The Dolomites are a unique landscape. In some places green and luscious, others stark and grey like a scene of Mordor from Lord of the Rings. One thing you will never deny is that the whole area is staggeringly beautiful. I can’t believe it has taken me 32 years of my life to visit here but I’ve made up by for it by coming twice this year. It instantly became one of my favourite places. It’s accessible, friendly, there’s loads to see and do and there aren’t many landscapes which are more photogenic. Here’s a collection of photos from my trips this year.
Lago Di Braies
The quintessential Dolomites experience, if you are on Instagram you have almost certainly seen shots from this lake before as they constantly do the rounds. There is a reason for this though – it’s breathtakingly beautiful. Make sure you are there early for sunrise before the crowds flock, it’s also when the lake is most still and you get the clearest reflections. Make sure you get out in the boats, they aren’t too costly to hire for an hour.
It takes an hour or so to walk a full lap of the lake. I highly recommend it. It’s an easy, mostly flat walk and the views really change on the way around.
Tres Cime Di Lavaredo
One of the best known mountain peaks in the alps are the distinctive Tres Cime Di Lavaredo (literally meaning the three peaks of Lavaredo). There are a number of alpine trails in the area, they aren’t too taxing, as you can drive through the national park and park high up. The routes do start at 2000 metres though so make sure you take some warm clothes. It is an amazing area to witness and capture at sunset and there are a whole host of sites and views to photograph.
When the clouds roll in at night you can get some pretty magical shots. This was taken through a break in the clouds, the red light is coming from a cars tail lights as it drove down the mountain. I felt like I was on Mars!
Val Gardena
Val Gardena has some great areas to explore. Make sure you have a hire car and drive up some of the smaller roads towards the mountains at sunset and you’ll find some really picturesque views.
Seceda
One of my favourite views is over the peak of Seceda. You can get a cable car up to the peak from Ortisei. We didn’t have the most favourable weather conditions up there, it will be the first place I head back to when I am in the area.
Santa Magdalena
This small town is a pretty special place. There are some great views over the town, but my favourite is over Santa Magdalena church. Sitting alone in a huge field, backed by rolling green forested hills and huge ominous, jagged peaks behind that. You don’t get much better views than this. It is straight out of a fairy tale.
My kit
I get a lot of emails asking what gear I use for my landscape work. So here are some links below to my main kit –
My camera (amazon) – http://geni.us/c7ZLCZX
My main lens (amazon) – http://geni.us/xOuvw3
My wide angle (amazon) – http://geni.us/hlX73jy
My telephoto (amazon) – http://geni.us/HK3aBLr
My drone (amazon) – http://geni.us/S9AJ
My polariser filter (amazon) – http://geni.us/FCAgKO
Workshops
I’ll be running my first photography workshop in the Dolomites in September 2018. Interested? Sign up on the link at the top of this page to be the first to get full details.
