Gordon Wiltsie

Gordon Wiltsie grew up in Bishop, California, a mountain town nestled between the Sierra and White Mountains. By his late teens Wiltsie was an accomplished mountaineer, climber, and budding photographer.

Wiltsie calls himself a self-taught photographer, but living where he did, below one of America's most beautiful mountain ranges, he could not help but meet and be inspired by the many leading outdoor and landscape photographers who traveled though his area.

His career began with a 1975 photo essay in the magazine Ascent, which established his reputation with the outdoor adventure audience. In the following year an Outside magazine presented his name to an even wider Target audience. Repeatedly his many feature stories for National Geographic, including several cover stories, have established his worldwide reputation as the consummate expedition and adventure photographer. Wiltsie began publishing his adventure photography in national magazines while he was still a college student, and the popularity and ready market of adventure photography steered him away from his real passion, which is cultural subjects.

In pursuing his photography degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Gordon wrote his own course work for an extended stay in Nepal, where his cultural studies included learning the Nepali, Hindi, and Tibetan languages. "My studies in Nepal began my lifelong fascination and pursuit to photograph vanishing cultures," he says.

His time in Nepal also began his long involvement with guiding and photographing in the Himalaya. His Antarctica experience eventually led to a cover story in the February 1998 National Geographic magazine about a climbing expedition to the little known Queen Maud Land.

Wiltsie has been involved in more than a hundred expeditions outside of the US. His specialty is mountains and adventure, but lately he has come full circle and is again focusing his camera on cultural stories and mountain people. Wiltsie's work ethic on assignment has him up before dawn, and he doesn't call it quits until well after dark. The average assignment may last five to seven weeks.

Besides getting the photos, Wiltsie also has to work on fitting in with and being accepted by team members. Wiltsie's expedition philosophy is simple: "Be careful not to include the course of the expedition. Work to fit into the group by helping with chores, carrying loads, and doing other daily tasks. The best tactic for the photographer is to work hard to blend in." Communicating your objectives to the team is important: Work out your photo needs in advance with the team leader and every single member of the expedition. Explain what they need to do to help you get the photos you need. If part of the team resents your presence, your experience with the trip may become miserable, maybe even life threatening.

Often photographers are too trusting of their cameras, relinquishing too much control to its automatic functions, says Wiltsie. "In this age of automatic cameras, anyone can take a modestly decent picture. To rise above you have to be a technical master."

Extra: Gordon Wiltsie’s Adventure Photography Tips

1. Make yourself intimately knowledgeable about any activity, sport, or environment you want to photograph. If you're not a climber or a skier, for example, chances are you won't photograph these activities well. You're also unlikely to create much that's visually new or different if you shoot something that you haven't researched.
2. Keep abreast of what other adventure photographers are doing. What might have been leading edge imagery a few years ago has likely been copied so much that it isn't novel anymore.
3. Adventure photography is inherently risky, but don't take stupid chances to get a picture.
4. Become part of the team. Do your share of any expeditionary duties. Make yourself an insider, not someone on the outside, looking in.
5. Always keep your camera right at hand. Some of the best moments come completely by surprise.
6. Look for unusual angles, frames, and perspectives. Often just a part of a person or scene will communicate the whole. Consider, for example, advertising for Marlboro cigarettes. Viewers of these ads can see just a belt buckle or a bridle hung over a fence and envision a cowboy and his smokes.
7. Don't forget to have fun. Choose projects that are close to your heart and abilities so that you can enjoy them.