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Bozeman, Montana-based Outdoor/Adventure photographer Jason Thompson recently collaborated with return client Patagonia, an American retailer of outdoor recreation clothing. The brand needed fresh stills and video to promote its Alpine Suit and the much-loved Micro Puff Jacket. Jason teamed up with his wife and Patagonia Alpine Climbing Ambassador Anne Gilbert Chase for this shoot in Alaska to help showcase the brand’s gear in action. The images were published in Patagonia’s Spring 2024 Journal, paired with Anne Gilbert’s editorial “Stories We Wear.” The video footage and b-roll was used for social media.
Jason licensed his first image to Patagonia in 2008, but he had been submitting to the brand since 2005. Beginning in 2010, Jason has had contract work with Patagonia and has regularly licensed both stills and videos.
I wouldn’t say Patagonia found me. I pursued them as a client I wanted to work with. I sent regular submissions to the photo department (submitting slide film!). I also sent quarterly mailings to keep the photo department up to date on my projects, and new work that I thought they would be interested in seeing. I also made special trips to the headquarters in California to meet the photo editors in person and show them my print portfolio when I was first trying to find my way into the photo department. In-person contact is still the king. Any chance to meet face-to-face is much more valuable than a video call or email, but I realize this isn’t always possible so when the opportunity arises it is important to be ready.
Jason lives and breathes outdoor life, which is evident in his portfolio. He knows when something is out of place or not “real” for the subject to be doing. Authenticity matters to Jason, and it especially matters in the Outdoor/Adventure industry. Many of the brands that he loves working with are after visuals that are produced but don’t have that look of high production or commercial staging.
Ten years ago I think I had a unique skill set, in that I could climb in technical terrain. I could be an asset to my climbing partners while capturing images and videos in high resolutions for productions in remote dangerous places around the world that met my client’s needs, and doing so in a light and fast agile team approach. I was also really really good at suffering in harsh weather or carrying big heavy loads. And let me be clear, I can still suffer!
Fast forward to the present times, I still possess those unique skill sets. But, climbing is now mainstream, and super popular, and every one documents their adventure experiences on at least a phone camera that has an insane resolution for something that fits in our pockets. But the biggest change I’ve noticed in the outdoor industry is how large of a production crew is now being sent on shoots. The expectation is that a Hollywood-grade film is the standard. I think this has taken away from the authenticity of the climbing and skiing lifestyle. The narrative has shifted and I think it now comes down to the relationships I have built with the clients. There is a trust that not only can I capture all of the raw authentic moments on a shoot in a unique way that matches the brand’s style guidelines, but I can also come back home and deliver the assets. Safeguarding digital assets while on a remote glacier anywhere in the world is underappreciated!
The project consisted of three shoots wrapped up in one expedition. This included a spec photoshoot, capturing footage for a product video of the Alpine Suit, as well as b-roll to create hype reel videos for social. The stills Jason captured were shot on spec. The “Stories We Wear” article was not conceptualized before Anne Gilbert and Jason left for Alaska.
In terms of preplanning, Jason and Anne Gilbert had a quick conversation with Heidi Volpe, a Photo Editor for the brand, about the fact that a story for the Patagonia Workwear line would be highlighted for 2024 in marketing campaigns. Anne Gilbert mentioned to Hiedi about the Micro Puff jacket that she has been on every climbing expedition of hers since 2017.
I knew that I wanted to tell a story around this article of clothing as it was literally held together with patches. I did some video portraits of Anne Gilbert holding the jacket up in camp. As well as video interviews talking about all of the amazing climbs she has done with the Micro Puff jacket. I had some ideas of how to photograph her and the jacket but one day while scouting our climbing objective the image just presented itself to me. These moments are always the best moments to capture images because they are real and raw: Anne Gilbert looking up with the binoculars scoping the climbing route conditions while wearing the Micro Puff. It was perfect. The Wornwear patch could even be seen which was a bonus. I knew that image would be utilized by the Patagonia photo department to help support the Wornwear campaigns.
For the video shoots, Jason worked with Stuart Bjornlie from the brand’s in-house video production team to capture additional assets from the field that Stuart needed to produce this video of the Alpine Suit, a product that was going to market in Fall 2024. Jason and Stuart spoke on the phone for 45 minutes about a week prior to Jason leaving for Alaska. Stuart sent him a one-page document detailing the product features he wanted highlighted, along with other shots on his list to support his edit. The client also requested b-roll footage of the Alpine Suit in action while climbing in Alaska, which Patagonia would edit in-house for use in social media hype reels.
