Dolomites Tour Blog 2022
The Southern Alps of New Zealand
Follow me on a tour of the Dolomites with world renowned photographers Mads Peter Iversen and Samuel Scicluna.
The legendary Dolomites are a must see on any photographers bucket list. The magnificence and majesty they impose is simply out of this world yet many people will miss such an experience. So come with me as I go on an adventure of a lifetime with two inspiring photographers who will have us up at the crack of dawn for sunrise photos, teach us even more about photography over the course of the day and keep us up late as we capture the sunset and head out for some astrophotography. All the time under their watchful eye to help us get the best experience.
The tour begins in Venice on Sunday July 31st and ends back in Venice on August 7th so be sure to bookmark this page and come back once the tour begins to read and see what I have been doing each day.
The Adventure Begins
The first step on our adventure has taken us from New Zealand to the other side of the world. Leaving our beautiful country for the distant shores of the United Kingdom.
Today I headed for Venice to meet up with the rest of the Team on what will be an epic time spent in the Dolomites.
It was a bit of an adventure even getting to Gatwick Airport as there is some industrial action today which put a number of train routes out of action but here I am and ready to go. I just hope my bags arrive in the same place as me at the same time as whilst I have my critical camera gear with me, the balance of all my gear is in my pack which hopefully is in the luggage hold!!
Big shoutout to F-Stop for an amazing Pack (an F-Stop Tiploa) - have put so much stuff in it that I am truly amazed at what it can carry.
Getting There
Heading to the Dolomites
Today we leave beautiful Venice and head north to the Dolomites. A couple of participants had flight delays so we will pick them up on the way. I think the journey will be around 3 hours before we reach our Rifugio - our mountain accommodation for the night. We will have a late lunch and then head out for a sunset shoot which should be fun and a good introduction to how each day will pan out. I am sure Mads and Sam have a plan!
It was my intention to write a small piece every day on my tour, but there was simply no time to do this, nor was there internet coverage in some of the areas we ventured into. So I have resorted to writings after the tour to tell my story of what we did each day the wonderful experience I had with a team of fellow photographers.
Day 1
Santa Maddelena Church
This was essentially a travel day to pick up everyone from their hotels and make our way to the Dolomites. Two participants had travel disruptions, so we had to meet them on the way. We caught up with Frerk, who was on his way from Hamburg to Bolzano. As we had a while to wait for Michiko to arrive at the train station Sam decided on a small detour to capture the church of Santa Maddelena. We parked the vans and began making our way to a location across meadows from the church so we could also capture some of the mountainous peaks in the background. It was a bit of a trek up the road from the carpark and some of us were thinking that the whole trip was going to have similar hikes. A number were also thinking some gym work could have been advisable prior to the trip. The walk was only about 2 Km but the climb over this distance was a little over 100m.
Santa Maddelana Church is simply beautiful and created a centrepiece to the image, with rolling meadows in the foreground and towering alps shadowing the church. As this was mid-afternoon, the light wasn’t ideal, but we still captured an amazing vista, pulling some colour out of the mountains with the sun behaving nicely to light the church.
Sunset - Chiesetta San Giovanni in Ranui
With Michiko joining the team we then headed off for a late lunch to satisfy our hunger and thirst. Great Italian food on offer all week was certainly a treat. We then drove to Chiesetta San Giovanni for a sunset shoot. Again, this is simply a beautiful church with a similar backdrop of the Alps. Thankfully a shorter walk was only required, and a number of other photographers and tourists joined us at the chosen vantage point to get the best view of the church. This composition called for a vertical shot to pull the church out of the immense landscape and give it some presence, but still using the mountains as the backdrop to give it contrast and scale. The sun didn’t behave and whilst we got some colour, it was not as intense as we had hoped. This just reinforces the challenges we all have as photographers, capturing the right light at the right moment. We then headed to our first Rifugio for the night – Rifugio Halslhutte. Rifugios come in a variety of styles, but generally have shared room or dormitory sleeping quarters. They may be small but are generally comfortable and after an early morning shoot and evening shoot, it doesn’t take long to fall into a slumber.
