[1] Heckel studied to be a photographer in the portrait atelier of Josef Chmelík in Plzeň, his home city.

[2] In 1949 he became a member of the Svaz československých výtvarných umělců (Union of Czechoslovak Visual Artists).

[2] The group changed their plan and decided to climb the peaks in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca.

Heckel and several of his colleagues planned to leave the expedition and focus more on studying and documenting of Peruvian culture.

Coincidentally, the avalanche caused by Great Peruvian earthquake buried their camp under Huascarán on 31 May 1970, the day before their departure.

In his photo cycles he managed to depict an original picture of Czech landscape, its spirit and uniqueness.