CLIMBER BLOG: Rachel Morrison

Why I joined SOTSK

It started with a text from Justin Wilkes from Radical Media asking me if I liked hiking. Cut to 3 weeks later: climbing up Kilimanjaro. I had absolutely no experience hiking or mountain climbing before this but am always up for an adventure.

I’ve been shooting for 8 years…everything from narrative to documentaries. For me it’s always about the story and I’m always most drawn to things that have a message and make you care and feel.

As if the climb itself wasn’t tough enough, we had the extra job of getting ahead of the cast in order to film them, and at other times retrace our steps in order to cover them from behind. And the weather was miserable. I felt like the mountain existed by Murphy’s Law. If I took clothing off, it got cold and rained. If I put extra gear on, the sun came out and I overheated.

This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience with an amazing group of people. I feel absolutely honored to have played some small part in Kenna’s vision - and hope more than anything that the film can help raise awareness, money, and support for a phenomenal cause.

I shot on a combo of the Sony EX3 and the Canon Mark II 5D with a 28mm lens which was kind of liberating because I haven’t shot with a prime lens in years. The Mark II was amazing in low light. We were trying to keep it lightweight and low profile so I didn’t bring my handheld rig, matte box or follow focus. But as a result, there was no good way to compensate in bright sun so I wound up shooting it at a faster shutter speed than I would’ve liked. But at night and in the pouring rain and snow it was unbeatable.

- Rachel Morrison