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An
Intimate Excursion into the World’s Highest
Society
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- A
new book from Art Wolfe, the acclaimed nature
photographer
- More
than 140 stunning full-color photographs exploring
the Himalayan region
- A
diversity of images: the people, culture,
landscapes, and flora and fauna
- Foreword
by Norbu Tenzing Norgay of the American Himalayan
Foundation
In
THE
HIGH HIMALAYA, Art Wolfe has achieved what few
photographers have attempted: capturing the spirit of
the entire Himalayan region. This stunning collection
of photographs presents not only breathtaking mountain
landscapes, but also the flora, fauna, people, and
cultures of the highest mountain range in the world.
The 140 photographs—taken during Wolfe’s many
travels through Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet, and
China— includes close-up detail of floating candles
on the Ganges River and sweeping views of the Pamir
Plain.
Wolfe’s
field notes (see pp. 59-61, 107-09, and 155-57)
include the techniques and equipment he used for each
photo, but also place the images in context: he notes
the cultural, social, and environmental significance
behind them and what drew him to the capture the
scene.
“This
place is unique in all the world. Nature dominates
here as no other place that I have ever been. It is
simply overwhelming. One cannot come here and not feel
a reverence for the natural world—not just for
animate life but also the inanimate, for rock and soil
and ice and snow. Nowhere else on Earth is one so
dwarfed by the scale of things, so aware of man’s
place in the larger scheme of things.
Every
time I stand among the High Himalaya, in awe and
reverence, I redouble my resolve to showcase through
my work the grandeur that is nature, to emphasize
man’s place and man’s responsibility to work with
nature and for nature, to try to make a difference. We
all have a responsibility to help ensure that as many
of the Earth’s remaining wild places as possible
stay that way. The High Himalaya remind us of all that
is at stake.” —Art
Wolfe
The
People
Kathmandu,
Nepal
“Sadhus
are Hindu holy men, and the Naga order is the most
rigorous. A Naga sadhu has no desire for clothing,
sex, or money. He must be ready to die any time for
the cause of Hinduism. The ash on this Naga sadhu’s
body symbolizes his readiness to perish. He is the
‘warrior ascetic’ of Hinduism.” (p. 41)
Karimabad,
Pakistan
“The
children of Karimabad are like children anywhere,
curious, eager to investigate anything new that comes
their way—in this instance, me. I find that first
photographing the children of a new place often paves
the way for interacting with the adults later.” (p.
45)
Himalayan
foothills, Nepal
“Harvesters
take to the fields to collect mustard in the fertile
Himalayan valleys of Nepal. To gain a more interesting
perspective, I climbed an adjacent hillside, where the
elevated view enabled me to convey they textures and
lines of the fields.” (p. 57)
The
culture
Pamir
Plateau, China
“As
I traveled toward Khunjerab Pass on the
Chinese-Pakistani border, I saw an enormous cloud
rising from the plain like a dust devil. To my delight
it was a group of Kazakh men playing buzkashi, an
ancient game of Central Asia. Literally translated as
“goat grabbing,” two teams play on horseback, each
attempting to gain control of a headless goat.”
(pp. 62-63, 68, 69, 70-71)
Kathmandu,
Nepal
“Prayer
wheels are an integral part of Buddhism, as they
purify the mind. As you pass them on your right, the
wheels are spun in a clockwise direction, as viewed
from the top, so the characters on their faces can be
read—and to travel in the same apparent direction as
the sun. These are in the Bouddhanath Stupa.” (p.
80)
Kathmandu,
Nepal
“Strung
upon lines attached to the top of the Bouddhanath
Stupa, prayer flags inscribed with Buddhist prayers
are attached to tree limbs and rooftops. Here, they
provide a beautiful contrast to the large white
structure. Using a polarizer, I deepened the blue sky,
allowing the colorful flags to stand out.” (p. 82)
The
landscape
Pamir
Plateau, China
“In
stark contrast to the vertical world of the high
Himalaya, the Pamir Plateau a short distance beyond is
a mountainous “knot” in Central Asia from which
the five great mountain ranges of Asia radiate: the
Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Tien Shan, and Kunlun
Shan. The plateau provides ample forage for small
herds of goats, sheep, camels, and yaks.” (p. 29)
Rongbuk
Glacier, Tibet
“Seracs
are a striking feature of some glaciers. They stand 30
to 40 feet tall, a formidable obstacle for trekkers. I
used a zoom lens to fill the frame and remove any
sense of scale, making these seracs on the Rongbuk
Glacier look as dramatic as a range of mountain
peaks.” (p. 34)
Ama
Dablam, Nepal
“One
of my most memorable moments in the high Himalaya came
as I stood atop Kala Pattar, a rock promontory rising
above Nepal’s Khumbu Valley base camps of Everest.
From Kala Pattar’s summit there are spectacular
views in all directions. Here Ama Dablam dominates the
vista.” (p. 18-19)
The
flora and fauna
Androsace
tapete, Tibet
“I
passed from winter into spring during my three-month
stay in the Rongbuk Valley on Everest’s north side.
I began to suspect that no flowers existed in the
harsh, arid environment until I stumbled across these
tiny Androsace tapete blossoms growing so close to the
rocks that it would have been easy to overlook
them.” (p. 25)
Himalayan
poplar, Pakistan
“At
first glance, Himalayan poplar trees appear far too
fragile to withstand the brutal weather so often
associated with the Himalaya. In reality, their
flexibility permits these trees to yield to the high
winds without snapping. These are in Pakistan’s
Hunza Valley.” (p.148)
Snow
leopard, Himalaya
“In
summer the snow leopard is found up to 19,686 feet in
central Asia’s mountains. In winter it follows its
wild and domestic prey down into the forests. Like the
tiger, the snow leopard is hunted for both its fur and
bone, which is used in some traditional Asian
medicines. Consequently, they are highly
endangered.” (p.151)
Norbu
Tenzing Norgay is director of development for the
American Himalayan Foundation in San Francisco. He is
the son of Tenzing Norgay, who summited Mount Everest
with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.
To
order: THE
HIGH HIMALAYA
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