Pierre Tairraz

Pierre Tairraz (born November 19, 1933 in Chamonix and died September 14, 2000 in Divajeu) was a French mountain photographer, the fourth in the Tairraz family.

Pierre Tairraz was born in 1933; his father Georges II, his grandfather Georges I and his great-grandfather Joseph practice or have practiced the profession of mountain photographer, his father is also a filmmaker. He studied photography and cinema in Paris (at Idhec) before returning to train in the field with his father. Pierre Tairraz then joined expeditions in several mountain ranges as a filmmaker. He worked in particular with Roger Frison-Roche, illustrating with these shots the works “Mont Blanc Aux Sept Vallées” and “50 Years In The Mountains”, and accompanying him in the Canadian North in 1966 and 1969; as well as with Gaston Rébuffat. In 1972, he exhibited his photos as well as those of his Tairraz ancestors in Paris.

The following works will be illustrated with his photographs: In 1959: Mont Blanc aux sept vallées, texts by Roger Frison-Roche, Arthaud editions, 1963: Two thousand years later, Israel, texts by Pierre-François Degeorges, 1966: Hello Romania, texts by Pierre-François Degeorges, Robert Laffont editions, 1967: Peoples hunters of the Arctic, texts by Roger Frison-Roche, Arthaud editions, 1968: Chamonix Mont-Blanc, texts by Philippe Gaussot, Navarre-La Rochelle editions, 1971: Le Petit chamois des Perrons, texts by Anne-Marie Gillet, Mythra editions, 1972: La Vanoise, National Park, texts by Roger Frison-Roche, Arthaud editions, 1974: 50 years in the mountains, texts by Roger Frison-Roche, Arthaud editions, 1975: The Mountain, texts by Roger Frison-Roche, Larousse, Vie-Art-Cité, Mythra editions.

We will also find Pierre Tairraz behind the camera, on many documentaries including: In 1954: “Sur Les Traces Du Premier De Cordée”, directed by Roger Frison-Roche, as assistant cameraman to his father Georges Tairraz. 1961: “Between Earth and Sky”, directed by Gaston Rébuffat, images by Georges Tairraz and Pierre Tairraz, awarded at the 10th international mountain and exploration film festival in Trento. 1963: 2000 years later… Israel, film from the expedition with Pierre-François Degeorges. 1966: “Hunting Peoples of the Arctic”, film taken from the expedition with Roger Frison-Roche in 1966.

The tairraz dynasty went dormant when Pierre died on September 14, 2000 in Divajeu in Drôme (France). It leaves us with a certain way of looking at the mountain, of magnifying its forms to express the emotions of those who venture there.