Grant Dixon is a photographer from Tasmania who has trekked, climbed, skied, and photographed many of the great mountain ranges of the world. His online photo gallery is extensive, and relentlessly impressive. I asked Grant if he would answer some of my questions via email, and below are his answers. Enjoy, and be sure to put aside several hours at least for browsing his galleries!

You have experienced and photographed many of Earth’s great mountain ranges. Do you have any particular favorites, and if so, why?

Probably the Andes; not only is it the longest mountain range on Earth but its north-south orientation means it has a great diversity of geology and climate zones, and hence mountain form and environments. The Patagonian Andes are probably my favourite area – I could return there repeatedly.

The rather smaller Karakoram Range, often lumped with the Himalaya is another favourite. The mountains there are so steep & raw, and its been the scene of several memorable adventures, including a longitudinal ski traverse in 2004.

Roughly how often do you travel, and for how long at a time? Do you normally travel alone, or with friends?

I rarely travel for less than 1 month, with 2 months or more preferable. This is largely because I like to maximise the return for travel time (including trekking to where ever is the destination) and cost (Australia is a long way from many mountains), and in the high mountains one needs time for acclimatisation etc.

While I enjoy solo photo outings, most of my more adventurous trips are not possible without other people.

Many of your photos are obviously taken at high altitudes during some heavy duty climbs and treks. During these adventures, how much planning is involved to capture the photographs that you do? In other words, how big of a role does photography play in relation to the adventure itself?

When travelling in the mountains I try to be aware of photographic possibilities at all times. This means being awake to developing events (including atmospheric conditions, changing light, the position of my companions, etc) and options for placing myself in the best position to capture an image. My mountaineering skills have been important in facilitating that.

Photography is hence an integral part of most mountain trips, but the adventure itself is the primary driver.

What is the most challenging aspect of photography for you?

Finding the time to accumulate resources (ie earn an income) and get out, and then staying fresh and open to new possibilities, seeking new things, etc.

Digital capture has presented a vastly expanded range of options, and the instant feedback and greater freedom to pursue or experiment is welcome, but keeping up with technology (just to operate at my relatively low level and get the best out of my image capture) is a continual challenge.

If you had to choose one or two personal favorite photos from your collection, which would they be, and why?

Given above, my favourite images are as much about the place and experiences around it or adventure being undertaken than purely photographic considerations.

We had just completed the first longitudinal traverse of the sub-antactic island of South Georgia and were exploring a massive wind scour and sheltering from the wind. The icicles and setting seemed to epitomise much of what we’d just been through.

Looking up more than 3000 metres from the relative calm of my base camp to this wind cloud shrouding Everest’s summit seemed to illustrate the extreme conditions up there and underline how thin is out atmospheric comfort zone.

After finally traversing the Patagonian icecap (twenty years after first dreaming about it) this image of a parhelion over our camp captured during a brief respite in a five-day storm seemed to encapsulate much of the experience of the place.

Another Patagonian image, from my first trip there in the mid 1980s, this delicate subject & the uncharacteristically still conditions, again after a couple of days largely tent-bound, was magical, but fleeting.

A ski traverse of the Karakoram Range in 2004 was probably my most rewarding high mountain trip and this image, approaching the highest pass, captures both the place and the experience for me.

The mountains in my home Australian state of Tasmania are not high but are rugged. On an Autumn morning like this they can feel as wild and remote as anywhere on Earth.

Are there any particular photographers/artists who have inspired you and affected your work, and how so?

Galen Rowell, whose work I’ve been interested in since about 1980, as much because of his writings and trips to areas I also was interested in or dreaming of visiting. But these days the internet allows access to the work of many well known and not so well known photographers (like ourselves for example) and therefore the opportunity to sample and be inspired by many sources.

How has photography affected your lifestyle? Do you think you’d still be living your life in a similar manner if you weren’t a photographer?

Probably not. But it’s adventurous interaction with the natural world that challenges and inspires me, and photography is just one way I do that.

What is the closest call, or scariest accident you’ve had in the wilderness?

