First Light
I was lucky to have 2.5 glorious days driving through the Dolomites in Northern Italy over a long weekend between business trips in Europe back in May. I chose to spend most of that time in the iconic Val Di Funes where this little postcard scene unfolds. Everyone has seen this UNESCO world heritage site snapped a zillion times. Other big name landscape photographers have incredible photos with the clouds and mist hovering just so around the peaks, and those images were dancing in my mind as I rode the train from Munich to Bolzano. Sadly, I didn't see a single cloud in the sky until driving back to the train station on my final day. So, I drove through some beautiful villages, ate some great food, got a lot of beautiful postcard shots, and wished my family was with me.
Normally, I don't even post my postcard shots any more, I have grand and egotistical aspirations of moving beyond (though I would be very happy to sell some postcard images if I could). I tried lots of different shots at different times of day from different angles. I had one of the classic wide angle shots selected and all ready to post here, but I also had this one tighter on the church just as the first splash of morning light is hitting a grassy hill behind it. When I showed the two versions to my wife, she preferred this one. And she's right, this one is the more interesting shot with the splash of light drawing the eye, and then some distinct layers to structure the image a bit better. It's still not what I'd ideally like to have, and I wish I'd kept a bit more of the highest peaks in frame, but it's still an epic location and a good memory.
One of these days, time permitting, I’ll go back and get those damned cloud and mist-covered peaks!! It was certainly an area I'd go back to in a heartbeat, and spend more time exploring. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to! It was a perfect time to visit, too, as it was between ski season and summer season, so there were not many tourists. I was surprised to find I was the only photographer out shooting this scene in the morning. Something one can rarely say about most of the other well-known photography locations.
Shot with Pentax K-1 and Pentax 24-70mm, using Pixel Shift feature.
First Light
I was lucky to have 2.5 glorious days driving through the Dolomites in Northern Italy over a long weekend between business trips in Europe back in May. I chose to spend most of that time in the iconic Val Di Funes where this little postcard scene unfolds. Everyone has seen this UNESCO world heritage site snapped a zillion times. Other big name landscape photographers have incredible photos with the clouds and mist hovering just so around the peaks, and those images were dancing in my mind as I rode the train from Munich to Bolzano. Sadly, I didn't see a single cloud in the sky until driving back to the train station on my final day. So, I drove through some beautiful villages, ate some great food, got a lot of beautiful postcard shots, and wished my family was with me.
Normally, I don't even post my postcard shots any more, I have grand and egotistical aspirations of moving beyond (though I would be very happy to sell some postcard images if I could). I tried lots of different shots at different times of day from different angles. I had one of the classic wide angle shots selected and all ready to post here, but I also had this one tighter on the church just as the first splash of morning light is hitting a grassy hill behind it. When I showed the two versions to my wife, she preferred this one. And she's right, this one is the more interesting shot with the splash of light drawing the eye, and then some distinct layers to structure the image a bit better. It's still not what I'd ideally like to have, and I wish I'd kept a bit more of the highest peaks in frame, but it's still an epic location and a good memory.
One of these days, time permitting, I’ll go back and get those damned cloud and mist-covered peaks!! It was certainly an area I'd go back to in a heartbeat, and spend more time exploring. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to! It was a perfect time to visit, too, as it was between ski season and summer season, so there were not many tourists. I was surprised to find I was the only photographer out shooting this scene in the morning. Something one can rarely say about most of the other well-known photography locations.
Shot with Pentax K-1 and Pentax 24-70mm, using Pixel Shift feature.