The word “Mountains” initiates different types of feelings inside me. It’s a mixed feeling with different characteristics. When we are going to meet our love, there is an adrenalin rush inside us till we seen that person, once we notice the person, we smiled and feeling happy and then we hold our hand each other and then we are into the kingdom of peace, and lastly, when we say goodbye to that person for the day, it’s a sad feeling but we are hoping that we’ll see each other again as soon as possible and from this urge, we will make our time to meet our love again and for me, Mountain is my love.
Before capturing a mountain shot, we have to love her beauty, admire her bigness and respect her kindness.
We have seen the ice-covered Mountains many times from different places and time and every time we uttered “Wow! What a beauty!” Have you ever tried to feel that beauty? It is always majestic from dawn to dusk.
Recently I have visited Tibet and Sikkim for the exploration. In Tibet, I have seen Tibetan Terrain. This Tibetan Terrain can be seen in the Northern part of Sikkim also. While visiting Tibet, I have seen unnamed mountains with their different colors and beauty. Whenever I look at them, I have felt proud which they hold. I have seen the Manas Sarovar which is sacred lake for many religions. Have seen the Mt. Kailash in the golden hour. Yes, I have captured them through my lens. I have waited long to take the perfect shot of Mt. Kailash over Manas Sarovar(lake) in the yellow light of Sun. I was quite excited about the trek which I did from Yamduar to Deraphuk which is known as a basecamp of Mt. Kailash. During the trek, I have got the glimpse of west face of Mt. Kailash which is less popular, but it was mesmerizing. I was spellbound when I have seen the north face of Mt. Kailash. It was stunning, majestic and gorgeous. This was not the first time, I got such feelings, every time, I saw Kanchenjungha, I felt the same. Be it Kanchenjugha or Mt. Kailash or any other unnamed mountains, whenever I seen them, I always wonder for their presence.
When I was walking in the valley to reach Deraphuk which is known as basecamp of Mt. Kailash, I have discovered myself in between the mountains with no name and they were vast. There was a river flowing between the valley and making the sound to let others know her presence. It’s not the first time I have encountered the river flowing between the mountains. Every time, I came across the fierce river with high current, I have felt, they were in a hurry. But I love the pattern of flow of water. Whenever I slow down the moment, it creates another frame where water flow looks like a smooth white foam.
The most important part to capture mountain landscape is the sky and the twist and turns and the curve which were created by nature. In my travel time, I got the partly cloudy sky which created the light and shadow over the vast mountain and sometimes it creates a gorgeous frame in the backdrop of vast mountains.
If we are concentrating on the mountains and its pattern, then, a pattern of rocks and their color and the texture attracted me a lot. I often found a pattern of layers created by the mountains. It is not necessary that pattern should be in a similar way or ascending or descending order, it could be abstract. The layers could be abstract. But, the mountain itself develop such patter and layers which we could not find anywhere else. The most beautiful part of the layers and pattern is, when the sun is about to rise or at the end of the day, it creates magic with light and shadow. Few years before, when I visited Lungthung valley of Sikkim, I took a photo just before the sunrise. It was like, the sun has spread its orange spectrum in the dark blue sky to announce its presence.
What I have said earlier, I am in deep love with the Mountains. I never thought to conquer them, but what I am thinking, is surrendering myself to them. Whenever I am looking at them, I felt how small I am in front of them. I can see them with my blasting eyes, can they see us?
If you are asking me how do I capture those images, the answer is, I love to capture what is delicious to my eyes. I can wait a day as long as nature wants to uncover its ultimatum beauty. The technical aspect of an image can be different and can be achieved easily from the books, but love can’t happen with the rulebook. So, if you want to capture photos of mountains with ice caps or the river flowing through the mountains or the trekkers walking down the valley in between the mountains, or the vast layers of mountains, you have to love the mountains first. So, to make it delicious to your eyes, feel it, love it, close your eyes and hear the whisper in the wind.
All photos clicked by and the blog is written by Subhajit Basak for WPC project Mountains
Saheli Basak
Sun Feb 2 11:40:00 2020
I can feel the essence of the mountains through this blog! Great work!