Further To Fall

Further To Fall

The heights of ambition, the ladder of success, the lofty and rarefied air. We all have goals, be it professional, personal or even possessions we covet. The caution of course is that the higher we climb, the higher we have to fall.

This image began life quite awhile ago, and ten versions were created, all using the same scenery and ten different model shots we added to it. The concept was going to about reaching the top, and realizing there is still further to go, with no clear means on how to get there. The physical peak of rock represented here is as high as the man can go, and to ascend higher requires something more cerebral and conceptual, not something obvious or immediately apparent. At one point, it was going to a piece about the "king of the mountain" game of childhood, where one person reaches the top of the hill and others try to knock him off. It was going to be about that game and how it parallels adult life, which echoes in such sentiments like "it's lonely at the top."

Most of the model shots worked well, but in the end, I felt this one was the most effective, since we can clearly see him address the distant starting point of his journey below. He is level with the birds, higher than the mountains, and he is alone, as high as he can go. He may be marveling at his altitude, reveling in this personal victory, or maybe he has begun to contemplate just how far he will have to fall from this precipice.

I was happy to be able to use some new scenery I shot in California last week. The foreground rocks were shot as is at Joshua Tree Park, and the mountain range, encompassing the San Adreas fault, were shot at the highest point in the part amidst a fantastic windstorm, giving a beautiful haze to them. The birds were shot also in California, and as someone who does not have a long lens, these specimens are the closest I have gotten to birds yet!

A Before and After version of this piece can be seen on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MichaelBilottaPhotography

Model: Ed Barron