FIRST STORM - Tormod Granheim

Editions: 12, 8, 4

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Printed by: DÁIDDA Oslo

Framed: Matte black, passepartout, non-reflective UV70 art glass (For other options, contact hei@daidda.no )

Shipping: From Oslo

FIRST STORM

Chamonix Mont Blanc, France, 2019

The Aiguilles de Chamonix are among the first mountains to be seen from the Chamonix valley floor. At the centre of this impressive range of peaks lies the Couloir Spencer, a sheer snow chute that gave rise to steep skiing when legend Sylvain Saudan set off in the late 1960s.

When I first traveled to Chamonix, I had a camera in my backpack and a clear intention to capture these beautiful mountains on film. I exposed thousands of slides. The best images became advertisements and reports all over the world.

But it eventually turned out that I also had a talent in front of the camera. For 15 years I pushed boundaries. Sometimes the boundaries of the sport, but first and foremost the boundaries were probably within me.

After climbing all the high mountains in the Alps, I wanted to find a way to convey the magic of this environment. An environment that is so accessible and so powerful at the same time.

In my work as a climber, skier and photographer in the ski industry, I remember well a client who wanted photos with more wind and storm - a demanding challenge, because with wind often comes clouds and clouds have a sad tendency to hide the surroundings you would like to include in the photos. Add to that the need to orient yourself safely through crevasses, cliffs and assess avalanche danger, clouds and fog make the mountain a more difficult and less hospitable place.

After I retired from professional sports, I found my way back to the camera. I took my time on location in a new way, the time pressure associated with climbing and skiing was gone. I was looking for the moment when the weather devours the mountain. I waited patiently on location after location, at first nothing happened. Then one day the clouds rolled in. I let the camera motor run for a few seconds. Then it was over, the sky turned white. The mountains were hidden. When I saw the result, I realized I was on to something. FIRST STORM became the first image in the series I wanted to photograph after I retired.