In English, the term witness acts both as a noun and a verb. I am a "Witness", and hopefully the people who see the exhibition can "witness" some of the people and places that I have photographed.
Photography is my vehicle, sending me out into the world to watch, to participate, learn and ultimately, to bring back something to share. My career as a photographer did not have a predictable start. I lived out of my car for years, letting my climbing and skiing lead me. I moved with the seasons from state to state, coast to mountains, crag to couloir. But one fine spring day in Yosemite in 1999, it all changed. Grabbing my climbing partner’s camera, I snapped a photo from the top of El Cap. That single shot, which eventually sold to a gear company and paid for my first camera, set everything in motion. I have now been shooting full time for 6 years.
My assignments have taken me to some of the most beautiful places on the planet – the Karakoram, the Himalayas, the Alps, the South Pacific, West Africa, the Tibetan plateau – all landscapes that intimidate and amaze me, but again and again, with each assignment, I return to the idea that the most interesting landscapes I’m encountering are those of the human spirit.
I am in awe of the people I work with. Getting to work with the athletes, the explorers, the characters and personalities in the world of adventure – it’s enough to keep me moving, to keep me challenged, humbled, and incredibly inspired. When light and shadow come together with spirited people and powerful landscapes, I feel like I have found something special.
I hope to convey that the environment, on closer examination, can be seen as both an infinite playground and very clearly a finite resource. I will always see value in bringing home images of the human potential, of people doing wild things in wild places. It is my goal to capture images that might inspire people to do something positive in their own lives and in the world. As someone who witnesses people living their passions, I hope to express that life, while short, fast, and fleeting, can be, and often should be, lived on the edge.
Jimmy Chin
Jackson, Wyoming, USA, August 2005
As an adventure sports photographer, Jimmy Chin has the physical and technical skills to shoot subjects few others can approach. His versatility as an athlete provides him a unique understanding of the sports, the people and the expeditions that he photographs.
Some of Jimmy's recent assignments include photographing the cover story for Outside Magazine of Stephen Koch's attempt to snowboard the Direct North Face of Mount Everest; traversing the Chang Tang Plateau in northwestern Tibet with Rick Ridgeway, Conrad Anker and Galen Rowell, shooting video and still photography for National Geographic; and climbing the world's tallest freestanding sandstone towers while shooting for The North Face in Mali, Africa. In the Spring of 2004, Jimmy climbed Mount Everest, while shooting the documentary video and production stills for a feature Universal Studios film.
