The blackened, cooling lava squished under Paul Bride's sneakers, singeing their exterior.
Five metres away, a red magma stream slithered toward the Pacific Ocean. Even as giant waves pounded Hawaii's rocky shoreline and wind lashed the coast, Bride could feel the intense heat from the molten rock. It was finally coming together.
Two weeks prior, Bride had whacked his way through the thick jungle and planted himself beside the lava tube. For 10 days he patiently waited. But for 10 days, the elements refused to give Bride what he wanted.
When the sizzling, rushing lava seeped into the sea, Bride was ready. His cameras were out; his four lenses primed. It was go time.
The Squamish resident was at the end of a two-year mission that had taken him around the world. He had temporarily switched from his normal subject matter of extreme athletes - rock climbers, ice climbers and skiers - to shoot landscapes.
But, as with his bread-and-butter photography, capturing the pictures for the series Bride calls "Elements" wasn't a walk in the park. Bride spent two weeks alone in the Arctic taking pictures of icebergs. With three bags plus camera gear weighing a total of 125 pounds, Bride had to lug them separately a kilometre at a time until he reached his destination.
It was summer time. The temperature ranged between zero and 15 degrees Celsius and the sun never went to bed.
"You start talking to yourself," Bride recalled.
The project also took Bride to the red Namib Desert in Namibia. There, Bride explored the Sossusvlei area, home to some of the world's highest sand dunes.
The series was driven by his passion for photography, Bride said, noting he paid for it out of his own pocket. Now, after its completion, people in the industry are starting to take notice. Bride was one of five Canadians recognized by Silvershotz, the international journal of contemporary photography. The work will also be featured in Photo Life this December.
"People want to know about it," he said.
When Bride reflects on his photography career, he admitted with a smile, it all sounds a little crazy. With no formal training, Bride kind of fell into the field after a globetrotting trip to Southeast Asia. People liked the shots he captured with a point-and-shoot camera on loan from his girlfriend (now wife).
Back in Canada, Bride started taking a camera on ski trips. It wasn't long before Bride found himself dangling 1,500 feet off mountain faces and frozen waterfalls to shoot climbers.
Today, his photos have been on the cover of 26 adventure magazines. His work spans six continents and Bride is sponsored by Lowepro, Arc'teryx and Cascade Designs Inc. This month, Bride will be rappelling
off the 3,000-foot granite monolith El Capitan in Yosemite National Park to photograph famous rock climbers Sonnie Trotter and Will Stanhope. In December, Bride will be in Quebec shooting ice climbers.
It took a lot of determination to get to this point in his career, Bride said. There were years he worked as a bartender to support his photography. You have to be driven to do the job, he said. Early mornings, long hikes with heavy backpacks, weathering hot and cold climates, and having your circulation cut off by a climbing harness after hanging for hours trying to get that one perfect picture are all part of the job, he said.
"You got to really want to do it," Bride said. "I love the adventure."
Paul Bride's Elements project is up at his gallery in the Artisan Building, 37868 Third Ave. The project can be viewed by appointment by emailing Bride at [email protected] or calling (604) 898-3638.
