The Karakoram: Ice Mountains of Pakistan

This is a beautiful book. The Karakoram are perhaps the world's most spectacular mountains, and Colin Prior is one of the finest landscape photographers. This was many years in the making, and the results are worth the wait. About half the landscapes are black and white (Prior was inspired by Vittorio Sella's wonderfully sharp B&W images taken a century earlier) whilst the rest are in colour, which is Prior's usual format. The sheer verticality of the mountains gives these images less of a panoramic feel than Prior's landscapes in the Scottish Highlands, but the results are even more impressive. My own favourite images are the double-spreads from the Sim Gang glacier on pages 148 and 150. I believe this area is close to Snow Lake. The landscapes are interspersed with images of woollen-hatted locals and guides. Given the subject matter, I'm reminded of Steve McCurry's portraits, though none of the men have such pretty eyes as McCurry's Afghan girl. The production quality is very high, and the images are crystal sharp. There are short essays from Prior and Mick Conefrey (a mountaineering writer) and evocative quotations from early explorers next to some images. This book stands comparison with Shiro Shirahata's wonderful collection of the same mountain range, which is high praise, for I think the latter is the greatest ever work of mountain photography.

I attended a talk by the photographer while he was working on the project and before he had found a publisher. I was interested to see the completed project and book. It did not disappoint and is a beautifull testimony to his work and dedication. Shows the region in all its rugged grandeur.