Down memory lane (3rd and final pano added, 23 Feb)

[Erik Lund]

Thanks, Bent and Erik, for your comments.

Erik - if you are serious about going to Nepal I'll help with any information I have. It's 21 years since I was last there, and lots will have changed, especially in Kathmandu. But once you are out amongst the mountains, it will all be just the same as it always was.

Thanks! Much appreciated Will definitely come back to that!

[David Paterson]

My final Himalayan pano, for the time being. This is the east wall of the Annapurna Sanctuary, in north-central Nepal.

[Akira]

So far as the composition is concerned, this last one looks the most authentically stable, which is very fitting to this kind of majestic mountain image.

I love it!  How wide is its horizontal coverage?

[David Paterson]

Thanks, Akira. I'm not totally happy with the colour of this one yet; I must have another try.

The horizontal distance covered is 10km, from the north shoulder of Machapuchare (right) to the south shoulder of Annapurna III (left).

[Erik Lund]

Spectacular, I love the film look, makes it authentic!

What film was it shot on?

[David Paterson]

Fuji Provia. After the first time I shot with Provia, I never used any other film. I tested a few from time to time, but never found any reason to change.

It has aways interested me, how film retains its different character even after it has been digitised. In this case, excessive uv due to the altitude - about 4200m - has created a strong blue cast which is difficult to get rid of in a nice way.

[CS]

Beautiful image, David!

[Akira]

Thanks, Akira. I'm not totally happy with the colour of this one yet; I must have another try.

The horizontal distance covered is 10km, from the north shoulder of Machapuchare (right) to the south shoulder of Annapurna III (left).

Thanks for the info on the location!  Apparently the advantage of the LF and 6x7 films shines through the digitized images.

[Erik Lund]

It really does shine through, yes. Thank you. Perfect weather for the shot, lovely little clouds

[rosko]

This last pano is amazing, Dave !

I love it : sharpness, framing, point of view,  colours, all perfect in my opinion.

To be honest, I much prefer this one than the first ones with the top chopped off, just my feelings.

I had a look on Google map to see this area :  This Machapuchare looks fantastic. What a shape ! No wonder nobody could reach the top, according Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machapuchare

Have you taken some pictures of this mountain ?

Thanks for sharing,

Francis

[David Paterson]

Thanks, Carl , and thank you, Francis - you flatter me. The  first one had the top chopped off because I was so close to the (enormous) mountain that I would have needed to tilt upwards very steeply, which I don't like to do; the second was an experiment, and the third was "au naturel".

Machapuchare  has been climbed several times, but as it is sacred to the local people, the climbers must promise not to set foot on the actual summit. So the last few metres have never been climbed.

I have quite a few images of the peak - here is one (shot on 35mm Kodachrome) -

[simato73]

Thanks, Carl , and thank you, Francis - you flatter me. The  first one had the top chopped off because I was so close to the (enormous) mountain that I would have needed to tilt upwards very steeply, which I don't like to do; the second was an experiment, and the third was "au naturel".

Machapuchare  has been climbed several times, but as it is sacred to the local people, the climbers must promise not to set foot on the actual summit. So the last few metres have never been climbed.

I have quite a few images of the peak - here is one (shot on 35mm Kodachrome) -

David, this image is dramatic but on my screen it has a severe cyan cast.
I am unsure whether this is real or a colour management/embedded profile issue.

[David Paterson]

David, this image is dramatic but on my screen it has a severe cyan cast.
I am unsure whether this is real or a colour management/embedded profile issue.

You are absolutely right - terrible cast - somehow slipped through quality control - mea maxima culpa - thanks for pointing it out.

I have replaced the offending jpeg with a somewhat more correct version.

[Akira]

Interesting.  If the severe blue cast of Kodachrome stronger than that of Provia was caused by the excessive UV, I would have liked to try Kodachrome for my experimental UV photography.

[David Paterson]

Interesting.  If the severe blue cast of Kodachrome stronger than that of Provia was caused by the excessive UV, I would have liked to try Kodachrome for my experimental UV photography.

It's hard to say. I think all film could suffer quite badly from excessive UV at altitudes above 3000m or so, but this effect was variable; some images might be badly affected, others not at all; the time of day was probably a factor with the middle four hours of the day, the sun at its highest, producing the worst colour-casts. But it was all too long ago to be certain of anything.

In any case, all Kodachrome processed in Kodak's UK lab was quite likely to have a severe cyan cast, or a bad magenta cast, or - sometimes - be absolutely perfect, with the  beautiful colour which only Kodachrome was capable of, at that time. You sent your film off, never knowing how it would look when you got it back.