Fidelman spent the first half of his career shooting in black and white on film cameras, including a Pentax 6\u00d77. He processed his own film and developed his own photos\u2014sometimes by night in the historic Yosemite darkroom of Ansel Adams. Eventually, he caught up with the times when filmmaker Renan Ozturk gave him a Sony a7R II mirrorless camera and he made the switch to digital\u2014and full color. \u201cIn my viewfinder, I set the preview to black and white, but the capture contains full color,\u201d Fidelman told Climbing.<\/p>\n
![\"dean](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/dean-fidelman-portrait-1971-851x1024.jpg\"\/)
Dean Fidelman in 1971, the year he arrived in Yosemite. \u201cI had discovered both climbing and photography the previous year. This was my attempt to make a studio portrait of those passions. I painted the backdrop and lit up the set in my high-school photography class. My teacher\/mentor Warren Shelton made the photograph.\u201d (Photo: Warren Shelton)<\/p>\n
Now, 55 years after arriving in Yosemite, Fidelman still calls the area home and continues to shoot climbers around Camp 4. Perhaps best known for his work capturing the Yosemite Stonemasters and Stone Monkeys, Fidelman has also sat down for interviews in a couple documentaries released this year, including The Dark Wizard about Dean Potter, and a film about the weed plane that crashed in Yosemite, enriching many of his friends.<\/p>\n
Fidelman is also known for his Stone Nudes, nude portraits of climbers bouldering or free soloing. He started the series in 1999 and now estimates it runs 300 images deep. At least a few times a year, he still receives requests from climbers to shoot a Stone Nude\u2014a phrase which he has tattooed on his hands<\/a>.<\/p>\n We caught up with Fidelman to discover the changes and throughlines he\u2019s observed across six decades of Yosemite photography, the challenges of revisiting his relationship with Dean Potter for The Dark Wizard<\/a>, and the next iteration of the Stone Nudes project. For this retrospective interview, we also asked Fidelman to select one photo for each decade of his work, which you\u2019ll find below.<\/p>\n An interview with Dean Fidelman<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dean Fidelman: As the decades have progressed, the way that I think about making a photograph has changed. But the people haven\u2019t changed as much. With the Stonemasters<\/a>, I was just making photographs of my friends doing cool things in the desert. I wasn\u2019t really thinking about anything besides trying to make the best photograph I could\u2014and finding out what a good photograph was.<\/p>\n With the Stone Monkeys<\/a>, from the late \u201990s until 2010 or 2015, I was simply living in Yosemite in the meadow, sleeping down by the river. So I fit in financially with this group of people really well. When I asked someone to make a photograph with me, there was no hesitation.<\/p>\n Recently, I\u2019ve done some photographs for Summit Journal of people on YOSAR [Yosemite Search and Rescue] and at Camp 4. The first thing someone would say when I asked if I could make their photograph was, \u201cI\u2019d be honored.\u201d<\/p>\n That kind of put me on the back foot in a weird way. If I ask to make a photograph of you, it\u2019s because I respect you, or there\u2019s something about you that I really enjoy being around or seeing. So it\u2019s more like you\u2019re honoring me, because you\u2019re going to be vulnerable in front of my camera for a moment. Once we get over that, it\u2019s just like working with the people I\u2019ve always worked with.<\/p>\n Fidelman: When Lynn reconnected with me, it was pretty much immediate\u2014\u201dthere it is.\u201d You think of your path in a linear way that leads to being the best at something, but that\u2019s not how it works. I was doing my photography much more personally than commercially. When Lynn connected with that, I thought, \u201cOh yeah, the personal aspect of photography, I can do that.\u201d She definitely sponsored me and opened that world back up.<\/p>\n Silver: Who else helped you transition back into climbing photography?