The mountain landscape photograph below features the Swiss mountains Dom, Nadelhorn, and Täschhorn. Three beautiful alpine peaks with a height of more than 4,300 metres (14,000 ft). They are located in the Swiss Canton of Valais and are amongst the highest in Switzerland. I shot this image early in the morning. The light was still lovely and soft, and the fog and clouds just started to rise from the valley, adding a nice dose of drama to the scene. I was high up a mountain on the other side of the valley just at the right time.
High above the Clouds, three Swiss mountain peaks
A black and white landscape showing the Swiss mountain peaks Dom, Nadelhorn and Täschhorn, lit by early morning light above a layer of clouds and fog.
I captured this photograph titled High above the Clouds using a Nikon D800E in combination with a Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VRII. A lens with which I have a love-hate relationship. I almost always stuff it in my bag, next to 2 or 3 other lenses, when I go hike up a mountain. From a physical point of view, I always regret that at the end of a day … it is just too darn heavy. When I come home though and see the quality it delivers, I am always glad I did take it. I would love to own a good lightweight alternative lens, however. So, tips are welcome! The light wasn’t very bright yet. Therefore, I did not use filters to balance the exposure.
The settings were: 165mm, ƒ/11, 1/200s and ISO100. I processed the photograph using Nik’s Silver Efex Pro, because I felt the image begged for a black and white conversion. I opted for a 2:1 crop to make the composition as strong as possible. I hope you like it! Click on the photograph if to learn more about it or if you are interested in buying a print or licence of this photograph of Dom, Nadelhorn and Täschhorn.
Cheers, Johan 🙂
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This photograph of Dom is part of the Mountains & Hills landscape photography theme, which also includes:
amazing landscape! wish i was there Johan
Thanks for the compliment and for stopping by!
Magical
Thanks again Laurie !
it is nice!
Thanks again Нина Верба ! :)
Beautiful work.
Thanks again Barbara !
When do you post a new image Johan ? I am waiiiiiting :))) come on, the good weather is over, the bad weather for great pix too, now we have medium weather – not good !!! :)))
I know Anette, it’s time again. I am actually busy working on my summer and autumn images. I’ll post one tomorrow 🙂 An indeed, we are now in mud season. Colors are almost gone and the snow as well. Means I’ll have to go higher up to shoot :)
Lovely shot Johan. Sounds like you had an early start to get this one…
When lugging heavy camera gear around starts to get me down, the way I deal with it is to tell myself that the exercise is good for me! That’s usually enough to make me grin and bear it :)
about 5 AM I think Chris 🙂 Has to happen sometimes. Your way of dealing with it is about the same as mine. It’s aweful but in the end mostly useful!
=^.^=
Thanks Gatto :D
Ohh fantastic! This looks so ominous!
Thanks, just what I wanted to hear 😀 Thanks for catching up Kerry !
Love the drama in the clouds here!
thanks again !
Amazing B/W pic,really great:-)))
Thanks Regina 🙂
@Shane: that’s what I thought when I captured the scene 🙂
@Laurent: many thanks again Laurent!
This is a stunning photo Johan! Love the tones and contrast, perfect composition and processing. Majestueux!
I think I see Gandolf… this is so beautiful. love the mood.
Geweldig Johan , ik zou willen dat wij zulke uitzichten hadden, dan zou hopelijk mijn mijn landschaps fotografie beter worden.
dank je wel Walter! NL is inderdaad wat anders, maar genoeg mogelijkheden voor landschapsfotografie toch!?
zou een stuk beter kunnen 🙂 of ik kijk er overheen
zou kunnen Walter … kan ook zijn dat je focus op andere dingen ligt 🙂
Ongetwijfeld Johan :), maar ik wil het zo graag zien. Komt vast nog wel een keer. Ben er mee aan het werk.
Dat laatste helpt al veel Walter :)
@Cameron: glad you like it! This one I am going to print big!
