0:00:06 > 0:00:10The Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12one of the most rugged, remote
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and inhospitable places in the world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29Despite its savage nature, this is a photographer's paradise
0:00:29 > 0:00:34and one man is determined to capture its austere grandeur.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54There's a unique landscape here, that continually inspires me.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00These mountains that rise up, with their very fine-fluted towers,
0:01:00 > 0:01:06with domes with shapes that appear to rise from a Tolkien novel.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Occasionally, in Scotland, you will find yourself in the Cuillins,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20where you've got a bit of mist running over a pinnacle.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Here, in Pakistan, almost every mountain
0:01:23 > 0:01:29has these spires and pinnacles, with mist running in and out of them,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and I feel there is great opportunity to create images
0:01:33 > 0:01:36that really stimulate the imagination.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48There are more mountains over 8,000 metres in the Karakoram
0:01:48 > 0:01:51than anywhere else and they've attracted
0:01:51 > 0:01:53the world's finest climbers for over a century.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06But there are very few photographers who have been prepared to endure
0:02:06 > 0:02:09the hardship and dangers that exist here.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12It is awesome. I mean, awesome!
0:02:17 > 0:02:18Thank you, Mustafa.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32There is not another place in the world like this -
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Just this obelisk of rock, that rises so vertically.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46We've been rather fortuitous this afternoon,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49because we were scheduled to go to Trango Base Camp,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52but the glacier conditions are too dangerous
0:02:52 > 0:02:57and we have come to a spot which is exactly where I wanted to be.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04We've got a bit of cloud coming through today
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and it's made a huge difference,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10because instead of the blue sky, which we've seen almost
0:03:10 > 0:03:16solely, for the full trip, so far, it has changed and I'm really delighted
0:03:16 > 0:03:18we've got a bit of drama going on.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48By any standard,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53Colin Prior is one of the world's great landscape photographers.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57For over 30 years, he has meticulously documented
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Scotland's mountains and wild places.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Whether it is the wind-torn Atlantic beaches of Western Harris
0:04:04 > 0:04:08or the serrated skyline of Skye's Cuillin Ridge,
0:04:08 > 0:04:13he has matched a photographer's eye with the instincts of a mountaineer.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16This image was photographed on the Summer Solstice
0:04:16 > 0:04:21and it was a tremendously warm and bright day and,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25as evening approached, a front came in from the east
0:04:25 > 0:04:30and I thought that would be it over, but it passed very quickly
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and you've got what looks almost like
0:04:34 > 0:04:38a smoke-filled waiting room in a station. The effect was stunning.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Colin Prior has an instantly-recognisable style.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Where other people saw mountains rising up vertically,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52paradoxically, he saw them in a different way -
0:04:52 > 0:04:54horizontally.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Capturing vast, swooping panoramas,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00his photographs were a complete revelation to most people.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03For mountain-goers like me,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08this was a new and inspirational way of seeing our wild places.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11I just felt that the Scottish landscape
0:05:11 > 0:05:14really lent itself to that wide format,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18particularly, if you go up high, and that became a challenge.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20And the first big picture that I ever took
0:05:20 > 0:05:24that really awakened me to the potential of shooting
0:05:24 > 0:05:27at dusk and dawn from elevated positions
0:05:27 > 0:05:33was in Glen Etive, on the November 10, 1990.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Despite all the times that I've been in the Scottish mountains,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38it remains, probably,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42the single most amazing moment that I've witnessed in mountains.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Just the combination of the landscape
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and the light that took place there that night.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55I was on the summit of Ben Starav, looking down Glen Etive.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00The sun had been held back all day by cirrus clouds - very frustrating -
0:06:00 > 0:06:03and when we got to the summit, my father and I,
0:06:03 > 0:06:09we realised that there was a big clear band of sky
0:06:09 > 0:06:13between this cirrus cloud and the horizon,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16through which the sun would need to drop and, eventually,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19the sun did drop through that and it was like
0:06:19 > 0:06:22a giant theatre lamp illuminating the landscape.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23It came alive.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28It just burst into colour, with the sun hitting it.
