Touching the Void (promo) – for Stageworks Theatre

Photographing Stageworks Theatre’s production of Touching the Void was a project that sat perfectly at the intersection of technical challenge and visual storytelling. This shoot required a careful blend of dramatic portraiture, controlled lighting, and a deep understanding of movement and body positioning — skills I’ve developed through years of photographing theatrical productions and aerial performers suspended from apparatus. The goal was to create dynamic, emotionally charged imagery that would translate the show’s physical and psychological intensity into compelling promotional visuals.

Based on Joe Simpson’s memoir, Touching the Void tells the true story of a near-fatal mountaineering accident in the Peruvian Andes. After successfully summiting Siula Grande, Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, face disaster during their descent when Simpson is severely injured. Forced into an impossible choice, Yates cuts the rope connecting them in order to survive. Against overwhelming odds, Simpson manages to crawl and rappel his way back to base camp. It’s a story of resilience, isolation, and survival — themes that shaped both the creative direction and emotional tone of this photoshoot.

This production provided a unique opportunity to merge my experience in theatrical portraiture with specialized techniques I’ve developed photographing aerial and circus artists. Creating convincing imagery of exposure, height, and tension demands precision in lighting, posing, and composition. The final images were delivered to Stageworks Theatre for further editing and compositing by their graphics and marketing department, where they were refined into finished promotional materials that bring the show’s gripping narrative to life.