@George: Tnx! am going to lug it around on long hikes the coming days again George. Can’t live without 🙂 Canon has a nice f/4 alternative. Nikon only has a 70-300 f/4-5.6 … might go for that one. Hoping for new lens introductions in the coming weeks 🙂
Fabulous photo Johan! I feel your pain on the lenses. We did a 9 hr scramble up Mt Lougheed a couple of weeks ago, and I left the long lens behind for weight savings. Although the non-IS version of the 70-200 Canon is quite light, it still felt like too much along with the water and extra gear.
!!!!!!!!!!! That is an amazing piece of work – that light is just perfect.
@Markus: thanks Markus. Nice to see you around again! Hope all is well!
@Emanuele: many thanks Emanuele!
Great work +Johan Peijnenburg ! Beautiful combination of this dramatic sky and light on the peaks.
dramatic image..wonderful..i know you’re feelings about the Lenses ..it is similar to me 🙂
HI Johan. I honestly love this capture.. here you have beautiful clouds with the light softly touching them.. then in the background you knock it off brilliantly .. with those peaks.. standing so tall and proud above the clouds.. and the light caressing them is totally outstanding.. one of those OH MY.. moments..
Thanks for stopping by and for the very nice comment. Take care!
@Matthias: cool ejh 😉 Thanks for the statistics 🙂 Hope you are doing well !
@Rikard: glad you like it Rikard!
@Athena: la Religieuse?
@Johan: hey thanks Johan!
@claudia: many thanks Claudia. That is a very nice compliment 😀 Nice to meet you!
@Annegret: thank you! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
@Patrice: thanks! Still out in the Alps a lot 🙂
@Neil: thanks a bunch Neil!
@Ed: glad you like it Ed!
I like how you managed to isolate the subjects in this one. Not an easy task in these types of shots. Having the clouds leading the eyes towards the mountains is also quite extraordinary. Well done.
it’s really amazing. I think more than 50% make it to the plusextract. this is an unbelievable quote 🙂 … it’s even more amazing that it is fully deserved 😉
Very impressive!
Johan, you captured a big slice of heaven, thank you for bringing this to me, VaronArtistry . . .
Fabulous Johan, Really dramatic work – love it!
Fantastic high altitude photograph!
EPIC!!!!!
I guess everyone is almost back from his trip… Nice to see some of your work again Johan :)
@Stefanie: nice to see you around again Stefanie! Thanks for the great feedback. And I know you love double squares 🙂
@Dalibor: that sounds like great fun. Too advanced for me still. I did my first 4200 ascent a few weeks ago under guidance of Wilfried Haferland. He knows the mountains you mention very well 🙂
Great photo Johan!
I was yesterday on Nadelhorn! 😀
My friend and me climbed it in 3,5 hours with strong wind.
I was on 6 days vacation in ‘your’ Swiss, just returned few hours ago. 🙂
Climbed Weismiess, Allalinhorn and Nadelhorn.
It was fantastic!
Outstanding black&white work Johan, love the white of the snow and the double square works great!!
@Magistral: merci !
@Milena: many thanks Milena 🙂
Wonderful detail and B/W processing here!
Magnifique
@Nora: going to check it out now! Thanks for the “wowow”! 😉
@Leyla: tnx! Not sure if I understand the last part of your comment …
@Jens: hey Jens! Tnx!
I just say “Congratulations” because this pic was on PhotoExtract… I guess you know that already.
@Tom: thanks Tom 🙂
@Sophie: no song today? Tnx 🙂
@Lilia: thank you Lilia!
@Davorin: many thanks Davorin!
@Kurt: thanks Kurt!!!
@Andrew: glad you like it Andrew!
@Agustin: thanks for the feedback and stopping by!
Stark clouds!!
Congratulations… I guess you don’t know nothing right now…
wowow, love this Johan , i;m going to post similar shot today :)
Congratulations! Johan :D
Congratulations Johan on photoextract!! :-D
I love your choice of cropping for this image, Johan. It is quite a scene!
amazing shot!
This is just a majestic scene Johan, drama, mood and the land of dreams in the distance.
Congrats back to you Johan. A magical capture that inspires my imagination. :)
Very dramatic. Great clouds. Congrats on the inclusion in PlusPhotoExtract
very nice!