0:06:29 > 0:06:36And that really became the catalyst for my quest to photograph
0:06:36 > 0:06:39the rest of the Scottish landscape in that fashion.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59What I'm trying to capture in my photographs is something
0:06:59 > 0:07:01that doesn't really exist.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06I go out to shoot something that is invisible
0:07:06 > 0:07:12and I'm trying to fuse the landscape together with the most amazing light,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16that turns a landscape from the ordinary into the extraordinary.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24To non-photographers, taking landscape pictures
0:07:24 > 0:07:28might appear easy. In fact, the opposite is true.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Long periods of time are spent waiting for that fleeting instant,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37when the light is just right.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Colin Prior spends countless days and nights
0:07:42 > 0:07:45out on the hills and has the patience and tenacity
0:07:45 > 0:07:48to wait for exactly that moment.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53It's that hunger, essentially, that drives you. It's that rat
0:07:53 > 0:07:57in your stomach, which chews away at it from the inside
0:07:57 > 0:08:01and pushes you up these mountains at the wee hours of the morning
0:08:01 > 0:08:04or camping there overnight.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15My whole philosophy about photography is getting it right in the camera.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18You've got to put the legwork in. You have got to go out there
0:08:18 > 0:08:22and there's no substitute of photographing a mountain
0:08:22 > 0:08:23at dusk and dawn.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36With dusk photographs it is sometimes a little easier,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38because you can climb up on to a mountain,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42linger on the summit until the sun drops and you've still, roughly,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46got about 40 minutes of ambient light to get off.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51With sunrise pictures, it's a little bit more complicated,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55because you've got to go there and camp.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02You're carrying, perhaps, 25 kilos up a mountain and,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06each time I do that, I think I'm going to find a way
0:09:06 > 0:09:08to reduce the weight on my back,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11but I can't. I use everything in the rucksack -
0:09:11 > 0:09:13my tent, my cooking equipment -
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I eat all the food and, when I come back,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19there's nothing that I can actually take out that rucksack,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21much to my dismay.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26But if you're prepared to do that, there is the potential
0:09:26 > 0:09:29to shoot something that's absolutely magical.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Today, Colin spends much of his time passing on his knowledge to others.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51This group have been exploring Inverpolly and Assynt
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and the final day starts with an early trek up Stac Pollaidh,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57hopefully to catch a spectacular dawn.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Well done, everybody. Great effort.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04If you fancy going to the summit, you know, do it.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08It's not the proper summit, but I find, up there,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11that you lose this perspective on the foreground,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13because you're too elevated.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17'We've been to some fantastic places -
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'beaches and rocks.'
0:10:20 > 0:10:22And it's just great to see the countryside
0:10:22 > 0:10:25from a different perspective. I've walked most of these places
0:10:25 > 0:10:27that we've been, but to come and look at it
0:10:27 > 0:10:30with Colin made quite a difference.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32See, there's a bit of clipping
0:10:32 > 0:10:37in the blue channel, You see that, just, and that's coming from the sky.
0:10:37 > 0:10:43When I see a histogram like that it's always worrying, so you need to use
0:10:43 > 0:10:47less exposure, so what shutter speed and aperture are you working at?
0:10:47 > 0:10:52'I'm no expert, but just looking at his work,'
0:10:52 > 0:10:55you can see the meticulous attention to detail.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58I mean, this guy recces places, he plans,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00he looks at what the weather is going to do,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04he looks at what the tide is going to do. He does his homework.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09He's got a wonderful eye. He sees things in the landscape that,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12yes, if it's pointed out to you afterwards, you might see, as well.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16You can look at his photos for hours and you see more and more
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and he probably saw that before he pressed the shutter.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- Very impressive. - They're not the sort of shots
0:11:22 > 0:11:27that I could get by wandering off for a weekend or something.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32Clearly, he has invested a lot of time and a lot of knowledge,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35in terms of the location, the timing and all the rest of it,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38to get the shots that he gets and I think...
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Well, it seems a bit daft to say, but they are exceptional.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48What we, as photographers,
0:11:48 > 0:11:53are attempting to do is to take the three-dimensional world
0:11:53 > 0:11:57in which we live and transform that into the two-dimensional world
0:11:57 > 0:12:01of photography. And we know that it's very, very different.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06And the key to becoming an authoritative photographer
0:12:06 > 0:12:10is understanding the differences between these two states.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Coming on a course like this, you learn so much, so much.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22It's as much about the locations that Colin is bringing us to
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and his knowledge about the places
0:12:25 > 0:12:28that has been amazing, really, cos anyone can go to a beach
0:12:28 > 0:12:30or a street market and take photos,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32but you can't come here unless you're with somebody
0:12:32 > 0:12:35that really knows what they're talking about and doing.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42Although Colin Prior has established himself as a mountain photographer,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44his first pictures were taken not in the hills,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46but in the depths of the ocean.
0:12:46 > 0:12:52I won Best Newcomer to Underwater Photography and that really gave me
0:12:52 > 0:12:57the confidence to go out and become a photographer.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02But that early success wasn't something you might have predicted.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05At school, I was very much an average performer and,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09in some subjects, a below-average performer.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12I was never very good at anything and, when I discovered photography,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17I realised that I had something special, that I had something unique,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20and I decided that I would try to be
0:13:20 > 0:13:24the very best photographer in my own field.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29'Anybody can pick up a camera, point it and shoot
0:13:29 > 0:13:32'and, if you shoot often enough, you'll get some good pictures,'
0:13:32 > 0:13:37but some of the stuff that he does and then he can explain to you
0:13:37 > 0:13:39what he's doing and why he was doing it.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42It just turns out absolutely fabulous.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46I could never, ever hope to reproduce anything like that myself,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49even if he was standing over my shoulder telling me what to do.
