The Italian photographic and scientific project on melting glaciers

The project is called “On The Trail of the Glaciers”. It has lasted for 10 years and it “represents the largest existing archive of comparative photography on the variations of glacial masses”. The creator is Fabiano Ventura, a landscape photographer specialized in environmental issues. With the help of a technical and creative staff, and the support of an international scientific committee, Ventura  decided to record the increasingly rapid melting of glaciers through photography,. Why? Because he wanted to educate the largest number of people on the importance of protecting the environment and therefore of moving towards a sustainable growth.

Through field expeditions, they conducted new photoshoots during the exact same period and in the same observation point as those made by photographers and explorers between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. These are then compared to make the huge and disastrous climate change that our planet is going through more visible to people. 

Since 2009, 6 expeditions have been carried out on the most important glaciers on Earth: Karakorum, Caucasus, Alaska, Andes, Himalayas, Alps. With the help of the most modern digital technologies combined with traditional shooting techniques, Fabiano Ventura managed to get extraordinary results. Each shot was supported by scientific observations and measurements by the Scientific Committee, which, thanks to the project, obtained valuable information on the recent glacial dynamics and the current state of the glaciers. 

In the brochure of the project, the creators explain their vision: “Pictures testifying the retreat of the largest mountain glaciers on Earth, combined with the scientific data collected, provide an immediate idea of the extraordinary climatic variations, that the our planet is going through, and they confirm how urgent all possible actions are to limit the consequences”.

The photographic material can be seen in the exhibition “On the Traces of the Glaciers”, where the most significant photographic comparisons are exhibited in large format fine-art prints. These are also complemented by videos, interactive installations, texts and scientific data, maps and authentic materials. The exhibition is available in three formats, which are distinguished by the number of contents and the types of layout. There is the Full Exhibition, the Large Exhibition and the Core Ehibition. 

The project team has also developed a series of lectures on the subject, in which the director Fabiano Ventura obviously participates. Moreover, together with science communicators and teachers of different school levels, they created educational programs including laboratories, workshops, live streams, webinars, conferences, lectures and summer schools.

Lastly, during the expeditions, they shot several documentaries, lasting 52 minutes each, then broadcast by some of the most important tv stations in the world.