Hiking across the Seven Sisters Cliffs or how I learned to love hiking!
The Sun setting as we are on the way to the pub
Following a break-up this spring I unexpectedly turned to hiking as a way to cope and escape. I discovered a welcoming LGBTQ-inclusive hiking group, called TrekFit through a friend and it’s the best thing that’s happened to me this year. I can’t say I’m the most sporty of people out there and getting muddy and rained on also wouldn’t be what many of my friends would say I get excited about. But something clicked with me with this group of people and doing this particular activity. Gay culture in London could be (stereotypically) described with parties, hookups and more parties. This is a generalisation but it’s probably the most common thing that 20 and 30-something gays do in London, and that has been me.
Another thing that can be stereotypically attributed to the gay scene in major cities is fitness, and the sheer obsession with big muscles, defined abs and big butts, which is not very different to the overall beauty standards defined in society. This can be very damaging to the mental health of those who do not aspire to look like a Marvel superhero. Often times not looking like a magazine cover model could mean that one won’t fit in certain social circles within the community. I still am a little body shy as I know I don’t look like many others I see in bars and the streets of London, or whom I meet through friends. That may speak a certain amount of my own insecurities but it's an issue that I haven’t solely faced.
But wasn’t this blog post about hiking? Yes!
The Trek/Fit family on our biggest hike yet!
Around April this year, I saw that a friend went on an organised hike, an LGBTQ one. I do enjoy a walk in the park but I never really considered hiking as my favourite pastime during weekends. Photography has been a big passion of mine but I’ve mostly practised it through the urban landscapes of London and various other cities which I’ve visited. Last year I went on a long weekend tour of Wales with friends and I remembered how much I enjoyed that.
I thought of giving the hiking trip a go! I am quite a sociable person so meeting new people isn’t something that can put me off. The organiser of the trip - John was very welcoming and so were the others. As soon as we got on with the hike everyone was quite relaxed and open to talking and getting to know each other. Since then I’ve been on a hike almost every weekend, kind of obsessed! Getting out of the Big Smoke, the vanity, and the pressures to party every Friday and Saturday have been incredibly liberating for my mental and physical health. I’ve met many great people who have become good friends even out of hiking, and out of the mud.
Getting ready for the hike, always with a smile!
A few weeks ago our little hiking group set a big milestone! John’s efforts to create an inclusive and friendly community have paid off and we had our first sponsored hike with a major activewear brand. That meant we received a piece of their latest garments and accessories and a free hike. This marks a point of maturity that certifies the importance of such a group and the desire within our community to be more than gym rats and party socialites.
This has helped me too on a professional level. Visiting many beautiful places has meant taking my camera and pushing my skills further. No longer was I bound to what cities had to offer me but I discovered how much beauty there is in the nature that surrounds us. I’ve been able to push my photography so much further along with my filming. I’ve sort of established myself as the de facto photographer in the group. I do so with great passion and gratitude to the folks who put up with my artistic flamboyancy.
The sponsored hike was an amazing opportunity to take some great snaps and also get some exposure through the brand's visibility. As I am a major Fuji guy, having tried most of the cameras on offer I wanted to use the newest Fujifilm X-H2S, as I did previously on a 6-day hike in Wales. I am very grateful to Fujifilm for providing an amazing, and FREE rental programme in the UK. I’ve used it many times to try out new gear and techniques and workflows. I own the X-T3 but I wanted X-H2S for this particular hike due to the X-Hs sensor stabilisation, intending to pair it with two stabilised lenses I thought it would be a perfect combo. The Seven Sisters are notorious for the wind and having been there before I wanted to be covered across all bases. Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law applied to this situation. Something in the software was buggy with the hired camera. There was no replacement and the hike was the following day. I had to rely on my trusty X-T3!
On the day it seemed like we were quite lucky with the weather. It started off sunny but as we know in the UK, the weather is unpredictable! Shortly after our lunch break, dark clouds started coming in towards us and the pouring rain followed. This wasn’t our first rodeo and it’s all part of the experience. We just carried on, helping each other not to slip into the canal that had formed leading into the sea. People had brought homemade cookies and sweets so that helped keep the mood up. A beautiful rainbow lit up right in front of us, lasting only a couple of seconds - ah nature!
This was our biggest group yet - around 60 folks, a lot of good friends, experienced hikers and some newbies, an eclectic bunch! It was the community’s first sponsored hike and I was tasked with getting some good content to share with the sponsor and potentially create a good relationship with them for future hikes. I kicked into gear from the moment we got on the train at London Bridge and I was constantly looking for good shots. The best thing about it is that everyone is quite comfortable and used to me snapping away so that makes for some great candid moments. I am a hybrid shooter so I enjoy taking both photos and videos. My little camera had to keep up with my constant switching from one format to another. I ended up with around 160 shots that I was quite happy with. I also made a short video that went out on Instagram to show the day as I saw it which I was also quite happy with. As I’ve started taking more videos I’ve figured out my preferred way of capturing. I shoot in F-log and edit and grade in DaVinci Resolve. For colour grading, I use as a base one of the included Kodak and Fuji LUTs which give a great filmic quality to the image and I then further tweak things to my taste. I shot everything vertically (9:16 aspect ratio) as I was intending to publish only as a Reel on Instagram. In the future, hopefully with a new camera purchase, I’ll be able to film in a traditional landscape format and crop for social media as required. I want to create longer-form films that I can add here and on YouTube.
Video: Hiking through the Seven Sisters Cliffs
This hike was an amazing experience considering all the novel things that happened with it and I am very happy to be part of such a great community. This is one of my first blog posts and the material isn’t very concise but it's great to be able to share my thoughts extensively as social media pushes us into writing short blurbs without much context, platforms that aren’t designed for long engagement. I hope to continue writing and to share new learnings, adventures etc.
Here’s a gallery of photos from The Seven Sisters Hike with Trek/Fit. Thanks for reading! 🏳️🌈
