Looking at Mountains

‘Looking at Mountains’ is a series of work I made in which the images are simulated photographs created using open-source Geological Elevation Data. The height of the Earth’s entire surface has been mapped using a variety of methods, from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, LIDAR data collection, conventional topographic maps, to traditional ground surveys. This has been collected, collated and located in the public domain.

For the creation of these images, this data was imported into 3D modelling software and output as algorithmically generated photo-style images that intentionally directly reference those produced by John Noel in 1924.

The series explores the notion of the 'heroic' photographer as well as the fundamental changes in the medium itself. What is a photograph in light of the current plethora of possible definitions of photography and is it still photography if we move away from a recording of a physical trace and for example use digital data is a referent?