0:14:07 > 0:14:13Pakistan - June, 2013,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16and the start of the biggest challenge of Colin's career.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20He is planning to spend the next five years or so
0:14:20 > 0:14:23meticulously documenting the mountains and valleys
0:14:23 > 0:14:26that form the spectacular Karakoram.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32From the capital, Islamabad, it's a two-day journey north.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35up the notoriously-dangerous Karakoram Highway.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It's a distance of over 450 miles,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43to where the final road ends, in the frontier village of Askole.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The Karakoram is not a place you would visit by accident.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Simply getting here is an adventure in itself -
0:14:59 > 0:15:02and that is part of the attraction.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07The landscape was quite breathtaking. Villages which are, essentially,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11oases, that sit on this high-altitude desert,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15because that's often what people don't understand about this region.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19It's a desert, with these amazing mountains that grow out the stones
0:15:19 > 0:15:23in the Baltoro, but there's very, very little rainfall here.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31We went through some very arid country
0:15:31 > 0:15:35and these villages use irrigation very effectively
0:15:35 > 0:15:39and they're just these green oases of civilisation,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43within an otherwise-barren landscape.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54If you want to photograph the mountains,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57you've just got to make the journey and travel the distance.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02You've got to put up with living on the trail for 40 days,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05in order to get access to these mountains.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08It does take a little bit longer than a run up to Knoydart.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15In Scotland, Colin works by himself, but to photograph in the Karakoram,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17he needs a lot of support.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21There are porters, kitchen staff
0:16:21 > 0:16:24and a specialist crew for Colin and the film team.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Over 50 people in total, under the leadership of two
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Karakoram veterans - cook and deputy sirdar, Ali,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37and chief sirdar, Karim.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Without their help, this journey wouldn't be possible.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46In essence, this is a full-scale mountaineering expedition.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Already, they're at 3,000 metres, where the effects
0:16:51 > 0:16:53of altitude are clearly felt.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Ahead, lies a six-week journey, that will take them to nearly
0:16:59 > 0:17:035,000 metres, into the very heart of the Karakoram.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I can't quite work in the same way as I've done in Scotland,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13where I recce mountain ranges, or specific mountains,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17and then work out the best time of the year to photograph them.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25With this trip, I need to be a little bit more responsive
0:17:25 > 0:17:29and take what's given to me, essentially.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35From Askole, Colin will travel up the Baltoro Glacier,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38staying in a series of camps along the way.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41As he treks east, he wants to produce a definitive
0:17:41 > 0:17:45photographic record of these great mountains.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49The plan is to reach Concordia and Chogolisa, in the Upper Baltoro.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54It's a risky enterprise.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Pakistan has the reputation
0:17:56 > 0:17:59of being one of the world's least-stable countries.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03The expedition has needed special permission to travel
0:18:03 > 0:18:07throughout this region - the first film crew allowed into this
0:18:07 > 0:18:09highly-sensitive area for years.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Many people have asked
0:18:12 > 0:18:18why I'm working in Pakistan, because of the security issues there,
0:18:18 > 0:18:23but the landscape is so unique that I need to go and do this project
0:18:23 > 0:18:25and, in many ways,
0:18:25 > 0:18:31the security problem that exists is actually responsible for
0:18:31 > 0:18:34very few people going there, including photographers.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42If the Karakoram Mountains were anywhere else in the world,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45there would probably be about a million people going through them,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49something on the scale of Yosemite, because they have that grandeur.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52But because it is Pakistan and because of the situation
0:18:52 > 0:18:55that exists there, very little has been done.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04I think there have been two books, photographic books, done in Pakistan.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07One in the '70s by Galen Rowell, and the other in the mid-'80s
0:19:07 > 0:19:10by Chiro Siro Hata, a Japanese photographer.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16I'd like to create a body of work before the inevitable
0:19:16 > 0:19:19commercialisation of the Karakoram Mountains begins.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28The trek initially follows the course of the Braldu River.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32The ground here is constantly changing. Rock falls are common.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Loose scree dominates. There are few places to make camp.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46It's been a long first day
0:19:46 > 0:19:50and that is followed by a 4.00am start next morning.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Colin wants to exploit every opportunity
0:19:53 > 0:19:56and is determined to catch the first light.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01He originally came here in 1996
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and he has been obsessed with the Karakoram ever since.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09One of the most important aspects of photographing mountains
0:20:09 > 0:20:16is research and that is done simply by being there and having
0:20:16 > 0:20:18probably failed to get an image the first time.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21But it just makes you a little bit more determined
0:20:21 > 0:20:23to get the picture right the next time.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36I think the sun will hit that peak in the next ten to 15 minutes.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41There's not much in the way of drama up there. There's no cloud.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45It's a clear sky, so it's not quite what I'd
0:20:45 > 0:20:48wished for but we should get a result from it.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57When you're there the first time,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01you're able to work out where you want to be and, more importantly,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04when you want to be there.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And that's not just at dusk or at dawn,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12but at what time of the year you need to be there and that,
