Behind the Lens: Gran Paradiso
This is a photo of mountaineers ascending a glacier on the flank of Gran Paradiso, the highest independent peak in Italy at 4,061 meters.
Twenty years ago, my wife and I departed a mountain hut in the frigid darkness for an ascent of its north face. In an accessible chest pouch I carried my new Canon 5D, a landmark camera widely credited with bringing professional full-frame photography into the mainstream.
But judged by today’s standards, with only a 12.8-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, it would be considered an extremely basic digital camera offering a limited shooting experience. Yet this simple, stylistic image remains one of my absolute favourites and stands out as an example of why the equipment we photograph with, in so many situations, is not the important part of making a good image. With ubiquitous camera tutorials and review videos fighting for your online attention, not to mention your money, I think this resonates now more than ever.
Our summit view after the climb was sunny and spectacular. Snaps I took reveal an incongruous statue of the Madonna standing next to my smiling climbing partner.
Roped together because of crevasse danger, careful crampon placement was needed on the icy glacial slope of our descent and fumbling with my camera to take a photo was not foremost in my mind. The blank whiteness and lack of contrast on the glacier gave me little excitement for photography.
Two climbers passed by heading uphill and I nodded a hello in solidarity with their effort. The only sound was the crunching of metal spikes on the ice. A minute or so later I glanced back and noticed a thin white ribbon of light starting to arc across the deep blue shadow of the glacier as the sun rose in an equally blue sky.
In that moment I visualized this photo. I needed to wait for the climbers to reach the sunlit crescent on the glacier for the composition to come together. My gloved hands were already cold and my wife was freezing.
A delicate conversation took place – luckily my climbing partner was well versed in the role of an understanding photography assistant!
The climbers seemed to take forever to ascend and exit the shadow. Finally, with numb fingers, I shot three very similar frames, they were only in the ‘right spot’ for a moment. Anxious to reach the sun ourselves, we turned and headed down.
Light, composition, moment. Throw in some patience and advanced outdoor skills for good measure. The gear we use may change radically over time but the basics for making an interesting photograph stay the same.
