Ever since I first saw the Alps about 6 years ago, I decided that I’d visit and photograph most of its extension. So, I started visiting the mountain chain whenever I had the opportunity.
The first stop was in Germany, in 2008, to take a peek at the Bavarian Alps. Not a real visit to the mountains but I got an idea of how difficult it would be to carry on with this. Weather, altitude, light… everything has to be right, otherwise the trip would be a waste.
Alpsee lake and the Bavarian Alps. Fujifilm Finepix S9600
So, this year I decided to pack and visit the Alps in France and Switzerland and kick off the project. For this trip, I decided to carry very little gear: my Nikon D90, a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 ultra-wide-angle lens, a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR tele lens, a Nikon SB-400 flash (for near shadow fills) and a couple of 4GB RAW SD cards. All the processing needed on the road was done in my 11” MacBook Air.
The first stop was in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, where I could get some nice shots of the Mont Blanc massif, the Italian Alps and the Mer de Glace glacier. My first shooting location was the top of the Aiguille du Midi peak, at 3842m above sea level. From there, I could get nice views of Chamonix Valley, the Italian Alps and the Mont Blanc. The weather wasn’t very good – a lot of clouds and strong winds – so I had to improvise a little and change the plans a bit.
Glacier des Bossons and a view of Chamonix valley. Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
View of the Italian Alps and part of the Mont Blanc massif. Nikon D90, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR
Mont Blanc. Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Back to Chamonix, I then went to the Mer the Glace glacier, which is the largest glacier in France, located at the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif. The weather was better there, so I could get some nice shots. Going down there was easy. Climbing back up on the other hand… well, I don’t want to remember that 🙂
Mer de Glace glacier. Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
You can find more shots of the French Alps in the gallery on Flickr.
The next stop in my trip was the Interlaken area, in the Bernese Highlands, Switzerland. Interlaken by itself is breathtaking, offering amazing views of lakes plus mountains landscapes. But the true treasure here is located in the Alps, inside the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage site.
Brienzersee lake. Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Besides the Jungfrau mountain and the Aletsch glacier, there are several interesting photo locations spread around the mountains here. I decided to explore most of them, plus going up to Jungfraujoch to see the Jungfrau and the Aletsch glacier. By the way, the first photo on this page is the Jungfrau mountain.
The Jungfrau massif seen from First, just above the village of Grindelwald. Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Konkordiaplatz, seen from Jungfraujoch. It’s where the Jungfraufirn, the Great Aletschfirn and the Ewigscheefeld glaciers converge to form the Aletsch glacier. Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
You can find many more photos on Flickr. I still haven’t finished processing all the photos, so I’ll keep updating the gallery as I progress.
I hope you enjoyed this reading!