Contrast between warm autumn colors and snow on the Meije summit.

Ecrins National Park, French Alps

Here is the first picture from a serie of 3 photographs I took last october during a trip to Switzerland with my photographer friends Vincent and Samuel.

I took these 3 photographs with similar composition but very different lighting in the same morning. This one is the first, taken just after waking up, after a night under the tent near the Stelisee Lake. Mount Matterhorn in the light of dawn...

I'll now post the two others shots :
[link] - [link]

Have a great New Year!

A magical sunrise on the Grande Casse, highest summit in Vanoise National Park.

Vanoise National Park - French Alps

First snow after summer on "La Barre des Ecrins".

[Oisans - FRANCE]

[Belledone massif - FRANCE]

Tonight, it was wonderful at sunset...

[Vercors - FRANCE]

Yading National Park, Sichuan, China
The most majestic mountain sanctuary I've ever seen.

Sunset alpenglow on Ama Dablam, a towering peak in the Himalaya near Mt Everest.

Sometimes it all comes together...

A beautiful combination of elements this morning over the South Sierra range.

The most pristine and magnificent wilderness.

One of my discoveries while hiking the remote eastern Owyhee plateau of Oregon was this lone Juniper, at least ten miles in any direction from its nearest brother. A Jack-rabbit passerby seemed to have found interest in it briefly. I photographed it at sunset.

This is a view of the Vanil des Artses mountain (1993m), shot one evening just before sunset from the Dent de Lys mountain. In the background (left) can be seen the Dents du Midi mountain chain (3257m) and just behind them, the white dome is the Mont-Blanc (4807m).

This photograph was captured from an altitude of around 3300m, just at the bottom the south-east ridge that links the Weissmies to the Portjenhorn going through the Zwischbergen pass, just as the sun was rising over the Italian mountains.

While ascending the Weissmies (my first 4000m peak), in the Swiss Alps, as we reached the Zwischbergen pass at 3300m altitude, we were greeted with this breathtaking sunrise over the Protjenhorn mountain on the right hand side.

Mt. Sneffels glows with the last light of an autumn day over an aspen-filled valley. Dallas Creek Road near Ridgway, Colorado.

Pink fireweed grows along the Maroon Lake Scenic Loop Trail. Maroon-Snowmass Wilderness near Aspen, Colorado.

Clouds glow after sunset over an aspen-filled valley that sits under Capitol Peak. Near Snowmass Village, Colorado.

Tre Cime - Wide

It wasn't really easy to get an interesting foreground from where we were standing that morning, but I liked the curve in here anyway.

FULL VIEW PLEASE

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Location: Tre Cime di Lavaredo - Dolomites, Italy [link]
Date: October 02nd, 2009
Light Conditions: Sunrise
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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm f/3.4
Focal Length: 35 mm

Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec
Aperture: 16
ISO: 50

Panorama: 3 Vertical Images

Tripod: Feisol CT-3402
Tripod Head: Acratech Ultimate Ballhead

Filters:
- Hoya HD Circular Polarizer
- Lee Graduated Neutral Density 0.6 Soft

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This description was created by a little tool called PhotoInfo.
It was programmed by Erich Jarz -> [link]
You can download it here for free -> [link]
For feedback send me a note via my deviant page -> [link]
ENJOY!!!

Tre Cime di Lavaredo - Path

Here's a steep view into the plateau to the north of the "Tre Cime". Later that day we walked along that path and around the pinnacles back to our shelter.

FULL VIEW PLEASE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dolomites [link]
Date: October 02nd, 2009
Light Conditions: Sunrise
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm f/3.4
Focal Length: 35 mm

Shutter Speed: 1/6 sec
Aperture: 16
ISO: 50

Tripod: Feisol CT-3402
Tripod Head: Acratech Ultimate Ballhead

Filters:
- Hoya HD Circular Polarizer
- Lee Graduated Neutral Density 0.9 Soft

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This description was created by a little tool called PhotoInfo.
It was programmed by Erich Jarz -> [link]
You can download it here for free -> [link]
For feedback send me a note via my deviant page -> [link]
ENJOY!!!

Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Drei Zinnen)

Here they are ... the famous "Tre Cime di Lavaredo". While on evening one they were covered in fog, they really made a great impression in the early morning light of the next morning.

FULL VIEW PLEASE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dolomites [link]
Date: October 02nd, 2009
Light Conditions: Sunrise
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm f/3.4
Focal Length: 70 mm

Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec
Aperture: 11
ISO: 50

Panorama: 3 Vertical Images

Tripod: Feisol CT-3402
Tripod Head: Acratech Ultimate Ballhead

Filters:
- Hoya HD Circular Polarizer
- Lee Graduated Neutral Density 0.6 Hard

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This description was created by a little tool called PhotoInfo.
It was programmed by Erich Jarz -> [link]
You can download it here for free -> [link]
For feedback send me a note via my deviant page -> [link]
ENJOY!!!

A small boxelder tree in its prime autumn coat grows out of the steep wall of a slot canyon.

This full grown cottonwood prospers in the depth of a huge sandstone bowl, sheltered from the elements and invisible to all but those who dare scale the large dome it's hidden in.

A small desert garden flourishes in a protected sandstone bowl. The light and weather on this morning were some of the most spectacular I had seen in the canyon country, and I remember the sense of awe when coming upon this scene.

16.02.2007 - EOS 20D with 17-85 and tripod

22.08.2007 - EOS 20D with 85mm 1.8

24.08.2007 - EOS 20D with 17-40L, tripod and polarizer

I broke my PB for getting up early this morning. 3.30am. I also absolutely destroyed my record for least sleep. I got to sleep just after 1.

Shooting in these conditions just makes me so happy, there's not a sound to be heard, no wind, just myself and a fantastic view.

This one is from before the sun rose, although the ambient light is largely coming from the sky in this shot, as well as the moon full moon (which is what dragged me out of bed so early!).

The hawthorn tree in the foreground is a particular favourite of mine, and lies on the western face of Cox Tor.

Not far into our hike from Alftavatn to Emstrur in Iceland. Yes the moss is really that green!

Landscape photography is so heavily reliant on lighting conditions that sometimes I get frustrated with persistent rain, flat skies, or hazy sunsets. Yesterday it rained all day until 5pm, the local rivers were ready to burst.
Towards sunset I saw a gap on the horizon and got quite hopeful of some good lighting conditions. I caked myself in mud trying to cycle to this tor on time! The sunlight up at the tor was wonderful, the kind of intensity you only usually get after rain. There was also a stiff breeze, which made the sun kissed grasses a particularly tempting subject.
I had actually been to this tor the day before, and got some good shots, only to delete them by mistake. Had I not deleted them I doubt I would have gone out, it's funny how things work out.

You can download a small version of the PSD here: Pew Tor Grasses PSD

See this image at alexnail.com