Who is coming with me on my next trip to the Himalayas?

#behindthelens #nepal #photography #mountaineering

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Passion, in my opinion, is what separates pictures from photographs. It is that undefinable aspect of an image that the great photographers of our time have been able to incorporate into their photography work. It invokes an emotion, a memory and sometimes even a sense of attachment for the viewer.

When I was young I realized that while I loved the vastness of the ocean, my heart was in the mountains. It is in these high altitude locations that I truly do find peace. It is here that I truly feel the interconnectivity of nature and life. It is here that life seems to make sense. And it is here that my passion for photography and creativity feels at home.

While every photographer is different, I think it is important for all of us to not only find our own passions within our art form, but also find the keys to keeping those passion alive. For in the end, Art is not Art without passion.

* The above image is of me at 19,000ft, crossing the Cho La glacier to get into the Gokyo region of the Himalayas. ©Alex Velzeboer – 2011

Attempting to photograph landscapes in an area such as the Himalayas in Nepal comes with a certain set of challenges. The most obvious being the altitude that you would be working in. Durring my last 22 day trip to the Everest Region of Nepal, I spent more then 10 days well above 15,000 ft. Although I live in Denver, CO (The mile high city), that was not easy. The second biggest challenge is light. While I had the fortunate or unfortunate experience of being snowed on every single day that I was in the Himalayas, the mountains them selves are so massive, the typically block out the nice soft light in both the morning and or evening. In fact, because of the afternoon storms I did not see the sun set once durring the entire time. In order to overcome this challenge, you have to get creative. While most people rely heavily on their wide angle lenses in the mountains, I find myself splitting my time with a nice mid level telephoto lens as well. It allows you to control depth of field in a way that is near impossible with a wide angle lens.

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 70 – 200 2.8L IS II
ISO: 100
EXPOSURE: f / 11 at 1/320 of sec

*Click on the above image to view a high resolution version

You can purchase this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this print HERE

You can view more of my photography work from Nepal HERE

To date, Nepal is one of my favorite countries to shoot in. Not only because of its beautiful mix of Indian Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhist, but because it contains some of the most awe inspiring landscape in the world. While I have captured photography work from most of the major mountain ranges in the world, nothing comes close to offering the sheer dramatic size and vistas as the Himalayas. This image was taken one morning just outside the village of Dingboche. The views of Taboche Peak in the background are certainly the best when looking North West just after sunrise, as I was this morning. The soft morning light lite up not only the mountain, but also the Stupas and their prayer flags. I cropped this image into a panorama and enlarged it using OnOne Software’s Perfect Resize 7. It took me 6 days of hiking to get to this location. What are your thoughts?

CAMERA: Canon 5D Mark II
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L
ISO: 100
EXPOSURE: f / 11 at 1/250 sec

*Click on the above image to view a high resolution version

You can purchase this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this print HERE

You can view more of my photography work from Nepal HERE

This shot was taken above the famous emerald lakes of the Gokyo Valley in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It was taken with a Canon 860 IS point & shoot camera.