The Chamonix needles, in the light of the late afternoon of october... It is the first picture of a trip to Switzerland in 2008. We were on the way to the famous Materhorn...

Xavier

The volcanic area near the Landmannalaugar in Iceland... I remember the vast, colorfull and desertic feeling of the place... The weather was quite good, but really cold with constant wind coming from the north...
The feeling of walking on another planet...

Canon EOS 5D mk II + EF70-200 f4
multiple pictures assembled
Xavier Jamonet

The last light of a warm sunset at the summit of Mount Thabor in french alps... A great moment looking at these growing shadows over the cliffs... The night was clear and quite cold at 3178m high...

Canon EOS 5DmkII - EF 70-200f4
Xavier Jamonet

[Dévoluy - FRANCE]

[Massif du Mont-Blanc - FRANCE]

[Vercors - FRANCE]

‎8 hours of flight (including a 1 hour overlay in Denver), 285 mile drive and one wicked sunset at Coal Mine Canyon.

A field of fragrant Sage Brush and the Dillon Pinnacles at dawn, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Colorado.

I have been working on a new portfolio entitled "Hinterlands" inspired by my travels and adventures in the vast wide open wilds of the US. 12 new images just added (most from my travels this summer in Colorado).

Explore the Hinterlands - [link]

From a spectacular display of light and weather, Court of the Patriarchs, Zion National Park, Utah

Visit my Photo Blog far daily images and notes from the field - [link]

The Watchman at dawn, Zion National Park. Read more about the making of this image on my daily photoblog: [link]

Rainer at sunrise, best sunrise I saw in two weeks of shooting. To learn more about the making of this image, visit my photiblog: [link]

From one of my favorite spots in Zion National Park. To learn more about this image, visit my daily photoblog: [link]

This is the composition I had gone up y Cribau to shoot, once at sunset and once at sunrise in the morning.

It is realitely straightforward to plan snots like this using a map alone in areas of dramatic landscape. In this case I wanted to shoot Snowdon and this location to the SW of the mountain looked like a good location for a view. Of course I still needed a foreground and pools are marked on the OS map. In that way you can plan a composition you have never seen before, or at least get a pretty good idea!

I didnt quite get the light I was after, but the 10 seconds of light I had (and thats 10 seconds in 3 freezing hours in the morning!) was just enough. The wind was NW and the clouds were forming over the mountains and blocking the sun, which was a shame. At least the light is quite unusual.

I flew back from San Francisco on Thursday, didnt sleep on the overnight flight, landed, drove straight home to beat the snow and then got up at 3.30 am to hike into the moor. By the time I had gone to bed on saturday I had been up 36 hours and slept 4! At least I was rewarded!

After taking my last submission I literally sprinted over to this other composition a couple of hundred yards away. A good tip for any landscape photographer is to prepare your shot in advance if possible, that way when the great light comes, you are ready and may only need to make minor adjustments to your composition before taking the shot.

Dolomite Variations

The view from the path connecting the "Rifugio di Lavaredo" and the "Tre Cime". We are looking to the west here.

FULL VIEW PLEASE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dolomites, Italy [link]
Date: October 02nd, 2009
Light Conditions: Sunny
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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm f/3.4
Focal Length: 50 mm

Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
Aperture: 11
ISO: 50

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

Filters: Hoya HD Circular Polarizer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!!!

The dom is the second highest mountain of Switzerland and an impressive rockface to look at.
Shot from close to the Aletsch Glacier.

Dolomite Spikes

The wonderful view back into the Val di Fiscalina just a few minutes before sunset.
I reworked this one from scratch as I only had a B/W version of it so far and felt the colors deserve another try.

FULL VIEW PLEASE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Val Fiscalina - Dolomites, Italy [link]
Date: October 01st, 2009
Light Conditions: Sunset
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm f/3.4
Focal Length: 50 mm

Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec
Aperture: 11
ISO: 50

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

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



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Find my website here -> [link]
My Facebook Fan page is here -> [link]
My Web Sharpener Script -> [link]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!!!