Hey thanks Martin :D
simply stunning Johan Peijnenburg – lovely drama/mood here…
an honour to be featured this one in PlusPhotoExtract!
Tnx Morkel ! Likewise! Congrats as well :)
@Markus: how could you 😉 Thanks Markus!
@Dane: I love clouds in my images Dane, especially in combination with mountains 🙂 Thanks!
You do capture some of the most amazing clouds, Johan . Wonderful!
I have missed this but I have seen it in the Plusphotoextract magazine. Congratulation.!
This is breathtaking, Johan!
(and I don’t mean because the oxygen is more sparse at 14,000 ft)
Well thank you very much Lorenzo !
@Sudip: incredulous!? I like that 🙂 Thanks Sudip. Hope all is well!
@Deborah and @Wilfried: thank you 🙂
Congrats Johan!
Congratulations on your Jarek Klimek’s top 8 position!
Wow this is just incredulous! Lovely work as always Johan!
Beautiful Johan! Majestic!
Thanks Yiorgos! Glad you like it 🙂
@Julia: many thanks for the great comment and looking forward to seeing you in CH Julia!
@Stuart: thanks Stuart :o)
Stunning sunlight angle on the peaks. :o)
What a superb view of these mountains lost in the clouds Johan! When I see your images the only thing I want is to be there and see that with my own eyes. Wonderful strong b&w processing! :)
@Peter: … and great feedback Peter 😉 Tnx!
@Peter Paul: many thanks Peter paul!
Fantastic light in a superb composition.., Johan!
Oh yes do I like this. My kind of landscape. Great conversion, great clouds, love the mountains.
@Sinead: glad you like it Sinead !! 😀
@Vitor: thanks you Vitor!
@Joel: many thanks Joel for the feedback ! 🙂
That is quite dramatic and a very good B&W PP too Johan ! Great contrasts!
Amazing shot and BW processing!
The way the light is hitting the peaks on the right is sublime. Another gorgeous image!
Outstanding!
thanks my friend!
Lovely dramatic shot btw Johan. You know I feel your pain regarding the 70-200 F2.8. Fortunately for me there is a smaller, F4 option. Maybe I should rent it to see if I can deal with that…
I hear that that f/4 is a great lens for landscape so I wouldn’t hesitate switching over. f/4 is plenty enough! Thanks for the compliment :)
@Dominique Dubied Faire attention! I am actually a full 50% real Swiss. My family are over on the German speaking side. 🙂
But Johan, I think you mean my shot of coffee. My chocolate drink has to come a bit later if I am to continue. ;)
yes coffee first, then hot chocolate and then chips 😀
don’t forget my peanut butter, cucumber, sambal sandwich with the chips. And later a BEER. – We do have fun photo days, don’t we?? :D
yup 😀
Oups Athena sorry… But then you should like chocolate at 50%… ;-)
think you misunderstood Johan. He didn’t say I don’t like chocolate. He said I refuse to function unless I get it. 😉 But I am not a big fan of fondue. I only like la religieuse. :)
ah now I understand Athena :))
I would love to Dominique And, I would make it a priority to contact both you and Johan. Probably not Athena Carey though since she does not like chocolate! :-)
haha lol David ! But you know to pass the Swiss exam, you have to like Fondue like Athena …
@Dominique: me neither remember 🙂
@David: I know the area very well. The lake there is a great location for long exposures.
Hey David, why not come back here for a photowalk??
Yes Johann but she is not a real Swiss haha!!
@Dominique: did you know that some Swiss residents like Athena Carey just refuse to function in a coherent manner without having been given their shot of chocolate!
I lived in Lausanne Johan. For about 6 months when I was 9. I wish I was into photography back then. I still remember the beautiful scenery.
I see what you mean Dominique! Their heads are in the clouds 🙂 But you gotta love em!
once you feed us cheese and beer we are quite ok 😉
Yes, I remember it well from living their when I was young Johan. Back then, I seem to remember a little thing called CHOCOLATE too.
And chocolate Johan and David !!
