Mt. Everest
Feb 7th, 2007 by John Setzler
The Catwaba Valley Camera Club enjoyed a special visit this evening from photographer Jeff Botz. On several occasions, Jeff has made the trip into Nepal and Tibet to make photos of Mt. Everest and the surrounding mountains from the base camp at 18,000 feet. Jeff is an expert printer, so I can’t really begin to describe the beauty of these majestic prints.The significance of this exhibit goes beyond the photography. When you think about it, the trip itself to Everest base camp is a major undertaking. It’s a real trial of human endurance just to get that far. I have seen shows on the National Geographic channel recently about Everest base camp and those who ascend to the peak. It’s not a good idea for fat people like myself :) So, once you get an idea of the journey and its difficulty, imagine the added burden of carrying an 8×10 view camera, tripod, and all the associated gear along with you. It adds up to over 70 pounds of equipment in addition to your survival gear.Jeff used a term in his lecture tonight that has stuck with me…
“Ecclesiastically beautiful…”
As I think about this phrase, I also think about how insignificant one could feel while standing in this landscape.
I have not had the pleasure of attending one of Jeffs lectures, however; having viewed his photography, I can say that I was very impressed by the undertaking involved to capture such magnificient works of art. The first time I saw Jeffs work was 2 years ago when a friend made a gift to me of 3 photographs. I was blown away. They hung in my office and never failed to bring about enlightened conversations from everyone who entered. I now own several more photos of Jeffs and am in the process of building his website. http://www.jeffbotz.com. It has sparked a deep friendship and a wonderful opportunity for me to be exposed to ideas and a way of life not even imagined by most. I look forward to attending many lectures in the near future and reading the article about to be released by The Charlotte Observer on 2/25/07. Most of all I look forward to the future works of this great artist.