New: An alpine mountain river close to sunset

Time for a landscape photograph in colour again! This photograph features an alpine mountain river that runs down from the Swiss Alps in the background. The main mountain in the back is Piz Tavrü. Piz Tavrü is a mountain that is part of the Sesvenna mountain range. It is situated just north of the Ofen pass. In the foreground, you see a pine tree forest and the rocks of the river bed. It was very close to sunset. As a result, the Alps and a part of the forest are nicely warmed by last light.

An Alpine mountain river at sunset

A mountain landscape, featuring an alpine mountain river in the Swiss National Park flowing down from the Alps at sunset.

This alpine mountain river was photographed in the Swiss National Park in Graubünden in Switzerland. The Swiss National Park is a great place to be for landscape photographers, especially in late spring and autumn. Plenty of great hiking trails and loads of unspoiled scenery and wildlife at hand!

I captured this photograph with my 14-24 f/2.8 wide-angle lens. Shot it at 14mm to give a lot of depth to the image. No filters were used (quite an investment for the 14-24 lens used). I had two alternative captures of this scene. One with and one without that old tree trunk to the right. I opted for the one with the tree trunk. Think the trunk balances the composition a bit. Was I right?

Cheers, Johan 🙂

You might also like

This mountain landscape is part of our Mountains & Hills landscape photography theme. You will find many more photographs of the Swiss mountains there as well as mountain landscapes from other parts of the world, including:

Please visit our Swiss Landscape Photography portfolio if you prefer to see photographs from Switzerland only. Alternatively, check out our Waterfalls & River Rapids photography theme to find more photographs of mountain rivers.

166 thoughts on “New: An alpine mountain river close to sunset

  1. Teresa Ramos Ojeda says:

    ¡ Que paisaje ! es alucinante, espectacular , maravilloso ,no encuentro palabras para poder describirlo ,Johan . Gracias por compartirlo .

  2. Praphul T says:

    Johan Peijnenburg

    such a wonderful image..do u have a tutorial on the same? the light everyting looks fabulous..i am always wondering whether this output can be achieved from a camera..can u say about the processing done? 

    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thank you! Actually I haven’t done a lot of processing on this one 🙂 You can get this out of a good camera. You might need to use a gradient filter though as the sky is a lot brighter than the foreground. The most important thing is to shoot at the right time of day. This was shot just before the sun went down 🙂 

      • Laurie Wade says:

        Lol, Johan, I do like it all, but my eye goes immediately to the movement of the water and the bluish grey of the rocks. But when I finally look up from that and see the mountain, I’m, like, whoa! It’s just an all-around great shot. Congratz.

  3. Michael menefee says:

    Masterful work with exposure/light. The balance between sun and shade is exquisite. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend~!

  4. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Jens: thanks Jens and nice to see you around again 🙂
    @shane: many thanks Shane!
    @Suzie: thanks for the very kind words. Glad you like it and that it is useful to you 😀 

  5. Suzie Javed says:

    Stunning image, specially for amateur photographers like me, just to see such images is a teaching lesson in itself, also reading all the discussions is again a learning process!

  6. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Paul: thanks and thanks for the share. Just circled that page!
    @Robin-Angelo: thank you Robin-Angelo. That is very nice to hear!
    @Margaret: thanks again Margaret! Hope all is well? 

  7. Margaret Tompkins says:

    Incredibly beautiful!! I love that white water and the angle that you used!! The colour is awesome my friend!!

  8. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Fabio: many thanks for the compliment and the feedback Fabio!
    @Robert: danke vielmals Robert! Really nice yes and very close to Austria as well!

  9. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Nora: many thanks Nora. Nice to see you around again 😀
    @Людмила Танасевская-Караваева: thank you+

  10. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Kurt: thank you! Me too 🙂
    @Paul: thank for the feedback and compliment Paul! 
    @Rigober: merci Rigobert!
    @Alexandre: many thanks !

  11. BJ Bolender says:

    Tremendous POV here, well done and grand to “meet you” via the wonder of G+ and a share I received just now.

  12. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @John Dunne: thank John! Yes, was tempted to remove it but liked it as is 🙂
    @David Orr: many thanks David!

  13. Meg Rousher says:

    Yes it does sound like our national parks. I just wish we had more of them, although the area where I live does a good job with local parks and has plots of land set aside for nature to take over. These places are so much fun to visit.

  14. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Shawn: glad you like it!
    @Hengki: thanks! To the point as always 😀
    @Daniel: many thanks Daniel!
    @Jim: the feedback is highly appreciated Jim! Thanks!
    @Sandy: glad you like it and thanks for the feedback!
    @Johan: thank you! Highly appreciated!
    @Anette: you are so high-tech 😉 

  15. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Sophie: many thanks Sophie!
    @Andrew: thanks for the very kind words Andrew! I always hate it when I have to leave the park again!

  16. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Anette: thank 😀 An loads of wildlife as well 😉 Aren’t you on hols?
    @Jean-Michel: merci! Very kind words and yes I am very very lucky!
    @Emanuele: glad you like it Emanuele! 

