The Remote Excursions of a Ninja Photographer
An Interview with Ben Ditto
In our quest to find the most interesting people doing out of the ordinary type things we came across Ben Ditto. Some people will go to any length to do what they love. This kind of living is so rare in our culture you can almost refer to these people as “the others”. Ben is an “other”. From random childhood excursions with his parents, to disappearing for months at a time to take unreal photographs as a grown up Ben has found a way to live above the frayed lines of normalcy.
As an accomplished mountaineer/climber, skier and photographer Ben possesses a rare skill-set. Strap on a pack, grab your hackie sack and get to know Ben Ditto.
TDS: Can you identify what it is that drives you to seek out such remote places to photograph (and experience)?
DITTO: Mountain wilderness areas are simply the types of places that I prefer to be in. I think having this preference is a matter of luck in who my parents were; the fact that they always had my brothers and I out in the woods, backpacking and going on random excursions. I can't remember a time when we packed up the car to do a normal family vacation. We would always go to some rural southern state park and get lost looking for waterfalls and caves.
From these early experiences afield, I became passionate about rock climbing, which pretty much amounts to sitting around in the dirt all day enjoying the nature around you. Climbing areas are frequently off the beaten track, places where you don't see the general public once you leave the car park. I am basically spoiled and am generally not happy chillin’ with the huddled masses.
TDS: What part of your job would people understand the least?
DITTO: One of the in-obvious realities of my work and lifestyle is the need to react to work opportunities. It would seem from the surface that the travel/adventure photographer has indefinite freedom and is able to make 100% of decisions based on preference or planning. While this is true in the larger scheme, I do find that I have to chase commercial work, which means delaying plans for working on personal or non-paying projects.
For example, I have been working on a documentary project in the great basin deserts of eastern Nevada and western Utah for a few years now. It’s a project I think about constantly, but it doesn't pay the bills. One of the challenges in my future as a photographer is to figure out funding options for projects like this.
TDS: What startles you most about some of the extreme places you find people living in?
DITTO: What has struck me as interesting in many places I've travelled is that people who live a subsistence lifestyle, who seem to be poor and barely making it, are likely to be the people who will last the longest on this planet. Communities of people who are living isolated lives with livestock and crops will be the least affected by the crises of cash economies.
This is just my opinion of course, but it stems from my own lack of ability to survive the week without a grocery store near by. I hold a deep sense of respect to people who possess the skills necessary to provide for themselves and their families outside of the constructs of a developed society. So I suppose to answer the question directly, what I find most startling about subsistence cultures are the questions they raise about the culture of which I am part.
TDS: Do you think that we (humanity) have lost our sense of adventure? Why?
DITTO: I think our tendency towards seeking security has led to a lack of uncertainty in our daily lives, which is essentially a lack of adventure. Sure, we all have our doubts about career and social concerns, but these things are just self-imposed technicalities. Humans have only lived in society the way we think of it now for a small fraction of our existence. We spent a lot more time scraping out a living through agriculture and hunting and gathering than we have in an organized society.
What this means to me is that adventure is ingrained in us; we are accustomed to a high level of insecurity in our material position. In the past, and to subsistence cultures today, adventure is waking up and maintaining the fields and animals you depend on. I think this is why people decide to go into the mountains, hunt, drive race cars, sail boats, travel abroad and so on.
TDS: What or who are your influences, artistically and otherwise? How have family and friends influenced your work or career path?
DITTO: When it comes to photographic mentors I'm drawn to the work of documentary artists. I'm most impressed by the work of artists who dedicate long periods of time to one project. One particularly inspirational figure is Edward Curtis. He spent most of his adult life documenting Native American culture in the turn of the century (19-20th).
He traveled around the American west (at first and then later branched out) by horse and wagon with a studio tent and a rough audio recorder and documented tribal culture. His motivation was the idea that these native cultures were dying out—that the settlers were displacing them, which was putting the longevity of their customs in serious peril. I suppose it’s a fine line between anthropology and art in this case.
TDS: Climbing, mountaineering can be lonely ... a mind game if you will. What is the draw to a sport that pits man against nature in such an extreme way?
DITTO: I think people can feel lonely even when surrounded by people. While climbing, one has to rely on training, skill, and instinct in order to push through moments of doubt or uncertainty. The bottom line is that climbing is all about failure, dealing with failure, and turning it into motivation.
That said, in my life there has been no moment more satisfying than being back at the base of a peak or climb, lying in the grass, in the sun, with all the stresses of the weeks or months of preparation and climbing behind you. Unfortunately, that feeling never lasts for long as there's always another project.
TDS: If you could only take three things (other than your clothing) on your next excursion what would they be and why?
DITTO: I once went to Thailand with 3 beautiful women. I'd like to find a way to make that happen again. Seriously though, never underestimate the power of travelling with friends. I frequently find myself travelling alone due to the logistics of other people’s lives—who else has time to go to South America for three months at a whack? Some of the most productive periods of my life have been due to similarity in schedule between collaborators and myself.
TDS: How difficult (or easy) has it been pursuing your dream as an adventure photographer?
DITTO: I became interested in photography in high school and had been climbing well before that. I knew that I would never get paid to shoot photos if I wasn't already shooting them on my own, so I set out to develop a portfolio in what I know best. My skill set as a climber and skier enables me to accompany high-end athletes and participate in expeditions as both climber and photographer.
Most other photographers are just dead weight when trying to shoot ads or stories in an expedition framework (there are notable exceptions such as Jimmy Chin and Tim Kemple). My real passion in photography lies in the realm of photojournalism and documentarianism, which is a transition I'm moving towards currently.
My interest focuses on environmental issues in wilderness and mountain environments. This includes how communities balance eco-tourism and industrial pressures, dams, water rights, wilderness preservation, and land use.
TDS: We saw a cool picture in Patagonia's latest catalog that you took of a guy doing a back flip on a slack line. Can you explain this emerging sport to us? Do you slack line?
DITTO: I'm not really a slacklining scholar, but as far as I know it became popular in climbing circles due to all the spare time climbers tend to have. You can visualize it like this:
You've just climbed for 4 days in a row…
Your fingertips are bleeding, motivation lacking, all you want to do is hang out at the campsite today…
But this is the 15th time you've gone through this climb and rest cycle on this trip and you're out of books, sick of your girlfriend (or maybe the other way round)…
You've mastered the hacky sack, can juggle 5 balls or 4 clubs, are out of wax for pyrotechnics displays...
In short, what am I going to do today?
Slacklining is a mix of athleticism and zenful serenity. It requires balance, focus, patience and persistence. It actually develops subtle muscle groups in the shoulders and abdomen, which is beneficial to climbers who tend to have wild imbalances between their pushing and pulling muscles.
Slacklining is just another part of the ninja training circuit ... we all want to be ninjas, right.?
TDS: What new trips do you have lined up? Where can we find more of your photographs in the coming months?
DITTO: I recently returned from shooting an expedition in Torres Del Paine National Park, where my partners and I free climbed the East Face of Torre Central via a route done in 1974 by some very hearty South Africans. The route wound up being 30 pitches spread out over 1200 meters and we stayed on the wall for 13 days.
Eventually these photos will become available to the public through various European magazines (Campo Base, Climber, Vertical, Climb, and Bergsteger) features and ads (Patagonia). So stay tuned.
As for new trips, I've been scrambling the last few weeks to salvage some plans that were marginalized when my car was stolen shortly after returning from South America. For now, it looks like I'll be heading to San Francisco for a bit as well as to Australia in late May.
You can find more of Ben’s photos here. If you are lame nut-job who stole Ben’s car, kindly return it.
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