Day 2
Sunrise - Passo Dell Erbe (Mount Sass de Putia)
A 4.30am start to the day had everyone sleepily staggering around the Rifugio to get ready before departing at 5.00am for our sunrise shoot at Passo Dell Erbe to photograph Mount Sass de Putia. This magnificent mountain can be shot from two distinct locations. The first is a classic shot using the roots of trees in the foreground creating defined leading lines to take the viewer to the mountain. The other is a little hike away where sprawling meadows, often with wildflowers, creates the foreground canvas for an expansive lead to the mountain. The cattle had been grazing the meadow so there weren’t as many flowers as we wished, but we able to capture the windblown layers of grass to lead the viewer to the mountain. One of the key elements I learned on this trip was to move around the location as standing still severely limits your shooting options. The challenge with this is making sure you do this well before the sun rises so that you have figured out where you want to be as the glimmer of golden light creeps over the horizon. I hadn’t quite got this aspect sorted and had to sprint back to my favoured location as the sun’s ray began painting the mountain ‘s peak. Fortunately, I had just enough time to recompose my shot and myself to capture the beauty that evolved before me. We then headed back to the Rifugio for breakfast and plenty of coffee and a recharge of our batteries for the next shoot.
Sunset - Seceda
We farewelled our hosts and took a drive through the magnificent countryside, through small villages bustling with locals and tourists to our next destination. We were heading for Seceda, a renowned location and great photography. We took a gondola up the mountainside which was some relief as it took us to an altitude of 2000m. The clear sunny skies made it a nice trip up the mountain, where we then hiked for 20 minutes to our next Rifugio. Noting this was a downhill hike, raised the thought of trekking back uphill for the sunset shoot. After a nice lunch and settling into our accommodation, a little rest and relax before heading out for the sunset shoot. The Rifugio had made a us some sandwiches to take with us as we would not be back for dinner. This would set the scene for each day – big late lunch and a sandwich for dinner with very nice Italian produce.
This shoot was going to be a little unusual as we needed to take another chairlift to get to the ridge way about the Rifugio. This would take us to 2500m and as the lift closed at 4.30, we would need to walk back down to the Rifugio in the dark flowing sunset. All good fun and just part of the adventure. On reaching the top ridge the challenge was then to scout for locations to shoot from. The area was so vast that some of team took off in different directions. Most popular was a stand of purple flowers, perhaps Lupins, in the foreground to bring some additional colour to the frame. I found some other spots to shoot from, but the sun wasn’t quite reaching those areas. There was a lot of scattered cloud in the area which posed some challenges in seeking golden light. We were fortunate in getting some rays of light penetrating the cloud layer and lighting up the rolling hills in the mid ground. We were joined by a paraglider who swooped by us on several occasions to add to the experience. Once the sun had gone, we then began heading down the mountain. A few meters down it began to rain, with the odd thunderclap in the background as the sky got darker and night began to set in. The shower was brief, but it made for slipper conditions on some areas of the descent
Day 3
Sunrise - Seceda (Mount Sasso Lungo)
Sunrise was a challenge on this morning as there was considerable cloud and not so much as a glimmer of the sun. This was just another challenge for us, and we needed to look and discover layers of colour and compositions that would create interest for the viewer. Not too much time spent out at the location before it was time to head back to the Rifugio for breakfast and pack up before trekking out to the gondola for our ride down the mountain.
Sunset - Lagazuoi
Lagazuoi Rifugio is set on the peak of the gondola ride, however as with most gondola’s, there are normally pylons that we traverse on the way to the end. The difference here was that there was only the beginning and end pylons with none in between as the ride was almost vertically up the face of the mountain! It was also one of the single gondola’s the size of a small bus so standing room only. At the top a small hike up to the Rifugio where we settled into lunch and for those who wanted to rest. I had previously done some research into the area and learned that there were many tunnels cut out of the mountainside in the war and used as defence posts against the invading enemy. These were literally chiselled through one side of the mountain through to the other side, providing a small siting point to spot and shoot at the enemy. Exploring these was fascinating – to see the effort they went to in creating these and the intricate support mechanisms they used to hold the roof of the tunnels up, preventing them from collapsing. Naturally stunning uninterrupted views across the valleys, easily spotting the advancing armies.
