Award-winning international photojournalist Dave Bartruff likes to keep on top of things. Like climbing to the top of Mount Rushmore to shoot photos for a story on the famed monument. With special permission, he joined the daring work crew up a steep, twisting trail, then gingerly climbed out on a maintenance ladder, finally pulling himself up by rope to the crown of George Washington’s head.
On Top Of It!
From atop the monument, 5,725 ft. above sea level, Dave created a spectacular portfolio of photographs.
On assignment in Egypt, he ascended Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments to produce a photo essay on fabled St. Catherine’s Monastery sequestered at the base of the “Mountain of God.”
In Tibet, he visited the highest human habitation on earth… 17,000 ft high Rongbuk Monastery beneath the “Forbidden” North Face of Mount Everest.
For more that thirty years, the California-based photographer/writer has been covering the world for travel and religious publications. He has completed over 200 international shoots in more than 90 countries.
His mountain-top experiences have resulted in such prestigious awards as Lowell Thomas prizes by the Society of American Travel Writers, the Pacific Asia Travel Association and Nikon Camera.
Bartruff maintains a worldwide photo archive of nearly a quarter of a million images, many with model releases. More than ninety percent of the images are shot on location overseas.