New Images of the Dolomites

I have been busy scanning images for my new books and have finished the section of images for the Dolomites that I will select from. Here's a sample from them.

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Tre Cime di Lavaredo Reflections

Forcella Ambrizolla

Cadini di Misurina

Monte Pelmo from Forc. Formin

Monte Piana Summit View

Val de Rinbianco Tree

Col Toron and Bird

Busy Mountains - Diversion

Today we planned to climb 3 passes near Misurina in the Dolomites.

All started well with a chair lift ride up from Misurina and walk to the top of the first pass. There were cables but they weren't needed. The descent however was really slow. We were in a queue going down at the speed of the slowest person, which was very slow! There were a few cables but again they were barely needed.

By the time we reached the bottom after the first pass I had had enough. A quick look at the map and we diverted over a different pass, the Forcella de Neve. Lots of big spiky rocks but no people!

We dropped down, skirted around and climbed to another minor pass. This was by far the best place for photos so far. Pointy peaks, nice clouds, as well as graphic lines from the scree runs and boulder fields.

More good photos followed after a quick descent, quickly changing clouds over very shapely peaks. All the shots here were with the camera pointed skywards as well as with an orange filter to keep the drama.

The diversion gave us a good day. I would have been very frustrated following the hordes over the other passes. Only 2 rolls of Ilford FP4 film but I'm sure I have some crackers.

Time for a well-earned beer before showering and going down to Cortina for some night photography.

Tomorrow we leave the Dolomites and head to Lake Garda. We have never been there before so really looking forward to it.

Sunny Dolomites

Fortunately the forecast for a wet day was seriously wrong. It was a cracking day in the Dolomites with sunshine, clouds and visibility for many miles.

We circumnavigated the spiky peak called Croda da Lago, just south of Cortina, including a couple of passes, the highest being  at almost 2500 metres.

Lots of trees lower down so few photo opportunities until above the trees and above the hut. Clear views from both cols and good clouds. I took quite a few with peaks, mountains as well as clouds. Used the orange filter quite a bit to give high contrast and darken the blue sky. I didn't go mad though, taking 47 shots in all today, all on Ilford FP4 120.

One of the best was of 3 shapely mountains, reasonably spaced left to right, each with its own clouds. I think this will be great as a 2:1 panorama.

My bad back has not been good for most of trip so have limited myself to using 1 camera (Mamiya 7 mk 2) and 1 lens (43mm). This limits a few shots but overall I just look for the shots that work with the kit I'm carrying. For the hill days I have used the smaller of my 2 Gitzo carbon fibre tripods and the lower height has not been much of a problem.

I also have some new ultra-lightweight carbon fibre trekking poles which have saved weight and work really well. I don't always use poles because of the weight but with these new ones I can't use that excuse any more. They cause my posture to become more upright so my back is less likely to go into spasm, so I should use them all the time.

Wonder what we'll do tomorrow?

Musical Mountain

Today we hiked up Monte Piano from Misurina, just north of Cortina in the Italian Dolomites.

It was warm and sunny all day with a cool breeze. Lots of shapely clouds in the blue sky to make for some striking photos.

Monte Piano wasn't musical at all, in fact it was quite sombre in some respects; over 14,500 soldiers died on this one small mountain in the 1st world war. There are lots of tunnels, trenches and memorials on the highest parts, even a railway line coming out of cliffs near the summit. Difficult to believe anyone would fight over such a hill.

Lots of new shots. Just used the very wide angle 43mm lens on my Mamiya 7 camera with Ilford FP4 120 film. Used a mixture of my favourite dark yellow filter as well as orange and yellow/green. The first two for mountains with blue skies, the latter for views with lots of green trees.

We finished the day with a drink at our hotel with Ulli, our amiable host.

Tomorrow rain is forecast so unsure what we will do. Possibly a Cortina photo day.

Innsbruck, Brixen and Dolomites Photos

We woke to heavy rain in Innsbruck instead of the forecast sunshine. Time for a leisurely breakfast!

Spent an hour or so taking photos around Innsbruck Altstadt in dull weather before heading south over the Brenner Pass into Italy.

Next we headed for the beautiful small town of Brixen. Lots of photos here in the sunshine. Stopped for a spot of lunch, mine was liquid, jans was ice cream!

Then back to the car for the final leg to Misurina. Stopped a few miles short at Lago do Landro to take another set of pictures to compare to those from 4 years ago.

Used dark yellow filter for the sky to start but as sun lit up the conifers I switched to green to brighten foliage.

We arrived at the Sport Hotel in Misurina about 5pm and received a warm welcome from Ulli and Fiorenza despite it being 4 years since our last visit.

Then jolly nice meal at restaurant in the village before retiring to our room for blog time!

Walkies tomorrow.