Jaspal was recently interviewed for a background piece on a series of three new prints from South America. The focus was on ‘Resplendence’ taken in Torres Del Paine National Park.
Background - I often note that ‘no creative endeavour can commence without inspiration’ and this is especially true of photography. The high-contrast, black and white images of Ansel Adams have left a huge mark on me and there is a plate entitled ‘Clearing Winter Storm’ that still resonates hugely on my mind. The scene shows the majesty of Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View directly after the passing of a heavy snow storm. After many failed attempts at capturing similar climatic conditions, I could almost feel a similar drama in the air as I stood admiring the mountains of Torres Del Paine National Park.
Location - Torres del Paine National Park is a Chilean National Park comprising mountains, glaciers, lakes and rivers. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The view depicted in the print is not of the actual three Torres (Spanish for ‘Towers’) of Paine. Instead, it is a view of the Cuernos (Spanish for ‘Horns’) of the mountain range.
Lighting - My GPS confirmed that Cuernos face almost due South and that a sunrise would gently light the faces from the East (the shot is taken from Lago [‘Lake’] Pehoe with the camera aligned due north). It was an incredibly dull, cold and overcast morning as I awoke and the possibilities for photography seemed incredibly remote. As I moved into position a snow storm was passing directly over the Cuernos and I was tempted to pack my equipment try again the following morning. However, the wind seemed to change and the sun began to rise over my right shoulder. The light was absolutely incredible – physically unbelievable for anyone who has not witnessed first-hand the simultaneous occurrence of a snow storm and sunrise.
Composition - I clearly remember thinking ‘don’t blow this one’ as I began to compose the scene. It was a moment of total focus – so much so that I can’t really recall the exact workings of my equipment or my brain at the time! I knew a black and white shot would work and initially composed a much wider view of the valley. However, the more I inspected the scene the more my eye returned to the magnificent Cuernos. I knew these would be the focal point and cropped a much tighter view to allow for this fact.
Technique - The print was taken with a Linhof 617 SIII camera with a 180mm lens (roughly equal to a 40mm in 35mm camera terms). The film was TMAX black and white at ISO100. From experience, I rated the film at ISO90 and used a Sekonic light meter to calculate the respective difference in exposure. A 2-stop GND was used to hold the detail in the snow/sky and was angled slightly diagonally to the top left. The exposure was 1/2s @ f16 and 2/3s.
Hope you enjoyed this piece and the new Prints from South America.
