[ 19mm - f/11 - 1/125sec - ISO200 - D3x with 14-24 f/2.8 ]
I published many black and white (long exposure) images lately, so I figured it was time again to post in color ![]()
This photograph features a small Alpine lake called “Lej Pitschen”. It’s located at the top of the well-known Bernina pass in Graubünden (Grisons), Switzerland. In the background you see the mountain Piz Cambrena, which has an altitude of 3606 meter (11.830ft).
I captured this image at the end of May (last weekend). The lake was still partly frozen. As I was shooting fairly close to sunset, I ran around like a maniac to try to capture this lake and the surrounding mountains with differing compositions, perspectives and focal lengths. About 10 minutes after I shot this one, the light was no longer hitting the scene. Timing is everything in landscape photography!
For this image I used my 14-24 f/2.8 wide angle lens. No filters were used. The image was process in Adobe Lightroom 4.1.
Click on the image, if you are interested in buying a print or license. For more images like this:
Absolutely incredible shot Johan!
Beautiful crisp photograph…Brilliant!
Nice work with the reflection.
Awesome shot. Great capture!
Thanks Mark and Anson!
Thanks you Milena and Fabrizio
very very nice! I love the reflections the light and the last shine on the mountain at the background. a wonderful image.
just wonderful!
Thorsten: thank you! Glad you like it!
Thank you as well Alessandro Brandolino !
Very beautiful scene!
Fantastic, Johan . Great foreground, great sky!
Shelly and Dane: thanks your for the compliments and the visit again!
Breathing freshness… wonderful. Thanks for this, Johan !
cheers
®
Fresh air from my favorite part of Switzerland Roland
Thank you!
Beautiful view Johan !
Thanks for sharing it!
You are very welcome Tim ! Thank you
Stunning, Johan. I love the little bits in the foreground and the reflections are great.
Thanks Kerry. I love the little bits as well. They were catching the light very nicely
Beautiful Landscape Johan, love the wide sweeping panoramic view.
Are you coming out with me and Athena on tuesday??
Thanks Michael!! Yes, of course. That day has been blocked for ages now and am looking forward to seeing you again!
Great news. see you tuesday. : )
Tremendous capture !
Wow! So beautiful!
Beautiful image Johan
)))
My hanging around, waiting and seeing you run around like an idiot to shoot all, was worth it apparently
Thanks a bunch David and George!
Debby: for sure! Thanks for the patience
Very nice image Johan
This is amazing Johan! Beautiful, fresh and on the edge of the season. I loved your description of hurrying around taking shots. I love that feeling of seeing something very special and having the opportunity to capture it like this.
Just a vibrant, bright, popping result. Great image but really great, natural looking processing. Fantastic!
Feels like ice on a crisp day. Gorgeous!
Gorgeous Johan!
Gorgeous landscape, love the reflection
Nice work here Johan
Wow! That is a cracking shot! Top class and great in colour!
Thanks Sumit! And a long comment as well
@Scott: thanks Scott!!
@Kurt: thanks Kurt! Yeah, it must have looked really funny. I think I had 20 minutes at this location, so tried different things. I got lucky that the wind eased at some point as well, so that the reflections were actually worth while
Thanks as well Jim!
Thanks Terrill! Wasn’t sure whether it was appropriate to also tag +Breakfast Art Club for this one ?
Thanks you very much Hengki and Patricia !
Dank je wel Nikola!!!
The wide angle is giving us such a treat with this beautiful landscape, Johan. You managed to stay out of the lake during your maniacal running around, I take it?
I love the deep blue sky reflection on the water surface. Fantastic photo !
… but you coloured ones are not bad at all either
Beautiful photo Johan!
wonderful shot as usual, so clear and fresh image Johan
A great image Johan
what an absolutely stunning scene very well captured, Johan !!!
Brilliant!!
Fantastic reflections, wonderful composition and perfect processing.
One of the best alpine landscape…..
congrates…. Johan
Very nice Johan. Would be seriously nice to spend a couple of evenings in a tent next to the lake
Lovely!
Very nice shot Johan !
Thanks Tom! No I didn’t get myself wet …. this time. It does happen once in a while though
@Carsten: danke vielmals Carsten!! Glad you like it!
@Matthias: hehe phjew
@Michael: thanks Michael!
@Gemma: thanks for the kind words and the share
@Vitor: thanks for the compliment Vitor!!!
Thank you for the kind words Morkel and nice to meet you!
Javier: gracias!!!
Peter Paul: thanks. Very kind Peter Paul. I think I will do a black and white version of this in the future as well
@Dylan: I think that would be awesome indeed. Would be a perfect location for shooting a starry sky reflected in the water
Thanks for the visit again and the compliment. Hope all is well in SA!
