Photographer of the extreme

Pascal Tournaire is an independent photographer specializing in extreme situations. He is also a magazine and book Artistic director.
June 2005 is the date of his latest work is a 7-page reportage on the evolution of the biggest glacier of the Alps, the glacier of aletsch Switzerland.

In his latest expedition that lasted 7 weeks in South Georgia Antarctica November / December 2004 he worked with a team of deaf people. The objective was to promote sign language and the interaction between hearing and deaf people. Fifteen pages will be published in the magazine "Alpinisme & randonnée" and a book to be published in September 2005 by the edition Guerin. Pascal Tournaire is the artistic director and editor of the book. This adventure was videotaped for the French television magazine Thalassa, was aired in October 2005. This adventure was particularly extraordinary on the ship Tara 5 as well as in high altitude.

Between inner city and the desert

Pascal Tournaire was born in the suburb of Paris in 1959. After scientific studies, Pascal becomes a maquetist then artistic director for magazine in Parisian press (Grand Prix International, Moto-presse, Montagnes magazine, Alpirando, Parapente mag, Aérial...), as well as book publishing (Denoël, Arthaud, Sélection du Reader's Digest, Nathan, Flammarion...), and advertisement.

From 87 to 2005 PT has been a journalist, international reporter as well as photographer for the groups Hommel and Glénat-presse : magazines «Vertical» and «Alpirando». He collaborates with specialized foreign press «Desnivel» (Spain), «Rock & Ice», «Alpinist» (USA), «Klettern», «Alpin» (Germany), «La revista della montagna», «Alp» (Italy)...

Pascal Tournaire works on a regular basis with mainstream publication such as : «VSD», «Figaro magazine», «Paris-Match»... Advertisement : catalogues «Petzl», «Charlet», «Millet», «Béai», «Degré 7», «Salomon», «Bermudes», «4810»... He has produced a few books including «Le desert Libyque» with Théodore Monod.

His Passion’s secret

« I have been fortunate to follow the best alpinists on the most beautiful mountains in the world. Bruno Gardent taught me that in the mountains you always have to improvise. Benoît Chamoux, with his Esprit d'equipe opened the door to the formidable Himalaya chain. I realized my dream to watch the sunset from the top of the world with Christine Janin before departing on a journey that took me to the top of the 7 continents.

Marc Batard, Catherine Destivelle, François Damilano, François Marsigny, Lynn Hill, Liv Sansoz, Daniel du Lac... so many alpinists and climbing champions revealed a fragile side in the most intense moments. I am a witness of the nature's beauty and violence of the incredible heroic moments of those ephemeral actors that you call climbers. I like being in the heat of the action to cease the image in the cold filled with fear and vertigo hanging in between the sky and the earth.

Of the Climbers captured on film like chamois on a razor edge of a wall along side of the mountain I prefer to use my wide angle under the crampons of a man fighting in the north face of the Drus. I would love to capture the violence of a storm on a north face but every time it happened I always hidden away my camera in my bag to save my neck !

In the world of grand alpinism, photography is still in its infancy phase. To capture on a tiny piece of plastic it will be absolutely indispensable to possess, apart from the technical abilities, the biggest self-control to be able to freeze life force while she is suspended in time. »