Oh yes chocolate! Can’t live without David! Dominique starts the day with a thick bar every morning 🙂 Nice coincidence that you lived here David. For how long and where?
And one bar with the evening coffee Johan!!
@Sharon: many thanks Sharon!
@David: yup 🙂 Thanks David!
@Dominique: very true 😉
@Ian: nope! I actually did my first climb up to a peak of 4200 metres Ian … bloody amazing! Thanks for the compliment!
Take it no altitude problems Johan lol 😉 Serious shot man! love it!
Another touch of the dramatic Johan. Those Swiss peaks peeking out are awesome!
Not only the Swiss peaks David, but also the swiss photographers hahaha lol ;-)
Breathtaking and wonderful toning!
A belter as usual Johan . The offset to the right keeps the interest.
that the first time I hear the term “belter” Dylan. Had to look it up 😉 Thanks. Hope all is well over there !
🙂 Glad I could widen your horizons. Just got back from a hike in the Drakenberg in preparation for Kili, just over a month to go! All gear sorted and fitness levels not too bad. Got some images on the hike I wanted to share with you, will post as soon as I’ve worked on them.
Fitness levels are increasing rapidly here as wells. Long hikes with a lot of altitude difference do that. Ain’t photography great 😉
Looking foward to your images Dylan!
Luckily we live at 1800m ;-)
I am at 800 and ending up at 3000 to 4000 quite often nowadays :D
Lucky guy, we have to go to a lot of trouble to get above 3500 :-(
yup :D
Simply fantastic, what a stunning scape, Love your work Johan
Great to hear that from you and thanks for the compliment Rohan! I was a bit nervous about this one …
Wauw! Geweldige foto, de scherpte van de bergtop trekt je er over de wolken naartoe. Erg mooi!
Dank je wel Kevin !
@Jean-Michel: very kind of you again! Merci Jean-Michel 🙂
@Baldur: great feedback Baldur! Thanks!
Superb image, Johan! The light hitting the mountains is beautiful – and the 2:1 crop, showing all the clouds before you hit the mountain, is extremely powerful.
Love this early morning light over these snow capped summits in the background. The light over the clouds is
also very nice. Bravo l’artiste !
@Andreas: glad you like it Andreas!! 🙂
@Wilfried: going to process the other one with a slightly different approach. Not sure which one I prefer. Re lenses: tried the 105, but don’t like it for stuff like this. Maybe I should get the 135DC. The 85 is nice as well. but a bit too short.
@Pranab: many thanks Pranab. Thanks for stopping by!
@Mikko: always love your comments Mikko! many thanks 🙂
@Peter: 28-300 doesn’t perform very well on my camera’s Peter. Think the 70-300 is the only Nikon alternative. F/8 wouldn’t be a problem for me in most cases. How ist the image quality? By the way: the problem is the long distances and the ascents and descents here …
I could send you some examples. Shot on my D300. I do not have FX bodies. If you look on my flickr page you can also find some shots with the 70-300 I reckon (downsized ofcourse).
that would be great Peter. I hear the lens is not great between 200-300, but excellent until 200. Would love to see an image in the 100-200 range!
@Andy: thank you Andy!
@Lilia: dank je wel Lilia 😀
@Nikola: great feedback Nikola! Thanks 🙂
@Meg: thanks Meg. Hope you are having a wonderful summer!
@E.E. Giorgi: many thanks Elena 🙂 I will probably keep carrying it around yes :-O
@Joseph: thanks Joseph! Thanks for stopping by!
any summer without a hurricane is wonderful Johan. Hope your having a wonderful summer also :)
I can imagine that! It is a phenomena we in Europe are not very familiar with. It always looks like a real nightmare on the news though! Mine has been splendid so far. Thanks Meg !
Amazing image! Love the monochrome processing.
@Johan – Of course it is a different one… I’d be a bad photographer if I wouldn’t notice :-). I really like the 2:1 aspect.
