Photographer Interview: Jacques Marais

We are proud to share the following interview with one of South Africa’s most impressive outdoor photographers. His photographs of Warren Gans walking on a highline above Cape Town motivated us to make contact. Read on to learn about Jacques’ slacklining and more.

Tell us about your earliest memory of a camera or photography

My connection to photography is through a childhood passion. I started with my parent’s box brownie film camera at a young age of 7. I remember turning the lens towards our family dogs when living in the Eastern Cape. My father encouraged my fascination, and reminded me to make each of the twelve frames on a roll count.

This interest led me to develop my own film in a dark room, and do hand prints. It has escalated into a life-long passion to capture imagery and tell stories as a journalist and photographer.

When did you first encounter slacklining?

My friend Gustav van Rensburg, who lives and climbs in Waterval Boven, first introduced me to slacklines. Then, twelve-years-ago I met Warren Gans and we worked together to photograph various slackline and highline projects.

We initially set about creating a sunset photograph of him ‘walking’ across the still water that collects after high tide on Noordhoek beach. Warren put my name forward as a photographer for two visiting Adidas athletes, Lukas Irmler and Reinhard Kleindl. The first shoot we arranged was on Muizenberg beach with the colourful changeroom huts in the background.

When was the first time you witnessed highlining?

The line rigged on Chapman’s Peak by Warren and Lukas Irmler was the first time I saw a highline. It was rigged across the 20-meter-gap with the Atlantic ocean below. The next line was an early morning mission to rig a proper highline on the top of Table Mountain. It spanned across a deep gorge with Lion’s head and the waking city in sight below us.

Warren and Lukas rigged on Table Mountain at sunrise

The moment you captured of Lukas Irmler highlining across Victoria Falls is incredible. How did you meet?

I met Lukas in Cape Town during a reconnaissance trip with Adidas. I was tasked with photographing him and Warren in various scenes across the peninsula. From Muizenberg to Cape Point, we were able to capture some beautiful imagery.

When the plan to highline across Victoria Falls was set in motion, I felt privileged to be tasked with capturing stills of this momentous occasion.

Adidas International slack-line athletes conquer the ‘Nyami-Nyami Line’ across the Victoria Falls gorge, between Zimbabwe and Zambia, Africa

Your writing paired with your photos is thrilling. Share a little more about your work as an action sports photographer and writer.

I am a photographer and a journalist. My ability to write stories helps me to compose my photographs with a story in mind. This skill set combined with my love for the outdoors makes it possible for me to cover stories in hard to reach places.

Do you have a favourite sport to photograph?

Any action sport that takes place outdoors and captures my attention. I do not have a favourite, however I do know that I dislike covering events that take place in congested areas. I love bringing stories back from remote, scenic areas. Sports interest me for the harnessing of the human spirit and the endurance required to make the passion a reality.

We loved your lockdown picture, tell us about your own experience with slacklines?

I have a slackline set up in our garden at home. It is low to the ground, short, and easy to hop on inbetween errands and projects. It brings a moment of calm and presence that I am fond of. The exercise has become part of my rehabilitation of my shoulder, elbow, and hand following a terrible injury I suffered when falling from a steep down-climb in the Groot Winterhoek due to a handhold breaking loose.

Have you had the opportunity to try highlining?

While I enjoy walking on my slackline at home, I haven’t had the opportunity to highline and would like to be prepared for the experience when it does occur. While my accident has made mobility in my shoulder a concern, I believe the exposure will be a huge challenge to overcome and an incredible confidence booster.