Killing Dragons

I'm hardly able to do some serious photo work these days. I've been churning out reports. Meanwhile lots of little things in the margins. In terms of photography, I received an invitation to exhibit my Capitals pictures in the Berlaymont building, where the European Commission is housed. More specifically, the pictures will be shown in the building's 12 elevators. Strange location perhaps, but definitely a place where all kinds of people - including the Commissioners and distinguished visitors - will see them on a daily basis. I think it is a very good opportunity. 

I'm also preparing my submission for Millennium Images. They accepted the test scans that Johan made on his Coolscan 9000 and now I have asked him to scan the full batch of 30 images. As soon as they are ready I can send them in and then I will be officially represented by London photo agency Millennium Images (wow!). 

In my spare time I'm now reading "Killing Dragons" by Fergus Fleming, an amusing and informative account of the early years of mountaineering. This led me to what I think is a pretty splendid idea: to have my "mountain portrait" project culminate in an exhaustive portrait of the most iconic, most over-photographed and yet irresistibly majestic mountain in the Alps (and beyond), the Matterhorn.It's the kind of project that fires my imagination: a subject persuasive in its geometric and topographical simplicity, a nice shopping list of summits to climb (including Matterhorn itself) and vantage points to conquer (I love ticking off lists ...).

Wouldn't it be fabulous to have the presentation of my Matterhorn portrait (preferably in the shape of a book) to coincide with the 150th anniversary of its very first ascent in 1865?Furthermore, in 2015 I will be exactly 50 years old (already!). In keeping with the spirit of the times I will photograph everything in 4x5". I don't want the portrait to be a rehash of the clichés we have been seeing all along. My aim is to combine the inimitable grandeur of Bradford Washburn's famous 1958 pictures of the mountain with the exactitude and objectivity of the Düsseldorf School.  Alpine Museums (Zermatt itself, but also Bern, Innsbruck, Munich and Turin) and Messner's collection of musems could be interested in this idea. Let's get down to work. 

Picture above is not the Matterhorn of course, but a scene in the Alpi Marittimi, taken last summer on Rollei IR film (Scale development) with the Contax Aria and the 135mm.