The Everest Base Camp Trek package is one of the Most Spectacular treks in the world. Tibet’s curves of snow-capped mountains, centuries-old monasteries, fluttering coloured prayer flags, and seemingly endless rugged terrain are a photographer’s dream. Whether you shoot with a DSLR or mirrorless camera or simply a point-and-shoot iPhone camera, you most certainly can make jaw-dropping photos on this classic hike — if you know what to look for and plan your shots simply.
With the aid of this guide, you can do as much as possible on your camera and come back from your trip with fantastic photographs that illustrate the story of the epic trip you have taken. Use your lens as a shutter — for a couple of years from now.
It’s all about the light inside the Himalayas. And at high altitude and midday, the sun can be unmerciful, bleaching shades out and creating sharp shadows. Sunrise and sundown are the golden hours for a dramatic mountain photograph op.
Get up early or walk after dinner and spend hours scrambling up and down searching for promising locations around Namche Bazaar, Tengboche, Gorak Shep, etc. And then there are moments like these, when the morning light dapples Ama Dablam or Everest glows in evening light from Kala Patthar, that even a bad photograph is a thing of beauty.
The clouds, the weather, they can change so quickly in the mountains. Be patient and come prepared — some of the best scenery is found along the fault line between clear and cloudy.
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One fault is to think of a mountain as flat; to be sure, it is more comfortable for you when you can think of the bottom and the middle and the top of the mountain as all flat. One way to get around this is to put something in the foreground that the viewer can judge the scale against, and that there is some depth.
If you have a figure in the middle of the picture, it’s a trekker or porter walking the spine of a ridge; it’s the thing that provides both depth and context like nothing else. Man is only a little lower at the foot of these appalling faces of the mountains; a speck in the bottom of this immeasurable basin.
You can also use grasses, prayer flags, mani walls, or trees as natural frames and depth to your image. Do not stand and point and shoot — walk around, kneel, look for leading lines, play with framing.
Know the Iconic Photo Spots
Some of the trail locations are iconic for a reason — the vistas are camera-worthy. If you mean business and want to capture the best shots of your life, you don’t want to miss the following:
EBC Trekking: now not a long way up the hill from Namche Bazaar, and you’ve been given one of the quality spots to knock off a snap of Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam in one hit, particularly early in the morning.
Tengboche Monastery: For such a lot of, the archetypical image of the Himalayas is the monastery with brightly coloured prayer flags in the foreground, and snowcapped mountains in the distance.
Dingboche and Nangkartshang peak: For valley views on both sides of towering peaks. You also have that type of pretty morning light, and the texture and layer in the mountains.
Trail to Lobuche – Gorak Shep: First Hike in the neighborhood of the Khumbu Glacier! The landscape is raw, rugged, real, and photogenic, perfect for high-impact atmospheric shots.”
Kala Patthar: It’s fucking Earth’s largest mountain with a chemical enhancement problem goin’ on at sunrise up in this bitch. So it is cold, take my word, but you will see an Everest engulfing that you will never forget.
Gear Up, But Travel Light
Professional gear, not to mention camera models, can raise your photography game, but remember, you’re hiking a long way at high altitude. Weight is weight and deadweight, try and keep that down.
The best travel photography doesn’t just take you to a place, it tells a story. If characters and culture are what you’re after, you do the Base Camp trek. Keep shots for the locals, teahouse life, yak-laden yaks, the Sherpa guides at work.
And be respectful when photographing people, no matter who those people are. Smile, make a peace sign, take a shot from the hip, or just ask for a photo you give a shit about.
Master the Art of Simplicity
Everest circuit calls exist for moments like these, when it’s almost impossible not to take everything in in one frame, so majestic are the Himalayas. But often, less is more. Look for clean, minimal compositions that contain only one subject — be it a summit, a trail, or a person.
Make use of negative space — empty sky is good, a field of white snow is good too. Forget the light and sunny stuff: If it’s overcast or snowy, welcome the dark and gloom — the results can be powerfully atmospheric.c
Experiment with Different Perspectives
There is no lack of dramatic angles from which to take the Everest region, but help guide your angle as well. Kneel and shoot low angle, making the prayer flags stand over you. Photograph reflections in the puddles on the way to Dingboche. Don’t forget to look up in time to witness them march by and ponder their mass and momentum while you’re still able. Shoot a 360 diploma video from the peak of Kala Patthar, or easy short video clips to go along with stills.
Final Thoughts
Taking fantastic pics on a trip to Everest Base Camp comes down to more than just the equipment, you, and your technical information. It’s timing, and patience, a touch of creativity, but more than anything, gratitude. The mountains are speaking to us in light and shadow, color and contrast. And if you pay attention — and shoot with purpose — you’ll come back not just with pretty pictures, but visually textured stories to endure longer than the marriage, stories to squirrel away somewhere, in between the sumachs and the robocalls, until the cows come home to be photographed, soon enough.
Batteries all filled, light on, and anybody’s there, wake your great big eyes up and wake them up wide. The Himalayas are at stake — and they have never looked lovelier.