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Trekking: Eye in the sky
Czech photographer Petr Jan Juračka travelled to Pakistan to break the world record in altitude photography
VASIQ EQBALUPDATED about 13 hours ago
Pakistan’s northern areas are very rich in terms of mountains and scenic beauty, and with some of the highest mountains in the world such as the three great mountain ranges of Hindu Kush, Himalaya and The Great Karakoram, it’s a mountaineer’s dream.
But what drew Petr Jan Juračka, a Czech scientist at Charles University of Prague and an amateur photographer, to the country’s rich landscape was the chance to break a world record in altitude photography.
Petr has worked in South Africa, Lesotho, Egypt, Uganda, Mongolia, Greenland, Cuba, Russia and Germany for various photographic and film-making projects.
What he is really passionate about, however, is using cameras attached to drones to capture the beautiful scenes at some the world’s highest places.
A view of the milky way above mountains. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
As Petr explains, he had flown his drone in places such as Uganda, South Africa and Lesotho but there was always something missing. “I should be satisfied with all of that but I wasn’t. I have been waiting for something bigger and higher. I wanted a big project, as big as a project can be, and the project came to me.”
Czech photographer Petr Jan Juračka travelled to Pakistan to break the world record in altitude photography
The way Petr tells it, it was fate. Czech climber Klára Kolouchová called him one day to ask if he would like to be part of a climbing expedition to K2. It didn’t take long for the photographer to agree to the project and he is really glad he made the journey to Pakistan.
“K2 is the mystic point attracting all of us. I have to admit that I had some doubts about travelling there, but my experience was really great! I really appreciate the hospitability, kindness and charisma of the Pakistani people. I would like to take my family there to see it with their own eyes.”
The glistening mountain peak. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
Campsite. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
Before coming to Pakistan, the highest altitude at which Petr had photographed was at 3,000 metres in the Austrian Alps.
Although he was unsure if his equipment would work at higher elevations — K2’s peak is located at 8, 611 metres — it was an ideal place for him to try to break into the Guinness World Book of Records.
Petr exploring the area. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
“K2 is the mystic point attracting all of us. I have to admit that I had some doubts about travelling there, but my experience was really great! I really appreciate the hospitability, kindness and charisma of the Pakistani people.”
Pakistan, after all, has one of the highest concentrations of high peaks in the world — it has 108 peaks above 7,000 metres and countless others above 6,000 metres.
In Europe, by contrast, the highest peak is at Mount Elbrus in Russia and it is just 5,642 metres high.
Petr climbing K2. The photographer joined Klára Kolouchová’s team in the hopes of capturing photos at the highest level possible. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
But Petr worried that the low temperatures might cause the batteries of his drone to stop working — at that point, the lowest temperature at which he had flown a drone was 18.5C below zero.
He was also concerned about the low pressure he would encounter at the peaks (the drone didn’t perform well in tests that Petr conducted in scientific chambers at low pressure environments).
Czech photographer Petr Jan Juračka travelled to Pakistan to break the world record in altitude photography
VASIQ EQBALUPDATED about 13 hours ago
Pakistan’s northern areas are very rich in terms of mountains and scenic beauty, and with some of the highest mountains in the world such as the three great mountain ranges of Hindu Kush, Himalaya and The Great Karakoram, it’s a mountaineer’s dream.
But what drew Petr Jan Juračka, a Czech scientist at Charles University of Prague and an amateur photographer, to the country’s rich landscape was the chance to break a world record in altitude photography.
Petr has worked in South Africa, Lesotho, Egypt, Uganda, Mongolia, Greenland, Cuba, Russia and Germany for various photographic and film-making projects.
What he is really passionate about, however, is using cameras attached to drones to capture the beautiful scenes at some the world’s highest places.
A view of the milky way above mountains. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
As Petr explains, he had flown his drone in places such as Uganda, South Africa and Lesotho but there was always something missing. “I should be satisfied with all of that but I wasn’t. I have been waiting for something bigger and higher. I wanted a big project, as big as a project can be, and the project came to me.”
Czech photographer Petr Jan Juračka travelled to Pakistan to break the world record in altitude photography
The way Petr tells it, it was fate. Czech climber Klára Kolouchová called him one day to ask if he would like to be part of a climbing expedition to K2. It didn’t take long for the photographer to agree to the project and he is really glad he made the journey to Pakistan.
“K2 is the mystic point attracting all of us. I have to admit that I had some doubts about travelling there, but my experience was really great! I really appreciate the hospitability, kindness and charisma of the Pakistani people. I would like to take my family there to see it with their own eyes.”
The glistening mountain peak. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
Campsite. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
Before coming to Pakistan, the highest altitude at which Petr had photographed was at 3,000 metres in the Austrian Alps.
Although he was unsure if his equipment would work at higher elevations — K2’s peak is located at 8, 611 metres — it was an ideal place for him to try to break into the Guinness World Book of Records.
Petr exploring the area. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
“K2 is the mystic point attracting all of us. I have to admit that I had some doubts about travelling there, but my experience was really great! I really appreciate the hospitability, kindness and charisma of the Pakistani people.”
Pakistan, after all, has one of the highest concentrations of high peaks in the world — it has 108 peaks above 7,000 metres and countless others above 6,000 metres.
In Europe, by contrast, the highest peak is at Mount Elbrus in Russia and it is just 5,642 metres high.
Petr climbing K2. The photographer joined Klára Kolouchová’s team in the hopes of capturing photos at the highest level possible. — Photo by Petr Jan Juračka
But Petr worried that the low temperatures might cause the batteries of his drone to stop working — at that point, the lowest temperature at which he had flown a drone was 18.5C below zero.
He was also concerned about the low pressure he would encounter at the peaks (the drone didn’t perform well in tests that Petr conducted in scientific chambers at low pressure environments).