0:21:12 > 0:21:17ultimately, will be dictated by the position of the sun in the sky.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25I am expecting the light to come up any minute,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28but there's no doubt that it's being held back
0:21:28 > 0:21:31by a slightly bigger mountain, because the surrounding mountains
0:21:31 > 0:21:35are already being illuminated by this light,
0:21:35 > 0:21:39so we just need this light to come down the mountain a bit.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Knowing there's a long day's trek ahead,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48the porters are already starting to move camp.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52But in the hope of catching a powerful image,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Colin has decided to stay put a bit longer.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01That's the light just piercing the very summit, at the moment,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04so within the next five or ten minutes,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08it will begin to illuminate that tower there.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Fantastic just to watch and witness this.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Today, waiting for the light has been a frustrating experience.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20As often, with this kind of photography,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23the sunrise didn't quite materialise.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27In Scotland, this would be a mere irritation.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30In Pakistan, for someone who is a perfectionist,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- it's a significant set back. - I'm really quite disappointed
0:22:34 > 0:22:37by the combination of the light and the landscape.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39The snow is a little bit patchy.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41By the time the light caught the peak,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43it had, sort of, cleaned up.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Instead of it being pink, or even that yellowness
0:22:48 > 0:22:50that you get in the light, it is actually white light
0:22:50 > 0:22:52that's up there and there's not enough
0:22:52 > 0:22:56modelling in this. It is still a very one-dimensional landscape.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03You can never tell if you're going to be successful in the morning
0:23:03 > 0:23:07or in the evening. You've just got to get up and try.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08You might think
0:23:08 > 0:23:11you've got a great photograph, but until you actually see
0:23:11 > 0:23:14the combination of light on the landscape,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18you just don't know. And I'm afraid, this morning,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20it's just been a bit of an anti-climax.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38What I'm really looking for with these mountain photographs
0:23:38 > 0:23:44is to use these fine shapes and graphics, but to match them with
0:23:44 > 0:23:49the very finest light that I can find, so you've got this fusion
0:23:49 > 0:23:53of landscape and light. And, sometimes, you'll find it,
0:23:53 > 0:23:59most often, you won't. But when you do, it's a fantastic feeling.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03You know you've captured a unique moment that will never repeat itself.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Compared with the popular region of Everest,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14relatively few people come to the Karakoram.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Even today, information and maps are hard to come by.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22To fully understand this area,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26you also need to know its history and, in Colin's case,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28its photographic history.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33So, his expedition began with a visit to Chris Bartell,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37a specialist antiquarian bookseller in Pitlochry.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40The piece de resistance
0:24:40 > 0:24:42I've got to show you is this book here,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46which is a huge volume. There are actually two volumes.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48This is the first volume,
0:24:48 > 0:24:53cos this was published in 1912, and this is the Duke of Abruzzi's
0:24:53 > 0:24:55expedition in 1909.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00And on the expedition was the photographer, Vittorio Sella,
0:25:00 > 0:25:06who had a fantastic reputation and this book superbly illustrates it.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09His photography is just remarkable, it really is, and the photographs
0:25:09 > 0:25:15taken in this book were shot with a camera that he had made in London,
0:25:15 > 0:25:20in mahogany, by a company called Dallmeyer,
0:25:20 > 0:25:25and the negatives were 11 by 14 inches in size, glass negatives,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29which were then processed on the glacier.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33What I find absolutely amazing is the fact that they still
0:25:33 > 0:25:37had to get these glass negatives down the Baltoro Glacier.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42All it would have taken would have been the slip of a Balti's foot
0:25:42 > 0:25:46- and that image would have become oblivion.- This is volume two, Colin -
0:25:46 > 0:25:49maps and panoramas from the expedition.
0:25:49 > 0:25:55And this is what is really special, some huge pull-out panoramas.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58These are fantastic. These are Vittorio's original panoramas.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02- 101 years old.- Just fantastic to see these original photographs.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07This actually shows where the panoramas were taken from.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09It's really quite a detailed map.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13- The actual locations that Vittorio took these photographs from?- Yeah.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- These are all marked here. You can see where...- That's fantastic.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19..exactly where the photographs were taken.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24That'll give me an exact positioning for some of those photographs,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27because there are one or two that I hope to replicate,
0:26:27 > 0:26:33because what I think we'll see is quite a big change in the condition
0:26:33 > 0:26:35that the glacier is in now.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39You see all the major peaks. K2, of course, at the top here.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Gasherbrum, another one of the 8,000-metre peaks.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45You've got Hidden Peak and, down here, we've got Masherbrum.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Let's look at one of the panoramas, Colin.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Here's one looking directly at K2.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57This is from the Godwin-Austen Glacier.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02Just tremendous. You can see that, sort of,
0:27:02 > 0:27:07- pyramidal.- The classic, sort of, image we see of K2, isn't it?
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Perhaps one of the most impressive amongst them all is this one.
0:27:11 > 0:27:17This is one of my favourites - looking towards Concordia,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20from somewhere, I think, high in Golden Throne.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25I think this panorama is a very, very good visual summary
0:27:25 > 0:27:29- of the Baltoro Glacier.- It gives you some idea of the height, doesn't it?