There have been no truly close calls, or not that seemed like it to me at the time; an element of luck perhaps, but I prefer to think good planning & experience play a part.

One occasion that does come to mind, however, was going briefly aground in a yacht in Antarctica, scary perhaps because I’m not a sailor. A mooring broke and the yacht grounded in a gale at night, with potential icebergs bearing down on us while we released the other moorings and tried to get off.

Where in the world would you most like to visit in the future?

Too many places for one lifetime – the Arctic, a return to the Himalaya, the North America mountains (of which I’ve seen virtually none).

>> Visit Grant Dixon’s photo gallery here <<.

Norio Matsumoto is the most dedicated mountain photographer I know of. Every winter, he camps alone for months on end in a snow cave on Alaskan glaciers, and during the summers he camps on islands on the Alaskan coast, photographing whales. The result of his focussed efforts is one of the most spectacular mountain photo collections I’ve ever seen. Norio’s work has been a big inspiration for me for years, and I finally emailed him recently to ask him a few questions.

It sounds like you return every winter/summer to the same glacier/island. Is this correct? How many years have you been doing this?

There are a couple of glaciers that I go for winter camping, and in summer, there are many different places that I camp. I have been doing this for about ten years.

When you are camping on the glacier, how far do you travel from your igloo? Do you ever set up other camps in different spots from your igloo?

I pretty much stay just around my camp since there are some hidden crevasses.

Can you speak about your mindset and emotions during these long solitary periods?

I totally enjoy being by myself. I camp out because I like doing it, but not because I HAVE TO do it. Otherwise, I cannot camp out in 20 to 40below temperature for two months!

What is the closest call, or scariest accident you’ve had in the wilderness?

When I camped in the middle of a big glacier, an incredible windstorm hit the camp. The wind funnel through the glacier and didn’t stop for two whole days. I couldn’t even go outside. Meanwhile, the wall of the cave became thinner and thinner due to the wind, and I could tell that by hearing the outside noise getting louder and louder. Fortunately, the wind stopped before the cave collapsed, but otherwise, I don’t know if I could have made it through.

I’ve noticed that many wilderness photographers tend to go out alone. Why do you think this is?

For me, it would be hard to be with someone else and try to get good photos at the same time. I cannot concentrate. What I might end up doing is that I would be nice to that someone by keeping conversations, rather than just shooting photos, because I would feel bad for that person.

Where do you live when you aren’t out on the glaciers or the islands? Do you photograph a lot during those periods?

I am in Japan when I am not in the wilderness. I spend half a year in AK and the other half in Japan. When I am in Japan, I write articles for Japanese magazines, travel around doing slide shows, and try to sell photos to magazines and calendars.

How has photography affected your lifestyle? Do you think you’d still be doing the same things if you weren’t a photographer?

I just wanted to do something with all my might to feel the fulfillment. Photography just happened to be a way to achieve it. So even if I weren’t a photographer, I would still be doing something else in order not to regret about my life.

If you had to pick just one or two personal favorite photos from your collection, which one would you choose, and why?

I like photos that show both Denali and northern lights. I have been trying to photograph it for the last ten years and there haven’t been many chances to capture the moment.

Are there any other places in the world you dream of visiting and photographing?

No, there aren’t. Only Alaska. There are so many beauties in Alaska that I cannot photograph it all with my lifetime.

For everyone else, definitely spend some time checking out Norio’s online gallery at www.NorioMatsumoto.com. Also, you can read another interview with Norio here.

Marian Matta is a master of panoramic mountain photography.  As you can see in his online gallery, he has a great ability to capture dramatic vistas from perspectives high up in the mountains.  His photos are simply stunning.  We have been in sporadic email contact for several years, and recently I asked if he would participate in an email interview, to learn more about his photography.  Below are Marian’s answers to my questions.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am 48 yrs old and live in Ostrava, Czech republic. Photography is still just a hobby, so I have to attend my normal full-time job. I work for an IT company as a tradesman and sell GPS navigations, PC’s, notebooks and accessories. But photography has been with me my whole life. I’ve all the time been so close to it. Even as a student in the 70′s. At that time, I was longing for photography with a mountain theme but I had no possibilities to buy a camera and shoot it. So I started around 2005 when the digital camera boom started here. I was really inspired with pictures from Patagonia and Dolomites. And so it began… I’ve started step by step to shoot panoramic pictures and I’d like to improve my skills and knowledge in this.

