Black Peak Sunset – or sunset from Cherni Vrah (Black Peak in Bulgarian), the highest peak of Vitosha Mountain, located right next to the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. The peak reaches 2290 meters above sea level, and with its 9.3 m/sec, it is the second windiest peak in Bulgaria, which makes photographing a winter sunset a real challenge.
During January and February, temperatures drop below -18°C, and with the constant wind, it feels like below -20°C, which tests both photographers and their equipment. If the battery is in the camera body and not hidden under a jacket, shooting involves repeating the following steps: you manage to take 2 or 3 shots, the battery dies, not due to lack of charge, but simply because of the cold. You take it out, warm it up with your breath, put it back in, take another 2-3 frames, it dies again, take it out, warm it up, put it back in, and so on, all in a constant race against time, because this happens precisely during the best possible light.
The shot was taken in February. In the foreground is the windswept and icy extension to the shelter at the top, and in the background is the Sofia Air Traffic Control Office, from where flights over the capital are controlled. After the session, the way back involves a headlamp, crampons, and an ice axe, and a nearly 2-hour descent until reaching the place accessible by car at the top of the mountain.
