Photography
Pasang is our new camera man/sherpa. He's really going to do a great job.
By Marshall Thompson
Somebody once asked Sir Edmund Hillary why all the pictures at the top of Mount Everest were of Tenzing Norgay. He replied simply that Tenzing didn’t know how to work the camera. It’s a funny little anecdote that highlights a practical challenge for Apa and his team on his attempt for 20 summits: photography.
It’s one thing to take a good picture at your backyard picnic, but it’s quite another thing to take a picture at the highest point in the world where winds were blowing at 50 mph and the temperature was -24 degrees Fahrenheit last week. It’s more than difficult actually, it’s dangerous.
Apa has some amazing sponsors that I will be writing about periodically. He really appreciates their help in making all this possible. For each one of them, he will hold up a separate banner on the top of Everest and get a high res photo. This means that somebody has to remove enough layers of their gloves to operate a camera and take the pictures fast enough not to get frostbite. Let me introduce to you, Pasang.
Pasang is one of Apa’s cousins and is an incredibly strong and experienced Sherpa on Mount Everest. The only catch was, that like Tenzing, he didn’t know how to use a camera. Today he completed my three day intensive course and I’ve got to say I’m very impressed. I quizzed him on all the functions of the camera, how to hold it in different situations, where to position Apa in relation to the sun, how to run the video camera, how to hold it steady, etc. He finished his intensive course by breaking down the cameras military style and putting them back together. I think he’s ready.
We’ve also arranged backup cameras and photographers from other members of the group and other Sherpas. In the end, I think we’ll have some great pictures to look at.
First off, thanks for the awesome posts!
What type of camera gear have you found functional on the peaks?
Thanks!
Rich
@Rich Bliss – Have you ended up finding out what camera gear that is functional on the peaks?
I will also like to find out…
Davi
My Blog – Clínica de Estética
To answer Rich Bliss – I have found that a good method of taking quality pics at high altitude is to use your camera inside a waterproof sub-aqua box. It protects from damp and frost and also helps to protect the camera. Nice photos by the way.
It doesn’t matter how cheap or expensive your camera is. Good and nice pictures depend on how you take nice and beautiful photos. I really appreciate this post.