Bradford Washburn Dies at 96

[tim atherton]

Bradford Washburn, a tireless explorer, photographer and cartographer who made dramatic aerial images of remote mountains and glaciers over a period of six decades, died of heart failure January 11 in Boston. He was 96.... more here (http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003533783)

[naturephoto1]

I had heard about this. Great loss of a great LF Mountain and Aerial Photography Photographer. A great loss indeed, he will be missed. :(

Rich

[John Kasaian]

He was an inspiration to me, thats for sure and someone I would have loved to have met. Farewell and CAVU.

[Uri Kolet]

We mourn his passing; a true pioneer. I lucked into an exhibition of his B&W prints at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London a few years ago; the prints were as amazing as the story behind them. He shot using a massive aerial camera with a Packard shutter (degreased and re-lubricated with kerosene, which doesn't freeze until -55C) through the open sliding cargo door of ancient Fairchild monoplanes in the late 20's and 30's -think Lindbergh - and talked the pilot into throttling back the piston engine on these single-engined aircraft - at 30,000 ft over Alaska-to reduce vibration! (This is suicide in a piston engine in the cold, especially at jet altitudes;they were very lucky those engines didn't quit, as mine did one winter's day in Toronto over Lake Ontario mid-winter when my student reduced power to idle, Thank goodness it restarted; I can't swim!)

[John Kasaian]

Uri,

There was a superb article on Dr. Washburn in View Camera a while back that incorporated a most appropriate line describing his photography:

"This isn't for whimps"

I like to imagine that Washburn was a role model for the Indiana Jones movie character.

[Oren Grad]

For anyone within reach of Boston: the Panopticon Gallery, which has represented Brad Washburn, has put up a special exhibition in his memory:

http://www.panopt.com/galleries.php

In addition to offering silver prints of Washburn's work, Panopticon has made very large inkjet prints from some of his negatives - up to 40"x 60". The ones I've seen stand up remarkably well to that degree of enlargement, testimony to Washburn's technical mastery under extremely challenging conditions as well as to the quality of Panopticon's scanning/post-processing/printing.

[Eric James]

As a photogropher and friend of the mountains, the passing of Bradford Washburn saddens me. I have seen his prints in books, private collections and most recently at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. I am very glad to hear - through Oren's post - that some of his images have been digitized. Bradford Washburn has passed, long live his images.

[Bruce Barlow]

I have seen, touched, and carried many Washburn prints at the visitor's center on top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. They are incredible. He was quite a guy.

You can buy Washburn prints from the Mt. Washington Observatory and thereby help support their meteorological work. http://www.mountwashington.org/store/index.php?main_page=redirect&action=banner&goto=9&zenid=7ddee88bb677e2b15293057024df7125.

I volunteer up there periodically for a week at a time - one cooks dinner for the observers and has the rest of the time to one's self. Incredible views of the Presidential Range, and in my experience one day a week it's clear enough to photograph. But when it is, it's worth it.