How often do you go hiking in the mountains to photograph?  And, how much time do you usually spend out there when you go out?  Do you usually go alone or with friends?

The best for me would be to move into the mountains, but this can never become a reality. Once a month, if it is possible with time (depends on job, family etc.) I go for a trip. My trips take 1-3 days but I shoot just 30 minutes before the sun rises up and about 5-10 minutes after it, when colour temperature is most interesting for me. The rest of whole day I’m moving for another good place to shoot the sunset. Most of the time I go on my trips with one friend, a photographer, maximum with two of them. I am not a friend of big groups. There are also trips I go on alone but I keep in mind the necessity of security in the mountains, so it is much better to have at least one other person for help.

What are the most important aspects of a successful mountain photograph?

It is in light – this is the most important point, sunrise – I prefer that light of sunrise.
Conditions – weather, dramatic changes of weather allows to see the countryside in a different way for just few minutes.
Place – attractive, monumental, unique, fluidum, atmosphere…
Then comes technique – for me it is panoramic equipment, which have some kg’s more on weight and surely, good lens.
And last, but most of the time first – to be the right time at a right place.

If you had to pick just one of your photos as your personal favorite, which one would it be and why?

This is really hard question and I am not sure I am able to select the right pictures. But, maybe with the opinion of people, is the panorama from Beskydy Mountains – BESKYDS PINK FLOYD. It was taken in really hard conditions but with magic atmosphere. For this scenery I was waiting the whole night. I was walking over the night to the top of the biggest mountain of Beskydy – Lysá Hora and the picture was taken right 30 sec. before the sun rose.

What are your favorite mountains to visit, and why?

For me the best is to get in the Dolomiti mountains on Italian side. They are “only” 1000 km from my place of living. There are an uncountable amount of bizarre formations, which draw mountain climbers and photographers as well. For 20 years I am there like as home. There’s just a question of money that does not allow me to get there more times and to even better places. But there, I know, I will get later (I would like to), because I have found new and photographically not discovered places of virgin country which makes happy not only one eye…

If you could travel to any mountains in the world where would you go?

Himalaya – this year, April – May 2009, if god allows. I’d like to fulfill my long-time dream and shoot the biggest mountains of the World.

What has been your greatest achievement related to photography so far?

Hard to say, I don’t see myself as a successful or technically skilled photographer. I think, my success begins when I am able to get back into the mountains and shoot there. Everything else is just like a bonus, something that’s really over it. My pictures were printed into calendars, catalogs, on wideside walls in a car factory, in outdoor company catalogs, magazines and, for sure, on hundreds of images on walls, that people buy as an accessory for their interior. What gave me the biggest happiness was presenting an exhibition held in Prague, Hotel Olympic – March 2007 on the occasion of the expedition: MEDEA on CHO YOU and MOUNT EVEREST 2007. Some examples:

Are there any photographers who have inspired you?

I don’t have any concrete ideal. I am not about to copy the style of somebody. But at this time, there are thousands of great photographers who we don’t even know about! On the other hand and without any word, there are also well-known photographers, who are really distinguished in the mountain photography but I don’t want to raise up somebody. I see in work of others lot of inspiration, no matter if it is professional or non-professional photographer. I like photographers who stay modest all the time.

Jack, I’d like to thank you for this possibility to tell my ideas to other photographers of same hobby as I have on the other side of the ocean – to shoot wonderful MOUNTAINS!