<\/p>\n Fidelman: Charles Cole<\/a> at Five Ten and John Bachar<\/a> at Boreal both used me for ads. But Charles especially would say, \u201cHere\u2019s $500, here\u2019s $1,000. Here\u2019s my camera. Just give me some photos, but make what you\u2019ve always made\u2014no pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n When I got back into Yosemite, one of the first people I met was Dean Potter. He was super open to me. I met him through Bachar because they were giving him shoes at the time and wanted to make some photographs. We had an immediate kinship, and that brought me deeper in with the Stone Monkeys. Then you had Cedar Wright, who was just starting off at that moment in time, and everyone else just came out of that.<\/p>\n With the people who survived\u2014and the people who didn\u2019t\u2014I realized I was making this visual record of friends, trying to express them in the moment. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve hopefully continued to do.<\/p>\n Fidelman: Honestly, my opinion hasn\u2019t changed since the \u201970s. It wasn\u2019t like I just happened by when Bachar or Yabo [John Yablonski<\/a>] or somebody was doing a solo. Sometimes Bachar would say, \u201cHey, I\u2019ve got this thing figured out now and I\u2019m going to do it. I want you to make the photographs.\u201d Three or four of us would jump in his van, go down to wherever the solo was, and make these photographs.<\/p>\n Even back then, climbing magazines did not want to publish [free soloing photos]. I didn\u2019t take it personally. The first publication that published my work was the National Enquirer. It was a picture of Bachar soloing with a headline like \u201cMan Climbs Rock\u201d or \u201cDaredevil Climbs Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n So I experienced both ends of the spectrum early on. I realized that what you\u2019re making isn\u2019t going to be universally accepted. But you\u2019re doing it for the people who are doing these solos and the people who appreciate it. I wasn\u2019t making all this stuff happen; it was happening in front of me and has continued across generations.<\/p>\n Silver: What was it like revisiting some of your experiences with Dean Potter for The Dark Wizard?<\/p>\n Fidelman: When film crews called 10 years after Dean Potter died to make a film, I was really kind of conflicted, but I approached it as professionally as I could. They showed me a rough cut of all four episodes. After I watched, I went into this horrible depression that I just got out of in the last couple months.<\/p>\n Silver: How do you feel about it now that it\u2019s come out? And what did you think about the use of his journals<\/a> in the series?<\/p>\n Fidelman: It made him very real again. Suddenly, I still think he\u2019s alive. He\u2019s existing. I can feel his presence, trying to come up really close to me and intimidate me\u2014his voice and everything. Obviously, it\u2019s storytelling, but it\u2019s made me really question a lot of what happened and a lot of who I was. I think hopefully I\u2019ve gotten that straightened out.<\/p>\n Silver: In photographing Dean or others who you sense are feeling anxious or vulnerable, you\u2019ve talked about \u201cholding your energy close.\u201d You mentioned this specifically in a recent interview<\/a> with former climber and pro cyclist Rebecca Rusch. How do you go about holding your energy close? What does that mean in practice as a photographer?<\/p>\n Fidelman: It means having a high respect for unspoken boundaries\u2014how you carry yourself in that moment, what your objective is, and what you can ask of the person in front of you. With Stone Nudes especially, they are naked and vulnerable. There\u2019s all kinds of trust going on there. You respect unspoken boundaries by observing someone to see how open they are to direction. But I\u2019ve also found women have been mansplained with men trying to tell them how to climb.<\/p>\n And then with your friends, you\u2019re on an intimate level because they know you, but suddenly there\u2019s a camera up. They\u2019ve seen your work and they\u2019re honored. So you need to try to get rid of that awkwardness by bringing your energy back and refocusing.<\/p>\n Silver: We\u2019re coming up on three decades since the first Stone Nudes. Any chance you\u2019ll do an anniversary calendar in 2029? And are you still working on the Valley Muse project?<\/p>\n Fidelman: I\u2019m still working on the Valley Muse book. I made some new Stone Nudes this March that I really like, so I\u2019m looking at calendars or possibly a book, gathering for another five or six years, traveling to favorite spots and places I\u2019ve always wanted to go to.