Success at Cerro Torre
I’m just back from el Chalten, the northern region of Los Glaciares national park. This is my third time here, because every other time I’ve come, the weather has played tricks with me – as it has done with other photographers and climbers alike.
This region is notorious for really unpredictable bad weather, so I had no idea if I was going to strike lucky this time.
This is a file, straight from my Canon 5D. All I’ve done is set the levels in Photoshop.
I’m pretty knackered. I’ve spent three days hiking around this area with an unusually heavy backpack that has contained all my camping gear, head torch so I can see where I’m going in the mornings before sunrise, and of course, a lot of Canon lenses including a 400mm.
I’ve had mice rummaging around my tent at night – they’ve chewed spoons, cups and the nozzle of my camelback water carrier, and I feel sleep deprived – it’s hard camping out when the temperature at night plummets below zero. I think it must have easily gone past -5 as winter seems to have come early to Patagonia. Then there has been the early starts, getting up in the cold, to trek over some glacier moraine with a head torch on in the dark, so I can make photographs. For what? I must be bonkers.
But it was a beautiful sight. Once I had chosen my spot (the foreground iceberg was so beautiful), I just watched as the light hit the glaciers (on the left hand side of the shot) and watched as everything just came together so nicely, almost like it was a film set.
In the image you can see Cerro Torre mountain set in the background to Laguna Torre which has some ice bergs in it. Last week the weather was so foul here that the entire Laguna froze up. It’s a very wintery shot this, and I can vouch for it in terms of how cold I was in my sleeping bag each night.
All I did for this shot was put the tripod down very, very low, used a 17-40L lens at around f8 for 10 seconds with a 3 stop hard grad on and a polariser. I’m not usually a fan of polarisers, and even though this scene is directly facing east, the polariser really does change the blues in the sky to a more saturated colour.
And the last thing I did was shoot constantly. I was scared to move because I felt the composition was so good, and the light would perhaps be gone in a few minutes time… so I just shot, checked the composition and kept on shooting some more.
When I review the images on the screen of the 5D, it’s interesting to see how the light changed so fast and how the best colours were so fleeting.
I’m over the moon about this shot. It’s taken me 3 years, and three return trips to this godforsaken place to get this image. I couldn’t have imagined it being any better.
Fantastic shot,I hope you managed to get a panorama ? well worth the cold, let me know if you plan on shooting in the Pacific North West, I’ll show you around. Ross (ex pat)
Comment by rossmurphy — 16 April, 2008 @ 2:35 am
Hi,
this is a great shot. I love the soft colours, they are so harmonic. All the trouble was definitely worth it.
(Still, you shouldn’t be cold in your tent at -5 Celsius, what are you using, UK gear? :D kidding)
Thanks for this blog as well it is very nice to share your experience (good and bad) with the rest of the world
Comment by Dumitru — 16 April, 2008 @ 5:17 am
Brilliant shot Bruce, I love the foreground with the opaque reflections.
Comment by CalMac — 16 April, 2008 @ 6:08 am
Well done Bruce, that’s superb. I think you should treat yourself to one of these fine locally brewed beers from the Chelten brewery. The mice chewed our stuff when we were there too, wee blighters. But all worth it!
Comment by Teen — 16 April, 2008 @ 7:38 am
Many thanks for all your kind words.
Dimitri – I did leave home with the wrong sleeping bag. I thought I’d only need a cheap 4 season one, and not my nice expensive Mountain Hardwear down filled one. I reckon it was a lot more like -15 out there.
Ross – thanks for the offer, very kind of You.
Calmac – thanks. I love the opaque reflections also.
Teen – I had a nice beer last night, along with a nice comfy bed and a private room. No more hostel room sharing for me! Luxury!
Comment by Bruce Percy — 16 April, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
Hi Bruce,
Great photo. Your story reminded me of how great it is to get somewhere totally stunning and spend some time there as the environment changes, just watching everything that’s happening around you.
I’m envious of your success there – when I trekked all the way over to this spot from the camp at Capri, all I got was 100% cloud covered sky, hanging so low that there was no sign of Cerro Torre. But after so many times of being there, I’m glad you’ve had the success you were looking for!
Niall
Comment by Niall Connaughton — 16 April, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
Hi Bruce, I am Montse, from Barcelona. Do you remember me? We were having dinner in Chaltén in “La Tapera”’ restaurant. I’ve looked at the photos of your web page and they are wonderful. We had a sunny day the next day we met there, and I could see the Fitz Roy and the Cerro Torre, at last!
Take care, good health and good luck. See you.Montse
Comment by montserrat.serra-ferrer — 16 April, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
What a beautiful image. Stunning.
Your site as a whole is inspiring to a seasoned traveler that is new to the art of photography.
Thank you.
Comment by Boondocker — 21 April, 2008 @ 6:53 pm
Hi Bruce… The thing that stands out to me in this shot its the clarity of the Ice. Unreal!!Almost like something manufactured and placed in the lake…
I would love to accompany you on one of these treks… I have the gear and the experience… and I wouldnt slow you down promise!!!
Love this shot!!!
Kel
Comment by kellyrountree — 2 May, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
Bruce its perfect! All the time and effort has paid off for sure because the result is stunning. Nice work as always.
Comment by notegra — 8 May, 2008 @ 11:53 pm