Burnley born and based outdoor photographer and climber Alastair Lee has spent the past decade travelling and climbing around the world. We caught up with him for a quick chat between a trip to Bolivia and his latest exhibition in Burnley....

Merzouga in Morocco - click the image to see the full 360 panorama

Which came first - climbing or photography?
"The climbing, but only just. I started climbing when I was 19 and left home and went travelling (Camp America then Australia, yawn..) six months after that. I only had an instamatic camera on my travels, however I was always keen with it and people would comment on the pictures even then. Before returning home I climbed in Thailand for a month. I bought some slide film for my little camera with the intention of giving a slide show on my return. I ended up doing the show seven times and it was all shot on an instamatic!"

Where's your favourite place to climb and why?
"I try not to choose favourites, I think the world is far too diverse a place to pick one favourite from all the incredible places there are to climb. I have stronger memories of certain places because of a particularly good time I had there. If you take the past few months for example I've climbed on desert towers in Utah, completed a climb that's taken me two years of effort at my local bouldering area, The Bridestones and on Tuesday morning last week I summitted my first 6000m peak in Bolivia. All amazing places, all experiences I will never forget, no favourites though, each enhances the other."

Is there anywhere you've not been, but would love to go?
"Oh yes, Nepal, Patagonia, Greenland, Baffin Island, Alaska, North West Territories, Pamias, Antarctica - the world's bigger than all of us!"

Serac Mont Blanc

What's been the scariest or worst thing to happen to you on your travels?
"Erm, now how do I narrow this down to one sentence?! I don't have a very good immune system therefore getting ill, particularly in third-world countries is a bit of a specialty of mine. I seem to get lost a lot too, I put that down to my enthusiasm in wanting to get to the hills, need to spend a bit more time looking at maps first! Seven years ago I took a bad fall in New Zealand; hit the ground from seven metres up, I couldn't walk for a week and had a glutal haematoma and a compressed spine, but didn't break anything. It was really scary however I don't see these things as simple 'accidents' I don't believe in luck. I think I had it coming and it made me more cautious in my approach to climbing as I was getting a bit too cock-sure of myself."

What's been the best?
"Climbing is best, good or bad."

Alastair's current favourite photo, Castleton Tower - click the image to see the full 360 panorama

Which picture are you most proud of?
"Ooo there's loads of snaps that I like, at the moment I'm really into 360 panoramic photography not only are they very unusual but they have an element of narrative about them too. My favorite so far is a black and white a took between two towers in Utah, I think I like it so much because the light seemed so dull yet it came out with a lot of mood and atmosphere."

Which is scarier - climbing a mountain or presenting a show in front of an audience?
"Climbing undoubtedly, although you are absolutely right to draw the comparison. I always get nervous before doing a show, however if a show goes wrong you just feel low or publicly humiliated, when things go wrong on a mountain you could die or at least break your legs. On a less morbid note when things go well the sensation of accomplishment and satisfaction are very similar for climbing and shows."

Strike a pose!

You're a Lancashire lad, so what's you favourite Lancashire grub?
"I always miss toast and a bowl of cereal when I'm away, failing that bacon butties are pretty good. Black pudding."

And finally, have you ever got to the top of a mountain and (a) realised you'd forgotten your camera or (b) remembered to take your camera but then droppped it down a ravine?
"No on both counts, however its perhaps worth noting that I've carried my camera, tripod and heavy panoramic tripod head up a lot of mountains (plus all the climbing gear, food clothes etc) and never used it due to bad weather or lack of inspiration."