Scottish Mountaineering Press, the multi-award-winning publisher that celebrates the passion, creativity and endeavour in a life lived outdoors, is delighted to announce the launch of Cleare Perspectives, the autobiography and major retrospective of John Cleare (1936–2024), one of Britain’s most influential mountaineering photographers and often under-recognised visual storytellers, on Monday 03 August 2026.

John Cleare emerged in the 1960s, at a time of profound social and cultural change. While Britain was reshaping itself in the post-war years, John was helping to redefine how adventure, and by extension, risk, ambition and environment could be documented.

Working with leading figures including Joe Brown, Chris Bonington, Don Whillans, Hamish MacInnes, Pete Crew, Tom Patey, Tony Smythe, and Rusty Baillie, and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Cleare documented landmark ascents across Britain, and major expeditions to the Alps, the Himalaya, and Africa, providing some of the earliest visual records of genuinely unexplored regions around the world.

The photographs John Cleare chose from his archive in combination with his accounts of the experiences behind the images, capture, not only the physical intensity of the historic expeditions, first ascents and rarely seen material, but also the character, relationships, humour and camaraderie of the ‘golden era’ of mountaineering.  These connections give the book an emotional depth that extends beyond its visual impact.

Cleare Perspectives is not solely a coffee table book and photo retrospective about climbing. It is a portrait of a wide-ranging creative life. Alongside the expedition photography for which he is best known, Cleare’s work encompasses reportage, portraiture and gritty urban landscapes. His images move between the remote and the everyday, revealing a consistent sensitivity to place, structure and human presence.

Best known for revolutionising the visual language of modern adventure photography, Cleare developed techniques that allowed him to photograph climbers in action from within the climb itself. His approach of hanging from ropes, metres from a climber to place viewers directly into the frame transformed how adventure is visually communicated.

Spanning several decades, Cleare Perspectives also traces the evolution of photographic practice from analogue to digital, offering rare insight into the craft of working in extreme and unpredictable environments. At a time when every frame carried weight, Cleare’s images demanded meticulous planning, technical innovation and physical commitment.

Cleare played a significant role in bringing mountaineering and exploration into the public imagination, introducing wider audiences to environments and experiences previously little seen.

His work appeared widely in books, magazines and exhibitions, while his involvement in film and television included work on The Eiger Sanction (1975) with Clint Eastwood and the BBC’s 1967 live broadcast of the ascent of the Old Man of Hoy, a landmark in television history with 15m viewers.

As both a writer and editor, he contributed to several influential publications, most notably Rock Climbing in Snowdonia (1966), now regarded as a classic of its kind. His ability to communicate complex physical and emotional experiences, whether through image or text was central to his impact.

Peter Gillman, author, climber and close friend of John Cleare, said: “John Cleare was a man of many parts – Mountaineer, photographer, cameraman, adventurer, lecturer, and writer. He has brought together all these aspects of his multifaceted life in this entertaining and revealing book, covering his career from his early days as an assistant photographer at a glossy magazine to his current high stature in the mountaineering world and beyond.

“John the photographer was also an excellent writer, crisp and to the point, with descriptive gifts and above all a sense of story which drives his narrative. In Cleare Perspectives he has provided a superb testament to a life lived to the full against a rich tapestry of changing times.”

Rob Lovell, Publisher & Chief Executive of Scottish Mountaineering Press, said: “John Cleare was a man of enormous knowledge, skill and experience, but also warmth and generosity. He could tell a remarkable tale and articulate a photographic vision like no other I’d met before. More than that, here was a man who would go on to realise that vision in iconic imagery that has appeared in print time and time again.

“Following his support for a few earlier publishing projects, we were delighted to work on his whole-life memoir — a narrative that takes us from his beginnings as a climber and photographer right through to the latter years of his life. It’s quite a journey, and although the manuscript and preliminary photo selection were completed while John was still alive, sadly he will not be with us for the publication of Cleare Perspectives.

“It’s been a labour of love for the team, and we’ve stayed true to John’s spirit in the final stages of the project. We cannot wait for his story and work to be brought to life.”

Cleare Perspectives
Author: John Cleare
Publisher / Imprint: Scottish Mountaineering Press
Format: Hardback, 240 × 215 mm, 604 pages, heavily illustrated (300+ images)
ISBN: 978-1-907233-62-3

Pricing:

• Standard hardback edition: £45
• Special/limited edition with slipcased cover: £55
• To buy a copy online: https://scottishmountaineeringpress.com/product/cleare-perspectives/

Cleare Perspectives is John Cleare’s first full autobiography and was completed shortly before his death in 2024. Most of the images were chosen by Cleare from his personal archive.

Scottish Mountaineering Press:

Scottish Mountaineering Press (SMP) is a multi-award-winning publisher that exists to promote and share Scotland’s natural wonders. SMP do this by embracing the creativity and art borne of an explorer spirit, and celebrating the endeavour and joy in a life lived outdoors.

SMP work with authors and artists to realise their vision in print and on screen. Through art, poetry, photography and prose, their publications capture the moments when nature stuns us into silence and stops us in tour tracks, when time slows down and we look up and out with a sense of freedom.

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