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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sublime Peak Experiences, August 13, 2000
This review is from: Summit : Vittorio Sella : Mountaineer and Photographer : The Years 1879-1909 (Hardcover)
Vittorio Sella is little-known today, but knowledgeable people like Ansel Adams consider him one of the greatest mountain photographers ever. Sella did his work at a time when cameras weighed 40 pounds, glass negatives two pounds apiece, and mountain climbing was much more primitive than today, without the warmest clothes, tough equipment and bottles of oxygen. Sella is also known for being the first person to scale the Matterhorn in winter. Sella was the son of the first Italian to write about photography and his uncle was a famous leader of Italian mountaineering. Expedition photographs were a new idea in his day, and primarily served the purpose of map-making for subsequent expeditions. Sella's work also served that purpose, but transcended it with stunning minimalist views. As Ansel Adams points out in his preface, Sella also understood the technique of mountain photography in ways that are missed by many current photographers. His work was of such stature that he was invited along on important expeditions by the Duke of Abruzzi, which allowed him to be the first to create images of many important scenes. These expeditions included his native Alps, Alaska, Uganda, the Caucasus range, and the Himalayas. His photograph of K2 in the Himalayas is considered the finest one ever. As dazzling as these images are, the essays in the book greatly add to them by explaining the context of their creation, the photographic problems involved, and the artistic aspects of the work. I enjoyed reading each of them, because each shed a different light on the work. Although the book is about summit photographs, the book includes many photographs during the ascents, of the people met during the expeditions, and of local scenery. The summit photos are remarkable to me in many ways. First, he made great efforts to get the right perspective -- often climbing another mountain to get a view the the one alongside. Second, he created stunning panoramas of the major chains which exceed what the eye can see, even if you were there. Third, the pictures have a sense of motion in the glaciers that is quite remarkable. These rivers of ice look like they are moving in videos when you look at them. Fourth, the mountain views have a spiritual quality that is uplifting. Your view of mountains will be forever changed by these photographs. Also, I feel grateful for the photographs because, although I love mountains, I am not a mountain climber and would never have a chance to see these beautiful, inspiring scenes otherwise. I encourage you to read and enjoy this book as example of what goals can provide. In the days when Sella was climbing there was no chance of reaching the top of many of these peaks, such as K2 (thought by many to be the toughest mountain in the world to climb). Yet the climbers and Sella achieved lasting meaning for themselves and for us in their partially successful endeavors. Goals take us to the top of our skills by extending our ambition and focus. Be sure you are always looking for the next mountain to climb (and photograph). Let these wonderful images inspire you on to your personal greatness! Also, think about choosing goals that will aid and inspire others for many years in the future as Sella did.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sella the Great, February 6, 2005
This review is from: Summit : Vittorio Sella : Mountaineer and Photographer : The Years 1879-1909 (Hardcover)
This is one of the key volumes in any collection of mountain photography books. Sella was one of the earliest and most accomplished practitioners of this difficult discipline and this Aperture monograph does full justice to the importance and beauty of his work. The book, measuring approximately 28x31 cm, has been handsomely and meticulously produced. The quality of the photo reproductions is very good, capturing the spirit of the originals. There is a very pleasing layout, with pictures alternatingly presented on white and grey backgrounds. Formats vary, with about 25 photos spilling over onto a second page. There are two large foldout panoramas: one taken from the summit of the Elbrus and the other one representing the Baltoro area in the Karakoram. As far as I can tell, the 3:4 aspect ratio of the original 30x40 and 18x24 plates has been respected.
The documentary value of Sella's images is undisputed. But Sella's images surely transcend the boundaries of a purely documentary kind of photography. Take one of the earliest images shown in the book, taken on the Aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps in 1884 (Sella was 25 then). It is not easy to reconstruct the standpoint of the photographer, but I suspect that he is looking towards the Lötschenlücke, with the the onset of the Sattelhorn ridge barely visible to the left and a sizable chunk of the Mittaghorn-Gletscherhorn chain in full view on the right hand side of the pass. It must be early morning as the light is slanting from the East, softened by a disperse cloud cover above the Mittaghorn. The picture is titled `Crevasse on the Aletsch Glacier, Alps, July 18, 1884', but for me the real protagonist is the mysterious human figure nearly in the centre of the picture. It is the silhouet of a mountaineer in period attire, including the typical Alpenhut. He has left ropes, ice axe and other climbing gear behind and is studying a document. We can presume it is a map, although from the shape and size of the document and the climber's posture, we could deduce it is a kind of letter he is studying. The incongruity between the majestic surroundings, bathed in ethereal light, and the hard-etched casualness of the human figure remind us of the surrealists who would be experimenting with strange juxtapositions only a few decades later.
A later example of a fascinating image is the picture on page 111, showing the Duke of Abruzzi and guides climbing the Chogolisa icefall in the Karakoram range. The diffuse colours, the halos around some of the ice towers and the brushed effect in the gloomy sky place the picture in the Pictorialist tradition (à la early Stieglitz or Steichen). Again, there is an oddity which makes the attentive observer pause. The first climber has taken a position on a small shoulder and is overlooking the terrain they have to tackle next. Clearly, he is not belaying the second man (presumably the Duke) who, assisted by another guide, is attacking an ice bulge under an ice cave. Curiously the lead climber has left his ice axe behind on a little ledge in front of this ice cave lower down. It is difficult to say why in that particular situation anyone would feel tempted to leave behind this essential piece of climbing apparel. As in the Aletschgletscher picture, there is a detail in this picture, a slight twist of perspective, which reveals a deeper layer beyond the purely documentary.
The essays accompanying the pictures vary somewhat in quality. Individual chapters are ordered chronologically, reflecting Sella's progress as he worked through his major campaigns in the Alps, Caucasus, Yukon, Ruwenzori, Sikkim and Karakoram. Paul Kallmes' short introductory essays to the chapters are informative and well written, if only a little short. Wendy Watson's concluding essay "Picturing the Sublime" is a disappointment. Although it contains a lot of interesting biographical material, Watson fails to penetrate to the heart of what makes Sella's photography truly great. Compare this to Ansel Adam's all too brief but very insightful introductory essay where the artist and master practitioner reveals something of what it takes to create the particular spatial depth in mountain photographs. Whilst Watson occasionally tends to hyperbole, Adams' language is movingly poetic, but remains focused and precise.
The book ends with a notes section, a bibliography and a very good timeline. This is worth studying in detail as it includes some startling anecdotes. For instance, in December 1892 Sella traveled by train from Dover to London. During the journey he leaned too far out of the window, thereby striking his head on the tunnel wall. After spending two weeks in coma, he fully recovered from his skull fracture.
We also have to wait until the very final pages of the book to see two pictures of the man himself, both taken at very old age. One wonders how he looked like when as a young man of 25 he wandered through the Alps with his 30x40 camera ...
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An elegantly written and presented piece!, September 16, 1999
This review is from: Summit : Vittorio Sella : Mountaineer and Photographer : The Years 1879-1909 (Hardcover)
This book is absolutely breath-taking. Whether one is an avid climber or an avid lover of nature and photography, this book pleases all aspects of the senses. Wendy Watson and Paul Kallmes are obviously a gifted and talented pair, bringing first-hand knowledge and intellectual and artistic prowess to this magnificent book. It is a must-have for every library!
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