In August 2016, I spent two wonderful weeks hiking and photographing in the famed Italian Dolomites. To plan the trip, I was inspired by the examples of photo tours. Looking at the tour itinerary, I assumed that if the route were good for photography, it would be good for hiking. So, looking at each suggested tour stop, I searched for short hiking opportunities.

I left my tripod and photo backpack behind to take advantage of photo opportunities during my hikes. I carried the minimum for my purposes: two camera bodies, one with a 24 to 80 mm lens and the second with an 80-300 mm (35 mm eq). I was ready for almost any opportunity.

Hiking the trail at Colle Santa Lucia, I spotted the beautiful, lonely conifer on the skyline against the spectacular mountains in the background. I was struck by the steep diagonals topped by massive textured clouds.

To compose and frame the image, I used a 110 mm focal length. As usual, I overexposed by 0.7 stops to have a perfect histogram (ETTR).

In 2018, I went back to the Dolomites, this time joining a photo workshop. It allowed me to discover more marvellous scenes and meet fellow photographers. One of the images from this latter trip is published on my VIP portfolio page.