@Sophie and @Johan – Funny to see the discussion about carrying weight. For every mountaineering photographer it’s an issue from the start. I choose my lens to bring depenfing on the trip. Wideangle for ridge climbing, moderate 105mm long lens for the rest. Shooting fixed lenses trains too, as you know ;-)
fantastic clouds / image! :)
They say the 28-300 is a nice lens. Personally I also own the 70-300 VR which I take on “exploration trips”. But that usually needs f/8 to get the best results. But its light and simple. Personally I say stick with the 70-200 it rocks, but then I also take heavier lenses and using the 70-200 is light for me ;)
Oh Johan this is Absolutly stunning view! So beautiful and full of poetry of life! Magical!
Wonderful photo (again) Johan. Composition is just great and b/w conversion is perfect.
WOW!!! Amazing photo… so Dramatic… so beautiful +Johan Peijnenburg It’s a fantastic photo Johan 🙂 Love this photo, dank je wel! :)
Beautiful Johan … well worth the extra weight :)
Gorgeous work! Love the clouds and composition
wow! you live in a magic place! :-)
Wonderful capture, it’s such a beautiful view :)
@Jim: thanks for the feedback Jim! Glad you like it 🙂 That region is great for shooting AND camping btw 😉
@Mike: many thanks Mike!!! I love the lens to, but I also love the 14-24 … plus 1 or two others give a nice weight total. But I guess you are right … no pain no gain 😀
You know it’s on my mind 😉 I will be planning next year soon!
I know. That’s why I mentioned it. 🙂
welcome back Johan 🙂 and a great photo to go did you bring with you :-)
as for the nikkor – just dont replace it 🙂 – its my favourite nikkor – you just need more muscles so you can both climb and carry the lens all day long :-P
@Leyla: thanks for the kind words 😀
@Kimberly: glad you like it Kimberly!
@Grant: thanks for the feedback Grant! Much appreciated !
@Robin-Angelo: thanks you very much Robin-Angelo!!
@Michael: thanks! I love drama 🙂
@Margaret: thanks 😀
Great shot Johan. Very powerful scene. Well captured
What a beauty, Johan, I love the 2:1 crop too!!
Fantastic! What an amazing view.
Spectacular. Wonderful image in excellent b/w.
Incredibly beautiful Johan!!
Fantastic sense of drama with all those clouds!
Wow. It’s an amazing picture. I love those clouds
very beautiful
Thank you Jany :)
@Beverley: hey Beverley. Nice to hear from you. Hope all is well !? Thanks for the compliment 🙂
@Aileen: thanks you Aileen. Great feedback!
Wow! This is beautiful! Love the compressed perspective! I feel like I am high up above too with the clouds. The covered snow-capped mountain led my eyes to it.
This is one special photo, I love it !!
Splendid photograph, Johan ! I have the same relation with my 70-200mm. I absolutely love it for its quality, but it’s a real pain to hike with it; it’s so damn big and heavy !
Thanks Francis! Did you try alternatives?
Nope ! I don’t really want to spend money on a smaller and lighter lens that I won’t use because it does not have the same optic performances. Nikon should do a lens like the Canon 70-200mm f/4. If you come with an alternative, I’d be interested to know it !
I had exactly the same thoughts as well so far and agree with the comment on the f/4 lens. Think the 70-300 is too much of a compromise.
Oh my, this is incredibly beautiful!! I love the wonderful light on those mountains and the wonderful contrast. Those clouds are gorgeous!! This is outstanding Johan !!!
Many thanks for the kind words!!!
@Kurt: thanks Kurt. Great feedback. I was a bit afraid that I made it too rough 🙂
@Sophie: thanks for the great input and feedback on the image Sophie! The only alternative Nikon has is a 70-300, which is actually quite cheap and light. Not sure about IQ though. Maybe we both should move to hiking with one lens only. Just pick one (with limited focal length range) and just make it work. Wouldn’t that be refreshing!?
That would be a very sensible decision Johan 😉
yes and you could then carry the rest 😀
I already carry your food….. :-s
true and much appreciated 😀
Well, if i’m at the rocky sea 😀 I restrict myself to one lens and that’s a nice challenge Johan ! 🙂
But i have a new one: 50-500mm with an extender till 1000m! so hehe, i will bring it to CH probably in January or february, very exciting and heavy!
wow 50-500 … do the images still look like something?
