Eddie Fowke stops as IFSC photographer

So how did you become the IFSC Photographer?
As many reading this will know, I began The Circuit Climbing in 2013. Its goal was to document the competitive side of climbing and introduce the climbers and their exploits to a broader community as I felt it was extremely underrepresented in the media of the time. Seeing what I was doing, the IFSC approached me in 2014 with the offer of being the official photographer for the IFSC. By bringing me in, someone was already attending the events and had no national bias (few Kiwi’s attend World Cups) it gave them an asset who was impartial and of course, I was already promoting their product through my own platform.

How much work and travel did you put in?
It was an incredible amount of work. Being present at every round from approximately an hour before it began until its conclusion led to extremely long days. Not to mention at the end of the shooting, the sorting, editing and distribution of images began. At a normal World Cup, my workday would be 12 to 16 hours.

In my time as Official photographer, I spent as much time as possible optimizing travel, taking trains or other public transport where possible, and only flying when it was needed. Even so between 2015 and 2020, I spent more than 800 hours in the air, covering in excess of 600,000 kms. Jetlag became a part of life!

What are your best memories?
There are so many amazing memories, that it’s almost impossible to answer that. Any time a climber wins their first World Cup it gives you a huge emotional rush as you know just how much that means to them. More than a couple of times I’ve had to blink tears from my eyes to keep shooting! I also have great memories of all the people who have come up to thank me over the years, telling me stories of how my images and visual storytelling inspired them. My role has never to be “a name”, that is for the stars of climbing. But to have my work recognised and appreciated is extremely fulfilling.

Two memories that stick out are the first victories of Jernej Kruder in Meiringen and Gabri Moroni in Hachioji. To have seen the effort they both put in over the years finally rewarded was incredible. In competition there are some amazing climbers who never quite achieve what they show the promise to, some because they are in the shadow of one of the greats, others simply because of luck and timing. So seeing those to veterans of the sport finally achieve the top step of the podium after so many years of trying was something that will stick with me forever!

Who are the athletes you think will improve the most in 2021?
After a season away from the sport due to Covid-19, it’s almost impossible to say. Being that the vast majority of what we are seeing is people’s personal social media feeds, our perception is coloured by who promotes themselves better on social media which can give a false perspective. I don’t think we will get an honest gauge on the climbers' levels until 2022 at the earliest. There are several incredible young athletes like Colin Duffy from the US and Oriane Bertone from France stepping into the elite competition, and there are many for whom this is the end of their competition journey. And with the likelihood of 2021 being a disrupted season, I think we just need to wait and see!

How could the IFSC comps be improved?
I believe there are many development areas for an organisation like the IFSC. I won’t go into them here though, as they employ staff to manage the progression of the sport and how it is presented. It is on them to implement the changes required to evolve the sport. And if they don’t? Well, I think that if the IFSC doesn’t progress the sport, the sport will have enough inertia to develop itself. If we had a time machine and could travel to 2030 we would see a very different sport. Just as we are a very different sport today from where we were in 2010.

What will you work with in 2021?
The first objective of 2021 is to complete The Circuit Climbing coffee table book. A book made up of photos and essays covering competition climbing in all its guises from 2015 until the present. This has been the major project of mine (as The Circuit Climbing) during the break from competitions and is one I hope will be a document of historical relevance in the sport for years to come. Secondly, I will be photographing for several major publications within the industry as I document the competitions that happen around the world (if and when they start), as well as maintaining my relationships with the brands who rely on The Circuit Climbing to provide them with the high quality of imagery they require to promote their sponsored athletes.