Galen Rowell

August 23rd 2015

Galen Rowell would have been 75 years old today. A cruel twist of fate took him away on August 11, 2002 in a plane crash. A multi faceted personality he was a photographer, a mountain climber as well as a writer

Though Rowell was primarily a landscape photographer, he was not averse to other forms of photography as well. He spent long hours waiting for the right light for his photos. Living in California, the nationals parks like Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon were his back yard  including Owens Valley in the Sierra Nevada and  it is here that he did some of his most splendid work.

A Rowell photo has a distinctive stamp on it and if you are familiar with his work you would probably recognise the photographs.

He pioneered a photo technique using a filter called the split neutral density filter in varying strengths to lift the shadow detail in a high contrast landscape shot. Rowell was so successful at this that the boutique filter company called Singh-Ray developed split  ND filters based on what Rowell had pioneered!

One of his most famous images is the rainbow over the Potala Palace in Tibet. The story goes that when the rainbow appeared in the sky Rowell was no where near the Potala. He ran to the Palace and positioned himself in such a location that the rainbow seemed to emanate from the roof of the Potala an amazing shot which has become a signature Rowell print as well.

Some of his great photographs are reproduced below and have been an inspiration to photographers all over the world!

“Galen Rowell was a man who went into the mountains, into the desert, to the edge of the sea, to the last great wild places in the world to be absorbed by their grace and grandeur. That is what he did for himself. For the rest of us, he shared his vision with—click—the release of a shutter, creating photographs as timeless, as stunning, and as powerful as nature itself.”
–Tom Brokaw, from the foreword of Galen Rowell: A Retrospective

For details of Galen's work and the gallery he established in Bishop,  do visit www.mountainlight.com  and for an essay from the Sierra Club archives do visit  http://vault.sierraclub.org/books/photos/rowell/ 

Markha Valley Trek | Photos

Night skies and stars at the Markha campsite

The summer months are the season for Ladakh and the most popular trek is the Markha Valley. I have watched the Markha trek graduate from a camping only trek to a home stay trek and now there are multiple home stays in each village.  Meals are also available at the homestays so a small group of trekkers could do the  Markha trek  without camping support during season time.

This year  Markha has been in the news - there was a report in the newspapers last week that due to flash floods and rising rivers many foreign trekkers had to be evacuated from the valley by helicopter.

Hopefully the weather has now settled and the rivers will go down gradually allowing trekking to resume.

I last did the Markha in September 2013 and here are some photographs from that trek which should be of interest to all Ladakh visitors.

Crossing the river at Chilling

Tea tent in the season at Skiu

Looking east below the monastery of Markha

Typical Markha valley landscape on the trail to Hankar

Hankar village 

One of our group snoozing with Kang Yatse peak in the back ground

On the trail to Nimaling

The pass of Kongmaru la looking back at Kangyatse peak

Homestay kitchen at Chokdo the last day of our trek

My outfit South Col Expeditions runs trek to Ladakh and different parts of the Himalaya. For more details do visit www.southcol.com.

For more photographs and articles on the Markha Valley please visit the following  links

http://www.sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2014/02/the-markha-valley-trek-part-i.html

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2014/03/the-markha-valley-trek-part-ii.html

http://www.sujoydas.com/Ladakh-and-Zanskar/The-Markha-Valley-Trek-Ladakh/

http://www.sujoydas.com/SujoyDas/Outlook-Traveller-The-Markha/i-w9JL6Fs/A

Nikon | New Lenses for Full Frame D-SLRs

Nikon has introduced another three new lenses for full frame D-SLRs. These lenses can also be used on DX bodies taking into account the 1.5 crop factor. I am particularly excited about the fast prime 24 f1.8 mm and the extremely competitively priced 200-500 tele zoom suitable for wildlife and sports  without breaking the bank!

Nikon 24 F1.8G  Weight 335 gms; List Price $749
The 24 F1/8G lens is a typically fast wide angle prime which is useful in a host of situations. This is the sixth 1.8 prime which Nikon has added  - the others were the 20mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. Hence, Nikon shooters now looking for prime lenses to supplement their zooms are spoiled for choice. The  lens is both fast and light weight and competes favourably with the professional 1.4 lens which costs twice as much and is also heavy. Photographers needing a fast wide angle to shoot in low light conditions and in cramped interiors need look no further!

Nikon 200-500 F5.6E VR Weight : 2300 gms List Price $1399
Nikon has a professional model 200-400 F4 lens which sells at around  $7000 so this lens is an attractive proposition for wild life and sports shooters. It gives up one stop as compared to the pro lens but is much lighter and costs a great deal less. The competition in this range comes from Tamron and Sigma both of whom have lenses going upto 600 mm with a 6.3 aperture and are a shade lighter. We need to see the test results from this lens, but I suspect that the image quality will be good at this price point. On a DX body the lens becomes a super tele going upto 750mm without a tele convertor. Photographers considering this lens should also look at the combination of the new 300 F4 E VR with TC 1.4 which would be excellent for mammals but a little short for birds.

Nikon 24-70 ED VR AF-S f2.8 Weight: 1070 gms; List Price: $2399
The 24-70 is a professional grade zoom lens from Nikon which gets the added advantage of VR which was missing in the earlier model. The lens also gains in weight as well as in cost. The old lens without VR was excellent optically and those of you who have the earlier lens may not be inclined to upgrade to this new model. First time buyers looking for a professional grade normal zoom should consider this newer model along with the 24-120 F4 VR which is also an excellent lens but gives up one stop!

