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Over the shoulder of Nikki Smith and the 2020 Open Aperture participants
OPEN APERTURE PHOTO CLINIC
2019 participants
Jaylyn Sabrina Gough
Founder and Executive Director of Native Women's Wilderness,
Photographer (she/her/hers)
Photography has always brought me joy. I have a profound relationship with the land and the emotions it brings forth. I love the creative challenge of capturing the emotions I feel when I’m experiencing its glory, or working to visually convey the emotions of someone exploring the land and all the feels it conjures up for them, camera in hand. I combine these two loves, of photography and of land, out on the trail, in the wilderness and now...on the wall. The land provides such beauty, mystery, and strength. Attempting to capture and share just a fragment of that through my lense is a creative quest I cannot resist.
I am a Native woman from the Navajo Tribe. We have a deep connection to the land, the cliffs, the sand, the sagebrush, and the lizards crawling upside down on the rocks. Growing up, I was that lizard. We climbed the sandstone cliffs on our Reservation. In fact, when I got to college and started sport climbing, I was a little confused by the use of ropes. Now when I wander back to the places where we roamed as children, I’m often mesmerized by the actions of our youth and what we climbed without ropes. And then I remember that this is my heritage, and this is the land that my ancestors climbed, also without the use of rope or a Grigri.
portrait of Jaylyn Sabrina Gough
IMAGE BY NIKKI SMITH
Jason Hinds climbing at the photo clinic
IMAGE BY JAYLYN SABRINA GOUGH
When Nikki invited me to participate in the photography photo camp, multiple feelings emerged, “I’m not good enough for this,” “I’m not strong enough,” and “I’m not a good enough photographer.” The list goes on. You see, Native people are rarely seen or heard in the climbing community. To me, that translates into a loud statement saying that we Native people don’t belong and aren’t respected. But Nikki saw me and believed in my skills as a photographer and climber. I was invited into a world that has shut me out. She exemplified my skills, teaching me climbing and photography tricks that have changed my approach to photographing the raw emotions of climbing and being face to face with the land.
At one point during the photo camp while on the wall, learning how to jug the ropes...I had a breakdown. I was so frustrated with myself. Nikki took notice and climbed up to me. In that moment, she showed me such love and encouragement. You see, I live in a world of extreme pressure as an indigenous person of color. I always have to be on point. I always have to prove my worth. I always have to fight and fight hard. For me, I must excel and learning something more slowly isn’t an option. I always have to prove that I belong. On that wall, as I was crying and thinking “I can’t do this. What am I doing here? She picked the wrong person”, Nikki looked me in the eye and told me that I belong, I didn’t have to prove my worth to anyone. And she continued, sharing that she had hand picked me for this event, that she sees my talent.

She provided me with a space that no one else has ever done. A space where the BIPOC community came together to just be us. We laughed, we broke bread together, we supported one another, but most importantly we loved and believed in each other. I saw my worth in their eyes and I’ve have been working hard in acknowledging and celebrating my worth. Through this experience I have a great desire to assist in showing other Native people their worth and providing them with an opportunity that I had and to share their own stories and worth.
Atim and Cody look out into the distance while at the photo clinic
IMAGE BY JAYLYN SABRINA GOUGH
A view of behind the shot, one of the photo clinic participants stands in front of a big circular light diffuser, held by two other photo clinic participants open aperture Introduction Nikki Smith In the late 90s, I stood in an outdoor gear shop, flipping through the pages of equipment catalogs. One page made me stop and take notice. Renowned Japanese rock climber Yuji Hirayama looked calm and collected as he finger-tip jammed up a Yosemite Valley test-piece. At the time, I didn’t know what was so intriguing about this image, but I was instantly obsessed. I knew that I wanted to do what he was doing. From that day, I devoured everything I could about climbing, sought out the nearest climbing gym, and have managed to build a career and lifestyle in the outdoor and climbing community. Not that long ago, I was recounting how I got into climbing and what sparked my interest and told this story. I was probed as to why that moment was different than any other introduction to climbing. Surely I had seen rock climbing in magazines, movies, or on the news, but how was this moment different? And then it struck me like a ton of bricks. I saw myself in Yuji. I was born to parents of different countries and races: a Thai mother and a white, American father. Being a military family, we moved around a lot in the U.S., requiring me to quickly assimilate in places like Georgia, Kansas, and Kentucky. I didn’t run into many people who looked like me. In this pre-digital time, when I saw Yuji, he was one of the few Asians that I had ever seen put on a pedestal. Perhaps seeing him made it easier for me to imagine that I could climb like him (I can’t, by the way). Last summer, I was chatting with Mountain Hardwear ambassador Nikki Smith about how we could support underrepresented people and communities in the outdoor and climbing spaces. We, as a brand, knew there was (and still is) far more work to be done and were conscious about bringing awareness and advocacy to these folks. And I, as an individual member of our community, felt strongly about using whatever influence I might have to take action. A large part of my