I went further down the valley to explore more views of the mountains trying to find light skimming the tops. I wasn’t rewarded with stunning light, but it was a good walk down and a hefty hike back up. A very welcomed beer was had back at the Rifugio.
Sunset beckoned and we were fortunate to shoot off the balcony of the Rifugio – so no hiking!
The sun danced across the landscape clipping different peaks as it slowly set below the horizon. The colours reflected from the mountains changed the landscape dramatically as we shifted our focus from peak to peak and back again as the sun’s position changed. A remarkable experience and plenty of photographic opportunities.
Milky Way - Lagazuoi
As we reviewed our images on our cameras the light faded and darkness fell from above to allow the Milky Way to emerge from the darkness. A little challenging with some residual light pollution but still rewarding.
Day 4
Sunrise - Lagazuoi
We reunited with our balcony the next morning to shoot from the same position but with the sun entering from the opposite direction and skipping across the same mountains but clipping different aspects and formations of the mountains. The sunrise was over too quickly to capture everything with a couple of people traversing beyond the balcony to reach a different aspect and view behind the Rifugio. It will be exciting to see their images in the future.
Sunset - Forcella Lavardo
After breakfast it was time to head down the mountain in the gondola and drive to our next location – the magnificent Tre Cime area. Tre Cime is a very popular are with both locals and tourists venturing to this famous area. We fond the carpark full on our arrival and were directed away by the local Police along with many others. We continued down the road and, with many cars parked by the roadside, and found a small but again popular lake nearby, had a short visit to shoot some images before heading to lunch. Following a sumptuous feed, we then headed up the mountain to the carpark at the Sentiero Rifugio. A quick repack of the clothing that we needed before having lunch and checking in.
And so began our biggest hike to date to Forcella Lavardo. This gave us a superb view of Tre Cime as we passed the tower giants and made our way to the saddle. From here we took a steepish climb to the lookout point hoping the sun and clouds would be kind and express themselves through colour. Clear skies greeted us as we waited patiently for the sun to set. Whilst we were rewarded with stunning views and a magnificent environment to soak up the atmosphere, the clouds did not help us in our pursuit of colour. As light was fading as we made our way down the steep section and began our long trek toward the Rifugio.
Milky Way - Cappella degli Alpinisti
On our return we stopped at the Cappella degli Alpinisti church as the sun had long ago set which allowed the Milky Way emerged from the darkness. Some light pollution in the distance provided us with some small challenges but we were happy with the images we shot. A relatively short hike back to the Rifugio for some well-earned rest.
Day 5
Sunrise - Cadini di Misurina
We headed out before 5am on the Thursday as it was a bot of a trek to our next location to get the best view of the Cadini di Misurina. I forgot my glasses in my rush to get on the hike, so had to return to get them and then catch up with the others – good for the fitness but perhaps not after our long hike the previous day. Mads was kind enough to position himself on a small ledge so we could get some scale into our images, showing the towering giants before us.
Sunset - Tre Cime di Lavaredo / Monte Paterno
Whilst we had trekked our way to Tre Cime the previous day, today we needed to do the same trek and then more to get to the next valley and the Rifugio Lavaredo. Once reaching the saddle at Tre Cime, there are two ways of reaching the Rifugio. One is a gentler smooth roadway the falls into the valley and then climbs out. The other is more technical as it traverses the mountainside without loosing very much elevation, so less climbing. However, it is narrow and as we discovered, the odd rockfall compromised the track a little. One of our party did slip a little on the track and recovered with some grazes but all good. Interestingly in this incident, the first thing we rescued was the drone!!! – a photographer’s priority?!
We had a great lunch on arrival and some beer as were extremely thirsty and the weather was very hot. We explored the area in the afternoon to get a sighting into where we might shoot sunset tonight and sunrise the next morning. There were so many vantage points it was hard to decide – on the mountainside overlooking the Rifugio and Tre Cime in the background, shoot out of one of the caves for a similar view, down on the flat to expose the tower mountains. So, it was pick one and stick with it. I elected to do the mountainside as it gave me good options for sunset and our Milky Way shots.
