Smell of success and rain of disappointment
Tre Cime di Lavaredo
Sony A7RIII, 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens , 14mm 1/320s F13 ISO 100
When I look at this photo, I’m immediately transported back to that moment - sitting in front of a breathtaking view of Tre Cime di Lavaredo that I have been dreaming of seeing for years, next to tiny tabletop tripod with my camera on it, taking in the smell of light mountain breeze, summer flowers and a huge cow turd, not more than 10 centimetres from where I’m sitting. Getting the shot sure means getting uncomfortable from time to time :) But that was the spot that allowed me to capture exactly the photograph that I wanted - ultra-wide angle view with extreme depth of field showing the mountain range through the vibrant summer flowers. It wasn’t an easy edit, too, because that summer breeze was shaking the flowers making focus stacking later on quite a challenge. But you know the feeling of knowing that you for sure have captured a keeper? That was it!
Here are the culprits of my undignified sitting arrangement :)
Mountaneer
Sony A7RIII, 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens , 12mm 1/80s F11 ISO 100
Due to their unparalleled climbing skills the mountain cows also make for wonderful models.
Six peaks
Sony A7RIII, 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens , 12mm 1/50s F9 ISO 100
The weather in the mountains tends to be extremely moody, and after some time of hanging out in the footsteps of Tre Cime with the cows under dramatic clouds and a bit of rain, the sun broke out and I thought that that was the perfect time to push further up the trail towards Rifugio A. Locatelli - the ultimate target of my hike with the best view of the Three Peaks. I also really wanted to see and photograph Laghi dei Piani lakes, so I was really excited to get going.
I walked up the trail carrying all my excitement with me, not even noticing that the temperature dropped to 16 °C while I was still in a tanktop (the people I met on the trail wearing jackets were giving me weird looks, but you know what, I’m Russian, cold is where we get our energy from).
The path
Sony A7RIII, 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens , 16mm 1/200s F9 ISO 100
Closer towards the destination I turned around and saw this beautiful view showing the path I just walked. I’m so glad I snapped this picture because after that, even though I was climbing higher and higher, it was all downhill in terms of photography.
About an hour of walking later, out of breath, covered in sweat and raindrops, I took the last steps towards the hut in anticipation to see the breathtaking view I’ve been dreaming about during this long hike…
…and saw this.
Womp-womp.
I went to check out the lakes - no luck with those either.
I decided to wait for a while, have lunch at the hut, hoping that the low clouds will blow over eventually. When I stopped moving the cold temperature and freezing wind immediately made their presence known. I waited and waited shivering from the cold with my teeth chattering but it was only getting worse - it started to rain relentlessly, the visibility was rapidly dropping and it was clear that I had to start walking back to the car park that was still about 5km away.
And so that was how that day of shooting ended - with a long hike in the fog and pouring rain back to the car, to which I got with every layer of my clothing soaking wet, the water even started to get through my weather sealed photo backpack. The tally of the day was as follows: one perfect success and one total disaster. But that is how the photography goes sometimes - you can never be quite sure what you’re going to get and how many attempts it would take to get the shot you plan for. I now definitely have a reason to return, if not only to say hello to my cow buddies!
