Iconic Mountains - The Matterhorn

The first work week of the year 2021 has passed. And the current COVID pandemic is controlling many aspects of our lives around the globe.

While searching for an iconic image of the Matterhorn - Mount Cervin in Zermatt - for a wall picture of a friend of mine I was working on my Matterhorn collection.

Some years ago I spent time in Zermatt on several occasions taking pictures of that iconic mountain. We were setting up at the top. Taking pictures both digital as well as on film using my forty years old Hasselblad 500 c/m camera. - An Iconic mountain requires it's picture taken by an iconic camera ;-)

Gornergrat at an altitude of more than 3'100 m.a.s.l. is one of the best spots to take pictures of that impressive mountain rim. 

At this altitude the air starts getting thin and breathing gets challenging with physical efforts. The comfort of being brought up there by cable car in some thirty minutes does not really help in this.

Surrounded by several peaks all higher than 4'000 m.a.s.l. one can feel the power of nature and spirit of earth.

But there is one peak which could not be more prominent. - The Matterhorn - Mount Cervin. That iconic triangular shape towering above all other peaks leaves a massive impression.

There is no doubt that this natural landmark is the biggest asset of the area. Be it for millions of tourists, for pictures, and for all the mountaineers who conquered that mountain.

Unfortunately with the restrictions of the current pandemic tourism is a bit lower and does not pay off that well. Hence, images might be an alternative to serve the longing for mountains.

Probably billions of pictures of that magical mountain have been taken over the years. And many people have a picture a picture decorating the wall in their house or appartement. And nature with ever new weather conditions makes every picture special.

Hence, it can well be understood that the search for new images never ends. And, that iconic pictures of Matterhorn remain attractive to the audience.

Thomas Crauwels - Fine Alpine Photography

While searching the internet for Matterhorn imagery I came across an incredibly impressive portfolio of iconic mountain images by Thomas Crauwels.

Thomas offers his images printed and framed, ready to be placed on a wall as a masterpiece.

And it's not only the Matterhorn which he captured in unprecedented and spectacular manner. He is documenting mountain sceneries of the entire Swiss alps.

I can only recommend to have a look at this exceptional portfolio.

Find the portfolio at link.

Black and White - Weather Phenomenon Photography

The fjords of Norway #1 - Jan Inge Larsen (500px)

Lighting on the Village! - Hasan Mahmud Tipu (500px)

Curtains of Light - Ryan Barnes (500px)

Stormy Day Monochrome - Daniel Ryan (500px)

Where is water? - Zay Yar Lin (500px)

Matterhorn - Black & white film photography

From my recent trip to Zermatt area in Switzerland I brought back a series of exposed medium format films of the Matterhorn. For these black and white images I was using a Lomography Earl Gray 100 black and white film.

It was an experiment. I was using Ilford and Kodak film for black and white before. But this film, I could recommend using it. I certainly will.

Mountain Fog - Landscape Photography

The Swiss Alps from Rigi Kaltbad, Nikon D4

On the left one of my own images shot at Rigi Kaltbad in Central Switzerland on an October evening moments after sunset.

The fog filling up the valley and covering the lake Lucerne like a fluid, the nice textured mountains with first snow in the background, and the red glowing sky.

Sunset behind Mt. Pilatus from Rigi Kulm,
Hasselblad 500c/m, Fujichrome Velvia 100

The beauty of the landscape just shot at the right moment.

More pictures from the same location at link.


On the right a picture shot on film showing the Mount Pilatus at the horizon the last second before sunset. In the foreground the western side of Mount Rigi and in between sculptures of fog like the sea in a heavy storm.

In these two images the fog gives an interesting structure towards the topological bottom of the captured landscape and guides the interest to whatever remains on top of the fogs' surface.

The experienced weather conditions with lower altitude landscape covered in fog and sunny bright weather at upper altitude levels is very typical for the autumn and winter months in Central Switzerland.

More images from the same trip using my analog film setup at link.
And some digital captures at link.

Another simple search for images tagged with "Mountain Fog" in the landscape photography category of 500px.com yields some very interesting photos of mountain landscape under foggy weather conditions.

Before Sunrise by Martin Vaculìk (500px)

Some of them are very similar than the ones presented above with glowing sky, the contrast of the mountains with the sea of fog.

Cloudy Day in Guilin, Gunxi, China
by Mihail Dinichenko (500px)

And other images show more mountain landscape where the foggy weather condition adds a mystical element to the image.

The Art of Light by Matteo Zanvettor (500px)

The fog gives rise to a visual effect that lets these pictures almost look like in watercolour paintings applying soft tonalities of pastel color and some black to add the necessary contrast of the mountain landscape as silhouettes.

Wintertime - Mount Rigi, Switzerland

Selected images from a photo excursion to Mount Rigi in Switzerland.
Mount Rigi offers a scenic 360° panorama of the Swiss alps, the lake Lucerne and central Switzerland. However, on this day the lake and midlands were covered by an endless ocean of fog. Only the tips of the mountains were facing the sunny weather and the blue sky.


Rigi wintertime - Images by Andreas Mueller