so they were ecstatic to finally get a picture with him. Whenever we go ANYPLACE that possesses any kind of vertical element I inevitably hear the “I bet Vasya could climb that Dad!”.

Congrats on yet another Heart of Steel victory!

Spiderwoman!

The 2010 Heart of Steel Poster has claimed it’s place on the wall at the Boston Rock Gym and Mr. Glassberg has been bumped…Move over Jon!

Last year I ripped out this image of 2009’s Heart of Steel competition at the Boston Rock Gym.


Well again this year the 2010 Heart of Steel comp yielded another image that I knew was going to work great for the wall.

Measuring about 4’x6’ this multi-layered 3D cut out is of Sasha DiGiulian who just edged out Francesca Metcalf for 1st place in the comp last February.






















Here a couple of images I took of them from the 2010 comp. I should get them autographed!!
Here too is a link to some cool panoramic images that Willie Van Tassell took...

Unbenounced to me until after I put this together, I found out that Sasha had won the Lead Climbing National title at Pan American Championship down in Ecuador!

Not to be outdone, Francesca Metcalf took the National Bouldering Climbing title at the same event!


Way to show them how we do it here in the States Ladies!


It is truly a privilege to photograph some of these climbers. I have had the honor now of capturing several of the countries BEST.

HOS 2010...OMG!!

Boston Rock Gym's Heart of Steel 2010

The Heart of Steel Bouldering competition was this past weekend.


















The Staff at t he BRG did an amazing job setting up again this year bringing on even more excitement than last year. They worked with the folks over at Brewers to fashion what was deemed “The Dark Crystal”. This feature, cooncealed by a tarp, was revealed at the start of the final round. The tarp dropped and there was this spinning diamond that swung freely in the cave. The crowd crazy. Everyones jaw dropped when the tarp did.
































Here is some pics from Jon Glassberg’s site "Louder than 11" from earlier in the week when they first hung this beast in the cave. A finalist last year (and my poster boy if you will) he helped out the BRG Staff this year and set some amazing routes. Jon has a pretty cool site. You can check it out here...







Climbing on this was a dynamic task on all axises imaginable. I was fortunate to be able to at least hang on it the week before the finals as it was covered up as soon as it was hung.












They also had this 3’ diameter semi-sphere fashioned just for the comp. This all made for some sweet images as the climbers twisted and contorted themselves in ways I don’t they could have anticipated.










So how do I some up the spirit of the event…well as a fairly avid indoor sport climber myself, I have to say it is about the overcoming of a personal challenge. I would say that even though by the end of a LONG day of climbing for the competitors there are ultimately 3 Guys and 3 Gals competing against each other for the top spot in the finals, the crowd there understands that is about working out the problem and overcoming it. Trying, failing, try again, failing, and trying again until you get it. That to me is truly the spirit of the Heart of Steel.




This was never made more apparent to me then when Rob D. from Phili was up last for the guys on the finals wall. After a couple of minutes I could tell that he was not going to be able to get this route down like the other two finalists had, however he kept hoping back on as the crowd cheered him on. He was going for this HUGE dyno move (essentially a flying leap from one spot to another) that he missed twice. Everyone started cheering for him “COME ON ROB!” “GET IT ROB!” , I was one of them. Eyes focused on his target, he went for again and this time his hands stuck. Feet and body still swinging out wildly from all the momentum, he held it! The crowd went nuts! It did not matter that we had seen the previous two climbers get it on there first attempts. That was Rob’s challenge and he sent it. All the other climbers there know that feeling and at that very moment they were all right there with him. HEART OF STEEL!


















































I spent the previous week planning some remote camera set-ups and ended up only sticking with one, but what an angle it was. I made what amounts to large smooth stud that screws into there wall which I attached an adjustable stand head to use that as my remote camera mount.






