The Lacs de Fenêtre: Crystal clear

A few weeks ago, I was hiking up at the Lacs de Fenêtre near the Grand Saint-Bernard pass. This pass connects Switzerland with Italy in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. This area is well known for its beautifully situated mountain lakes as well as its view on the majestic Mont Blanc massif. After shooting the larger lakes, I ran into this small Alpine mountain lake. The bottom of the lake is covered with copper coloured rocks, which is typical for that region. In the background, you see a Mountain called Point de Drône … which I climbed afterwards. The Lacs de Fenêtre area is very scenic and a great place for hiking and photography. Make sure to visit when you get the chance!

Crystal clear

A crystal clear mountain lake on a sunny summer day with the Point de Drône in the background. This small lake is one of a group of lakes called Lacs de Fenêtre.

I captured this photograph using my Nikon D800E and 14-24 f/2.8 wide-angle lens. Shot it at 14mm to emphasise the rocky bottom of the lake and to give the image a bit of extra depth. I used a 2-stop Singh-Ray graduated filter to control the brightness of the sky a bit.

Cheers, Johan 🙂

172 thoughts on “The Lacs de Fenêtre: Crystal clear

  1. Teresa Ramos Ojeda says:

    Espectacular paisaje .Me alucinan sus maravillosas publicaciones son impresionantes .Un cordial saludo .

  2. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Gatto: thanks again 🙂
    @Patricia: thanks! And now I want the same scene with a bit of snow and ice 😀
    @Emanuele: thank you Emanuele! Glad to see you around again! 

  3. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Tania: glad you like it Tania and nice that you stopped by 🙂
    @Daniel: hey Daniel. Great to see you again! Thanks! Yes, it was marvelous. Will go back there in Autumn to catch the area with a bit of snow 🙂 

    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Hey thanks Rich 🙂 Yes, sometimes I do have a lot of energy. Somehow you get used to strong uphill hikes when you do them often enough.

  4. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Michael: thank you Michael!
    @Markus: thanks Markus!
    @Sofie: many thanks for the kind words and nice to meet you :)

  5. Jean-Michel Taconné says:

    A very beautiful scenery ! I love the limpid water, the rocks colour and the clouds reflections in the foreground. I very much appreciate your work. :-)

  6. Laurent Coppée says:

    If we like it? I sure do!
    I’m drawn into that amazing scenery perfectly processed 🙂
    Nice to see you posting in colour every now and then :-)

  7. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Eric: merci Eric!
    @Patrice: you are very welcome Patrice! Thank you 🙂
    @Aline: wonderful description 🙂 Danke je Aline!
    @Paul: glad you like it Paul!

  8. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Jessy: much appreciated Jessy. Thanks for stopping by!
    @Julia Anna: thank you! And yes I am lucky! You are not that far from mountains are you?
    @Rikard: thanks. Yes it is and even more so when first snow arrives or in early spring.
    @Mark: many thanks Mark 😉

  9. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Gaurav: many thanks Gaurav and thanks for stopping by!
    @Tom: hey Tom 🙂 Thank you!
    @Peter : great feedback. Thanks Peter!
    Many thanks Vitor and Bill ! 

  10. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @David: many thanks David!
    @Margaret: great Margaret. Thanks again!
    @Delcour: merci!
    @Sudip: thanks for the feedback Sudip. Glad you like it!!
    @Nicolas: thanks a bunch Nicolas! 

  11. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Wilfried: thanks Wilfried 😀 We should go there together to do some shooting. I want to go back when first snow hits that area! 

  12. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Mikko: well thank you Mikko! Glad you like it 🙂
    @Vishal: thanks for the compliment!
    @Annette: thank you 😀
    @Lilia: glad you like it Lilia. Hope all is well with you 🙂

  13. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Charles: thanks Charles! Yes, I have been in the mountains a lot. Just got back from Graubünden and Ticino. Hope you had fun on the beach anyway!
    @Peter Paul: many thanks for that very nice comment! 

  14. นางสาวอารยา สันหมาด says:

    ว้าววววววววววววว สวยมากๆๆ เยี่ยมมากเลย

  15. Aline van der Weert says:

    What an awesome reflection in the water, almost unreal 😉
    It feels like the water is taking me with it, fantastic!

  16. Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

    Wonderful Johan. I like the wide lens look a lot here! And what beautiful colours. You’re really privileged to be hiking through so much beauty so often. I miss the mountains every time I look at your photos :)

  17. Wilfried Haferland says:

    Ah, there it is! 🙂 Really good one, the stone colours and textures are great, as well as the leading lines are… Thanks, my real life friend! 

  18. Peter Paul Müller says:

    Really superb mountain photo , It’ the way you want to be perfect by working, that’s the fact for this photo too ! EXTRAORDINARY , Johan !

  19. Charles Lupica says:

    Johan: another stunning image Johan. I would imagine that you’re spending a lot time in the mountains lately. I wanted to go to the mountains on vacation but I got over-ruled and we went to the beach instead.
    A+

  20. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    J@oseph: thanks Joseph!
    @Margaret: you are very welcome Margaret and thanks for the kind words.
    @Sangeeth: many thanks Sangeeth! 

  21. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Meg: thanks Meg!
    @Milena: many thanks Milena 🙂
    @E.E. Giorgi: thanks for the great WOW! And yes I should post more. Lacking time for it at the moment. Will pick up pace in a few weeks 🙂

  22. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Cameron: thanks Cameron!
    @Dalibor: glad you like it! Have fun in the Alps. I will be in the area of the Gotthard pass and Andermath in the coming days 🙂
    @George: ver nice feedback George. Thanks! 

  23. Dalibor Pačić says:

    Fantastic capture Johan!
    Wish to go back to Swiss right away.
    I was there 2 weeks ago and it was great. 😀
    Wilfried Haferland also told me today about his climb to Bietschhorn, awesome. 🙂
    But on weekend I’m going to the Alps again, so happy. 🙂 

  24. Mike Sh says:

    Very nice choice of composition and ‘focal point’ – love how the sky almost feels like a cgi backdrop behind the towering mountain
    – Its surreal

    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Thanks Mike! Now I am really curious about what a cgi backdrop is !!! Everything in this image is for real btw … I don’t use PS … Yet :)

      • Mikael Sh says:

        I know its all real Johan 🙂

        A cgi background would be if we played hollywood and matte’painted’ the foreground to an artificial 3d sky made in matte painter fav application vue.

        Or vice versa, or anyother element. Like a 3d tree to give that nice stream some green swaying leafs in our blockbuster hollywood movie :-)

  25. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Anette: thank you Anette! Hope all is well! I am running away to the Alps again 🙂
    @Jany: thank you Jany! 😀
    @Людмила: thank you : D

  26. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Jerry: glad you like it Jerry. Appreciate the feedback!
    @Frederico: great to hear that Frederico! Thanks for stopping by! 

  27. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Robin-Angelo: thanks for the wow 🙂
    @Aileen: many thanks Aileen!
    @Dominique: merci! It is a gorgeous area. You got to be lucky with the light and haze though! 

  28. Athena Carey says:

    Holicanoli Johan this is SO beautiful!! Now I want to go THERE tomorrow instead of back to Léchelles to pick up my car. 😉 And I am a bit overwhelmed that you dedicated this beauty to me – thank you so very much. You are a special friend. :)

    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Another milestone achieved … someone said holicanoli on one of my images 😀 You should definitely mark that area for your bucket list. It is quite a hike up, but totally worth it. I will be going back in Autumn 🙂

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