Kamil Sustiak - OnTheRope Photography's Blog

Photo of the Day

2015-10-27T13:43:00.001-07:00

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

Photo of the Day

2015-10-26T13:38:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-25T13:31:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-24T13:32:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-23T13:35:00.001-07:00

Somewhere there … there was the famous Frenchmans Cap

Photo of the Day

2015-10-22T13:37:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-21T13:36:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-20T14:14:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

Joshua Tree National Park

Photo of the Day

2015-10-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

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

2015-10-18T14:56:00.001-07:00

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?

2015-09-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

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

2015-08-11T15:44:00.001-07:00

Would yout get up or sleep in?

Photo of the Day

2015-07-31T23:57:00.001-07:00

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

2015-07-30T15:39:00.001-07:00

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

2015-07-26T16:16:00.001-07:00

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

Photo of the Day

2015-07-25T05:30:00.001-07:00

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

2015-07-22T16:53:00.001-07:00

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

2015-07-13T14:31:00.001-07:00

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 .

2015-06-21T15:22:00.001-07:00

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

2015-06-05T14:51:00.001-07:00

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

Photo of the Day

2015-05-25T16:33:00.001-07:00

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

2015-05-19T14:41:00.001-07:00

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

2015-05-18T15:46:00.001-07:00

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

2015-05-16T06:42:00.001-07:00

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.