@Christa: danke dir Christa!
@Dominique: merci beaucoup Dominique!
All is well, thx for asking. I think I should come and carry your gear for a session of star gazing, maybe sneak in a few shots myself.
more then happy to carry my own stuff and have you come along anyway Dylan
I was rather hoping you would carry mine when you come over for an African safari
ow yes, I wouldn’t mind coming over. I already agreed with your fellow South-African Johan Swanepoel, that we would switch countries one day
This is Fantastic Johan _:)_
thanks Meg!
Wow, beautiful Johan! What a scene and I love the colors!! Great shot!
Johan, you do color so splendidly! And you know how much I love that. This is an absolutely perfect image. Everything just as it should be, clouds, mountains, snow, lake, ice, grasses, and those two foreground rocks make me smile! I am a little bit jealous that I was not also there running around like a maniac trying to get different compositions! I’ll just have to enjoy seeing them all as you post them.
Thanks a bunch for the very kind words Athena
Yeah, this is one of those scenes that you just have to run into at the right time of day. I had already given up that day after a disappointing visit to another lake, Then we ran into this one. Big smiles
)) I think I have about 7 or 8 different good captures from this area!
Hey, if you figure out when your kids are free from school in Autumn you could visit this as part of a Graubünden trip
@Julia: thanks Julia!!! Glad you like it
Hope your being busy is getting less by now!
@Meg: and it is not even a Monday. How can that be?
Nice Johan, I long for the mountains!
Come over to the Alps one day Jim and I’ll show you around
Thanks for the compliment!
I would love to take you up on your offer . This year is busy but will certainly consider next year!
Thanks for your generous offer!
That would be cool Jim. Would be great to shoot alongside a talented photographer like you and I think I know a few other people here in Switzerland that would like to come along as well
You would not be able to keep me away Johan, if you had a photowalk with Jim Davis.
Photowalk on the wildside! sounds like a plan! Do you camp in the mountains Johan ?
I don’t do a lot of camping anymore. I should though
Anyways just keep the option in mind and maybe we can make it work next year!
@Johan
@Athena
With planning a visit would be highly likely. If you could let me know when would be an ideal time to visit based on your schedule and for mountain conditions etc. I can commit the time. I mentioned it to my wife and she certainly would like to come.
depend a bit on what you want to shoot and how high up you want to go. I would personally skip the summer months, as alpine landscapes are a lot less interesting then.
There is such a nice clean feel to this image, I feel refreshed just taking it in. Beautiful work Johan !
Amazing work!
awesome shot!
@Michael: thanks for the kind words Michael. I will be going back to this place in a few weeks and might try to imitate one of your starry sky shot above this scene
@Aileen: thanks Aileen. Glad you like it!
@Alan: thanks Alan. Hope all is well in Ireland!
All is well here Johan, sun is shinning if you can believe!!haha Hope all is well with you!
you’re kidding me. Sunny in Ireland! We need to see proof otherwise it didn’t happen! All’s well here. Being outdoors most of the time so happy man here
Reflections are fun… always! Great photo Johan…
Beautiful reflection…wonderful image.
Superb shot Johan!
Excellent alpine scene Johan !
magnificent
Simply beautiful!
Such a gorgeous landscape Johan! I love the reflection!
Fantastic Johan beautiful colors, reflection, ……
Stunning! Colour, B&W…doesn’t matter Johan, you’re a master of all types of landscapes!
Awesome view with cool reflections Johan!
@Patrice: thank you and yes you are right
@Candace: thanks for the compliment. Hope all is well with you!
@Dominique: thanks again Dominique!
@Andy: thanks a lot Andy!
@Charles: thanks Charles!
@Steve: simply beautiful works for me. Thanks!
@Brian: thanks Brian and nice to meet you!
Nice to meet you also Johan!
merci beaucoup Thierry!
@Sudip: too much honor Sudip! Thanks for the very kind words
@Paul: glad you like it Paul and hope all’s well in Austria!
Great shot Johan (^_^(
Johan, the effort was worth it. You’ve created an ultra-clear, crisp photograph! I like the fact that I can see more in the foreground than in the background. This provides a refreshing look of this wonderful gem of a lake. Glad you took the time, my friend!
Thanks Henrik!
Thanks a bunch for the kind words Wilfried! I guess your favorite Piz Palu is connected to this mountain no? We should try night photography above a lake like this with our new babies
Sure we should! Gargl! Piz Palue is definitely connected
Let me send you a night shot of Palue from Boval hut soon, with my camera rammed into the icy snow as a tripod substitute
It was full moon. Again, your photo is fantastic!
amazing capture !!!!
