John Dickey

For a kid that grew up all over the globe, John Dickey, 35, sure is down to earth. Regarding how to take a good photograph, he says, “no top ropes including gear clipped above your head on lead,” shade is not an excuse not to shoot, and “no V3 climbers posing on V9s just because they’re busty or want their photo in the mags.” We couldn’t agree more. Dickey is a no-holds-barred type of photographer; he knows what he likes, and he always gets the job done. He left the Mission of San Francisco in January 2008 and now lives in Eldorado Springs, Colorado, the town a stone’s throw from world-famous climbing destination Eldorado Canyon.

How did you get started shooting?
When I was very young, my dad put a 35mm camera in my hand and showed me how to use it. The images I took became very entertaining to my family, so they always referred to the photographs and camera as mine. Coincidentally, my parents also had an 8mm movie camera on which I essentially took the same path, and lo and behold, I am a photographer that now makes shorts.

When did you decide to make photography your professional goal?
Right around the time of my graduation in 1999, I was shooting so much I couldn’t afford to keep doing it without making a little bit of coin off of it, so I started putting myself out there as a “professional photographer,” and it completely took over my life.

What’s your favorite kind of rock to shoot?
It’s not necessarily igneous or metamorphic, but rather the kind of rock that is the most exciting. It’s shooting first ascents, first female ascents, onsights, and/or new developing zones. I’m always looking for something new to climb and shoot, so my favorite is whatever happens to be in the newest, most unexplored zones. Don’t get me wrong. There are some classics that I consider sacred ground like Yosemite and Font, but I’m always excited when I get that call about something new.

Who, photographically, do you look up to?
I tend to find elements in other shooters’ work that I really admire more than just the shooter. Boone [Speed] for his pull-back-and-lose-you-in- the-landscape material, Keith [Ladzinski] for his compositions, [Andrew] McGarry for his true grit, and the list goes on…

What kind of shots inspire you?
The kind I haven’t seen before. The kind that take more than a camera and a finger; images that were well thought out and don’t come from the simple fact of being there with a camera and having a pulse. Creativity and a true skill for being in the right place at the right time. We all get lucky when it comes to right time and place but to think things out beforehand and plan to be there is a completely different deal and tough to find.

What’s the scariest situation you’ve been in while shooting?
Just recently I was shooting in Canada, and up around pitch four of a rather serious mixed route, I realized that if I jugged the rope any further, I was going to lever my entire body weight against a hanging ice dagger bigger than my car and surely kill the belayer below. Things got kind of tense.

What’s so great about shooting climbing anyway?
It’s exciting, fun, and people get psyched to go get after it. In my book, that’s pretty damn important. The world can be a pretty effed up place sometimes, and if I can get someone psyched and put a smile on his face or provoke some thought, then my “job” is done.

For more from Dickey, visit his website at dickeyphoto.com.