<\/p>\n Fidelman: There are a couple of photographs I want to make in Patagonia. It\u2019s just a boulder in the middle of nowhere\u2014and there was so much nowhere. There\u2019s also a cool volcanic place in Venezuela. But next, I\u2019m heading to Spain to work on deep-water soloing nudes in Mallorca.<\/p>\n Silver: When was the last time you developed in a darkroom?<\/p>\n Fidelman: Probably 2018, right when I stopped with the Stone Nudes calendar and Renan [Ozturk] gave me that camera. That\u2019s probably the last time I went into a darkroom, unless the darkroom had a scanner in it and I was scanning my negatives. With a lot of my original black and white photography, I would process the film myself. I used to find these traditional photo labs up and down the coast.<\/p>\n After the last lab closed, I used Ansel Adams\u2019s darkroom<\/a> in Yosemite. They would let me use the darkroom from 10 at night until midnight. What was left of it was just a long sink and a heavy dark curtain. I\u2019d be rattling cans at midnight and I look over and there\u2019s a portrait of Ansel looking at me like, \u201cWhat are you doing in my darkroom?\u201d<\/p>\n Silver: What are some unexpected or funny stories from shooting Stone Nudes over the years?<\/p>\n Fidelman: Once I was shooting in the middle of the Merced River by the 120\/140 junction. A friend was on top of the boulder posing while I was waist-deep in the river. Suddenly, a big tour bus pulled over and a bus-load of tourists piled out, pushing each other trying to take photos with their phones.<\/p>\n One time I was making photographs in Eldorado Canyon on that boulder right in the middle of the river with my friend Anora, a hippie. I went back to Yosemite and processed the film in Ansel Adams\u2019s darkroom. I\u2019m hanging out at the lodge and this person comes up to me\u2014obviously a climber, but very clean-cut. He goes, \u201cExcuse me, are you Dean Fidelman?\u201d And I go, \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n He sticks his hand out, with this big smile on his face and goes, \u201cI want to shake your hand. You were in Eldorado Canyon about a month ago and you were making some photos. We were on the Bastille and oh my God, she is so beautiful. That was the most amazing day. My partner went home and bought a calendar even though he knew she wasn\u2019t going to be in that one. But is she going to be in the next one?\u201d<\/p>\n Then I made a Stone Nude of my friend Brian Ludovici, who\u2019s a wonderful human and a super cool boulderer. He asked if I would make a photograph of him on Midnight Lightning (V8) with his clothes on. So I show up there and he\u2019s just got this pair of short shorts on, right? This is his favorite boulder problem. He loves it. He worships it. And he goes up it and down it. I say, \u201cHey, man. You think you could do it nude?\u201d Maybe four or five of his friends are there, all egging him on. He gets to where he\u2019s pressing out the mantle, but he couldn\u2019t do it. He put his shorts back on.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s this guy running full blast toward me from 100 yards away. He looks really closely at Brian. Then he stops and goes, \u201cDude, this was the most amazing day of my life. I looked from over there by the kiosk and there was a beautiful nude woman doing Midnight Lightning, so I started running to get a closer look. But it\u2019s a dude.\u201d<\/p>\n Fidelman: One fall. My friend Joey was like, \u201cLet\u2019s make a photograph.\u201d I first met her when she was 16. She goes, \u201cI want to make a photograph.\u201d I go, \u201cNo, no.\u201d Same with [Chris] Sharma. I go, \u201cNo, you have to wait until you\u2019re 18.\u201d<\/p>\n A couple years later, she\u2019s in Joshua Tree and wants to climb the White Rastafarian (V2). First, I tell her she has to do it with her clothes and shoes on, so I can see that she can do it. She does it perfectly. But she can\u2019t do it barefoot. So, she took her clothes off and we had a bunch of pads down, hidden by the bushes. Three of her friends were spotting.