Exposure Pro: Simon Carter

Rock climbing and photography combine to spectacular effect in Simon Carter's beautiful landscape images.

Lexy Savvides

Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She's won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.

See full bio

Lexy Savvides

April 26, 2010 5:50 p.m. PT

Nigel Campbell

Exposure Pro is a brand new series looking at the work of Australia's leading professional and artistic photographers.

(Credit: Simon Carter)

Name: Simon Carter

Speciality: outdoors, landscape, rock climbing

Biography: Simon's passion for photography began as a teenager during high school. He is also a rock climber with 25 years of experience. After studying at TAFE and working at the Australian National University creating scientific images, Simon obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Outdoor Education at La Trobe University in 1990.

Combining his love for rock climbing and photography in 1994, Simon created Onsight Photography. Onsight allows Simon to work as a professional freelance photographer while travelling across Australia and the world.

Simon is the author of Rock Climbing in Australia and World Climbing: Images from the Edge.

Awards

Simon was awarded the King Albert Medal of Merit (2000) for "achievements in the mountain world"; the Rick White Memorial Medal (2009) for "outstanding achievement and contribution to Australian climbing"; the Society of Publishers in Asia award for Best Feature Photography (2000); Spinach Film Festival award for Best Action Photography (2005); and World Climbing: Images from the Edge was awarded Best Book — Mountain Image at the Banff Mountain Book Festival (2006).

Artist's statement

A good photograph is one that captures some emotion or says something special. It's not enough for it to be just technically good. For me the aim is to capture both the climbing action and the landscape into the one image without compromising either.
— Simon Carter

More of Simon's work can be viewed on his website, www.onsight.com.au.

Overlooking the Grose Valley at Pierces Pass, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia.

Lynn Hill

On Taipan Wall in The Grampians, Victoria, Australia.

Justin Clarke

On Taipan Wall in The Grampians, Victoria, Australia.

Nathan Hoette

Nathan is attempting "The Lost World" in The Grampians, Victoria, Australia.

Roxanne Wells

"The Totem Pole", an incredible 65-metre dolerite column at Cape Hauy, Tasmania, Australia.

Garry Phillips

Climbing Mount Brown on the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia.

Steve Moon

Steve is on top of "Pole Dancer", located at the end of Cape Raoul, Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia.

Cedar Wright

Cedar climbs "Notes From The Underground" at Taft Point with El Capitan in the background, Yosemite, CA, USA.

Jason Campbell

Jason reaches across "Gutbuster" on Mt Charleston, near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Time to go home...

Chris Donharl prepares the abseil from "The Cobra" in the Fisher Towers, near Moab, Utah, USA.

Jason "Singer" Smith

Jason is climbing solo on "Tweety" on Cat Wall, Indian Creek, Utah, USA.

John Varco

John gives it his all on the extremely awkward off-width crack at "Belly Full of Bad Berries" in Indian Creek, Utah, USA.

Greg Child

Greg leads pitch two of "Excommunication", his major new route on The Priest, Castle Valley, near Moab, Utah, USA.

Chloé Minoret

On "Le Denti" in Goudes, Les Calanques, France.

Abby Watkins

Scaling Louise Falls in the Rocky Mountains, Canada.

Olivier Michellod

On "Typhoon" in Crystal Cave, Telendos Island near Kalymnos, Greece.

Evan Stevens

Evan is on Priapos, Grande Grotta, Kalymnos, Greece.

In comes the cloud...

Dave Russell and Rico Miledi on Delagokante, the classic South West Arête of the Delago Tower, The Vajolet Towers, Rosengarten, in the Dolomites, Italy.

Priapos, Grande Grotta, Kalymnos, Greece.