Find the people first—or try to. In Jakub Polomski’s The Scale of Nature, human figures can be so small that the mountains seem to reveal them only after a second look. Once you notice them, the size of everything around them changes.
The Polish photographer assembled the project from images made in the French and Swiss Alps, then converted them to monochrome. His stated interest was the contrast between people and the natural world. The black-and-white treatment makes that contrast especially clear.
The figure as a measure
A person offers a familiar reference within an unfamiliar landscape. Without that small shape, a ridge might be difficult to judge. With it, the snowfield becomes immense and the broken ice acquires a more unsettling scale.
The effect does not require a dramatic pose. A line of walkers or a pair of figures standing quietly can do the work. Their ordinary proportions help us read the extraordinary space around them.
What monochrome brings forward
With colour removed, shadows and edges become the main organising elements. Dark cliffs sit against pale snow; a track becomes a thin mark; a curved ridge leads the eye through an otherwise open frame.
Try comparing the photographs with many figures and those with only two. The first can suggest a shared journey. The second leaves more empty space, making the scene feel quieter and more isolated. Both are visual choices, rather than evidence about how easy or difficult a route was.
For Polomski’s use of colour and distance in a different region, explore his Patagonia journey. For another project placing a climber against a powerful ice landscape, see Christian Pondella’s Kilimanjaro photographs.
For landscapes where the viewpoint itself suggests scale, compare five mountain photographs from different regions.
The human figure is a measuring point
Jakub Polomski’s project uses people to make mountain scale easier to perceive. Without a recognisable figure, a snowfield or rock wall can be difficult to judge; the small person supplies a familiar reference while remaining visually subordinate to the landscape. That is the central idea behind The Scale of Nature.
Polomski says the photographs were made in the French and Swiss Alps and converted to monochrome during post-production. The black-and-white treatment is therefore an artistic decision, not evidence that the scenes lacked colour. It directs attention towards contrast, texture and the position of each figure. His description of human smallness is a personal interpretation of the mountains; viewers can recognise the scale without having to accept a judgement that people are meaningless.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- jakubpolomski.com
- Bored Panda
- Not Only Did These People Climb The Alps, They Did Something So Cool Up There.
- Breathtaking Sphinx Observatory at Swiss Alps
- Here’s A Test To See If You’re Afraid Of Heights… I Couldn’t Last 5 Seconds.
- French Highliner Performs Death-Defying Walk On Cable Car Wire 1,200ft Above Mont Blanc In The French Alps
- See That Tiny Place In The Mountains? It’s Awesome But You Probably Don’t Want To Go There.
- Don't Look Down! Walk Over Europe's Highest Suspension Bridge
- Jakub Polomski
- Patagonia journey
- Christian Pondella’s Kilimanjaro photographs
- five mountain photographs from different regions
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