<\/p>\n She gets up to the crux and starts to bring her hand up and she blows. Her friends didn\u2019t even touch her. She hit the pads, but sprained her ankle fairly badly. I felt really horrible, but I did put it in [a calendar]. I always make certain that [climbers] can do it at least with their clothes on first. Now I always tell the spotters, \u201cIf you\u2019ve got to get in the photo, don\u2019t even worry about it. Put your hands on them, even though they\u2019re naked!\u201d Unless somebody wants to solo something, but it\u2019s not going to be outside the limits\u2014ever.<\/p>\n Silver: What book projects are you currently working on?<\/p>\n Fidelman: I\u2019m working on two books. One is a history of the Nose with John Long, Hans Florine, Ed Hartouni, and Sarah Conley. The other is a book on the Stone Monkeys with James Lucas. We\u2019re getting the manuscripts and photo selections organized, with plans to publish over the next couple of years.<\/p>\n Fidelman: I\u2019ve been working on archiving all the stuff from the \u201860s and Glen [Denny]<\/a> was a huge influence on me, as well as Tom Frost<\/a> and and a few others.<\/p>\n I understood two things very early on. One is if you\u2019ve tied into a rope with people who have climbed with people like John Salath\u00e9 and Royal Robbins<\/a>, you\u2019ve tied into a rope with all those other people, too. I tied into a rope with [Jim] Bridwell<\/a> and lots of people that probably go back all the way to Salath\u00e9.<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/john-yabo.jpg\"\/)
Joshua Tree, 1978. \u201cJohn \u2018Yabo\u2019 Yablonski free soloing Spider Line (5.11d). Yabo was such a unique person. To have experienced his friendship and have had the opportunity to create art with him is something I will cherish forever.\u201d (Photo: Dean Fidelman)
\nMaya Silver: You\u2019re in your sixth decade as a photographer in Yosemite. Have you noticed anything different about the way Stonemasters, Stone Monkeys, and today\u2019s Valley climbers pose for portraits?<\/p>\n![\"black](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1980s.jpg\"\/)
Los Angeles, CA, 1988. Portraits have always brought me great pleasure to create. This image is of my friend Raugust, an artist living in Los Angeles during my time there in the \u201880s (Photo: Dean Fidelman)
\nSilver: If Lynn Hill hadn\u2019t called you up when you were working as a fashion photographer in New York and suggested you start making climbing photos again, do you think your path would have been different?<\/p>\n![\"Lynn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lynn-Hill-720x1024.jpg\"\/)
Yosemite, CA, 1994. \u201cMy friendship with Lynn began in the 1970s and has continued through the decades. Her generosity and guidance have played a huge role in my life as a climbing artist.\u201d (Photo: Dean Fidelman)
\nSilver: One thing we talk about a lot at Climbing is about how and whether we should cover free soloing. You\u2019ve been soloing since you were a teenager and have photographed free soloing for decades. How do you feel about the ethics of storytelling around free soloing? Have your opinions changed at all since the \u201970s, particularly with social media?<\/p>\n![\"Naked](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/stone-nudes.jpg\"\/)
Pueblo, CO, 2003. \u201cI had always wanted to make a photograph of The Ripper (B1+). Sandstone is a beautiful canvas for incredible movement. It was a journey just finding out the location, but the reward was everything.\u201d (Editor\u2019s note: This problem is graded B1+ on John Gill\u2019s obsolete grading scale, which seems to convert to V0.) (Photo: Dean Fidelman)
\nSilver: Where do you want to shoot most right now?<\/p>\n![\"steph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/steph-davis.jpg\"\/)
Yosemite, CA, 2004. \u201cThe superb Steph Davis free soloing Outer Limits (5.10c). Steph is an amazing climber of the Stone Monkey generation, who dances in the vertical.\u201d (Photo: Dean Fidelman)
\nSilver: Have any of your Stone Nudes subjects taken a fall during a shoot?<\/p>\n![\"portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/brian-ludovici-770x1024.jpg\"\/)
Yosemite, CA, 2025. \u201cI made this portrait of my friend Brian Ludovich and his companion Miss Kitty beside Midnight Lightning (V8). I continue to gather photographs that document Camp 4 and the denizens that call it home.\u201d (Photo: Dean Fidelman)
\nSilver: You\u2019ve mentored many photographers in Yosemite. Do you see any young photographers taking the torch to document the Valley\u2019s climbing culture?<\/p>\n