The Story Behind The Image: “Balance of Three”.

Sometimes (more often than not, actually) nature does the work for us as photographers, we just have to open our eyes and observe.

Side Note: Even though images are all around us, we rarely delve deeper into how an image came to be. As such, in this series, I share the stories behind some of my images. You can read the complete (growing) series here.

“Balance of Three” - In winter the landscape of the Swiss Alps is transformed into one blanketed by snow.

The official ski season is coming to an end this weekend here in our region of the Swiss Alps.

On piste, that is.

In other words: lift assisted skiing via gondola, chair lift, t-bar, etc.

Ski touring, on the other hand, is still on going depending on the conditions.

Which isn’t great at the moment, to be honest.

Warm temperatures, rain up to high-ish altitudes and no sign of things cooling down for the next while.

All of which has got me feeling a bit nostalgic about truely great winter conditions - which will be missed as we head into spring (until next winter).

So I dug out an image from a winter or two ago, with a funny (if short) story behind it (see opening image).

This time I didn’t have to cross glaciers and mountain peaks (as before) or attend a meeting in a big city (like here) to get the shot.

Nope.

All I had to do was observe and be aware of the changing light and landscape around me (an essential photographic skill, or skill period).

And of course have my (good) camera with me.

I would argue the former is more important, as it allows you to make good images with whatever camera you happen to have at hand (DSLR / iPhone / whatever).

You see, good photography is more often than not about observation rather than gear (gear is useful for specific end uses, e.g. making big prints).

Even more so in landscape photography.

As Mr Yann Arthus Bertrand so elegantly put it:

" The earth is art, the photographer is only a witness. "

— Yann Arthus-Bertrand

And so it was, as I drove back from running an errand mid-winter a year or two back.

Rounding a bend in the road, I noticed the layering of mountains and light being revealed off to my right as more of the landscape came into view.

I had to stop (safely) and make the image.

Nothing ground breaking.

Just being prepared with my eyes open, observing and camera close at hand.

As an aside, I can tell you for free, that 95% of the time when I have my camera with me on the day to day I don’t end up making any images.

But when the moment presents itself?

You’d better believe it makes up for it!

And to be able to share it with you, of course :)

So stoked, in fact, was I with the result that it’s now available as a limited edition print in my print store, here.

What did I learn (once more)?

Always take the camera along for the ride, you never know.

It’s always worth it, image opportunities or not.

“Balance of Three” is available as a limited edition fine art print on my website (corneliusmuller.co).

That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed a little insight into the story behind the image.

Do you have any interesting stories or thoughts to share?

Simply hit reply and let me know / comment below.

Have a great week!

PS - This is an ongoing series of sharing the stories behind a selection of my images. Read the original post that kicked off the series (and with more background info) here.

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Until next time ✌🏽.

Cornelius

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