For more information on these new offerings from Nikon do visit:

http://www.popphoto.com/three-new-nikon-lenses-24-70mm-f-28-vr-200-500mm-f-56-fx-and-24mm-f-18

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/24mm-f18.htm#rex

http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/nikon-new-pro-lenses/

South Col Expeditions | New Updated Web Site

We have just uploaded the new and updated web site for South Col Expeditions www.southcol.com.

The site is better structured and has a lot of information on our treks and information on acclimatisation, altitude sickness, routes and a lot more.

Some of the  screen shots of the updated web site is given below:

Do visit the new site. We welcome your feedback and suggestions!

Green Lakes Trek: Panorama from Rest Camp

South Col Expeditions trekked the route to the north-east base camp of Kangchenjunga in the Zemu Valley, North Sikkim. Here is a video from  our Green Lakes trek which gives a good idea of the terrain and the vews




Green Lakes is controlled by a strict permit system which some times takes months to get. However, those who are tenacious enough to follow this up usually get the permit and will be rewarded with a superb trek through pristine country.

The forests of the Zemu valley are quite amazing as are the mountains.

This was my second visit to Green Lakes after 1987 and I was saddened to see that the fair size pool of water had now dried up and become a small muddy pond.

For more information on the Green Lakes trek please visit the following links

http://www.southcol.com/treks-nepal/green-lakes-trek-in-north-sikkim/

http://www.sujoydas.com/SujoyDas/The-Green-Lakes-Trek-in-the-Ze/

http://www.sujoydas.com/Sikkim-Himalaya/The-Forests-of-the-Zemu-Valley/

A Mountain Range on Pluto named after Tenzing Norgay

  NASA today named a mountain range on the planet Pluto as Norgay Montes after  Tenzing Norgay, who was the first person to  reached the summit of Everest with Edmund Hillary on May 29th 1953 after seven expeditions spanning eighteen years! 

Despite repeated requests to the Indian Government to honour Tenzing with the Bharat Ratna, this has not yet happened. 

The honour bestowed on him by NASA, coming out of the blue, is more than welcome. The video below (courtesy NASA) gives a flyover of the mountains of Pluto





For more information on NASA's mapping of the planet Pluto please visit http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000003807183/nasa-debuts-pluto-flyover.html

Kangchenjunga and Makalu | Sixty Years since the First Ascent

Kangchenjunga as seen from above Green Lakes in the Zemu Valley, North Sikkim

It is sixty years since the first ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1955. Kangchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who were part of a British expedition followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather the next day. They stopped short of the summit as per the promise given to the Chogyal that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. But the route from the Zemu valley shown in this photograph remained unclimbed until an Indain expedition led by Col "Bull' Kumar summitted the peak from the north east spur in 1977. This was only the second ascent of the mountain. This was the same difficult route that had beaten the Germans under Paul Bauer in 1929 and 1931. But, as far as I know, the east face direct route on Kangchenjunga is still waiting  for world class alpinists. This may remain one of the last great unclimbed faces in the Himalaya!

Makalu as seen from the Rhenjo La pass above the lakes of Gokyo

It is sixty years since the first ascent of Makalu in May 1955.A spectacular mountain it is not seen very often from the Everest region. Makalu was first climbed by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy on May 15th 1955. They were part of a  French expedition led by Jean Franco. Franco, G. Magnone and Sardar Gyaltsen Norbu summitted  on May 16th 1955  followed by Bouvier, S. Coupe, Leroux and A. Vialatte on the 17th May. This was an amazing achievement at the time to have the majority of expedition members summit, especially on such a difficult peak. Prior to this time, summits were reached by 1-2 people at most with the rest of teams providing logistical support before turning around and heading home. The French team climbed Makalu by the north face and northeast ridge, via the saddle between Makalu and Kangchungtse (the Makalu-La), establishing the standard route. The trek to Makalu base camp from Tumlingtar is a route which is also not very popular in the Nepal Himalayas mainly due to the long approach to the mountain. 

Nikon | Three New Lenses Announced July 2015

Nikon announced the introduction of three new lenses to be available from July 2015:


AF-S DX Nikkor 16-80 2.8-4 ED VR

  The AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR is constructed of 17 elements in 13 groups, and features a seven-blade diaphragm to create a circular, natural bokeh. It weighs in at 16.1 oz. / 480 grams. For fast, accurate and quiet AF performance, the 16-80mm also features Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM) technology.  This lens will replace the ever popular 16-85 VR which was one of the much loved standard zooms for DX bodies. It will be available in July for a suggested retail price of $1,069.95 (USD).  Recommended for DX shooters looking for a light and fast  standard zoom.


AF-S Nikkor 500mm F4E ED VR

The AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4E FL ED VR super telephoto weighs 6.8 lbs./3090 grams and combines two fluorite elements and three Extra Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements. It will also be available in mid-July for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $10,299.95 (USD). It measures 15.2 in. length (387.0 mm). The lens replaces the earlier 500 mm Nikkor. Both the 500mm and 600 mm below have a F4 aperture and VR so the decision between the two is the 100 mm extra on the 600, the weight and length of the lens and the price of the 600 vs the 500.




AF-S Nikkor 600mm F4 ED VR

 The AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR super telephoto weighs 8.3 lbs. /3810 grams and features two fluorite lens elements and four ED elements. It will be available in mid-July with a suggested retail price of $12,299.95 (USD). It measures 17 in. length (432.0 mm). This lens replaces the earlier 600 mm lens and it targeted at wild life and sports shooters.





For more information on these new lenses do visit
https://photographylife.com/nikon-500mm-f4e-vr-and-600mm-f4e-vr-announcements

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/16-80mm.htm

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2015/07/02/nikon-announces-faster-focusing-lighter-500mm-600mm-f-4-lenses