At 6:00am this morning, I met up with 12 friends in Ouray to head out for a day of cat-skiing in the mountains near Purgatory. Packed in four vehicles, we headed up Red Mountain Pass in the darkness and dumping snow. Several miles up the pass from Ouray, my friends in the lead truck noticed a set of tire tracks disappearing off the road into oblivion. Anybody who has ever driven the pass knows how scary steep and treacherous this road is – in places carved through sheer cliff mountainsides. A closer look down into the canyon revealed the dim glow of headlights in the bottom about 400 feet below.

As luck would have it, about half the people in our crew today are on the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, and by the time I got out of our truck, my buddy Jeff was already harnessed up and rappelling off a truck hitch down into the gorge with his headlamp. Part way down, he stopped at a 50′ cliff and was able to yell down to the driver. Miraculously, and to our great relief, the driver responded back that he was ok.

Basically, as we learned in due time, this semi-truck driver was driving up the pass when another semi-truck came around an inside corner a little too wide. The outside driver gave him a bit too much room, and once the wheels fell off into the soft snow on the edge, it was too late and the truck slid off the road into the chasm below, launching off a 50′ cliff midway down. Somehow the semi flipped around and hit trailer first, which was probably an enormous stroke of good luck which may have saved the driver’s life. Although the truck was completely crumpled and the engine torn out, miraculously the driver survived with only minor injuries. And as further luck would have it, our caravan of Ouray Mountain Rescue Team members just happened to be passing by just a few minutes later. Unbelievable.

Perhaps the strangest thing to me is to imagine how the driver felt, after surviving the death ride of his life, stuck in the bottom of a steep snowy gorge in the middle of nowhere, in the midst of a full winter snowstorm, and then just a few minutes later a rescuer rappels down into the gorge asking if he’s ok! So strange.

Anyhow, while Jeff and the others worked on getting down to the river to help the driver, calls were made to the rest of the rescue team and within minutes a whole array of rescue trucks, firemen, and an ambulance were on scene to help out. The firemen set up a flood light while the rescue team prepared to haul the driver out of the steep ravine on a stretcher (still unsure of possible injuries). It was pretty amazing to me how many people were up there so fast to help out. I’m not sure if they all sleep in their clothes or what, but it was definitely a cool thing to see.

In the picture above, you can barely see part of the crumpled wreck of the semi trailer down in the bottom of the gorge. Clint, Kevin, and Jeff hauled the driver up this couloir, but the truck itself had fallen off a much more treacherous section of cliffs left of this photo.

Once the driver was safely hauled up out of the snowy canyon and into the ambulance, we piled back into our cars/trucks and resumed our mission over the pass to go cat-skiing. We had only lost a few hours, and there was no hurry as the snowcat would be waiting for us in Purgatory (Durango Mountain Resort).

Well here we are inside the snowcat, happy about the outcome of the morning’s strange turn of events, and pumped to ski and snowboard some perfect untracked powder all day long.

Little did we know that after 3 or 4 good runs, the snowcat would break down, stranding us four miles from the ski area. The Durango Mountain ski patrol finally came to our rescue, dragging us out with towropes behind their snowmobiles. Despite our immense disappointment, all we could do was just laugh at the random craziness of today.

As I write this, I kind of want to go to the corner pub for a beer and a sandwich, but I’m wondering if I’d be better off just staying home for the remainder of the evening. Who knows what else is in store on this cursed day?

Today I hiked and snowboarded down Mt. Sneffels (see the riding photos in the next post). Here’s the classic view looking from the summit into Blue Lakes Basin. Notice all the ugly brown snow?

When it’s windy in the western states, dust blows from the deserts and ends up smothering the mountains. It’s a phenomenon that has probably happened naturally through the ages, but has become much worse in recent decades due in part to large scale grazing which erodes the desert soils. I’ve even heard that some of the dust blows all the way across the Pacific from huge dust storms in China!

In any case, the dust has a terrible effect not only on the snowpack but on the entire watershed. The dark dust absorbs much more solar radiation than pure white snow, causing a rapid meltdown of the snowpack. In heavy snow years like this year, it could cause flooding problems. In light snow years, it can cause premature meltdown, leading to drought conditions during the summer.

