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Himalayan Portfolios - Journeys of the Imagination - Kenneth Hanson, Photographer

Price: $85.00. 11" x 13-1/2" ISBN 978-0-9790597-0-4. 190 pages featuring 109 black-and-white duotone photographs. Includes an 11"x 46" fold-out panorama of the Biafo Glacier and maps to introduce the separate portfolios.

Hanson's photography and essay transport us directly to the valleys, glaciers and high passes that he encountered on his travels, accompanied by his simple camera, local guides, and a commitment to explore the mountains sublime. For Hanson, and others who revere them, the Himalayas remain a lasting emblem of man's ultimate challenge. Join him on these visual, spiritual and scientific treks'enter into this journey of the imagination.

leaf Kenneth Hansons' interest in landscape photography derives from his boyhood association with the English Lake District. The shore was a few minutes from his home, the Pennine Moors were to the east and the horizon was a profile of the Lakeland Mountains. In Hanson's boyhood the Himalayas were a part of local legend and a place of symbolic exploration and the substance of dreams.

The author's journey of the imagination would only be made real some 40 years later, when he embarked on his first trip to the Himalayas. At age 76, he has since weathered a dozen trips to the region. After every journey, he has chronicled the history of the locations visited, the photographic techniques employed, and the stories of the native peoples and master climbers he has journeyed with along the way. In other travels, he has photographed areas of New England, the California Sierra, India, and the region of limestone escarpments in England close to his boyhood home.

leaf Throughout these visual explorations, Hanson has relied on a basic 4x5 Toyo view-camera mounted on a sturdy wooden tripod. The stunning, self-developed results have appeared in juried and invitational shows, in solo exhibits and in the Himalayan Research Bulletin (now Himalaya). He is a member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists. Hanson's preference for a large-format camera that lends itself to clarity and directness of statement relates to his former career as a scientist. Prior to 1991, he was Senior Research Biochemist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

The photographs were taken on twelve Himalayan trips between 1986 and 2005 using an old fashioned 4x5 Toyo view camera mounted on a sturdy wooden tripod. Forward by Greg Mortenson, co-author of the New York Times best seller, Three Cups of Tea, One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time, and founder of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute. Mortenson says Ken Hanson's photographs "bring joy down from the mountains".

leaf The book includes an essay that examines the place of photography in the Himalayan experience. The essay is concerned with the presence of Himalayan Buddhism, the evolution of mountaineering and with the mountain sublime. The Himalayas are an emblem of the ultimate challenge and the final passage between life and death. Doug Chabot has provided a forward to the essay that describes the ideals of alpine-style mountaineering.



Table of Ch3>

Pg. 2 Front Image: Dhaulagiri North Face; Morning Light
Pg. 3-6 Forward and Introduction
Part I, Photographs: Each portfolio has a two-page introduction with maps
Pg. 8 Portfolio 1 - Mountains of Kashmir (The Karakoram, Ladakh)
Pg. 44 Portfolio 2 - The Hidden Realm (Dolpo, Western Nepal)
Pg. 70 Portfolio 3 - Mountains about the Great Cleft of the Kali Gandaki
Pg. 94 Portfolio 4 - The Remoteness of Everest (Nepal and Tibet)
Pg. 114 Portfolio 5 - Five Treasuries of Great Snow (Kangchenjunga)
Pg. 128 After Image: Gyamtso-La, Tibet

PART II: Comments and Reflections

Pg. 130 - Doug Chabot: Go Light. Keep It Simple. Be Bold.
Pg. 131 - Kenneth Hanson: Uncertain Boundaries Singular Destinations
Greg Mortenson: "Three Cups of Tea"
The Necessary Journey
High Pass & Secret Realm
Nature & Nature's God
The Hand of Empire
The Mountaineers
A Matter of Life and Death
The Camera & the Journey

Pg. 181 - The Structure of Mountains
Pg. 187 - Technical
Pg. 188 - Acknowledgments

For more information about Kenneth Hanson, please visit his website at: Kenneth Hanson

and his blog at: Himalayan Portfolios

Readers Responses:



From Ken's sister-in-law:
I have just received the books and only begun to explore mine. I am overcome with emotion. I can't quit crying.

From Steve Baron:
Congratulations are in order. I think you should be very proud for many reasons. Here is my professional analysis to date: Good title. Good gray on the jacket, and very nice, very conservative design. Good black and gray ink colors. Nice paper; I'm trusting the wave will disappear in a week or two. Nice application of ink to paper. Surprise gatefold. The pictures work, nice, evocative. They get to me. Wish I could go there -- any of the places. Its still a remarkable world we live in (or live outside of.) Looking forward to a bit of time for more thorough look.

From Doug Nygren : (Images committee)
Thank you for dropping off your book yesterday. I've started to go through it. It's soooo wonderful. I haven't made it all the way through yet looking at the photos let alone reading the copy--my wife commanded it from me this morning--but what I've seen is impressive. It makes me want to go to there. I liked the way you put maps in the book. I like the diversity of the photos. I know how well you print. You are a superb printer who makes his photos glow. I think your publishing company did your printing well. They kept the glow in your work. Ken, this is such a great collection of photos. I'm glad you did this project both for yourself and for those of us who like photography and value you and your work.