I´ve been to Torres del Paine 5 times and once to Los Glaciares in
Argentina. I live in Santiago, Chile.
Torres del Paine: Lenses: 17-35, 28-70, 70-200 for landscape , and
35mm film use. 28-70 the most widely used. Guanacos will be in the
200-400 range ( the longer end for the babies " chulengos" and
scenes of fighting and mating guanacos which will be further away
than grazing guanacos). Foxes, if you find helpful ones will be in
the 200-300 range for frame filling shots.
Scenic Tips: Icebergs massing at the shoreline of Lago Grey, sunrise
and sunset shots of the Cuernos del Paine from the small cliff right
behind Hosteria Pehoe which sits on an island in the middle of the lake Pehoe, and sunrise at the base (glaciar morraine) of the Torres
del Paine. This latter involves a 4 hr. hike which is covered by both the W and full circuit treks. I would camp overnight at the
base camp and do the last hour trek up before sunrise.
General comment: Be prepared for very windy weather, and long days with sunrise around 6AM and sunset around 9-10PM because of latitude
and time of the year.
Los Glaciares: For Mt. FitzRoy and Cerro Torre you want to make sure
you are at the right spot for sunrise and sunset which are impressive
alpenglow displays. My recomendation: 2 nights camping at the base of Mt. Fitzroy (laguna Capri basecamp) which is a 3 hour hike from
the town of El Chalten, then move at mid-day to Cerro Torre basecamp
which is a 3 hour hike from laguna Capri, and spend 2 more nights cam-
ping there. Then back to El Chalten ( 3 hour hike). At Fitz Roy look
for a pretty waterfall, at Cerro Torre take a walk into the ice formations. On the way back to El Chalten from Cerro Torre look for reflection ponds along the way with beautiful reflections of Cerro Torre. Hope you get the weather to collaborate. Same landscape lenses
recommended.
Perito Moreno Glacier. This is a must, and it is reached via a 1 hour
drive from the town of Calafate. This town is halfway between Puerto
Natales and El Chalten. With good weather 1 day should be enough for
the glacier. A must. Same landscape lenses recommended.
General Comment: All sunrise and sunset shots will require at least
a 2 stop Neutral Density filter. Additionaly, a circular polarizer,
Patagonia Advice
in Nature
Posted
Louie:
I´ve been to Torres del Paine 5 times and once to Los Glaciares in
Argentina. I live in Santiago, Chile.
Torres del Paine: Lenses: 17-35, 28-70, 70-200 for landscape , and
35mm film use. 28-70 the most widely used. Guanacos will be in the
200-400 range ( the longer end for the babies " chulengos" and
scenes of fighting and mating guanacos which will be further away
than grazing guanacos). Foxes, if you find helpful ones will be in
the 200-300 range for frame filling shots.
Scenic Tips: Icebergs massing at the shoreline of Lago Grey, sunrise
and sunset shots of the Cuernos del Paine from the small cliff right
behind Hosteria Pehoe which sits on an island in the middle of the lake Pehoe, and sunrise at the base (glaciar morraine) of the Torres
del Paine. This latter involves a 4 hr. hike which is covered by both the W and full circuit treks. I would camp overnight at the
base camp and do the last hour trek up before sunrise.
General comment: Be prepared for very windy weather, and long days with sunrise around 6AM and sunset around 9-10PM because of latitude
and time of the year.
Los Glaciares: For Mt. FitzRoy and Cerro Torre you want to make sure
you are at the right spot for sunrise and sunset which are impressive
alpenglow displays. My recomendation: 2 nights camping at the base of Mt. Fitzroy (laguna Capri basecamp) which is a 3 hour hike from
the town of El Chalten, then move at mid-day to Cerro Torre basecamp
which is a 3 hour hike from laguna Capri, and spend 2 more nights cam-
ping there. Then back to El Chalten ( 3 hour hike). At Fitz Roy look
for a pretty waterfall, at Cerro Torre take a walk into the ice formations. On the way back to El Chalten from Cerro Torre look for reflection ponds along the way with beautiful reflections of Cerro Torre. Hope you get the weather to collaborate. Same landscape lenses
recommended.
Perito Moreno Glacier. This is a must, and it is reached via a 1 hour
drive from the town of Calafate. This town is halfway between Puerto
Natales and El Chalten. With good weather 1 day should be enough for
the glacier. A must. Same landscape lenses recommended.
General Comment: All sunrise and sunset shots will require at least
a 2 stop Neutral Density filter. Additionaly, a circular polarizer,
preferably warming type, is strongly recommended.
Have a great trip
Alex Furman