career has revolved around showing climbing through print and digital media and needed to create an opportunity to show people of color and marginalized groups participating in the outdoors. But the “right” way to do this is debatable. We don’t presume to hold the answers, but wanted to be thoughtful in our approach. As much as possible, we try to show real, authentic experiences through the point of view of our community and document them. So, rather than simply hosting casting calls for climbers of the right “skin tone,” we wanted to create a valuable experience for its participants. Matt Burbach Brand Marketing Director Mountain Hardwear portrait of Mountain Hardwear Brand Marketing Director, Matt Burbach, holding a film reel. As those conversations evolved, the MHW Photo Workshop, led by Nikki, took shape. Our goal was to add value to underrepresented communities and organizations by providing photography skills to help document their stories and showcase their talents. The photo clinic took place over several days in September of last year, with additional guiding and rigging support by The Mountain Guides. Mountain Hardwear offered six all-expenses-paid scholarships to the program, with the course curriculum developed and taught by Nikki herself. In reflecting on the photos and words expressing the participant’s experiences, they all point towards a positive program. But the most important thing that we learned is just that… It was a single workshop. A step in the right direction but not an entire journey of inclusivity for Black, Indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ in the outdoors and climbing. By providing more visibility, I can only hope that it will inspire, motivate, and make personal connections to the outdoors and climbing, as it did with me. Behind the shoulder shot of Nikki Smith giving direction to all the photo clinic participants on what they will be working on next participants Jaylyn Sabrina Gough Sam Ortiz Janelle Paciencia Bree Robles Jason Hinds Tiffany M Blount Atim Enyenihi Cody Kaemmerlen PHOTOGRAPHER, she/her/hers FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NATIVE WOMEN'S WILDERNESS jaylyn sabrina gough Photography has always brought me joy. I have a profound relationship with the land and the emotions it brings forth. I love the creative challenge of capturing the emotions I feel when I’m experiencing its glory, or working to visually convey the emotions of someone exploring the land and all the feels it conjures up for them, camera in hand. I combine these two loves, of photography and of land, out on the trail, in the wilderness and now...on the wall. The land provides such beauty, mystery, and strength. Attempting to capture and share just a fragment of that through my lense is a creative quest I cannot resist. I am a Native woman from the Navajo Tribe. We have a deep connection to the land, the cliffs, the sand, the sagebrush, and the lizards crawling upside down on the rocks. Growing up, I was that lizard. We climbed the sandstone cliffs on our Reservation. In fact, when I got to college and started sport climbing, I was a little confused by the use of ropes. Now when I wander back to the places where we roamed as children, I’m often mesmerized by the actions of our youth and what we climbed without ropes. And then I remember that this is my heritage, and this is the land that my ancestors climbed, also without the use of rope or a Grigri. portrait of Jaylyn Sabrina Gough IMAGE BY NIKKI SMITH Jason Hinds climbing at the photo clinic IMAGE BY JAYLYN SABRINA GOUGH When Nikki invited me to participate in the photography photo camp, multiple feelings emerged, “I’m not good enough for this,” “I’m not strong enough,” and “I’m not a good enough photographer.” The list goes on. You see, Native people are rarely seen or heard in the climbing community. To me, that translates into a loud statement saying that we Native people don’t belong and aren’t respected. But Nikki saw me and believed in my skills as a photographer and climber. I was invited into a world that has shut me out. She exemplified my skills, teaching me climbing and photography tricks that have changed my approach to photographing the raw emotions of climbing and being face to face with the land. At one point during the photo camp while on the wall, learning how to jug the ropes...I had a breakdown. I was so frustrated with myself. Nikki took notice and climbed up to me. In that moment, she showed me such love and encouragement. You see, I live in a world of extreme pressure as an indigenous person of color. I always have to be on point. I always have to prove my worth. I always have to fight and fight hard. For me, I must excel and learning something more slowly isn’t an option. I always have to prove that I belong. On that wall, as I was crying and thinking “I can’t do this. What am I doing here? She picked the wrong person”, Nikki looked me in the eye and told me that I belong, I didn’t have to prove my worth to anyone. And she continued, sharing that she had hand picked me for this event, that she sees my talent. She provided me with a space that no one else has ever done. A space where the BIPOC community came together to just be us. We laughed, we broke bread together, we supported one another, but most importantly we loved and believed in each other. I saw my worth in their eyes and I’ve have been working hard in acknowledging and celebrating my worth. Through this experience I have a great desire to assist in showing other Native people their worth and providing them with an opportunity that I had and to share their own stories and worth. Atim and Cody look out into the distance while at the photo clinic IMAGE BY JAYLYN SABRINA GOUGH Atim and Cody walking through City of Rocks
IMAGE BY JAYLYN SABRINA GOUGH
three climbers on a rock wall during the open aperture photo clinic
why open aperture matters
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