A couple of years ago I took this picture. I used a Nikon 70-200 lens from a mountain that was windy and cold and had me suffering. I guess it corresponds to the late afternoon in the Himalayas from the black mountain, as the Kalapatar is called, at 5,500 meters elevation above sea level.
The glacier in view is the Khumbu, well known to the world as the first major obstacle to which mountaineers ascending Everest’s summit are exposed. It is impressive, deadly, mute and with an acetone-like aroma. It is very photogenic and like everything great, it had a surprise for me.
It wasn’t until several months later that I discovered people in photography. Without intending to, I had captured images of mountaineers climbing in the direction of the Kalapatar, see them below right (if you click on the photo first, and then click again, you can enlarge it to full screen).
After meeting people on the ice, this photo became a favorite, because it tells a story, adds perspective and a sense of place. Before I discovered the travelers it was just a huge landscape; then it became a tale of adventurers going to extremes.
Everything makes so much more sense when you have the right perspective. For whatever it’s worth, it’s better with a point of reference and the relationship it provides. How small we are!
I could elaborate on the idea, but words would be superfluous. This image says it all.
For now, period.
