In mid-June of 2018, I was in the Dolomites with friends on a photo tour. The night before this photo, our workshop leader announced we would leave at 3 am to catch the blue hour at Alpe Di Siusi. This location is the highest alpine pasture in Europe.

We arrived at about 04:15. I walked a few minutes on the track along the beautiful valley to find a pleasing composition and decided on mountain peaks leading up to the sky with the moon showing up as a lone bright element.

I set up my tripod and fitted my wide-angle lens and cable release. I used a 44 mm focal length to compose and frame the image. I overexposed by a 1 stop to have a perfect histogram (ETTR). I took this shot at 04:51.

Later, around 10:00, I photographed some lovely spring flowers. One of these is published on my VIP page.

This blue hour image demonstrates the benefits of photo tours and workshops. The leader brings you to the right place at the right moment, and the results can be amazing.