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Shooting in the world’s toughest landscape?

You think a long day’s hike or a cold morning are tough conditions in which to work? Ask National Geographic photographer Stephen Alvarez about shooting in tough conditions, and he’s bound to tell you about his newest assignment for the magazine. He ventured into one of the most dramatic and dangerous landscapes on the planet—the Tsingy de Bemaraha national park in western Madagascar. This “park” is comprised of deep canyons and jagged limestone towers; Tsingy actually translates to “where one cannot walk barefoot.” Though the terrain alone is an interesting subject, Alvarez’s photographs aren’t simply dramatic landscapes. Because the region is so remote, it is relatively untouched by human hands and filled with unique wildlife. According to Geographic editor Chris Johns, writing on the editor’s blog, the trek for Alvarez and his team was so arduous, after a five day hike just to get to the park they were forced to “pick their way along knife-edge ridges that dropped off into 400-foot-deep canyons.” Now that’s a tricky assignment. See how he did, and read the “Stone Labrynth” story, in the November issue of National Geographic.
Editors note: Living on a razors edge.

Stone forest: Shea

Stone forest: Alvarez

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