0:27:29 > 0:27:33You've got the people in the foreground. That's quite special.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36These are wonderful to see, they really are.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43And what a place the world would have been, just back then,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45just over 100 years ago.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50If there's one image of Sella's that Colin is keen to replicate,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53it's the view looking back down the Baltoro Glacier.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56But it won't be easy.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00The glacier has changed enormously in the intervening century
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and it's not entirely clear where the Italian photographer
0:28:03 > 0:28:05placed his tripod.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10And things have changed in other ways, too.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Sella was part of the Duke of Abruzzi's
0:28:13 > 0:28:16abortive attempt to climb K2.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21The Duke didn't reach the summit, but did set a new altitude record.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25His team had the luxury of being here for six months.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Colin has just six weeks.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33The two expeditions couldn't be more different.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38He landed in Bombay with six tons of equipment,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42which was all transported from Bombay to Rawalpindi,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46largely on animals and, after that, on the backs of men.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55It was run very much like a military campaign and very successfully.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59And the Duke, because of his resources, had artisans
0:28:59 > 0:29:03that helped create the equipment they needed here,
0:29:03 > 0:29:08because much of the equipment was new and had to be evolved.
0:29:15 > 0:29:20The group had sleeping bags which were made in modular systems -
0:29:20 > 0:29:25one was camel hair, there was a second eiderdown layer and, then,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29there was a goatskin covered with canvas, which waterproofed that.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36These bags could be used individually, which would suit
0:29:36 > 0:29:39the different climates between Bombay and the Karakoram,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43or they could be used together, when the temperatures were cold.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48The team are now heading for camp at Paiyu.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53Already, they are at 3,500 metres and will stay here for one night.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Even so, the whole camp needs to be established on a cramped
0:29:58 > 0:30:01site of rocky terrain above the valley floor.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07As always on trek, there are plenty of running repairs to do.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16INDISTINCT SPEECH
0:30:29 > 0:30:32The next morning, everyone begins the journey northwest
0:30:32 > 0:30:34up a subsidiary glacier.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37We're heading towards the Uli Biaho,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40a higher camp which should give outstanding views of one
0:30:40 > 0:30:45of the most famous set of peaks in the Karakoram, Trango Towers.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48HE SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:30:57 > 0:31:02Colin plans to stay here for a few days, hoping for the opportunity
0:31:02 > 0:31:05to photograph this place at its most dramatic.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09The big iconic pictures still drive me
0:31:09 > 0:31:12and they're really crucial to this project.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17I've really got to get images that transcend what trekkers
0:31:17 > 0:31:20can shoot on a trip like this.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28The challenge I have with this project is how to vary these
0:31:28 > 0:31:34shots with other types of images that essentially will change the pace.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37Just coming in a bit closer.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Thank you. Thank you very much.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48I'll come and show you the photo on the computer. Two minutes.
0:31:51 > 0:31:58'If there are too many big shots, it means that you become bored,
0:31:58 > 0:32:06'visually bored by the similarity of the images within this landscape.'
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Very handsome. Very handsome.
0:32:11 > 0:32:17'We're all bombarded on a daily basis by millions of images
0:32:17 > 0:32:23'and photographers are able to distil these images from that chaos
0:32:23 > 0:32:28'by using the juxtaposition of colours, of graphics,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31'of distilling the lines within the landscape so that they can
0:32:31 > 0:32:36'create an image that the eye can navigate, and this is crucial.'
0:32:38 > 0:32:40OK, that looks good.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42I just need... Excuse me. Just...
0:32:44 > 0:32:45That's it.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51OK, see where my hand is, just look at my hand.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Good, thank you very much. Come and see.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04There is no shortage of images in these mountains,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08whether it is the big landscape or portraits of the team.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14But between the photographic sessions, Colin is keen to find
0:33:14 > 0:33:19more details about Vittorio Sella's key image from 1909.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Although Sella left detailed notes, the exact location of
0:33:24 > 0:33:27where he took this particular photograph isn't clear.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Today, the Baltoro looks very different.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Colin asks Ali and Karim to help him.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40For me, this is a visual summary of the Karakoram.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42You've got the Muztagh Tower.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45K2. And this is Gasherbrum IV, I think.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49We've got Concordia in here, the Baltoro. And Vittorio,
0:33:49 > 0:33:53he put these porters in, he put them in in the darkroom, he put them in
0:33:53 > 0:33:56after he took the photograph.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01And I think the reason that he's added these figures into
0:34:01 > 0:34:06his photograph is because photography in 1909 was such a new medium.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11And because the figures are in, it gives an impression of scale
0:34:11 > 0:34:14so people could look at them and think,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16look at how huge these mountains are.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Look how impressive they are.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22- We're arriving at the Concordia.- OK. - The other group rest there.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Me and you, we will go in together,
0:34:26 > 0:34:32- maybe two hours walking, and then we will show you.- OK.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36And so we can find this photograph.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Here it's gone.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47There's been great recall upon the expertise and experience
