Behind the Image: Extreme Sports Photography with Fredrik Schlyter

Sometimes you come across a photo in Adobe Stock’s catalogue which literally makes your jaw drop. Fredrik Schlyter’s image ‘Man making a base jump‘ did just that. We caught up with him to find out more about the story behind it.

Adobe: What inspired you to take this picture?

Schlyter: Lysefjorden in Norway has been a favourite place of mine for many years, not only as a passionate photographer, but also as a climber. I’ve spent many days here climbing up stunning 900m vertical walls. Almost every time I’ve climbed these mountains, I’ve seen so called base-jumpers passing me. Sometimes they were so close that I could see their faces and hear them say “Helllloooo” as they passed. In 1998, I did my first solo climb of these walls, spending 52 hours scaling the length of the wall in solitude. Once or twice a day I would also say hello to these “crazy” base-jumpers.

Adobe: Is base-jumping dangerous? Is it something we could do?

I have had a lot of discussions with base-jumpers about the risks involved. The jumpers don’t understand why I would want to spend 52 two hours alone climbing up a wall. For them it only takes 15-40 seconds to get down! Kjerag in Lysefjorden is one of the few places in the world where you’re allowed to jump. This year, over 40,000 jumps have been made from these walls and it’s becoming a huge tourist attraction. A ferry from Stavanger often stops under the walls of Kjerag to let their passengers see the base-jumpers mid-flight.

Adobe: Where was this photo taken?

There are about 10 different exit points here for base-jumpers. This photo is taken on exit number seven, which is one of the most popular exit points. In order to jump, the weather has to be good and it can’t be too windy. When I took this shot, the conditions were perfect so there was a line of base-jumpers waiting to jump. The day after this photo was taken, I filmed a world record; 24 jumpers all jumped out here at the same time. I’d definitely recommend visiting Lysefjorden to see the base-jumpers for yourselves!

A big thanks to Fredrik for taking the time to speak with us! Check out his Premium collection here.