In defence of the grand landscape, which has fallen somehow into disrepute, what with too many people taking similar photos of the very same vistas, often within comfortabe reach of the car and/or the hut:
Not seldom those photos rely solely on spectacular light and if nature is not willing to help with that, then Photoshop will do. I am very fond of the alpine landscape, it is what brought me into photography in the first place. But alpine landscape doesn’t mean for me Cinque Torri, Seceda, the Matterhorn, the Lac Blanc in Chamonix & co. And to focus solely on spectacular light (which is and will always be an exception) is to ignore the many other features of the alpine world. The alpine world is rough, harsh, requires effort and trekking knowledge/experience, it is sometimes hostile and even dangerous. Alpine world reduces you and your thoughts to the basics: where do I put the tent? Where do I make the next step? Will that rock hold? Will the wind blow me and my tent away? And: ARE WE THERE YET??
Spectacular light is most of the times a matter of luck and considering that spectacular light often means bad weather, you want to think twice if you want to sleep in a tent, with no protective hut within reach, as we are doing it (we, that is: my husband, me and our son who first slept in a tent at minus degrees when he was three – the first and last time we did visit the surroundings of Cinque Torri).
We did once experience a storm in the tent, and it scared the hell out of us. And often, what is a nice rain in the valley translates into a real weather crash at higher altitudes posing life danger.Though the Alps have increasingly developed into a Disney Park, outside the trodden paths they are still very dangerous and require awareness, responsability and respect. And it is this harshness, roughness and potential danger I search to render in my photos.
The one here is taken in November 2022. We reached the tent place after a hike of 7km and an ascent of 800 m. Next morning we hiked and then scrambled for another 1,5h in the dark, partly over exposed but secured passaged (via ferata). No child with us this time.
