Croix de Fer, a photo from Valais, West

Photographer's Note

This is a view from a small peak called Arolette, looking north to the distant snowy Bernese Alps and the nearby peak of Croix de Fer (Iron Cross) on the right. And yes, that's an iron cross on the top of the peak. Luckily there was a person on the summit providing a useful scale. Arolette is just near the border with France, in an area called Les Balmes, and we came to this spot from the French side.

Much of the Bernese Alps can be seen here, from the glaciated Balmhorn on the left to Aletschhorn peeking out from behind the Croix de Fer on the far right. The viewing conditions were superb on this day - exactly the sort of day I was dreaming about as I was planning my trip to the Alps. Dreams do come true!

This is a stitch of 3 photos to produce a panorama. I played around with contrast, saturation, noise reduction etc. in Photoshop to improve the image.

Open in a new tab to see a larger version.

pajaran, papagolf21, NickVu, PaulVDV, PiotrF, COSTANTINO, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-10-13 23:00

Bonjour, Vincent,
Une bien jolie composition valorisant les montagnes enneig馥s en arri鑽e-plan.
Bon choix de cadrage.
Tr鑚 bonne journ馥.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

jemaflor (148260) 2020-10-13 23:08

Hi Vincent,
Great panorama and interesting contrast with this slope on the right side, well presented, perfect details with cross and person on the top on the right side, tfs.

ifege (49465) 2020-10-14 0:09

Hi Vince and neighbour today.
A superb photo from the Swiss Alps and a excellent job of stitching the panorama.
Cheer
Ian

Tue (93458) 2020-10-14 1:59

Hello Vincent,
A beautiful view of the mountain range in the distance, which emerges so beautifully from the pale blue surroundings. Good inclusion of the nearby mountain slope also, as it adds a wonderful contrast.
Lars

Royaldevon (86480) 2020-10-14 5:16

Hello Vincent,

It is surprising just how important that tiny cross and adjacent figure are, to the sense of scale of your photograph.
It is a very interesting panorama, the dark slope creating an excellent sense of depth, whilst the dominance of the distant blues infers height, the mountains merging with the sky.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

emka (158860) 2020-10-14 15:24

Hello Vincent, Splendid wide panorame, successful stitch of three pictures. The coss and the tourist on the peak is so tiny, . I like the contrast of this dark mountain with the snow capped on the horizon.

Best regards MAlgo

lousat (139992) 2020-10-15 1:25

Salut Vincent,vraiment une belle idee',les rochers avec la croix sur la droite sont pareil a une fenetre ouverte sur la vue des montagnes,capture parfaite avec qualite' top. Belle journee' et merci,Luciano

PaulVDV (63478) 2020-10-17 4:22

Hello Vince,
The beauty of this photo isn't visible on the thumbnail but after viewing at normal size.
The composition is excellent.
Impressive with the person and the cross on the top on the right.
Best regards, Paul

PiotrF (56042) 2020-10-17 14:24

Hello Vincent,
A very nice the panoramic view of this place, great mountain landscape.
I like nice colours, good composition and good sharpness.
Fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

holmertz (103642) 2020-10-18 4:23

Hello Vincent,
This is a spectacular view and a fine composition in a well chosen shape. The cross and the man standing next to it may be small but immediately attract my attention. I really like how the nearest dark green and grey mountainside contrasts against the hazy snow covered ditant peaks.
Best regards,
Gert

pajaran (117077) 2020-10-18 9:12

Greeting.
A beautiful mountain with snow, well shown with beautiful colors, contrast, perspective and good text.
Good work, beautiful photography and panorama. A beautiful cross on the mountain.
I wish you all the best.
Paja.

mkamionka (75139) 2020-10-18 12:22

Hi Vincent,
this is one of those views which is so worth to open in a larger view.
The panorama of the snow covered Alps is spectacular itself. The green mountain with a cross and person on top is like English people say "like a cherry on the cake" (or something like that). Brilliant composition, very well turned into a horizontal bookmark from the Alps.
Excellent quality work,
M

COSTANTINO (117814) 2020-10-18 23:00

Hello dear vincent and have
a nice new week
wow!!!!spectacular view from
the highest peak up there!!!
I do not believe that there is
a person on the summit......
welldone
regards
costantino

ChrisJ (172436) 2020-10-30 23:30

Hello Vincent,

A nice wide angled, panoramic view of the snow capped peaks, with the lofty dark crag at right adding depth and layering to the composition. Tfs!