In Focus: Guy Williment on the Thrill of Wild Moments

What inspires your photography?

There are a lot of things that inspire my photography, but it always comes back to people connecting with nature in some way. Whether it’s climbing, surfing, camping, hiking, snowboarding—whatever it is, I love capturing those real and raw moments in time. Lighting is also a huge part of my photography, I’m always trying to chase those golden hour moments, or raw moments where nature is at its wildest.

I’ve always looked up to adventure photographers like Jimmy Chin, Chris Burkard and Corey Wilson. The way they chase wild moments in incredible places. That mix of adventure, environment and emotion is definitely what inspires me to keep chasing those moments in time.

How has photography changed the way you see the world?

I have been so lucky to get to travel a lot with my work and see places that I’d never dreamed of visiting. I think it’s just made me realise how lucky I am to be able to experience so much of the Earth's beauty, both in the landscapes and the people I’ve met during my travels.

How do you stay creatively curious or avoid repetition in your work?

For me, a lot of my photography focuses around actually doing the activity or participating in the thing that I'm shooting. I love being part of the action and getting out of my comfort zone when shooting, which definitely keeps it exciting. Whether it’s rock climbing or shooting in big waves, I love the thrill of having to push myself to get a shot. I guess for me, photography has always been secondary to the actual adventure itself.

I think storytelling, now more than ever, is becoming such a big part of the photography landscape. There are so many incredible photographers out there now that you have to have some point of difference in your work if you want to stand out. Over the past year, I’ve definitely been trying to bring my audience behind the scenes of these trips so they can see what goes on to capture these images, which has been really fun and makes me step out of my usual creative patterns. Having to do more videos and reels has definitely opened up another side of the creative process which I have started to love.

What are your must-have tools or gear?

At the moment, I’d say my Canon R5 & 24-70 2.8 lens is a combo that I use all the time. And now I swear by a Polariser & Variable ND. When I first started shooting, I never used to use them, especially the CPL. Now I won’t go on a shoot without them. It brings such a nice balance of colour back into the shot, especially when you’re shooting in midday light.

Can you share one of the most memorable shots you've captured?

Now that’s a tough one, haha. I have so many moments that have stood out over the years, but I’ll share an image from last year where my girlfriend and I hiked up to the top of a mountain in Canada and watched the Northern Lights. I think they called it one of the biggest solar storms in 25 years and it was absolutely insane. It was a solid hike to get up to the summit, maybe 3 hours of walking and we were in bear country so we were a little out of our comfort zone, but that was all worth it. I didn’t sleep all night, just ran around with my camera screaming. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. To be up on top of a mountain, surrounded by snowy peaks with just us and the dancing Aurora was pretty damn incredible. It’s definitely not the most ‘creative’ or ‘artistic’ shot I’ve ever taken, but for me, it brings back a pretty special memory.