@thomaspeschak

I spend most of my time photographing wildlife in ocean, coastal or remote island environments, so it was challenging to photograph a story about a geological feature set 3000 metres high in the Swiss Alps last summer. While I am no stranger to documenting the effects of climate change, having done so for @natgeo in the Galapagos and the Kalahari, photographing glaciers and venturing inside ice caves on assignment for @nikondach & @nikoneurope was a new experience for me. Like many of the sharks and marine mammals that I normally photograph, glaciers too have become endangered. In the Swiss Alps alone 76 out of 89 glaciers are in retreat due to climate change and many have shrunk by kilometres, with ice loss especially dramatic beginning in the 1980s. To try and get people to care as much about a glacier as they do about humpback whales, lions or gorillas I wanted to make a memorable and unusual image. While researching this story I had heard rumours of a glacier ice cave situated at the base of the Matterhorn, one of the world’s most iconic mountains. One of the cave’s cavernous openings was said to perfectly frame the famous pyramidal peak. Over the years I have been wowed by some incredibly images of icy underworlds made by cave photography masters like @shonephoto and @carsternpeter. But to put my own creative stamp on this type of image, I wanted to find a way to connect this alien realm with a distinct feature, familiar to as many people as possible. And it certainly does not come more familiar than the iconic mountain that features on the Toblerone chocolate bar. Nikon made a wonderful short film about my adventures and the challenges involved making this photograph. You can watch it by clicking on the link below my bio #nikonambassador #glacier #matterhorn #climatechange #love #photography #alps #switzerland #nikon #Z9 @visitswitzerland @myswitzerland @zermatt.matterhorn