Photographing Mountains in the Kleinwalsertal

Two weeks after my last photography and hiking trip into the Alps I shouldered my heavy backpack once more, this time to explore the Kleinwalsertal just across the border near Oberstdorf.

As I started my hike after four hours of driving in Mittelberg the sun was burning. There were some clouds, but those only provided a short relieve from the heat.

Although the hike itself wasn’t difficult, my backpack combined with the temperatures gave me quite a hard time on the trail. I was glad when I finally reached one of the many huts we have in the Alps after 2,5 hours of hiking.

After securing a place to sleep and enjoying a good meal and a cool drink I already had to continue my hike. My destination for the evening and the next morning was located a bit higher on the mountain.

On the way up the conditions looked very promising. There were still scattered clouds in the sky, which would light up nicely once the sun began to set. But as I reached my photo location and settled on a composition most of the clouds were gone.

And although the light on the landscape looked great when I took my sunset photo, a few lingering clouds to the right of the frame unbalanced it.

So I went up there again the next morning and gave it another try. At first it seemed as if again I wouldn’t get a photo for my portfolio. This time there were no clouds at all in the direction I was photographing.

But just as I packed up my gear, magic happened. And I was able to photograph it as you can see in the video above.