Will Tam’s Tireless Eye

After moving north for climbing and snow, photographer Will Tam documents the wild edges of Ontario’s Blue Mountains region—from frozen waterfalls to snowy owls to backcountry turns.

words :: Ned Morgan

Will Tam is tireless. Despite a demanding day job as a chemist, he finds time to shoot a broad spectrum of outdoor subjects in the Blue Mountains and farther afield. A glance at his Instagram grid suggests rock climbing as the dominant pursuit, though on closer examination, that’s only part of the story.

From the Aurora over Georgian Bay, to a solar eclipse over a field, to a wren in the Collingwood Arboretum, to the boulders of Owens River Gorge in California, Tam is attentive to the outdoor world in its many forms and the place of humans in it. 

The 40-year-old climber, skier and birder (who is also no slouch on the piano) has been active in the local outdoor adventure community for over 15 years. Will and his wife Monika moved from Toronto to the Collingwood area in 2024, motivated mainly by the access to climbing, snow and a more chill lifestyle. 

ML spoke to Will recently about his beginnings in photography, shooting icebound cliffs, sidecountry stashes and more. 

Mountain Life: When did you start shooting? 

Will Tam: I used a point and shoot in university, then later a GoPro when POV videos were really taking off. Looking back now, it gives me a headache to watch those. And I later realized it didn’t give you a good perspective of what climbing actually was. So I started rigging up my GoPro either on a tripod or right onto the route, for a different angle.

My friend Peter Song had a Sony mirrorless. Eventually, I bought the same camera and Peter was kind enough to lend me a bunch of manual lenses, and teach me to appreciate the focus control and take the time to compose.

ML: Tell us about your ice shoots. 

WT: I do a little bit of ice climbing, but I don’t lead. I do mostly top rope. I’ve led once, but that was good enough for me. Top-roping on ice is similar to rock climbing (the difference is, you’re freezing your ass off). 

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ML: How do you get into position to shoot?

WT: The lead climber trails my rope up and fixes it to an anchor. In established areas, there might already be drilled-in hardware; otherwise, you use whatever nature provides. Then I jumar up or climb up, attach to the fixed line, and stop where the perspective works. Sometimes I’m aiming for a specific move or an angle that looks good. Rock climbing is different. I lead rock routes, so I can set those shots up myself. For ice, I rely on someone else.

ML: You’re also shooting more snow action in the last few years.

WT: I was fortunate that after we moved up here, I got to know some of the local climbers who also happened to ski, and they invited me out, mostly on early-morning missions. I didn’t have a proper backcountry setup, so I was schlepping up there in snowshoes with my skis on my back. This year I have backcountry gear! 

ML: How much setup is involved? 

WT: It’s pretty spontaneous. Once you go back to the same spots, you get to know the features. You see an obvious feature like a flowerpot and if the athlete can hit it safely, and I can get myself in a position to capture it, that’s what I’m trying to go for. 

ML: You’re happy living up here? You don’t miss the city?

WT: I don’t miss the traffic. I do miss the food. When we go to Toronto, we try to catch up on the foods we miss and visit family. But no regrets living here. My wife wishes we’d moved earlier.

“The snowy owl is more common than we think but because of its camouflage, it is hard to spot. Every winter, snowy owls migrate from the Arctic and can be found along the shores of the Great Lakes or out in fields, hunting. In order to minimize the animal’s disturbance, it’s best practice to keep your distance, minimize your noise and never bait (feed) birds of prey like owls. I shot this owl at 600 mm with my telephoto up on a small hill in order to get almost eye-level with it.” 

“This was shot on a double-sports day. I had just done a ski tour that morning and our friends who live near Duncan Caves invited a bunch of friends over for an afternoon of tobogganing down a country road with no winter maintenance. Shot here is my friend Rachel Kwan, a local florist. I had my snow-bibs and big winter boots on, so I hiked down the road and plopped myself low to the ground to shoot up the hill.”

ML: More and more people move here just for the outdoor rec access. 

WT: When you travel to recreate, you book a place right next to the spot. Living here feels like that: you wake up, drive ten minutes and you’re there.  

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