Our adventure begins...
Springtime in the Swiss Alps, such a great time to visit a truly beautiful place. I have long wanted to visit and a Scott Kelby photography workshop provided the perfect opportunity. Landing in Zurich, I was already excited to see the greens, blues, mountains, and lakes outside the window. I knew I was in for an amazing photo safari. Our base for the trip was Interlaken. An easy two hour train ride directly from the airport terminal. As an American I was truly jealous of the Swiss train system. Easy, clean, dependable, and could take us everywhere we needed.
You might expect the colors in Switzerland to feel like they are punched up and they are. We were lucky that the weather forecast improved throughout the week never impacting a shot.
Our group included 13 photographers and two professionals as our guides and mentors. A great group of talented photographers who I admire and push me to grow and be my best. Several of us have been together on workshops all over the world. Workshop days are long to capture the best light. In Switzerland, sunrise isn’t always the best light as the sun has yet to arrive into the many scenic valleys. But when it does the shadows on mountains and brightly lit valleys are spectacular.
Spring gave us plenty of snow on mountain peaks with deep green pastures and glacier fed aqua lakes. It’s as if the entire countryside was viewed with polarized sunglasses. Picture postcard images are seemingly everywhere!
Each workshop includes a model shoot. On our last afternoon we took a funicular high above Interlaken and photographed a beautiful model dressed in a ski outfit. She was complimented perfectly by the snow-capped peaks in the distance. Everyone in our group came away with amazing portraits of Tanya.
Maybe not the best place for anyone afraid of heights, but we traveled by train and gondolas above 10,000 feet for sites including the Matterhorn and Eiger. As the saying goes, “the view is worth the climb”! We were all surprised how many of our best images were captured on a moving train out the lowered windows.
At the end of the workshop on the return to Zurich I stopped along the way in Lucerne for a late afternoon walk around olde town.
Credits:
JJL Photography