Tiptoeing above the clouds

She is tiptoeing on a mountain ridge 3400 meters above sea level, 800

meters above the ground, and 5 meters above the cloud in a magnificent

scenario in the Swiss alps. Does the picture convey the sense of

esposure and exilaration climbing is all about?

 

Your comments and criticism are most welcome!

HUH! i just came back from moutain biking in the swiss alps isnt it incredible over there. amazing photo also. i will have some swiss stuff up soon

keep an eye on me!

Excellent photo. I bet you froze your fingers off taking this shot!

Excelente esfuerzo,, un bello encuadre,, color y gran calidad tecnica,,, un cordial saludo.

I was considering taking a climbing course but now I see what it leads to. awesome place to shoot.

Salvatore, This is another terrific photo. Looking at this, I'm afraid for her. I'm not so sure I get a sense of exposure and exhiliration. For me it's more like sheer terror. Ah, but what do you expect from someone who lives at sea level.

 

I love the way the peaks are just making their way above the clouds. With the two background peaks against the blue sky and the forground peak against the white clouds, I don't think you could have asked for better conditions for composition. My only wish is that she was a different pose, perhaps upright. I'm also not sure what the square thing is in the bottom right corner.

 

Those are just minor issues. This is a great photo of a place not many will ever see in person.

For the courage and skill you have to take this unique shot you deserve a 7/7. Awesome! You go to the most interesting places Sal.

I was also thinking she could be in a more flattering pose for the shot but then what other pose is there? If it were me I would be wrapped onto the top peak holding on for dear life or flattened against the rocks just below still hanging on for dear life. I'm with Laurie, not sure about exhiliration but this got me weak in the knees.

Excellent image, my friend Salvatore.

Looks like you're getting into the hang of your D70. I'm happy for you. The tones and highlights are very nicely controlled. Image is also well balanced.

Excellent mood, composition and contrasts. Definitely a capture Anniviers-tourism should use. Regards.

It's certainly a great photo. It's not so easy to make high quality photos in such conditions. (I mean tripod and light measuring and ...). But it's good even in this plan. And what a feeling!

I'm kinda with Laurie and Knicki in that the pose suggests fear rather than exhileration... but I don't care, cause its great. Love the central division and the blank spaces of cloud. The mountain backdrop makes a great frame for the whole scene, they almost appear to be floating, but are grounded somewhat by the central column.

 

Minor criticism... the shadowed area of right foreground. Its a very distinctive shape that seems to be taking up too much of my attention. Maybe a bit lighter?

A picture speaks a thousand words, plus I will add it's a gutsy shot. I will show this to my climbing friend, he's gonna love it.

WOW! 7/7 ...WOW!

Beautiful image, with wonderful foreground: the person against the dark and dangerous mountain top. And then the background seperated by the clouds in between. There is a story here.

man u nailed that one for sure ...u know when they say "the shot of the life time"...that realy what it is ...congrats that u done it

I like this shot.. I also like your comment that she's 800 meters above the ground (?)

Wow! Great photo...to me this picture conveys a sense of accomplishment.

Stunning, once again! btw, you seem to have had some good weather in Switzerland this summer, its always raining here in Austria. I am jealous! Janik

Dear Salvatore, another great mountain and climbing photo.

 

I think that climbing all day in the clouds and find only at the end this breathtaking view is something unique. It's a great reward for an hard work.

 

Thanks for sharing. Fabio

Alpine scene Salvatore!, everything comes together so well, the climbing capture action of tiptoeing on the very top of needle is really original and eyecatching, looks like you had awesome and changing weather conditions, the sea of clouds is great and you just captured superbly.

 

I can really breathe and feel the Alps soul just looking to this great action capture, regards

I've been hanging to Halfdome cable climbing up the Halfdome in Yosemite. I can't even take my camera out, forget about taking picture. This is a tough shot to make and you did it well.

Having just come back from another trip in the mountains I am almost speechless in front of the comments and ratings gathered by this picture. I wish to thank you for your support and positive feedback, after all, fellow photo.netters feedback is what sometimes encourages me to get my camera out in some not exactly comfortable situations.

Some specific answers

• Jon This was a no-gloves climbing day, at any rate I have on top of the camera bag, or below my thick mountain gloves depending on the climate, a pair of thin warm gloves which allow me to operate the camera retaining a minimum of comfort. The plastic body of the D70 scores its only advantage on the metal body of the Fm2 in that it's less cold to handle...even though I can operate the Fm2 with thick gloves but no way to play around with the D70 commands with them
• Knicki Try your climbing course! To enjoy the dance-like motions you need not to go 800m above ground, two meters in a heated gym should be enough: you'll love it!
• Laurie and Stephan The pose is the only reasonable pose she could have, with some minor climbing details, as using a different footstand. At any rate, I've a complete series of the passage, including her expression on arrival to safety, and will post it soon. The dark structure to the bottom right happens to be a piece of the rock ridge, exactly perpendicular to the sun, so pitch dark: colours and light are quite sharp up there...
• Chris I'll send it to the tourist office in Zinal!
• Janik Less than half of the time of decent weather, actually... and pretty gloomy recently.

By the way, this is what the mountain (Besso) looks like from the valley...