The Manirung Pass

This dramatic albumen print captures the rugged grandeur of the Manirung Pass, an imposing mountain crossing in the Himalayas. The scene is dominated by towering, jagged peaks, their rocky faces starkly illuminated by the sun, casting deep shadows into the valleys below. Bourne's composition emphasizes the sheer scale of the landscape, with distant peaks fading into a hazy horizon, suggesting the vastness of the terrain. One can almost feel the thin, cold air of the high altitude, a testament to the photographer's challenging journey. This image was part of a major expedition in 1866, where the artist traveled with forty porters, navigating difficult conditions to document the region, even setting a record for the highest altitude photographs taken at the time.