I think the goal of Patagonia’s brand identity is to tell the story of the person using their products to pursue their passions while living a life of adventure. The more well-used the piece of clothing the better. If the image can tell a story of something that is relatable or funny that the viewer can laugh at, it helps the Patagonia brand support the lifestyle of their customers. The Patagonia brand logo is often seen in images but is very subtle if even shown. Capturing moments that I call “tweener” moments when the person is as real and authentic as possible. Nothing posed. To achieve this type of image is very hard because it means that the subject must be completely comfortable with the photographer, like I don’t exist, or at least the camera doesn’t exist. It requires me to make the person I am with feel very comfortable. My goal is to make the subject forget I am even photographing. So, often you see major productions on shoots. I love small and agile shoots because they help authentic moments come out and save my clients a boatload of money. Haha!
Jason and Anne Gilbert were in the Central Alaska Range, on the South East Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. This was Jason’s 18th expedition to Alaska for climbing or skiing. It is the same place where a person is dropped off if they are going to climb Denali. Jason and Anne Gilbert had two climbing objectives: a route on Begguya 14,573 ft (aka Mt. Hunter), and on Sultana 17,400 ft (Mt. Foraker). They had five weeks camped on the glacier, during which they needed a minimum of three days for Begguya and five days for Sultana. There was, however, extreme weather from May 5th to June 12th.
It was heartbreaking because of course we put so much preparation into months of physical training leading up to the trip, and other resources. Not having more than 12 hours of stable safe climbing conditions was tough to accept. But that is how the mountains go. We can not control them. The location was very accessible, we were dropped off by a plane and set up our base camp. From our camp, we launched for these climbing objectives. Many days of snow and unusually high winds were the common thread for the 2023 climbing season.
Anne Gilbert was the primary subject of the shoot, along with some action shots of Jason as well. Though, as chance would have it, another Patagonia climbing ambassador and a good friend of theirs, Colin Haley, also arrived in Alaska the same day, unbeknownst to the team. They all flew in together and ‘camped in the same neighborhood’, as climbers say. Colin had his own climbing objectives, and the team had theirs, but the camaraderie at camp made for enduring Alpine morale. Towards the end of the 5-week trip, Colin, Anne Gilbert, and Jason teamed up for a moderate climbing objective together. This gave Jason a chance to capture a little more footage of Colin and Anne Gilbert, which was a bonus for Patagonia.
I love working with brands that trust and value my skill set to be able to send me off on a shoot and have the confidence to come home with the assets they need. For this shoot working with my wife who was the talent was a super unique and gratifying experience to be able to share these moments together. We flow together as we have worked together on a number of different projects over the last 13 years. But as one could imagine working with your partner also brings other factors that you wouldn’t come up against normally. Working with Anne Gilbert, I need to be a very clear communicator in what I am looking for in a video shot. It is easy for me to just assume she will know what shot I want but the opposite is true. So this is a good reminder and good practice for me when I shoot with other subjects to be very clear on what I am looking for. Communicating the intention is really critical so that everyone is on board.
As a photographer, I believe I am able to connect with my subjects because my superpower is empathy. I ask myself what it would be like if I were in their shoes — nervous, excited, scared, or confused. By asking the what and the why helps me understand the human element in the situation of the shoot. I try to ask the subjects a bunch of questions if I don’t know them all that well. Most of us humans love to talk about ourselves and this helps people feel relaxed and connected with me. My goal is for my subjects to feel natural and authentic. Because those are the moments I am trying to capture that help narrate a brand’s story. I love that as a photographer I get to be curious about what other people do. I will never stop learning. No matter how long I have been doing this, there is always some element to get better at. Keep trying, keep shooting, keep experimenting. I always work harder to push myself and produce something that excites me.
See more of Jason’s work on his website.
Credits
Director of Photography: Heidi Volpe
Manager, Video Production: Stuart Bjornlie
Producer, Patagonia Films: Emily Perry
Climbing Ambassador/Talent: Anne Gilbert Chase
Climbing Ambassador: Colin Haley
Further Reading
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