This is one of my favorite shots. Sasha tops out on one of the ladies final routes and plucks a $50 from the wall. Remote camer with a fisheye lens. you can see me on the ground (just to the right of her head in the frame) triggering it.























Here are the finalists and man, can they climb. Worth the mention, Vasya (orange top)and Francesca (blue top)repeated there visit to the finals again this year as they did last.




Check out all the images we took here...

You can can also check out all the videos of the final climbs here on Thomas Sherman's Blog.

Boston Rock Gym's HEART OF STEELBoludering CompetitionWOW....WOW....WOW...

OH MY MAKER (trying to be P.C. here)
The moves we witnessed this weekend would not be believed unless seen.

Check out this slide show for a peak at the day...

and/or check out the gallery for images.


The comp was a huge success. Our hats off to Gavin, Chris and the whole crew at the Boston Rock Gym in Woburn, MA. The gym was full of vendors and a car from Woburn Scion no less. Life Under Sun, JRA Cycles, REI, Northface, Mantis Collective, Totally Sweet (Vegan cookies ROCK! I can say from personal experience), WFNX, and of course yours truly, were all on hand. Hiking gear, camping gear, climbing gear, etc...and Money! Money! Money! was won and raffled off at the event.

The day ended with the final rounds where 3 male and 3 female climbers had top two routes, having 8 minutes on each. A new twist that the BRG put on this comp was taping money along each route.

One of the female climbers lifted the money up ever so gently with her toes, reached with one hand down to her feet and plucked the cash off the wall--all while hanging by one hand! Another just did a double toe pluck!


On the final men's route, a pole was hung out over the top of the structure with a hundred dollar bill attached (nice tape job Chris).




The final male climber topped this route with the crowd cheering him on. The crowd EXPLODED as he pulled off some absolutely INSANE moves and swung to the top to claim the Heart of Steel 2009 title.



I present to you the comp winners! Make no mistake about it, these climbers are nothing short of Olympic atheletes. What they can do is simply amazing!


For the first time Gail and I modified our wedding display to be a bit more on the hip side as we knew prospective brides were not likely to be looking for us there.






In preparation for this event, I spent more than a few dust hours last week balancing precariously atop the climbing walls (where no one goes normally) vacuuming chalk dust to make my day of crawling around up there and shooting a bit cleaner (and it was). Totally worth my time by the way. The last time I tested out these angles I was a human chalk ball in minutes.













My goal for the day was to try and catch it. When I say "it", I mean that moment...that moment when you think you are about to reach beyond your personal ability...stretching, reaching...RISKING. That moment where failure and falling is a real possibility, but, if you don't reach for it you can never advance. I think I caught a few of those moments and more. I've been a member of the gym for a over a year now and I think that definitely helped me connect visually with the climbers... though I could not keep up with half of them = ).












ASA's Tales of the Traveling Tattoo got some new photo entries for the Facebook account as we had a few climbers sporting them during the day...

How psyched were Gail and I to see one of the female finalists walk up to the wall with and ASA Photographic tattoo right across her chest!


















We also got some cool images that were just screaming for an artsy twist. This has to be one of my favorites. I think I will print it out and see if I can hang it in the gym. Sweet wall art!

The great thing about climbing though is that you don't have to be an insane boulderer/climber to feel that risk and payoff. Pushing the bounds of your own skill level is what it is all about. You push, you risk, you fall, and you keep on working the problem until you get it. I have said it before and I will say it again: climbing is one of the best forms of personal training...mentally and physically. Gail and I have been taking the boys and letting them go at their own pace.

Need a new gym? Check this one out...

In an effort to keep fit and agile George joined a new gym. He is a member of the Boston Rock Gym in Woburn. He loves it and I love that he is taking care of himself!

Anyway, recently they had a climbing competition and George took the opportunity to snap a few shots (or about 500...). Here's a sneak peak and the link to more photos:

http://www.asaphotographic.com/store/gallery.php?gid=144

Or visit the gym: www.bostonrockgym.com