Unexpected: 30 Years of Patagonia Catalogue Photography

Unique for a business enterprise, Patagonia’s catalog devotes nearly half its
space to nonselling editorial content, to environmental and sport essays and
above all to extraordinary photographs of wild places and active pursuits for
which the company makes its clothes. Since 1980, Patagonia has invited
customers and wilderness photographers to submit their best, most unexpected
shots of life outdoors, of alpine climbing, bouldering in the desert, skiing
untracked bowls, surfing secret spots, ocean crossings, first kayak descents
and travel in unfamiliar places.

The photos have poured in ever since (current rate: 60,000 per year), some
from the famous (John Russell, Galen Rowell), others from respected
photographers (Corey Rich) who had their first work published in these pages.
Jane Sievert and Jennifer Ridgeway, Patagonia’s current and founding photo
editor, respectively, have been calling and culling the shots for three
decades. This is their compendium of the 100-plus most compelling photos
Patagonia has published and a celebration of wilderness and outdoor-sport
photography as an art and a practice.