0:34:47 > 0:34:49that we've got in this room.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54And I think we've clearly identified where we need to be to replicate
0:34:54 > 0:34:57the images that Sella took in 1909.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00So, I'm really excited and looking forward to the challenge.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06Before leaving Uli Biaho, Colin needs to capture
0:35:06 > 0:35:08a key image of the Trango Towers.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Although its main summit is over 2,000 metres lower than
0:35:13 > 0:35:15the highest mountain in the region, K2,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18its cliffs are some of the tallest in the world.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24We're waiting for just a little bit of drama here.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27I was up here this morning for the dawn but, as I expected,
0:35:27 > 0:35:33there was slightly too much shadow and now we've fantastic clarity
0:35:33 > 0:35:35but it's a little one dimensional.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40I'm hoping that the cumulus will build up over the snow fields
0:35:40 > 0:35:44and start to give us some white puffy clouds behind the towers there.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46And that's going to give us a much, much better picture.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56It's currently about 10 o'clock.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00I think if I hang around here until probably 1.00 or 2.00,
0:36:00 > 0:36:02I'll get the result I want.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And it's really not that bad a place to hang around in.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01Now Colin continues his journey up the Baltoro Glacier,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04moving over a landscape of loose rock and ice.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07But the rewards are immense
0:37:07 > 0:37:11as he makes his way to the next camp, Urdukas.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13At over 4,000 metres,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16the camp looks out to some of the great sites of the Karakoram.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23But the tone of the whole expedition is about to change.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Other trekkers at the camp site have shocking news.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31In the nearby Nanga Parbat region, 11 people have been
0:37:31 > 0:37:35killed in an attack by a previously unknown terrorist group.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40We just learned about the atrocity that took place
0:37:40 > 0:37:44at Nanga Parbat base camp, which we were in complete ignorance of.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Absolutely devastated to hear the news
0:37:47 > 0:37:51and my thoughts are with the families of the climbers
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and the Pakistanis who lost their lives during that atrocity.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02We've also learned from our sirdar that the cook on
0:38:02 > 0:38:07that particular trip on to the Diamir Face at Nanga Parbat
0:38:07 > 0:38:09is actually from his village.
0:38:09 > 0:38:15He leaves behind a wife and children who have no means of support,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18so it's not just been an attack against Westerners,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21it's also been an attack against Pakistani nationals.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Whilst everyone is appalled by the loss of life,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30there are also major consequences for the local people
0:38:30 > 0:38:33who make up the support team.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37In the ten days since the attack, many governments have
0:38:37 > 0:38:40advised against any travel to Pakistan.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44The porters here will have very little work because most of
0:38:44 > 0:38:48the travel companies have cancelled their trekking parties this year.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55Already, many of the porters have lost their complete income
0:38:55 > 0:38:59and, without that money, the existence of many of the porters
0:38:59 > 0:39:03for the rest of the year is going to be very frugal.
0:39:07 > 0:39:12These attacks don't just affect global security but they do really
0:39:12 > 0:39:16affect the livelihoods of the people that live on the ground in Pakistan.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23The Pakistan Government is concerned for everyone's safety
0:39:23 > 0:39:26and the team discuss what to do next.
0:39:26 > 0:39:31This part of the country is politically stable and the local
0:39:31 > 0:39:34people are proud of their reputation for protecting foreigners.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37With that knowledge,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Colin decides to stay on and continue with his work.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Next morning, he is up early.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54Not only to take more photographs but also to try and solve the riddle
0:39:54 > 0:39:58of where Vittorio Sella took his famous picture all those years ago.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04But now Colin realises that the landscape
0:40:04 > 0:40:08he is looking at has altered even more dramatically than he expected.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12I think what's happened is that climate change has affected
0:40:12 > 0:40:16the weather here. The glaciers are most definitely smaller.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Even I can see the differences since 2004.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21The weather patterns aren't as stable as they were,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24I think, when Vittorio was coming.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28Many of his images are very, very clear and snowy too.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31So I think he experienced a very different type of landscape
0:40:31 > 0:40:33and climatic conditions at that time.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51Technology has moved on and there is no point in trying to replicate
0:40:51 > 0:40:54his large format images, which were glass negatives.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02I'm working with the latest digital cameras
0:41:02 > 0:41:07and this little unit here is a GPS receiver.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11In the Exif data, it is giving me the co-ordinates and the altitude
0:41:11 > 0:41:13that I'm shooting from.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18The technology does not help with the light.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21I'm confronted with exactly the same problems as every other
0:41:21 > 0:41:26photographer is shooting landscape. It either happens or it doesn't.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30And as I say to people, you can't make it, you've got to let it.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Today, Colin's patience is rewarded.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39The light suddenly improves and he is able to capture
0:41:39 > 0:41:43the drama of the Great Trango and Cathedral Towers.
0:41:46 > 0:41:52The expedition now enters one of the most spectacular places on Earth.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55A two-day journey will take the team to Concordia
0:41:55 > 0:42:00and the classic view of K2 - the world's second highest mountain.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03But getting there won't be easy.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08We're crossing the Baltoro tomorrow on a completely new route.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Is that going to be difficult?