  17. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Meg: thank you. It is very nice. I guess it is a lot like the national parks in the US. There is just one road in the middle of the park, from which many hikes depart, no houses and they let nature to its thing basically 😀

  18. Andrew Sanigorski says:

    OMG that details are freakin amazing Johan, and love the light and comp. I would love to just wonder along the stream. Great image.

  19. Jean-Michel Taconné says:

    I like the skilful composition : the foreground pretty stones and the background sweet light. How lucky you are to live in the Alps, this paradise for photographers ! :-))

  20. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thank Matthias! I can relate to that feeling. I have the same when I am taking them 😀
    @Bernhard: thank you and nice to meet you!

  21. Jerry Johnson says:

    Speaking of gorgeous LE photos! 🙂

    You obviously timed out the light perfectly. I wouldn’t have guessed you could capture this beautiful scene without a filter. Wow!

    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Thank you Jerry 😀 Yes, waited a while for the sun to hit the mountains and being in the shade gave me the exposure time I wanted.

  22. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Dalibor: glad you like it Dalibor 😀
    @Peter : make it work Peter! 🙂
    @Dominique: thanks Dominique! Nah had the big stopper on me, but this was the effect I was after. Nicely dynamic 😀
    @Andy: thanks for the nice feedback Andy! Yes this river goes wild when the white stuff gets to deal with warm weather in sprig. I was there 2 weeks before I took this shot as well and the river was almost full then! 

  23. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Wilfried: thanks for the kind words Wilfried! Looking forward to haunt rivers like this with you again 😀
    @Jany: thank you Jany!!
    @Christof: glad you like it Christof! And thanks for the feedback. Yes these rivers go wild in Spring!
    @peter paul: thanks! Appreciated!

  24. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Julia Anna: I surely am 😀 Thanks for the feedback! Glad you like it!
    @Chris: many thanks Chris! Unfortunately I didn’t move any closer. I already was at a spot I shouldn’t be 🙂
    @Nikola: dank je wel man 🙂 Thanks!

  25. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Ada: thank you. It was 😀
    @Michael: thanks and thanks for the feedback!
    @Stefanie: thank you. Appreciated! 

  26. Andy Korolis says:

    Nicely balanced composition Johan! I wonder if the river bed, which seems so broad, actually fills during spring runoff, or is this the remnant of receding glaciers?

  27. Dominique Dubied says:

    Beautiful capture Johan!
    In fact I suppose you lost your Big Stopper during the hike and you are ashamed of telling us the truth 😉 lol

  28. Christof Simon says:

    Very appealing picture Johan, especially the fine lines in the water are amazing! Here is what I think About the “trunk-thing”. For me the trunk does not balance the composition. To do so, his tone should differ more in comparison to the stones.
    BUT I think he is important to give further information: He tells me that this small river can be very strong from time to time. So strong that he is able to transport trunks or even pull out trees. Therefore, I think it’s good to have the trunk there :-)

  29. Wilfried Haferland says:

    The tree trunk supports the impression in a very fine way. The right exposure time makes for that perfect movement of the river and I like the contrasty stones in the foreground, captured by the line-leading side rivers. Thank you, Johan!

  30. Chris Miller says:

    Love it Johan! The water texture is spot on. As for the tree trunk I think it works just fine. In fact if it was a bit closer it might have worked even better?

  31. Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

    Wonderful tracking paths you’re traveling on Johan! Indeed the best place to be for a landscape photographer. Love this shot and you were right about the trunk. :)

  32. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Many thanks Margaret and Ada! On my way to the biggest glacier of Europe now :D
    @Shelly: thank you!
    @Toshiro: many thanks for the kind words and the feedback on the trunk !

  33. Athena Carey says:

    Beautiful scene and colours Johan. I can’t decide what I think about that old piece of wood. Maybe post the other one for us to compare. :)

    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thank you Athena! Might post the other one later. It’s mountainmonday today though, so I am off to the mountains 🙂 

  34. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Sudip: thanks a bunch for the very kind words!
    @Mike: I have mixed feelings about the tree trunk, but it has a function … sort of 😉 Thanks for the compliments!!! 

    • Mikael Sh says:

      oh we should not bully the poor tree trunk to much, it doesnt distract 🙂 – but i do think that your other photo without it might be even better :-)

      • Johan Peijnenburg says:

        😀 The one without has a bit less depth as it was shot at 18mm … enough more tight to exclude the trunk. I liked the scene at 14mm better … maybe I need to do magic in PS and see how it looks without 🙂

  35. Mikael Sh says:

    not sure about the tree trunks right to exist 🙂

    but superb.work Johan, looking mighty inviting. And composition and fl indeed give a great sense of depth

    very nice :-)

  36. Sudip Ghate says:

    SO much to like about this photo Johan, the detail in the foreground…the stream leading your eyes to the mountains, with a really nicely lit peak capturing your attention there…just a super shot!

  37. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @E.E. Giorgi: many thanks Elena 😀
    @Bill: yes, for sure. This was in May at an altitude of about 1900 metres. Thanks for the compliment! 

  38. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Ian: many thanks!
    @Dietmar: thank you for the compliment and thanks for the feedback. Curious to see what others will say 🙂 

  39. Dietmar Descamps says:

    superb shot! I’m not distracted by the trunk (its colour is close to the stones) but I might have preferred without it

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *