AIGUILLE DU DRU BY PIERRE TAIRAZ

PIERRE TAIRAZ (1933-2000) 

L'aiguille du Dru  (3,754 m -12,316 ft) 

France 

In L'Aiguille du Dru, Chamonix, France, Silver gelatin print  (140 x 30cm)
Courtesy John Mitchell Gallery London 

The peak 
The Aiguille du Dru  (3,754 m -12,316 ft) (also called Les Drus in French) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French.
The mountain's highest summit is:
- Grande Aiguille du Dru (or the Grand Dru)
- Petite Aiguille du Dru (or the Petit Dru) 3,733 m.
The two summits are located on the west ridge of the Aiguille Verte (4,122 m) and are connected to each other by the Brèche du Dru (3,697 m). The north face of the Petit Dru is considered one of the six great north faces of the Alps. The southwest "Bonatti" pillar and its eponymous climbing route were destroyed in a 2005 rock fall.

The photographer 
Born in Chamonix, Pierre Tairraz, son, grandson and great-grandson of photographers, adheres very young to this instinct of the mountain and to this fabulous means of expression that the photography is. In the 50s, Pierre Tairaz studied at the Ecole Nationale de la Photographie Vaugirard (Paris) and also learns cinema at IDHEC (Paris). Following the family line, he continues photography, devotes himself to the profession of guide and also embarks on the footsteps of his father with the cinema at altitude. He takes part in many shootings. His career, starring an impressive number of high-altitude film shoots and photographic expeditions, continues to bring him closer to the mountain. Why photograph the mountain? "To testify of another world," answers Pierre Tairraz, "no artifice can match the creative power of nature." 
In this quest for harmony, each image becomes a symbol, the dream of an ideal architecture, a fantastic and grandiose utopia.
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2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau