It’s a year to the day since a small group of wanderers reached Everest Base Camp in Nepal. I was lucky enough to be among that group. It simply wouldn’t be right to let the anniversary pass without posting a couple (or more) photos of the trek, so some that didn’t make the initial cut follow. With a fair wind we’ll be back on higher ground soon. In the meantime, in 2018, we hope to organise an exhibition of artwork focused on the mountains of Nepal and Tibet. Watch this spac

It’s been nearly two months since I last troubled this blog. Life has been fairly hectic of late (which I’ll save for a future post), but one background project that has now, finally, reached completion has been to turn my EBC blog posts into a book; not a book “available to the public from all good retailers and bookshops” you understand, though that would be nice, but instead a personal, tangible, memento of the trip, that can sit proudly alongside my other books on photogr

For my fellow trekkers rather than the wider world, some shots of our party, John (Yorkshire), Charlie, Rob, Sarah, Cameron, Deborah, John (Aussie) and Reisa, plus our guide Dumbar and his assistant guides. Thanks for making it a fabulous trek! Safe Landing, Lukla Nepali Flat! Dunbar with willing Helpers Top of the world, Mende Yak Man John & Charlie’s old haunting ground Shadow People Memorials Cameron at Basecamp Basecamp John Ascending Three Yorkshiremen The group united F

In a post specifically for Sigma enthusiasts I’ve collated the shots of the EBC trek taken with the DP3 into one post, so you don’t need to look at that horrible Sony thing 🙂 With a weight limit of 15kg, and the Sony already in the bag, I had to choose from one of my three Sigmas as the second camera. The Merrill DP3 was the obvious choice given its focal length, but more than that I’ve always been blown away by the DP3’s resolution and sharpness, and of course that Foveon l

The final post of the diary covers our descent from Kalapatthar back down to Lukla, and from there to Kathmandu. Wednesday 16th November, PM : Kalapatthar (5,545m)  to Perchiche (4,280m) No photos. Thursday 17th November,  Perchiche to Tashinga (3,450m) Thamserku, Nepal | Sony Rx1rII Ama Dablam, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Friday 18th November: Tashinga to Monjo (2,850m) Mountain Sunrise, Nepal | Sont RX1rII Mountain Sunrise, Nepal | Sigma DP3 Merrill Looking back to Everest, Lhoste

Part 4 of the diary focusses on the final upward trek to Base Camp and to our ultimate high point of Kalapatther, at 5,545m. Tuesday 15th November: Lobouche to Everest Base Camp (5,300m) then Gorak Shep (5,165m) Nuptse, Nepal | Sony RX1rII The Way to Base Camp, Nepal | Sony RXrII Nuptse, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Avalanche, Nuptse | Sony RX1rII Glimpse of Everest, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Khumbu Glacier, Nepal  | Sony RX1rII Nuptse, Nepal | Sony Rx1rII Wednesday 16th November: Kalapatth

Part 3 of the Photo Diary covers days 9-11 as we leave the trees behind and climb above 4,000m, visit Ama Dablam Base Camp, reach the Khumbu Glacier, and trek to Lobouche, at 4,931m our jumping off for Everest Base Camp. Saturday 12th November: Ama Dablam Base Camp (4,576m) Kwangde Re, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Everest (just) & Lhotse, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Ama Dablam, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Ama Dablam Base Camp | Sony RX1rII Ama Dablam Base Camp, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Ama Dablam Base Cam

Part 2 of the photo diary of the Everest Base Camp, covering days 4-8 of the trek as we spend our time acclimatising below 4,000m. Tuesday 8th November: Namche Bazaar to Mende (3,700m) Namche Bazaar, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Kwangde Ri, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Mani Wall, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Thamu, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Mende, Nepal | Sony RX1RII Mende, Nepal | Sigma DP3 Merrill Mende after Dark, Nepal | Sony RX1rII Wednesday 9th November:  Mende to Thame (3,801m) and back Mountain River

It’s a nearly two weeks since I landed in a cold, rainy Manchester, after three weeks trekking in Nepal, and it’s taken that time to get some photos and notes of the trip in order. The original intention was to set a limit of one photo per day and one post, but it proved too difficult and too limiting and so I threw that idea under a passing oliphant and instead decided to do the complete opposite and provide a comprehensive photo diary, complete with brief diary and shooting

From the serenity of high mountain trails, to the shock and vibrancy of Katmandu, an assortment of textures and colours that instantly send me back to Nepal. Texture & Colours – Nepal Shooting Notes A complication of Sony RX1rII and Sigma DP3 Merrill shots, post processed in Lightroom. A prize for whoever can guess which shots come from which camera 🙂 #LandscapePhotography #SonyRX1 #Himalaya #Photography #Trekking #SigmaSDMerrill #SigmaFoveon #SonyRX1rMarkii #Mountains #Trav

Trekking in the cold first light of day, deep in the valley’s shadow before the sun has chance to rise above the ring of mountain peaks. Thirty minutes later it makes its entrance! Himalayan Sunrise | Sigma DP3 Merrill Shooting & Processing Notes Shot using a Sigma DP3 Merrill, handheld @ ISO100,  f13, 1/320 second. Post processing Lightroom and Analog Efex Pro. #LandscapePhotography #Himalaya #Photography #Trekking #SigmaFoveon #SigmaDP3Merrill #Mountains #Travel #SigmaMerri

7:25pm GMT, Thursday 3rd November, 2016 7:20pm GMT, Thursday 3rd November, 2016 + 15 hours If you stumble on this blog in the 15 hours after its publication, the time it will take the Airbus to reach its destination, it’s highly likely that our 262 are sealed in an airtight, lightweight, aluminium tube, traveling at a speed of 630 mph, 41,100 ft above the Earth’s surface, separated from the stratosphere by the thickness of a rubber seal. But there’s one of our 2 million that

In just over a week, I board a plane from Manchester to Nepal to realise the dream of seeing Everest. I can’t recall when it started, this fascination with Everest. Perhaps it’s memories of Chris Bonnington led expeditions in the 70’s, when news reports on Everest were characterised by adventure, courage and national pride, rather than commercialisation and death statistics. Perhaps it’s childhood conversations with my two uncles, both climbers, both of whom must have been in