Milky Way - Tre Cime di Lavaredo
My mountainside position I think was really good with clear view of Tre Cime as a silhouette with the Milky Way bursting out from one of the peaks. A little challenging as many of our group were on the lower ground but in my mid ground, and there was the occasional trekker wandering across the landscape with their headlight blasting through the darkness, but I guess that is all part of the experience. The Rifugio was lit with its inside lights so I am hoping I have got my exposures correct bring this out in my images – post processing will soon tell the storey. After a late night it was a short trek down the slopes to the Rifugio for a good nights sleep even if was going to be short.
Day 6
Sunrise - Laghi dei Piani / Tre Cime di Lavaredo / Monte Paterno
Such is the expanse of the area we had a number of locations to select our shoot from. I decided I wanted to try and get Monte Paterno as a reflection in Laghi dei Piani so off I trekked on my own down to the shores of the lake. It was a little muddy on the foreshore where the cattle had been but stable enough on the odd rock to support my tripod. There was a very light breeze affecting the far side of the lake but the water in my foreground was mostly still and providing some good reflections. As the sun rose it clipped some of the mountains and left some in shade, but as it rose higher much of Monte Paterno was bathed in sunlight. I was quite happy with what I got on screen so will wait and see the result once processed. It was a bit of a climb back up from the lake that Sam had warned me about but not too arduous, so it was back to the Rifugio for breakfast before packing to leave.
Naturally we had to hike back to the main Rifugio and whilst we left quite early there were many hikers on the way up to the area for their day walk – children included which was great to see. Too often we don’t explore our surroundings and spend too much time in the city. We need to be out in the wilderness more as it is an exciting and wonderous experience.
Sunset - Cinque Torri
Cinque Torri or Five Towers is a really interesting place to visit. Not only do you have towering rock towers above you, but it is also the location for an outdoor war museum of tunnels and artifacts that were used to defend their positions against the incoming enemies Fascinating history of what it was like and to see what they constructed was a nice experience.
So, onto sunset and the weather closed in on us with rain developing in the afternoon along with thunder and lightning. Whilst sun was what we were after, photographers need to adapt to what nature throws at them, so this was a good challenge to find creative images amongst the clouds and rock formations. We tried to capture some lightning but that proved too difficult, even using timelapse and long exposures so we narrowed our focus to details in the surrounding rock formations enveloped with soft whispery clouds. Interestingly we could also see Rifugio Lagazuoi from this location way high up on the mountain behind us.
Day 7
Sunrise - Cinque Torri
A clearing sky greeted us the next morning as we ventured out for sunrise. This shoot was directly into the sun, creating a silhouette of Cinque Tori in the midground. Sun stars were the order of the day as it peeked from behind Cinque Tori, along with wildflowers in the immediate foreground. Some interesting misty layers created an unusual atmosphere so hopefully some interesting images to come.
Sunset - Baita Segantini
We left the Rifugio following breakfast and headed to Baita Segantini and its local Rifugio. Quite a drive up the hill to get this location, and whilst the weather wasn’t kind, the towering giants before us inspired us to shoot dramatic images of rock, cloud, and mist which kept rolling in and disappearing. So much so that we lost sight of some of our group in the fog – they soon reappeared as the fog dissipated and we were reunited.
Day 8
Sunrise - Baita Segantini
The overnight predictions for sunrise weren’t good and it was anticipated that we would be shrouded in cloud along with our beloved mountains. We woke to a clearing sky so panic set in as we rushed to get dressed and drive up the hill to our shooting location. Just as we parked the van, the sun appeared so we all rushed done to the lake’s edge to capture the reflection of the mountains with the sun dancing across the peaks. Such was the panic there was no time to close the doors on the van as we sprinted to the lake. Within seconds the rays of light had disappeared – those of us who were at the lake first managed to capture some images, whereas those who were late missed out. Such are the mysteries of nature and how she responds to the world around her.
Journey’s End
Day 8 beckoned the last day of our adventure. A truly awe-inspiring week immersed in the mountains that gave so much to us. Coming from different parts of the world with different levels of experience we were all very grateful for the guidance and effort that both Sam and Mads put in to making this tour truly memorable for us all – an experience we will never forget. We came away having made new friends across the globe, and learned so much, not only from Sam and Mads but also from each other. We also recognised and respected the fact that were in natures hands and in a UNESCO World Heritage Centre area, so we took only photos and left only footprints.