0:42:12 > 0:42:14Not so difficult.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19Yesterday, I sent my son and another porter,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22looking this way,
0:42:22 > 0:42:28he asked me and put the stones there.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30- Marker stones?- Marker stones, yes.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54We're currently at an altitude of 4,500 metres
0:42:54 > 0:42:57and you can really feel it when you're moving about.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01If you try and move uphill, it fairly slows you down
0:43:01 > 0:43:06and it's just a combination of acclimatising and patience.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16The big difference between working in Scotland and Pakistan is that
0:43:16 > 0:43:21you're totally dependent on the team that's behind you.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24It's not just a simple exercise of watching the weather
0:43:24 > 0:43:27and travelling on to location.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Here, you need to organise a huge logistic team.
0:43:34 > 0:43:39As someone that's not unfamiliar with hauling 25 kilos up
0:43:39 > 0:43:43to mountain tops, I take my hat off to these porters because they're
0:43:43 > 0:43:49carrying 35 kilos, in this altitude, up the most arduous slopes.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14Travelling in this environment becomes progressively more difficult
0:44:14 > 0:44:16because there's less and less air
0:44:16 > 0:44:20and the opportunities to wash are minimal.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24I mean, I'm actually terrified to look at myself in a mirror,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27which I haven't done for the last four or five days.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43To achieve the images that I want for this project,
0:44:43 > 0:44:48I'm prepared really to put up with a great deal of personal sacrifice.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52I don't see it as sacrifice, it's something that's necessary
0:44:52 > 0:44:54to achieve these images.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59And if that means I have to get up during the night,
0:44:59 > 0:45:05if that means that I have to sacrifice the comforts of my normal
0:45:05 > 0:45:10living standards, if it means using a toilet tent for the next four weeks,
0:45:10 > 0:45:15these are all part and parcel of achieving what is in my imagination.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32There are very few luxuries on trek and the kitchen
0:45:32 > 0:45:36really are responsible for providing most of them.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39It's quite amazing what they seem to be able to cook up
0:45:39 > 0:45:41in these hostile environments.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49THEY SPEAK NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:45:49 > 0:45:54The challenges of day-to-day living on the glacier are a bit tedious.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57Just having to organise your tent
0:45:57 > 0:46:00in a way that allows you to find everything,
0:46:00 > 0:46:05from a head torch to ear plugs to drinking water.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08And it becomes very much a routine.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13You've got to really organise yourself in a way that
0:46:13 > 0:46:17allows you to operate whenever the conditions dictate.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Once camp is established at Concordia, Colin wants to work
0:46:24 > 0:46:28amongst the ice sculptures that are exposed on the glacier.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30It falls into a very deep cavern.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40But even the simple task of taking a photograph is complicated
0:46:40 > 0:46:41and has its dangers.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46There's a big difference between being here as a trekker
0:46:46 > 0:46:50and on holiday and being here as a working photographer.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58In terms of daily photographic tasks,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02I've got a personal porter that will carry my bag.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04This isn't through vanity.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09It's got to do with the altitude that we're in here.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14It takes me all my effort to get up the hills that I need to get up
0:47:14 > 0:47:15in order to get my photograph.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22I have a great porter called Mustafa,
0:47:22 > 0:47:28and he carries my cameras in a rucksack and comes with me
0:47:28 > 0:47:31to all the locations, regardless of whether it is dusk or dawn.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45I've visualised an image here which was very much about
0:47:45 > 0:47:49the white ice around here and the turquoise colours.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53And yet, I've got the mountains and the moraine working against me.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00It's a picture that's just not really speaking to me.
0:48:00 > 0:48:01It's too complex.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05What I like to try and do is simplify the pictures.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07The mistake that is often made
0:48:07 > 0:48:10is that photographers try and get too much in.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13That's what I've done here, I'm getting too much in.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15So I'm going to have to move...
0:48:18 > 0:48:19..when I catch my breath.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22HE PANTS
0:48:30 > 0:48:31Just get my breath.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36I think the only alternative that we've got is
0:48:36 > 0:48:41to head up over the top of the glacier there and try
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and get closer to the ice cave, where the colours are.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56We've found a second location just a little on from the first stop,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59which is a whole lot better.
0:48:59 > 0:49:05Much simpler graphic, a big archway of ice and a river bending
0:49:05 > 0:49:06and flowing towards me.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10It was a little precarious setting the photograph up
0:49:10 > 0:49:14because there was a sort of scree sitting on top of the ice.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18As I moved to and from the camera, I began to push the scree away
0:49:18 > 0:49:22and found myself literally skating on ice.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24But I'm very pleased with the image
0:49:24 > 0:49:28and I avoided the rather black, gravelly glacier and
0:49:28 > 0:49:33the mountains behind, and distilled the image really from the landscape.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51High on the Baltoro Glacier,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55the weather is every bit as fickle as in Scotland.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59This morning, the mountains are shrouded in a blanket of mist.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06It's difficult to express the scale of this mountain landscape,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10particularly when you can't see the summits.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14But when they do reveal themselves, it makes you feel so insignificant,
0:50:14 > 0:50:19so tiny, and although the Karakoram is a big area, it's also quite
0:50:19 > 0:50:23a small geographical area
0:50:23 > 0:50:25with four 8,000 metre peaks.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31There are also 30 mountains that are over 7,500 metres,
0:50:31 > 0:50:35all within this very small, concentrated area.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46The Concordia itself is a bit like a giant earth-moving site.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49The constant movement of the glacier
0:50:49 > 0:50:52changes the profiles from year to year.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56I was here nine years ago and it was considerably different.