Svinafell Glacier
Iceland

This was the first site that Marianne and I stopped at on a great last weekend in Iceland. We are every grateful to Orvar and Mai for showing us around (Orvar's site is at www.arcticphoto.is) the area. We had visited the area to the left of this scene but to walk on the glacier itself and find small pools of crystal clarity like this was a dream. If anyone has an inkling to visit this particular location, the access point is behind a fosshotel just past the actual sign to Svinafell glacier.

Quiraing
Scotland

Onee of the many reaons Marianne and I decided to visit Scotland in 2010 was the movie Stardust. We both love the movie for its fantasy elements and of course, its remarkable panning landscape filmography. Much of it was shot on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and this scene on the Trotternish Peninsula in the North was featured heavily. We had based ourselves in Uig for three days to account for bad weather but even that was nearly not enough ! It was raining and blowing a gale when this shot was taken with only briefest moments of respite. The colours have been brought out in PP with the intent of making this look more like a painting than a photograph.

(The star referred to in the title is a reference to the movie - a scene where Michelle Pfeiffer's character is searching for Claire Danes, the fallen star)

Emstrur Botnar
Iceland

The Laugavegur Hike in Iceland through the interior surely has to be one of the great hikes in the world though it is listed on very few "top 10" hike lists on the internet. The 55km walk takes the hiker through lava fields, grassy plains, geothermal areas, black ash deserts before finally finishing at Thorsmork, one of the few locations in Iceland where there are trees! This spot was taken from the Emstrur region on an afternoon where dust and volcanic ash were being stirred spectacularly by the winds. To the left of this frame lies the now (in)famous Eyjafjallajokull Volcano whose eruption stopped air traffic in April 2010. This was the 3rd night of 4 on the hike and energy levels were peetering out quite quickly but such scenery could not NOT be photographed!

Spectacular sunset colours fill the sky with joy whilst painting a rainbow above the island on Sawtell Beach, NSW Australia.

All images are ©copyright Drew Nelson Hopper. You may NOT use, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my permission. All Rights Reserved.

My secret golden location. I'm sure many will find it, but to me this spot is special!

All images are ©copyright Drew Nelson Hopper. You may NOT use, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my permission. All Rights Reserved.

A glorious burst of colour on sunset, Valla Beach - Mid North Coast, NSW Australia.

Title suggestion comes from my wonderful mum. We're both thinking of starburst lollies, colourful and tasty

All images are ©copyright Drew Nelson Hopper. You may NOT use, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my permission. All Rights Reserved.

During February of last year I was in Arches National Park with some amazing conditions. I had never shot in fog before this nor have I since, and I don't think I've ever had more fun practicing photography. The elements transformed already amazing landscapes that I'd seen dozens of times into views that seemed otherworldly.

Canon 5D. 24-105 L. Circ Polarizer. HDR.

A few more from that morning:

Zion National Park near the peak of fall is quite a spectacle. This classic view gives an idea of what a visitor to the park will experience. I remember well my first visit to the park 5 years ago, I had never been so taken back by a landscape.

The famous Watchman peak can be seen in distance on the left, as the Virgin river, the creator of the canyon, continues to sculpt the landscape.

Zion NP, Utah.

Canon 5D. 3HS and 2HS GND filters. Circ Polarizer.

The following morning and a little further upstream:

Rain and wind were a constant this past weekend in the Moab area. While not great for backpacking and mountain biking, this weather instability lends well to dramatic landscapes.

Shafer Canyon with the LaSal Mountain Range in the distance, Canyonlands NP, Utah.

Canon 5D. 17-40L. Circ Polarizer. 2HS GND filter.

The Bettys Bay wetlands under amazing autumn light. This sunset was last year in April, but with recent improvement in my processing skills I went through some of my favorite images from 2009 again and reprocessed some.

Bettys Bay, South Africa

5D II, 16-35mm II, 3 exposures

Curious about how I blend and process my images? Check out my blog - www.hougaardmalan.com/blog

All rights reserved. This may not be used or reproduced in any way

Overberg, South Africa

The sun peeks through the clouds over the Southern Drakensberge to give the landscape a final kiss of light before nightfall

5D II
16-35mm II

Read more about my trip to the mountains on my blog at [link]