Gordon Wiltsie grew up in Bishop, California, a
mountain town nestled between the Sierra and White Mountains. By his late teens
Wiltsie was an accomplished mountaineer, climber, and budding photographer.
Wiltsie calls himself a self-taught photographer, but
living where he did, below one of America's most beautiful mountain ranges, he
could not help but meet and be inspired by the many leading outdoor and
landscape photographers who traveled though his area.
Wiltsie's early photo career breaks began with a 1975
photo essay in the magazine Ascent, which established his
reputation with the outdoor adventure audience—then an article the following
year in Outside magazine presented his name to an even wider
readership. Subsequently, his many feature stories forNational Geographic,
including several cover stories, have established his worldwide reputation as
the consummate expedition and adventure photographer. Wiltsie began publishing
his adventure photography in national magazines while he was still a college
student, and the popularity and ready market of adventure photography steered
him away from his real passion, which is cultural subjects.
In pursuing his photography degree from the University
of California, Santa Cruz, Gordon wrote his own course work for an extended
stay in Nepal, where his cultural studies included learning the Nepali, Hindi,
and Tibetan languages. "My studies in Nepal began my lifelong fascination
and pursuit to photograph vanishing cultures," he says. His time in Nepal
also began his long involvement with guiding and photographing in the Himalaya.
Recalls Wiltsie, "Early in my career I thought my photographic focus and
specialty would be primarily the Himalayan countries, but then I started guiding
and photographing in Antarctica, which led to a couple of stories there
for National Geographic. Other assignments send me to the Andes,
the Canadian Arctic, and China." His Antarctica experience eventually led
to a cover story in the February 1998National Geographic magazine
about a climbing expedition to the little known Queen Maud Land.
Wiltsie has been involved in more than a hundred
expeditions outside of the United States. His area of specialty is mountains
and adventure, but lately he has come full circle and is again focusing his
camera on cultural stories and mountain people. Recent stories include the
recovery of mummies in the Peruvian Andes and the winter migration of the
Darhad people of northern Mongolia. Wiltsie's work ethic on assignment has him
up before dawn, and he doesn't call it quits until well after dark. The average
assignment may last five to seven weeks. When on a shoot, Wiltsie says,
"keep the story in mind. Maintain a shot list of visual pieces that add up
to a coverage that is greater than any single image. Think wide, medium, and
close-up. It's easy to focus on making every picture a calendar image and miss
out on less obvious things that are happening behind the scenes."
Besides getting the photos, Wiltsie also has to work on
fitting in with and being accepted by team members. Wiltsie's expedition
philosophy is simple: "Be careful not to include the course of the
expedition. Work to fit into the group by helping with chores, carrying loads,
and doing other daily tasks. The best tactic for the photographer is to work
hard to blend in." Communicating your objectives to the team is important:
"Work out your photo needs in advance with the team leader and every
single member of the expedition. Explain what they need to do to help you get
the photos you need. If part of the team resents your presence, your experience
with the trip may become miserable—even life threatening.
"Your shooting style should not be intrusive.
When photographing people you do not know, either ask permission or make it so
fast and painless (followed by a smile) that they either do not know you shot a
photo or do not care. Asking permission is often deadly for spontaneity, but
works beautifully if you can spend enough time together that your subject can
relax. Bottom line, it is essential to be extremely sensitive, and if in doubt,
do not shoot."
Often photographers are too trusting of their cameras,
relinquishing too much control to its automatic functions, says Wiltsie.
"In this age of automatic cameras, anyone can take a modestly decent
picture. To rise above you have to be a technical master." He adds,
"Be fast and mobile. No one wants to wait around while you spend time on
focus and exposure. They especially hate it if you always have to stop to take
your camera out of your pack. What's important is to be there with your eyes
and mind alert and your camera ready. Look for the moments: peak action;
revealing facial expressions; personal interactions; or unusual, fleeting
light."
Wiltsie consistently produces photos that look natural
and unaffected by camera flash or technique—however, he often uses a portable
flash. He believes every photographer should master the use of flash and bounce
lighting. These are regularly needed to bring out details in shadowy areas, to
create sparkle in someone's eyes, or to create truer color in miserable weather
conditions, all of which can seldom be accomplished with automatic flash
settings.
Gordon Wiltsie’s Adventure Photography Tips
·
Make yourself
intimately knowledgeable about any activity, sport, or environment you want to
photograph. If you're not a climber or a skier, for example, chances are you
won't photograph these activities well. You're also unlikely to create much
that's visually new or different if you shoot something that you haven't
researched.
·
Keep abreast of
what other adventure photographers are doing. What might have been leading edge
imagery a few years ago has likely been copied so much that it isn't novel
anymore.
·
Adventure
photography is inherently risky, but don't take stupid chances to get a
picture.
·
Become part of the
team. Do your share of any expeditionary duties. Make yourself an insider, not
someone on the outside, looking in.
·
Always keep your
camera right at hand. Some of the best moments come completely by surprise.
·
Look for unusual
angles, frames, and perspectives. Often just a part of a person or scene will
communicate the whole. Consider, for example, advertising for Marlboro
cigarettes. Viewers of these ads can see just a belt buckle or a bridle hung
over a fence and envision a cowboy and his smokes.
·
Don't forget to
have fun. Choose projects that are close to your heart and abilities so that
you can enjoy them.
—Text by Bill Hatcher, from Photography Field Guide: Action & Adventure photography.nationalgeographic
All images © Gordon Wiltsie
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