What can I say about Megan Hine? Well as far as I’m concerned, she’s pretty much a badass.
Safety consultant, rigger, and survivalist working with numerous TV crews all over the world and being one of Bear Grylls’s safety team. Not to mention free diver, producer, wilderness guide and now the face of Colgate!
But getting the chance to finally shoot with Megan was pretty exciting. I had first reached out to her a few years back, but as with anything, good things come to those who wait.
Megan’s idea was to shoot a little training mission around Tryfan in Snowdonia as she was preparing to run across the width of Nepal as part of an all women trio. Of course I was up for the challenge to head in to the hills. As soon as Megan mentioned sunrise shots, I knew it would be a long morning, bit who am I to say no to a potentially epic sunrise?!
With only 5 or so hours of sleep in the tank, we were up and away. Only 15 minutes or so from Megan’s from door, and we hit the trailhead for Tryfan. We seemingly had it all to ourselves, but then I’m not surprised given this time of day! The idea, to head up to some more gnarly sections of Tryfan to try and capture some exposure akin to the potential similarities that she’d face in Nepal. This was actually my first time up to Tryfan. I had visited the neighbouring Crib Goch before and had seen the summit from there, so had very little idea what we’d be facing. Suffice to say it was pretty rocky and steep in sections! In hindsight, this kind of adventure required a fast and light approach, however I opted for the ‘sod it - I’ll take everything’ approach. This certainly weighed my bag down, but was the right decision in the end. It did also mean we took some slightly less riskier options, but still, with the right angles and techniques, the required feeling of exposure was there.
The sun did eventually rise, albeit through a burst in the clouds. It actually made for quite a magical moment in my opinion as well as a pretty exciting shot of Megan. This, among many others that I took, just felt like Megan was toying with me. Being a rigger and safety consultant, this felt timid, but a good training exercise for what she may be facing in wide open spaces of Nepal’s back country. Running around and exploring on the way to the summit was certainly an adventure. So many interesting angles, places and points to shoot from. Megan being Megan, if I asked her if she’d be happy to go check something out and see if it’s safe to capture her, she’d always say yes. Always up for trying to get the shot.
This was just another morning’s adventure for Megan. This is, after all, her back yard. She was explaining to me how she goes spear fishing along the coast and runs around Tryfan regularly. No wonder this feels like her back yard. It’s rare it seems, that you’ll find her in the big smoke unless it’s for meetings. I can totally understand with her. Having spent 8 years in London, I’ve done my time in the city. It had its moments, but now I’m all for getting out in to the wilderness. There’s nothing that can compete with nature and it’s serenity.
I couldn’t have asked for a better person to shoot. Megan has SO many stories to tell. With such an infectious sense of adventure, there’s no telling where the future may lead for her (although I’m already envious of the eagle hunter trip she organises!). Fun, energetic, great conversation with also the knowledge of being able to know and understand what I as a photographer am trying to capture and can place herself in positions akin to what I was after with barely much other communication, I couldn’t have asked for a better model.