0:50:56 > 0:51:01The campsite that we're on now is much higher than we were before,
0:51:01 > 0:51:05and the access routes have also changed to the different glaciers.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09So it's a landscape that's forming, continually forming
0:51:09 > 0:51:14and it is these forces that I'm trying to capture in my photography.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37From Concordia, there's a final push southeast
0:51:37 > 0:51:44on the Upper Baltoro Glacier to Chogolisa Base Camp at 4,732 metres.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48Now Colin should be within striking distance of where
0:51:48 > 0:51:51Vittorio Sella took his famous picture.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55From this location, we can see the Muztagh Tower for the first time.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58And this is really the key to the Sella photograph.
0:51:58 > 0:52:04We need to move here in a direction that separates it from the landscape.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12It has now become clear that the changes in the glacier
0:52:12 > 0:52:14are making access extremely difficult.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20It might not be possible to reach Sella's vantage point after all.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26Looking from a high point, the glacier is particularly distorted.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29It's a very challenging environment.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33The glacier is covered with millions of rocks
0:52:33 > 0:52:36disguising many of the crevasses that are there.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Sella's photograph to me sums up perfection.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47It's a bit like a gallery of shape and form.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52Every one of the big mountains is in shot and it's the combination
0:52:52 > 0:52:57of the shapes, some of them towers, some of them minarets.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00You've got the pyramidal shape of K2
0:53:00 > 0:53:04and then you've got the very angular Gasherbrum.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08It's a landscape that you won't find anywhere else in the world.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16The expedition is now running out of time.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19This year, the snow conditions on the mountains
0:53:19 > 0:53:22are particularly unstable.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26In the timescale available, it is impossible to go any higher
0:53:26 > 0:53:30without risking a serious and possibly fatal accident.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34It suddenly became very obvious that Sella's photograph
0:53:34 > 0:53:39was taken at altitude, probably about 6,000 metres.
0:53:39 > 0:53:44And we don't, within our itinerary, have the time to spend here
0:53:44 > 0:53:48to acclimatise to allow us to go to 6,000 metres.
0:53:48 > 0:53:53The photograph is also taken at the top of the Chogolisa Ice Fall,
0:53:53 > 0:53:57which is a very tortuous glacier with many seracs and crevasses.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06So, now that I've finally found the position that Sella
0:54:06 > 0:54:11took his photograph, I've even more respect for the tenacity
0:54:11 > 0:54:14of these early explorers, because they were in locations
0:54:14 > 0:54:18that are prohibited to the vast majority of us.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22After a year of detailed planning
0:54:22 > 0:54:24and a Herculean effort by the whole team,
0:54:24 > 0:54:28everyone must now turn back to Concordia.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33But the expedition is far from a failure.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Colin has produced a number of images that will stand alongside
0:54:37 > 0:54:40those of Sella.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44Amongst these will be one that captures the majesty and grandeur
0:54:44 > 0:54:50of K2, looking its most spectacular after an overnight snowfall.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55I'm just hoping to get a bit more light into the amphitheatre.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58We've had that sort of pink-yellow light this morning
0:54:58 > 0:55:01just on the very tops, which was wonderful.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07It's a bit dominated by shadow at the moment
0:55:07 > 0:55:13and good landscape photographs are always a blend of light and shadow.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16There's just a little bit too much shadow at the moment.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23It's a little concerning that the clouds are beginning to sail in
0:55:23 > 0:55:26and look like they will maybe settle on the summits,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28but we'll need to wait and see.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43It's absolutely fantastic, though.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47The Baltoro Glacier has been covered with a fresh dusting of snow,
0:55:47 > 0:55:51which has really lifted the aesthetic value of it photographically.
0:56:16 > 0:56:21It just so happened in the space of the last hour-and-a-half,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24we're getting some elevation on the light now
0:56:24 > 0:56:29and it is really beginning to pick up the features on K2 there.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35We're just really at the point where it is at its best.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40Some clouds forming up over the Abruzzi ridge.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44It's really the king of mountains.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47It might be smaller than Mount Everest
0:56:47 > 0:56:53but it is certainly the most powerful graphically.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06We see our own heart in a landscape and, once adopted,
0:57:06 > 0:57:12a landscape ceases to become just an entity but a state of imagination.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16And that, for me, is what the Karakoram is about.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26I think I've been very lucky
0:57:26 > 0:57:29because I'm one of the few professional photographers
0:57:29 > 0:57:31that have lived my own dreams.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59You always know when you've got the picture.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02If you have to ask yourself, have I got the picture,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04the answer is always no.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08When you've got a great picture, it screams out at you,
0:58:08 > 0:58:10"Here I am, aren't you clever?
0:58:10 > 0:58:13"Look what you've done, look at me."
0:58:13 > 0:58:16And I'm pretty sure this morning
0:58:16 > 0:58:19I'm going to have one or two of these images.