Vittorio Sella
Vittorio Sella (28 August 1859 – 12 August 1943) was an Italian photographer and mountaineer, who took photographs of mountains which are regarded as some of the finest ever made.
Sella was born in Biella in the foothills of the Alps and acquired his interest in Alpinism from his uncle, Quintino Sella. He made a number of significant climbs in the Alps, including the first winter ascents of the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa, and the first winter traverse of Mont Blanc. He took part in several expeditions further afield, including three to the Caucasus (where a peak now bears his name), to Mount Saint Elias in Alaska, to the Rwenzori in Africa, and the 1909 expedition to K2 and the Karakoram. The latter three expeditions were in the company of Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi. Sella continued to climb into his old age, and made his last attempt on the Matterhorn at seventy six. The attempt failed when one of his guides was injured in an accident.
The high quality of Sella's photography was in part due to his use of 30×40 cm photographic plates, in spite of the difficulty of carrying bulky and fragile equipment into remote places. He had to invent equipment, including modified pack saddles and rucksacks, to allow these particularly large glass plates to be transported safely. His photographs were widely published and exhibited, and highly praised; Ansel Adams, who saw thirty-one that Sella had presented to the US Sierra Club, said they inspired "a definitely religious awe". Many of the photographs he took were of mountains which had not been previously recorded and so have historical as well as artistic significance; for example by recording the retreat of glaciers in the Rwenzori mountains in Central Africa.
Podcasts:
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by Augie March
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by Mindrot
Future Seal
by: Augie MarchMother duck waddles out to the edge of father duck's house
Shakes her feathers in Harry duck's face
Harry duck gets pissed, shakes his little feathered fist
Father duck has no qualm about entering the fray
It's not solely a duck thing but entirely a fuck thing
The Yanomami Indians are knockin' at your door
When Helen of Troy gets her hands on you, boy
Before you know it, she's a siren for a nuclear war
I get so tired of saying "There's no life here, baby"
Hearing "Well at least there's no death here, either"
In the middle of the night, in the middle of the park
You can hear the possums screaming as the dogs begin to bark
There are pieces of their leashes in the silver wolverine
Pissing on the faces of the so-serene scene
And the "More police per parking lot than any other country"
Won't prevent the bloodshed 'cause the dogs are hungry here
Oh Mr. Government says -
"I wanna veto over every idea that comes from the heart"
Now that's a good start, yeah that's a good start
Stake a claim through the centre of the state - and pull out it's heart
Walking on down to the old casino
Thinking "We should maybe build a new casino"
Dressed to the 90's in my gold merino cloak
Oh everything's annoying tonight...
Now all you college boys and girls pretending to be solid boys and girls
Pretending everything is solid in the world
No it isn't - and you will find out soon
That every song that you were dancing to was never your tune
As you wait by the door for your sun-sucked lay
To slam her in the back of your graduation cabriolet
Put the Young Liberal sticker on the windshield
Pop another cherry 'neath the flag of your future seal
Wait by the door for your sun-sucked lay
To slam her in the back of your graduation cabriolet
Put the Young Liberal sticker on the windshield
Pop another cherry 'neath the flag of your future seal
Now all you college boys and girls pretending to be solid boys and girls
Pretending everything is solid in the world
No it isn't - and you will find out soon
That every song that you were marching to was never your tune
As you wait by the door for your sun-sucked lay
To slam her in the back of your graduation cabriolet
Put the Young Liberal sticker on the windshield