@Wilfried: we went to the Boval hut last week, too much snow for the last part though…. So we should redo it…. It is a beautiful area
Awesome Composing great light and stunning reflections!!
A great shot, but it has such a clearity, that I could stare at it a very long time for that quality alone. I taste the cold but fresh air. Fantastic work
breath-taking!!!
Fantastic landscape Johan !!!
Thank you Bertrand and thanks for the visit!
Thanks for the kind words Markus!
@Sassi: still here staring?
E.E. Giorgi and David Herreman: thank you both very much!
when I see marvelous mountain pictures like that I get transported in them, I feel like I am there feeling the cold air, touching the ground, hearing the silence and enjoying the miracles of mountains. Superb!
I think that running around the lake to find the right composition was a good run! Really wonderful picture Johan!
Great image. There is a lot to look at. Partly frozen lakes are interesting. Hope to capture one or two myself soon.
cracking shot Johan, looking forward to more
Ada: thank you Ada! Really glad you feel like that!
Glad you like it!
Emanuele: hah yes definitely! Thanks Emanuele!
Rikard: don’t wait too long or you’ll have to go up too high
Guy: I love the “cracking” bit Guy. Thanks a bunch and nice to meet you!
this is nothing but stunning
stunning capture my friend! love how the clouds hug the mountain and the reflection is so crisp! beautiful!
Jorunn: thanks! Glad you like it!
Shane: he he, catching up? Thanks for all the great comments. Really appreciated!!!
Yeah…I haven’t been on much here lately. Love catching up with your wonderful image Johan. : )
I don’t blame you Shane. Real life is much more important. I appreciate your taking the time to catch up!!!
looks gorgeous Johan, you were lucky that the remote was not picking up the shacking, of all that running
)) Glad you made it in time, otherwise I could not enjoy this
Made it in time and there is more coming from this session Anette ! Thanks for the comment!
Next time I come along, just a short drive, guess 1 1/2 hours or so
)
Sigh, beautiful!
Johan, the more I look at this the more I think this may well be the best image you ever shared . It works on every level.
nice one Johan, you´r photos might make me to have to visit Switzerland with the gf some day for a photo walk amongst the “roof of the world”
Gorgeous image Johan. I really like the crisp feel it evokes. Definitely worth your dashing around.
@Anette: I was surprised that you haven’t been there yet


@Charles: thanks again Charles. Hope I can keep it up
@Mike: thanks! You should if you like hiking in the settings we hae here. I love it
@Stan: thanks for the kind words Stan! Glad I could serve some fresh air
Hahaha will go, was at st.bernhard twice and hit twice so bad cinditions that I had to leave again after waiting and waiting and waiting
)
oh i do love the outdoors, green forests, warmth and ocean as much as cold, tall mountains, it’s all great in its own way
so yeah that do look like a wonderful scenery to hike, climb and shoot our way through some day in the future 
You just keep on shooting and inspiring Johan, until that day happens
Will do Mike
@Glenda: thanks for the compliment and the sigh
Magnificent work Johan – a pity we cannot stretch those times with good light
Very true Johan! Thanks for the feedback
Johan, whenever one of your phenomenal photos pops up, I go and pop some popcorn, I make some lemonade, and I sit back and study your photos for a LONG time. They are SO good!
This beautiful photo has such amazing depth, but my favorite facet is found in the rock protruding from the water on the left. I think that is because it breaks up the reflection in the water in just the right way.
O.K. I’ve finished my popcorn and lemonade so I had better get back to work.
Well done as always and thank you for sharing this with me.
Wow Johan , thank you for posting this breath taking mountainscape!!!!
And the reflection, clarity, the clouds who are elegant majestic…Impressive in every way!!
Gorgeous
Lol Jerry
Your comments always make me smile! Really glad my images have this effect on you 

@Sophie: thank you Sophie!!! Love the way you describe it. Thanks
@Lisa: thank you very much as well
Encompassed a beautiful setting with all the right elements Johan, creating a stunning image. Glad it all came together for you! Nicely done man!
This is glorious Johan! Love the blue sky, the clouds and those reflections!
This is a fantastic sweeping scene. I really like this view…Excellent quality work, Johan.
Thanks a bunch Ian! Yeah it’s cool when thinks work out like this

Merci Laurent! I am tempted to also do a B&W version btw
Thanks David and thanks for the visit.
This is superb!
Absolut fantastic shot Johan Peijnenburg
Thank you very much Alan and Markus !!
Superb scene
Fabulous photo Johan; this looks like a nice spot!
