Line of Death, a photo from Sagarmatha, East

Photographer's Note

Taken on the trail to Mt. Everest base camp, at an elevation of about 4800m. These stones are memorials for people who have died on Mt. Everest. The picture shows only a few of them, there are many more there, perhaps in the hundreds. The large, elaborate ones like these in the photo are likely ones built for western climbers, while the memorials to porters and sherpas are smaller and simpler (like the small pile of stones in the lower right). The mountain in the background is Ama Dablam, seen from the north. With this photo I tried to show the amazing natural beauty that draws so many people to the mountains, and the terrible cost the people pay to walk among these giants.

The photo was scanned from Fuji Velvia, with some slight cropping and sharpening, but no other PP.

Paolo, richtersl, quetzal, Coyotyto, yannick, robiuk, delaufer, rasmis, sanalytis has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Paolo (41258) 2005-05-16 11:27

It's a very nice shot Alvin.
great point of view of the Himalayan peaks. good light too and interesting note.
thanks, ciao

david1306 (126) 2005-05-16 11:28

Trиs belle photo, l'ambiance, les couleurs et la nettetй sont vraiment trиs bon. зa donne envie d'aller visiter... /David/

kensimage (8563) 2005-05-16 11:43

This can stand on its own as just a beautiful landscape, but what makes it special is that it also tells a story, which is not an easy thing for a landscape photo to do! Very nicely done, Alvin.

capthaddock (28790) 2005-05-16 11:49

Hi Alvin - the memorials add even more ineterest to the already awesome mountainous landscape. When I looked at the thumbnail I thought they were ruined stupas.

richtersl (3546) 2005-05-16 11:51

This is a very somber reminder of what can happen when one attempts this climb. The photo is very poignant as well as beautiful.

bboss (3578) 2005-05-16 11:59

Hi Alvin,
I remember this stunning place - I was there in the same year as you, but in march. A good pic, especially with the note, althoiugh I do do think its a bit sad that scott fischer gets a skyscraper and the locals get a pile of rubble.
Your composition is fine, but I am not quite happy with something in the sharpening or colour of the sky. Did you use a polariser for this? I think probably not, and it would have helped. Still a very good shot
cheers, David

Coyotyto (1305) 2005-05-16 12:21

Hi Alvin,

I really like how you composed that image. Giving a lot of place for the mountains, on the top of those stones. It gives a bit the feeling of the high mountain non-easy to access to the small alpinist, and, in a sense, it gives more power to the message.

regards,
Youssef

yannick (1471) 2005-05-16 12:54

C'est une trиs belle photo. A la fois pour l'Ama Dablam et la chaоne trиs dйcoupйe que pour ces monuments qui font un trиs bon premier plan.
Merci,
Yannick

toni_al (15875) 2005-05-16 12:58

Hi Alvin
Trиs belle image, belle chaine des montagnes.
Nice work
Toni

robiuk (10807) 2005-05-16 14:42

Huh, what a colour quality and clarity in this photo, Alvin!
Beautiful light and composition - very simple yet strong & bold.
Pity the memorial piles to porters and sherpas are made smaller as they're equaly contributing in climbers' efforts to the top - without them any expedition would be just a - try.
Thanks for this one,
Robi

summersun (4978) 2005-05-16 16:57

very beautiful and interesting photo. it reminds us that we are so little compared to the force of nature. I like the fact that the memorials are facing the Everest.
Vanessa

dabri (1692) 2005-05-16 17:12

Hi Alvin,
that place is exactly high as Mont Blanc on the Alps: 4808 m.
I have been there many times....
Is a special place, I have choose that also for my intro image.

Regards,
Davide

dkeus31 (27739) 2005-05-17 5:46

Hi Alvin,
Nice framing and colors .
Maybe too much contrast, but not sure.
Nice picture.

sylvie (1183) 2005-05-17 12:34

Beautiful lanscape, wonderful panorama, lots of details and very neat photo. Thanks for sharing your trips with us and for the interesting too.
Sylvie

srabbe (1424) 2005-05-20 14:04

Hi Alvin,
I missed a lot of beautiful Nepali photos !
I really like this one with these aligned stones, and the moutains behind are fantastics, so sharp !
Sophie

PJE (20758) 2005-06-14 0:41

Very nice and taken with great skill and beauty..sorry my limit for critiques have been used up for the night. I will be back tommorrow.

magiqa (1292) 2005-06-30 17:56

Very beautiful picture! You have succeeded very well with your scanning. It is impossible for me to see that this is not a digital pic from the beginning.

dodic (708) 2005-09-10 14:40

Hi Alvin,
It is really interesting to me see a picture from the real scene in Everest.Thank you for the interesting note.I was so curious to see if there is a members of TE who are visited top fo the world - Everest.A little sad story about a people who lost their life on this so raw place.Fight with the nature I suppose.The photo is much than good.
Thanks for share

Deyan

rasmis (291) 2006-09-22 14:43

Very impressive photo and useful explanation. Well done.

sanalytis (1634) 2007-01-06 4:14

Hi Alvin,

Great composition on this image. The photo tells a story, with the momorial stones in the foreground and the giant peaks in the background. Ama Dablam looks very majestic in the left part of the photo.

Spiros

Matthew-Watt (5934) 2007-06-22 2:04

Hello Alvin,

Living in Canada, you would be used to huge mountains, but I am sure nothing could have prepared you for this massive sight. Ama Dablam is the place where last November six climbers were killed in an avalanche, on the side of the 6,812 metre peak. An awesome skyline, the peak is physically more dramatic in shape and prominence than Everest. The FG is very pretty, with good lighting and cultural features of the stack monuments. You must have been very very happy with the weather, looks most enviable. Thanks for sharing.

Matt