From Archive to Autobiography: The Making of Cleare Perspectives

This month, we’re excited to begin the design and layout stage of John Cleare’s autobiography, Cleare Perspectives – Capturing the Essence of Adventure, which is due for release next spring. In this article our editor, Deziree Wilson, shares her experiences of working with John and some of the stories she has felt privileged to help document.

*

John was at the forefront of climbing and mountaineering photography and cinematography, capturing intimate portraits of some of the leading players during what is often dubbed the ‘golden age’ of British climbing history. It seems serendipitous that this golden era, represented by the likes of Hamish MacInnes, Tom Patey, Don Whillans and Chris Bonington, had someone of John’s calibre to document it for posterity. Today’s professionals stand on John’s shoulders, and no doubt some of the images in the book will be familiar to you even if you haven’t heard of him until now.

It was a great privilege to work closely with John, and before his passing last year, he was able to furnish us with thousands of photographs from his extensive personal library, helping select those that best represent the many facets of his long, eventful life. This was no small task, since any one of John’s images distinguishes him as a photographer of exceptional skill. In an era where everyone carries a high-quality camera around with them in their pocket, it’s easy to underestimate the level of craftsmanship, technical expertise, planning and logistics required to capture climbers in action.

As he says:

… the camera is still only a tool, and while the most visually unaware ‘snapper’ can take a viable photograph in a difficult situation, it still requires skill, a discerning eye and a strong sense of composition to shoot consistently good images.

Although John didn’t set out to become an adventure photographer, it was a natural alignment of his favourite activities. He had drawn and painted from an early age, and when he was 14, he climbed his first rock route on Little Tryfan in North Wales, wearing nailed boots, a hemp rope tied round his waist. The following day: 

… we forced our way up North Gully on Tryfan’s East Face, in those conditions a straightforward snow climb. And thus I climbed my first mountain. 

After leaving school and a stint of National Service, there came: 

… the eureka moment. Quite casually, I dropped into the ancient Guildhall Gallery in Guildford to view a photography exhibition. I was captivated … It struck me that there must be a living to be earned making pictures while mere painters starved in their garrets.

John applied and was accepted to train at the prestigious Guildford School of Photography. Here he learned composition, colour, form and texture as well as the mechanics of using a camera. 

Despite the prospect of a lucrative career working in London, John realised that what he really wanted to do was photograph and film mountains and those who frequent them. But with no existing protocols to advise him on how to set up and execute a shoot on the sea cliffs and mountain crags of North Wales or Scotland, the North Face of the Eiger, the Matterhorn or Everest, he had to creatively devise and adapt systems that drew on his own deep understanding and love of climbing. John would decide on the shot he wanted and then, working backwards, would think about how to go about getting it. 

My usual technique, having decided on a climb worthy of … attention … is to select a series of moves on a particular pitch and then to approach them as near as possible, either by climbing, traversing and ‘penduling’, or by an abseil from a higher point. This should land me in a position from which the climbers are at the mercy of the camera. Once there, and satisfied with what I can see, I tie myself in a comfortable tangle of nylon webbing and hang from a spike, a jammed nut or peg, or often the abseil line itself, before giving the signal for action to commence. Often the best pictures are taken from several feet out in space; in this situation, I may have to arrange the stance so that I can lean out horizontally, feet braced against the wall, and still remain comfortable and steady. Or it may be necessary to allow for a pendule a few feet either way to vary the field of view or the foreground during shooting …

[The Nikon wide-angle 28mm lens with its 74° coverage] in particular seems to suit my style of working. Using it, I can take pictures from what would otherwise be impossible positions … where the crux moves are adjacent to the only possible camera position.

I suspect the novelty and challenge of this was what appealed most to him, and one of the reasons he didn’t submit to an easier life photographing urban and rural settings, which, by the way, he also excelled at.

When we began sifting through John’s vast archive, trying to whittle down the contenders for the book, it struck me that anyone could tell at a glance that it had been taken by one of the world’s best adventure photographers. Many of us, whether we have an artistic bent or not, instinctively recognise a great image when we see it, without really knowing why. As John says:

Certainly, many people possess what is known as ‘an eye’. They can recognise a subject – a scene, a play of shadows perhaps, or a combination of shapes – as photogenic, as worthy of recording, but are then lost as to what exactly it is that is special. The recognition of this and how to treat it is the foundation of what we call composition – surely the most important factor in all two-dimensional art.

But John’s best work goes far beyond technical expertise and draws on subtler skills. He had a curiosity and an ability to engage with people from all walks of life, and in some of his most memorable portraits, you can see this natural empathy. He could capture the essence of a moment or someone’s character in a way that makes you feel as though you are there with them, laughing at whatever quip has just been made. It was a trait that, when combined with his professional training, set him apart from the rest.
 

Sometimes it was no laughing matter, though. John often photographed climbers in extremis, in situations where he had to balance the need for intimacy and immediacy with remaining unobtrusive, lest he interrupt the flow and cause his subject to lose concentration:

I would go in close to capture the climber, his expression and the context of his situation … After all, among other things, we climb for thrills. For that tingle in the instep, for that hot, damp fear on the fingertips.

John’s clear-eyed, elegant photographic style extended to his writing, and he had published several successful books before he approached us with his manuscript. We immediately knew we had something, and someone, special to work with. Usually as an editor, I spend a lot of time trying to convey an idea or theme as concisely as possible. John was a natural at this. Despite his innate generosity, he prided himself on using as few words as possible to tell a story – an admirable principle – and I would often add notes saying, ‘I’m intrigued!’ whereupon he might furnish me with an extra dozen words or so, if I were lucky. Economy was the name of the game. He understood more clearly than most the power of subtext, both in his writing and in his photography. ‘I don’t need to tell you how to think about this,’ he seems to say, ‘Draw your own conclusions.’ Such elegance often belies a deeper meaning that can pass by the unobservant. Personally, I find this particular style the most satisfying. Ideas, emotions and imagery are given space to breathe, and the reader or viewer is compelled to form their own interpretation of what is in front of them. 

And so, in his generous, witty way, John takes us on a journey with him through his life, from a five-year-old war evacuee to his latter years exploring landscapes by bicycle and boat, via summits, canyons, deserts and jungles, with myriad adventures along the way.

*

Cleare Perspectives will be published in early 2026. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed publishing it.

Images

Dawn lights the east face of Shivling. © John Cleare
On the Forth Road Bridge. © John Cleare
Am Buachaille and Dr. Tom Patey on the day of the first ascent. © John Cleare
On Dinas Cromlech high over the Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia. © John Cleare