Ben Herndon

ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHER

Following “How did they do that?!” while looking at a crazy action shot have you ever thought, “Wait, how did someone capture this???” Ben and his camera go on all the ski, climb, river adventures his subjects tackle, and makes it his job to snap those incredible shots. He was named one of the top Climbing Photographers Under 30 and lives a life of endless lifepoints, on and off shoot. And somehow on all this photo chasing, he says he’s never left a lens cap in his chalk bag, but we’re unconvinced.

Q&A with Ben

Trip/event looking forward to in 2017:
Possibly, southern Spain for climbing and wine. But I have a slew of mediocre backyard adventures on the back burner...

What’d you want to be when you grew up?
Archaeologist. The heavy math requirements made me realize it wasn’t all Tiddlywinks and gin though, so I got a journalism degree to cover for my insecurities.

Describe yourself in three words:
Place + People Enthusiast (That “+” might be cheating. If so, you can add “cheater”, which would be four words, which is okay because I’m not an archaeologist.)

If money, logistics, and risk of injury were not factors, what would you pick for the adrenaline dump of a lifetime?
Riding a Radio Flyer in Calvin & Hobbes fashion down one of the Great Pyramids.

Favorite Place in the US:
Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho.

Why’d you choose Picky?
Two things are important for capturing action sports: going light and not getting hangry. Photo gear pretty much rules out going light so I have to save weight in other areas. Picky bars are light, compact, nutrient-dense and tasty as an alpine breeze!

Anything else you’d like to share?
I trash talked some spiders in an Oregon cave then found out 2 days later that I had cellulitis from a spider bite. Respect.