Contact:
cclempe@gmail.com

About me:
I am a filmmaker and musician based in New Mexico. I am drawn to sharing meaningful stories about people through documentary and commercial film projects.

**Discounted rates and support available to work with BIPOC and marginalized individuals and communities.

My recent work includes cinematographer for the Acadamy Award-winning documentary Free Solo, editor and DP for the award-winning film REFUGE, and director and editor for the film Stone Locals. Recent clients include National Geographic, Patagonia, ARC’TERYX, DELL, YETI, Dior, Adidas Outdoor, Jaybird, Mountain Hardwear, Eddie Bauer, Merrell, Gorilla Glass, Tudor, and HANAH One.

 “The first criteria to be considered for the high angle cinematography team on Free Solo was that you had to be an elite professional climber. The second was that you had to be an incredible cinematographer. The pool was not very big. Even among the 4 or 5 people in the world who could do it - ie casually climb El Cap in a day and know how to operate and shoot everything from verite footage to interviews to climbing etc - I needed crew members with the right steady calm disposition who were willing to work day in and day out without complaining or creating drama. There was going to be plenty of drama already. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Cheyne Lempe through Alex Honnold. He often climbed with Alex.

Cheyne was an up and coming cinematographer and filmmaker. He was an obvious choice. He holds the solo speed record on the Salathe Route on El Cap and I could trust him to move quickly, safely and efficiently on the wall. He’s also incredibly talented as cinematographer, upbeat and not afraid of long and grueling days. He would often be asked to position for the most difficult, logistically complex and physically laborious shooting situations. I trusted him implicitly. The film would not have been possible without his endless stoke, athleticism and hours on the wall. 2 years…I never heard him complain once. Not once. You dream of finding crew members like Cheyne.”
- Jimmy Chin