As for recreational effects, such as skiing, the dust can annihilate a wonderful spring snowpack like this year’s. You can imagine my disappointment as I looked at all the beautiful ski terrain around the Blue Lakes Basin that is basically trashed and unskiable for the rest of the year. As for photography, well look at it! It looks like toilet stains. Also, on lower snow years, the summer wildflower seasons could really be hurt by the premature meltdowns.

While the dust layers can affect all the ranges of Colorado, the San Juans seem to get the brunt of it. I’ve noticed in previous years when the dust was much worse in the San Juans than in other ranges such as the Elks or Gore.

Snow scientists have recently begun studies focussed on the dust layer. It remains to be seen what the full causes and effects are, and whether there’s anything we can do about it. (UPDATE: Here’s an informative article out the dust and its mankind-induced causes: Dust in West up 500 percent in past 2 centuries, says CU-Boulder study). In the meantime I will just mourn the loss of what could have been an epic ski season into July.

For reference, here’s a picture I took from the summit of Sneffels in June 2005, another big snow year but without a dust layer. Notice how pristine white the snow is… the way it should be.

(UPDATE: April 3, 2009: See photos of a huge dust storm blowing into the San Juan Mountains in this post).

When I first stumbled across Kevin Thurner’s website, I was completely amazed and inspired by his collection of photos from the North Cascades and beyond. I recently emailed Kevin some questions to learn more about his photography.

Be sure to spend some time browsing through Kevin’s online gallery.

You have an extensive portfolio of photos from the Washington Cascades. What is it about these mountains that draw you so?

This goes right to the point I suppose, but is tougher to answer than you might expect. I’ve sometimes thought of my time in these mountains as a kind of relationship. It’s been a progression of sorts as most things are.

Not being a native of the Pacific Northwest, I didn’t know much about the Cascades for quite some time. I gradually became aware of their alpine reputation in a very general way, mostly through news accounts of the Himalayan feats of various Northwest climbers. I remember at one point coming across a few small photos of the North Cascades in an outdoor magazine that tantalized me, but offered little more to go on. They remained in the back of my mind as a kind of mysteriously veiled mountain kingdom.

In the early 80′s I hitchhiked through parts of Washington State more than once and glimpsed Mt Rainier for the first time. Then a few years later, I saw a copy of the Beckey Guides in a climbing store in Boulder, Colorado. The pictures in those books confirmed to me that these were mountains of an altogether different character than the ranges I’d explored. They even intimidated me a little and I began to think of them as mountains of a different caliber.

My first year in the North Cascades was punctuated by many memorable mountain sojourns, but none as remarkable as the four days I spent over Labor Day weekend approaching and climbing Luna Pk. It was my first view of the Picket Range, and man was I hooked. It became clear to me on that trip that these awesome mountains were within my grasp. What I lacked in technical ability I could make up for with stamina, good route-finding and perseverance. These mountains exuded a different kind of wildness, and their northern, alpine character appealed to me immensely.

My time in the North Cascades has often been tremendously satisfying; and now I have been around them long enough to have built up a rather strong affection. It is still very much a Mountain Kingdom to me.

When you go out in the mountains, do you usually go out with friends or alone? How long are you usually out there on each trip?

My own trips have most often been done alone. Part of this derives from the practical freedom that going solo provides; part is simply a reflection of my somewhat shy personality. I do sometimes share trips with companions however, and these can be the best of times.

Longer trips are ideal for reaching the more remote parts of the range, but even day hikes can bring some remarkable experiences. There are several well known traverses of about a week’s length that are popular to varying degrees, but one of the appealing aspects of the North Cascades is the multitude of unique traverse routes that can be done. Some have taken this to truly epic proportions, and the following link provides some inspiring reading on this score: http://www.mountaineers.org/nwmj/05/051_GrandTour1.html.

When you head out, do you have preconceived ideas for potential photographs?

