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Sella captured K2, the second largest mountain in the world, over a century ago
Vittorio Sella was a pioneering Italian photographer whose work at the turn of the 20th century shaped both mountain photography and the history of mountaineering.
His rare images of the Himalayas remain among the most emblematic ever captured.
A new show in progress in the Indian capital, Delhi, called Vittorio Sella: the Himalayan photographer gives life to the breathtaking greatness of the Himalayas through its objective.
Organized by the famous British explorer and author Hugh Thomson and organized by Delhi Art Gallery (DAG), the show is probably one of the biggest collections of Sella Indian views.
It presents some of the first high altitude photographs of Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, and K2, the second largest mountain in the world, captured more than a century ago.
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A polo game played in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, 1909
Born in Biella, a city known for its woolen trade in northern Italy, Sella (1859-1930) made its first ascents in the neighboring Alps.
“Throughout her career, Sella used her skills in engineering and chemistry that the woolen factories and her father taught him,” said Thomson.
In the twenties, he had mastered complex photographic techniques such as the Collodion process, allowing him to develop large -format glass plates in difficult conditions.
His panoramic images, developed with technical perfection, have been acclaimed worldwide.
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A view of Darjeeling and Kanchenjunga, 1889
The journey of the Himalayas of Sella began in 1899 when he joined the British explorer Douglas Freshfield during a Kanchenjunga circumnight expedition.
Any district of the mountain also involved a foray into Nepal, which was also a closed kingdom.
While the team’s climbing ambitions were thwarted by relentless rains, Sella seized the opportunity to capture snow -capped virgin peaks. He experienced tirelessly with technology, trying Kanchenjunga teleobjects. His images transported viewers to an intact world through time.
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Broad Peak sunset in the Karakoram mountain range, 1909
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The K2 illustrated to the west by Sella
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A camp en route to Karakoram Himalaya, 1909
A decade later, Sella reached new heights – both literally and artistically – during an expedition of 1909 to K2 with the Duke of Abruzzi.
His most difficult mountain photographs in the world bear witness to his skills and resilience. The transport of a camera system weighing almost 30 kg, treacherous landscapes of the Sella, creating images that defined mountain photography.
Jim Curran, author of K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain, calls Sella “perhaps the biggest mountain photographer … His name (is) synonymous with technical perfection and aesthetic refinement”.
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A cane bridge in northern Sikkim en route to Kanchenjunga,
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A rope bridge on the Pumah river in the Karakoram mountain range, 1909
Sella was known for its extraordinary tenacity, crossing the Alps at a remarkable speed despite the transport of heavy photographic equipment.
Its harness and makeshift camera boots – three times heavier than modern – are kept at the Biella photographic institute.
His clothes alone weighed more than 10 kg, while his camera equipment, including a Dallmeyer camera, a tripod and plates, added an additional 30 kg – more than today’s air luggage limits.
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Himalaya Peaks seen from cashmere, 1909
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A Buddhist temple in Tumlong in Sikkim, 1889
During the K2 expedition, Sella captured around 250 formal photographs with her Ross & Co camera over four to five months; On Kanchenjunga, around 200, note Thomson.
“According to modern digital standards, this number is not extraordinary – and even in the last days of the analog film, it would be equivalent to eight rolls, which a photographer of the 197s could have used in one morning on a The only mountain – but when Sella was a photograph, it was a considerable number.
“It meant huge care and a thought was given to each photo, both because it had relatively few plates that it could draw.”
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The Dras valley below Karah, 1909
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Climers camping on a glacier in the Himalayas, 1899
Years later, the famous mountaineer-photographer Ansel Adams writes that the “purity of Sella’s interpretations moves the spectator to a religious fear”.
High altitude photography came with risks – many most ambitious Sella shots were ruined when wet conditions have stood the tissue separators with negatives.
However, those who survived reveal a masterful eye, notes Thomson.
“Sella was one of the first to recognize how snow tracks are as much part of the composition as the mountaineers who made them.”
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