Mastering Strobes in Large Environments: A Technical Study of the Tokkum Pole Assignment

Light has always shaped the way we see the world, but recently, I’ve been exploring how artificial light can redefine it. My first experiment took place inside a moulin, where I used strobes under the northern lights in order to highlight the climber contrasted against the powerful natural world.

That moulin assignment sparked a question: What if I took this further? What if I mastered the art of artificial lighting to reveal the beauty of vast landscapes in ways that had never been seen before? Just as snow on a mountain summit transforms the contrast of a peak, light has the power to reshape our perception of an environment. With that in mind, I ventured to Tokkum Pole: a 33 meter vertical ice climb in the Canadian Rockies, where I aimed to experiment with lighting on a grand scale, not just to illuminate the scene, but to redefine it.

"A photographer needs to be a master of light—knowing how to shape it, capture it, and sometimes even create it." — Joe McNally

Why Tokkum Pole

I was first introduced to the route by my early mentor, Indra, when I was just finding my footing in ice climbing. Later, I returned with my friend Pete O’Hara, I wanted him to experience the same ‘awe’ feeling I felt within that deep canyon. Beyond the personal significance, My time spent here allowed me to fully visualize the environment. From inside the canyon the view looking up felt adventurous. It was the natural step ahead where I could push my vision further, and learn more about how strobe lights could be used to show environments in unique ways.

Indra Climbing Tokkum Pole on March 26th 2023

Planning & Execution

Unlike most of my adventure photography, this shoot required a lot of technical coordination. Typically, I capture moments as they unfold naturally, but bringing this vision to life meant actively creating the scene. I obsessed over this vision in my head, drawing it out and visualizing how the image could look. Over the course of 2 months, I slowly dialed in every detail ensuring a smooth execution. I assembled a team to assist me:

Climber 1 (Adam Keirle): Lead the climb and act as the main subject.
Climber 2 (Claudia Bastien): Belay.
Strobe Op 1 (Lynden Kidd): Position the strobe at the base of the canyon using fly-fishing waders on thin ice.
Strobe Op 2 (Jenna Dixon): Position a strobe on the bridge above to create a spotlight effect.
Photographer (Thomas Garchinski): Set a fixed line, rappel into the canyon, and shoot from a specific vantage point.
BTS (Pete O’Hara): Capture behind-the-scenes footage for documentation.

We started to set up the lights and fix ropes around 5:00 pm and finished shooting by 10:30 pm. These shoots naturally take a long time to safely execute even with a strong team. Everything went very smoothly during the shoot.

Technical Aspects

For this shoot, I used two Godox AD600 Pros for their high output and ability to illuminate expansive environments. While I have limited experience working with continuous lighting in these conditions, the strobes proved to be the optimal choice, freezing the heavy snowfall and preserving detail in the scene.

To ensure the safety of the team, I implemented a countdown system before triggering each shot, giving the strobe operators time to close their eyes. At full power, the flashes were intense enough to cause temporary blindness if viewed directly.

As the photographer, I rappelled on my own fixed line to a small ledge. As Adam climbed, I ascended the single rope using a jumar system to be able to maintain or change my perspective of the climber.

The Result & What I Learned

I felt nervous leading up to this shoot, there was pressure to perform and capture the image that was in my mind. The final image matched my original vision almost exactly. This project reinforced my confidence in planning and executing technical climbing photos. It also deepened my understanding of how strobes interact with weather and large environments.

One of the biggest take aways from this assignment is the idea that “Less is More”. Throughout the shoot, I determined that in this specific environment, a single strobe produced better results. Using both strobes simultaneously reduced contrast and flattened the image, diminishing the visual impact. This experience reinforced the importance of balancing highlights and shadows and allowing space for the contrast between the two. Within large environments, having the space for darkness often allows the grand scale to be fully perceived by the viewer.

Improvement for next time:

Wardrobe - A brighter jacket on the climber would have created stronger separation from the background.
Precision of Settings – Reviewing the raw images in post production, I took note of two minor mistakes I made that greatly affected the images. The first being a low shutter speed on the camera. With the snow falling, a faster shutter was desirable for a cleaner image. This could have been changed by using lenses with lower F-stops or raising my ISO a little higher.
The second mistake I noticed was not adding variation to the strobe intensities. Throughout the shoot, I often told the strobe operators to change their settings simultaneously. Looking back I wish I added some variation such as:
“Bridge strobe: 1/1, Canyon Strobe 1/64”
This would have allowed for more variation within the photos. That being said, I do believe the best photos from this assignment were the ones when just one strobe was activated. This will have to be an idea I pursue further to see if it was just defined by location.

Final Thoughts

I am very pleased with how this final image turned out! Adam is backlit by a single spotlight that shines on the canyon walls. A piece of ice falls from the kick of his boot as he tries to get his front points into gain purchase. The falling ice hits the climb creating a cloud of snow just as I pull the trigger of my camera. Below, is a dark abyss in which he just climbed from. From my perspective, the canyon is a shroud of darkness only lit by Adam’s dim headlamp, “3,2,1” - Flash. The canyon lights up for a fraction of a second as my camera captures this very brief moment of light. A light that was entirely cultivated by myself and my team.

The ability to control and direct attention through lighting allowed me to shape the environment in a way that natural conditions alone wouldn’t permit. My entire goal is to be able to showcase the vast beauty and grandness of nature in a new way, while highlighting how humans choose to interact with these wild landscapes; I believe that this assignment was a success.

Going forward, I understand how much more there is to learn about using strobes in these wild environments. Although there may be others attmpting this kind of art somewhere in the world, I am paving my own way and learning through trial and error. These self proclaimed assignments are shaping my art and allowing me to grow within my skills as an adventure photographer.

I am very excited for the next projects, Ill see you soon!