I sometimes do, yes. I’m very aware of position and vantage when I consider a route and also as I move through an area during a trip. The relative positions on the horizon of sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset during different seasons are things I notice. I often try to envision what the view might be from a given geographic point and sometimes these imaginings can change an unlikely and difficult to reach place into an irresistible destination. This is one reason I have sometimes sought out minor ridges and lower summits with difficult approaches. Such destinations are off the radar of most backcountry travelers.

If you had to choose one or two personal favorite photos from your collection, which would they be, and why?

It’s very difficult to distinguish just one or two images. Twenty-five odd years of photographs are not easily condensed; but here are a couple of earlier images that come to mind:

The image currently on my website’s homepage is titled “Mt Terror in Silhouette” and it does hold a special place for me. There are moments when we find ourselves uniquely privileged to witness or participate in extraordinary events. The most powerful of these can become signposts in the stories of our lives and imprint themselves upon our futures. The moment of this photograph was such a moment for me. It’s difficult to overstate the rarity of the event that this image captures or the magic it held for me at the time. It is also one of a handful of my early images that I could see were truly exceptional. They made it seem reasonable that I should pursue such things.

Another favorite is titled “Figures in Rock and Lichen”. This was one of my first successful abstract images and led me to think more deliberately about what we perceive as beautiful and why. Because it was taken on a sullen, cloud-veiled day, it also taught me the value of vigilance in unlikely conditions. Years later, this sentiment distilled into a mantra useful to me in the course of an extended bicycle tour of Norway that featured the region’s rather challenging weather. It is a saying I keep in my store of inner dialog: “Find the Beauty”.

Are there any particular photographers/artists who have inspired you and affected your work, and how so?

Early on I took notice of the photographers whose images graced the books, calendars and magazines of organizations like the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society. I admired many of these images and learned a great deal from viewing them. One man’s influence stands out however.

“Mountain Light” is the only photography book I have ever owned. Beyond individual images themselves, Galen Rowell brought out for me the spirit of what wilderness photographs could aspire to be. Interestingly, it was his prose as much as his images that grabbed my interest. This aspect of his work has greatly informed my own development as a photographer.

What is the most challenging aspect of photography for you?

There are many. While on a hike, a friend of mine once commented on my striking resemblance to a pack animal. Indeed, those who encounter me on a trail are unlikely to forget the man with the tripod case integrated on his hefty backpack and the large camera bag suspended in front of him. Aside from the physical challenges though, the photography itself comes by degrees.

There are of course technical equipment/medium challenges and there are challenges of readiness and strategic judgment. These are all preparatory however. Creative sensibility is the root of an evocative image, and fitting this very personal sense of vision and awareness to the world before you is the real challenge. By its very nature, there is no single way to achieve this. The great thrill of photography for me is in exploring this dynamic realm. That’s what it’s about.

I’m sure many of your photos have stories behind them. Do you think that for the viewing public, these stories contribute to the image, or is it best to let the viewers interpret them for themselves?

I don’t think there is a single answer to this for all images. A large part of the attraction of visual art is its wordless, emotional appeal to the viewer. People carry unique histories and engage unique perceptions. Some will be overwhelmed at the sight of a particular image, while others may see no compelling value.

There is a difference between telling the story of a photograph and trying to state some sort of interpretation of its meaning. The former in my opinion can sometimes enhance appreciation for an image and bring the viewer closer to the photographer’s experience. The later however, is pretentious at best and can be ruinous to a viewer’s empathy.

Where in the world would you most like to visit in the future?

Another tough question…

Given the time and the means, I might never stop traveling. The world is a big place and a lifetime is not enough to explore all of its varied treasures. Short visits have their place, but I am happiest when I have the time to know an area well either by living there or through extended or repeated visits. These opportunities are not common for most of us, but they can happen.

I’d love to explore much more of British Columbia and the Yukon, which are relatively close to me here in Seattle …and yet so far. New Zealand, more of South America, China, much of Europe including a return to Norway … Once it begins, it irrepressibly goes on forever…

Thank you, Kevin! I hope to see many more mountain photos from you in the future.