There was a time when photographers were much more limited in setting up shots. They had to identify what they wished to shoot, get in position, make sure the lighting was perfect, and snap away. Not anymore. The wide availability of drones, which can be fitted with high-quality cameras, has opened up an entirely new world for photographers, meaning that they can now shoot from overhead and gain access to areas and places that would have been nearly impossible before, thus creating an entirely new way of seeing the world.
Renowned photographer and videographer David Kaszlikowski, a specialist that focuses on capturing mountain, aerial and underwater scenes, is one of those who is making the absolute best use of the new opportunities drones give to his craft. This paid off big time while searching for a perfect location for a new documentary on the Himalayan mountain range he was working on – ‘K2 Touching the Sky’.
While setting his drone up over K2, the second-highest mountain in the world behind Mount Everest, which also sits in the Himalayas, he spotted a previous unknown Glacier surrounded by a 65 ft wide pool of water. The new glacier was spotted in the area over K2, near Concordia, where two previously known glaciers rest, known as Baltoro and Godwin-Austen. The Himalayas spread over almost 2,000 km is known to be home to around 15,000 glaciers, but as demonstrated, many remain undiscovered due to the severely treacherous and impenetrable terrain.
In an interview with WIRED, Kaszlikowski explains:
“The place was special, making a very clean graphic frame. It was disappearing, melting, changing its form every day. It was quite obvious nobody will photograph it again like me; nobody will see it the same way the next season. He went on to say, “Today, with digital and access to various advanced tools, it’s much easier to get decent results. But one thing never changes: You have to follow your vision.”
While the glacier was discovered by drone, Kaszlikowski decided he wished to take stunning images in person and, along with a guide, made the long and difficult trip to the previously unseen terrain. With a Canon 5D Mark III on a tripod, Kaszlikowski used a 30-second exposure to capture it, and with the shutter open, he used an LED to illuminate the image and create a glow. His picture won him the third place position in the 2015 Earth awards for single image, from lensculture:
The astounding image will take pride of place among the photographer’s expansive work, and is testament to the fact that although humans have been able to explore much of the world there is still so much that remains unseen and a world of adventure, exploration, and intrigue is there to be grasped if we so desire.
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