That’s beautiful Johan ! Especially the reflections. So still seduced by colors Johan?:))
thank you Joel! Yes, that will never stop. At the moment I am more ambitious to get better in B&W though and that in the end will improve my photography across the board I think. Btw weekend of 7/8 still looks good. If you want you can test with a D800e then
Looking forward to it Johan
@Maurizio: thank you Maurizio!
@George: thank you very much! It definitely is!
Stunning shot! such an amazing location.
Stunning work! Love it!
Thanks Patricia !
@Nora: thank you as well. Nice to see you back. Hope all is well!
A pure delight mate
Beautiful place!! well captured as usual
)
Eric and Diego: thanks for the kind words and the visit. Much appreciated!
reading the post for the 2nd I realized I cam across that one with my mountain bike once … excellent capture and thanks for bringing back good memories
) Johan
It is indeed a great area for that Matthias! I will be going back there this weekend
Beautiful, Johan!
such amazing magicl you captured here Johan! realy amazing glowing of colors and light and what a magical view! so beautiful!
Thanks a bunch Sandy and Mikko !!!
Gorgeaus image, Johan!! What a beautiful landscape!!! Love it!!
Beautiful, so pristine
awesome place and photo, Johan!
Johan Peijnenburg, I really enjoy your work so much:-)
@Maggy: thanks a lot Maggy! Glad you like it!

@Lilia: many thanks Lilia! Nice to meet you
@Fabio: thanks again Fabio. Yes indeed. And almost in Italy
@Simply: very glad you do. Thanks for checking it out again
Beautiful!!!, your images help me stay positive to think about our move to Canada, I will be changing red scenarios , sun and cactus for lakes, ducks and mountains…
That doesn’t sound like a bad trade Yasmin. I am still very glad that I moved to the mountains 4 years ago!
… and I am very glad, too Johan, because if you wouldn’t move to the mountains we couldn’t admire these beautiful images that feel my soul with beautiful feelings, cold but beautiful
)). Blessings…
Thanks Yasmin. So kind of you to say !
Stunning!!!
Tremendous!! The reflections are fantastic!
Thanks Neil and Randall! Very much appreciated!
schitterend, is me een goegen om jou en je fotos te bewonderen…..
This is pure magic!!!
I’m just going to drool all over this! It’s so gorgeous Johan !! I love the great texture in the foreground and the wonderful mountains and clouds so beautifully reflection. This is stunning!!
@Encarnaciòn: dank je wel. Leuk om te horen


@Sandra: not sure about that but it is nice to hear Sandra
@Margaret: hey thanks Margaret! I was nervous about being able to capture what I saw. I managed though
It’s just so gorgeous Johan !!
Johan Peijnenburg : amazing image, congrats!
Thanks a bunch Alexandre and nice to meet you!
Sir very nice photo
woonderful, love snowy mountainscapes… expecially like the feeling of width and depth to this
Thanks Anna and thanks again Scott !
I like the light, the colours and the nice reflections. Great work Johan ! Have a good day.
Splendide
@Jean-Michel: merci beaucoup!! It was one of the nicer photography experiences this year Jean-Michel
@Paul: many thanks Paul!!!
Good day Johan.
I wish you other photography experiences as pleasant as this one for summer 2012 .
thanks you for the kind words Jean-Michel. I will certainly spend a lot of time in the Alps in the coming 2 months, so there is a good chance
Beautiful!
Thanks Gib!
must special l like more of manners ,l like of colour uis more beauty,well all have your time space and use then our mind use a cretive ,ok good week,l need will go,by by:)
Apologies for the late reply. Many thanks Sandra !
The Alps are beautiful. In addition to the clouds, just grazed the mountain and is reflected in the lake. Beautiful. Thank you for this show.
I love the Alps. I moved to Switzerland 4 years ago just to be close to them
Thank you for your nice comment!
wooow ! Just for this – when the skyes touching the earth !
Thanks for the “wooow” Syuzanna. I always love it when people do that
This is my fav today..love the light, contrast, colours and details on here..Amazing!
Thank you very much for the very kind words Jessy!
nice !
Jolie la vue paronamique bel couleur et reflet tres poncher
Thank you Edwin!
@Ric: merci beaucoup!
beauty
tnx
Jolie photographie bel couleur
Merci beaucoup Ric !
Impresionante paisaje y muy buena foto . Un cordial saludo
Gracias i saludo Teresa
Wow!
Sweet frame, lots of elevation! Johan very beautiful
Thanks Randall !
@Matt: many thanks Matt! Btw for some of my images I was up lots higher
I have total respect for you working and or getting to the Elevation to shoot. I’m living mostly at sea level… I’m a big wimp when it comes to the endurance needed at that altitude . Props!
@Matt: thanks
But you go under deep no?