haelio
Racing the clouds
Jim strides up through the clouds to reach the summit of Monte Altissimo in the Apuane Alps of Italy.
The Western face of Monte Altissimo is a sheer wall of imposing rock that only the adventurous use to reach the summit. We took the far longer but more gradual hike up from the East which offers lovely views of the many marble quarries in this region of the Alps and views along the Western coastline of Italy all the way south to Tuscany.
We had planned on reaching the summit to watch the sunset and then make the return trip under the stars, but on the way up, clouds had formed around us and were rising as the sun set. What began was a race between us and the clouds to reach the summit first and so enjoy the sun shining above the cloud inversion.
I wanted to capture the essence of this race against nature, and so while scrambling up the slopes viaualised a photo of the clouds, the sun and one of us emerging upwards through the mist towards the summit. This, however, meant keeping ahead of Jim who is the strongest climber in our group.
Anyway, I managed to get to the top first and quickly frame this shot of Jim just seconds behind me. he clouds just retreated away in time to allow Jim to cast shadows through them to enhance the effect.
Don't let the image fool you, this photo was taken angled downwards and the slope is a lot more steep than it looks through this wideangle lens!
Unfortunately, while we couldn't climb any higher, the clouds did, and our walk back was under dark clouds and not the stars...
Monte Altissimo, Italy, 2014
Sony a7R with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 UMC
Racing the clouds
Jim strides up through the clouds to reach the summit of Monte Altissimo in the Apuane Alps of Italy.
The Western face of Monte Altissimo is a sheer wall of imposing rock that only the adventurous use to reach the summit. We took the far longer but more gradual hike up from the East which offers lovely views of the many marble quarries in this region of the Alps and views along the Western coastline of Italy all the way south to Tuscany.
We had planned on reaching the summit to watch the sunset and then make the return trip under the stars, but on the way up, clouds had formed around us and were rising as the sun set. What began was a race between us and the clouds to reach the summit first and so enjoy the sun shining above the cloud inversion.
I wanted to capture the essence of this race against nature, and so while scrambling up the slopes viaualised a photo of the clouds, the sun and one of us emerging upwards through the mist towards the summit. This, however, meant keeping ahead of Jim who is the strongest climber in our group.
Anyway, I managed to get to the top first and quickly frame this shot of Jim just seconds behind me. he clouds just retreated away in time to allow Jim to cast shadows through them to enhance the effect.
Don't let the image fool you, this photo was taken angled downwards and the slope is a lot more steep than it looks through this wideangle lens!
Unfortunately, while we couldn't climb any higher, the clouds did, and our walk back was under dark clouds and not the stars...
Monte Altissimo, Italy, 2014
Sony a7R with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 UMC