1)=>I have the same problem with weight if i go hiking in the mountains 🙂 but after the hiking tour you’re always glad you have brought them with you, but ergonomically it’s a real burden.
I use Canon, so i don’t know what types Nikon has for lenses, i see that you have a 70-200mm – f2,8 and the weight is => 1540gram, yes that’s heavy!
If i go hiking, i have two lenses with me if i shoot mountains: a wide angle lens and a telelens, a 75-300mm, i can’t carry more because of my backproblems, the rest of the luggage is for my assistant, euh, my friend and i’m very grateful for that! 🙂
I can’t give you a lot of advice but maybe you have to look it up which type of Nikon is best for you and please look at the reviews, they can be very interesting!
2)=> It’s a very powerful, dramatic mountainscape and i love the uprising fog! Great work!!!
The air is so incredibly clear. I could reach out and touch those gorgeous clouds. Amazing capture Johan!! Its very calming which is always nice on a manic/working Monday. %-)
I like the drama you’ve captured and processed so well. Great one. Thanks, Johan!
glad to be sharing an image of a couple of mountains you climbed Wilfried! Thanks for the compliment. This is a different one then the one I send you earlier btw …. and I was a bit more aggressive in composing and processing 🙂
Beautiful photo Johan!
thank you! Looks like I am making a habit out of that lately 😉
Sweet b&w!
now I know why you missed some clouds on Saturday :)
Lol Philipp! You are right. This was shot from Betmerhorn, very close to where we were last weekend. Looks a bit different ejh 😉
it is very refreshing Johan :)
😀
Superb b&w Johann! So crisp!
Hey thanks Dominique! Did your holiday end already or still enjoying some days off?
Unfortunately I started working today, so no time to relax under the sun or wandering on a glacier hihihi ;-)
yeah, pitty you missed that one again 🙁
Maybe you need an assistant to carry the lens for you Johan!!! Because you definetly need this one with you! I love the light on those peaks poking through the clouds!
thanks a lot Brian! Great idea. I tried sneaking it into my gf’s bag but didn’t work 😉 In some places in Switzerland you can hire a sherpa goat though !
@Dominique: thank you Dominique! Some might find it to dark and moody … but that’s me 🙂
@Janine: I think so. They always have a nice view at breakfast somewhere 😉
I doubt your a dark and moody man Johan ;)
Far from Dominique 🙂 I do like it in images though !
what’s not to like! It’s great!
if angels see the world so?
@Anette: it does doesn’t it 😉 Thanks!
@Elizabeth: many thanks Elizabeth and great that you stopped by!
Excellent capture of the clouds rolling over the Alps!
Love when that happens.
Wonderful Johan. love the clouds, looks like a nice comfy bed to me
@Mike: Many thanks !
@Gemma: thanks for the compliment Gemma!
@Jerry: I was hoping it would go better over time, but it doesn’t. Usually can’t force myself to leave it at home … wish Nikon would have a good alternative like Canon has! Thanks for the kind words Jerry. Much appreciated!
@Debby: indeed 🙂
Yeah :-)
@Peter: thanks Peter! Been a while … hope all is well! 🙂
@Armand: thank you! How are the legs doing?
@Javier: muchas gracias 🙂
well Johan, not too good… I feel now about as old as you are 😛 jkjk
lol ! But I didn’t have any muscle pains 😀 jkjk
Busy as usual. And just returned from Svalbard. Already started uploading photos in stead of waiting for ages. Have a look. So I will make up for not being here for a while ;)
will need to find time to do my rounds here as well …. time flies and I prefer being out there in this time of year as well 🙂
Based on the marvelous quality of this image, I’d say you need to do some push ups and sit ups and keep this lens with you at all times Johan! I know, easy for me to say! 🙂
It is a beautiful and dreamy photo and I
great shot as usual, wonderful clouds !
Beautiful Johan Peijnenburg!
I like the clouds and I love the light in the mountains in the background.
nice one… very dramatic clouds… =) nicely processed ;)
nice those clouds and some peaks peaking through.