Alex Esseling landscape & wilderness photography

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March 18, 2018August 31, 2019
by alex_esseling

After a windy night in the tent in the mountains of Torridon, we were greeted with this beautiful sight of Liathach. The clouds where moving fast over the ridge. Today the winners of the Scottish Landscape Photography of the year have been announced. Check out the winners such as @alexnail or my buddy @rorymarland who won a commendation in this year's competition. You won't regret it and congrats to all other winners. — The grip

Mykines

Passing storm

King in the north

The views from one of the many mountains peaks of the Monte Rosa massifs are always breathtaking. Seeing the huge walls of ice and rock and mountaineers as small black dots puts everything into relation.

#317 from the #Alps | #Italy — Monte Rosa Mountains Views

Háifoss

Northern spain

It is easy to guess why this mountain is called Schwarzhorn (black horn). In a world full of ice and snow everything that is not covered in white looks dark. Eventhough there are some mountaineers in this picture, the picture itself only gives you a small glimpse of how big and high the area is where this picture was taken. — Schwarzhorn

Another picture from the moonshine shooting in the Dolomites last autumn. Majestic mountains, clear sky, moonshine and the milky way are good ingredients for night shots, although the milky way would be more prominent without the moon. For the technical guys the panorama consists of 15 single shot exposures. — Moonshine kingdom III

There are several low mountain areas such as the Sauerland area in Germany. All of them are rich on myths and sagas. On days like these you know exactly why there are so many around. The constant battle between sun and clouds gives you this eerie feeling that witches, wolfs and other fairy-tale creatures are just around the next tree. — Fairy-tale stories

Moonset

It is always a pleasure seeing a (full)-moon descending up behind a ridge-line. Paring this with a beautiful sunrise and some snow-capped mountains makes it even better. This shot came more or less by surprise and wasn't planned at all. As my buddy Riccardo Zambelloni Photography and I were roaming through an area in the French Alps I noticed that the moon could descend somewhere behind the ridge-line but wasn't really sure where exactly. I quickly grapped my phone, opened the app #Photopills, went into argumented reality module and looked where the moon will set. There is lots of technology out there helping you to create your images in mind but the most important part is your own creativity. — Moonset

Fairy tales

Infinity

Faroese puffin

Incoming storm

Torridonian views

Last year I did some mountain climbing in a high mountain ranges in the Italian Alps with my dad. In order acclimatize we did some 6-7 hours tours in "lower" ranges for 3-4 days prior to go to higher areas around 4k. One evening I checked out an area and observed a thunderstorm passing by. It is always facinating to see how mountains can devide dangerous from safe weather conditions. — Weather divide

Fairytale views

Monte Cervino

The spike

The Faroe Islands is a little archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Iceland. It consists of 18 islands which are either connected via subsea tunnels, ferries or helicopter. When you reach the cliffs you get the feeling that you are standing at the edge of the world. At this particular location the shore was full of wooden flotsam and jetsam which makes you think where this all came from? — At the edge of the world

Golden times

The hills in the Sauerland mountain ridge are usually covered by forests. There are some exceptions like the Kahler Asten. The reason for this is a high heath. In early December the whole area was nicely covered with fresh snow, whereas the rest of the month unfortunately didn't get much it. — The sentinel

An image from a beautiful morning in the Dolomites. The mist in the valley started to crawl up slowly from the valley into the mountains, just to be vanished by the sun a few minutes later. I saw these patches of wild flowers which were touched by the first light while I wandering through the larches. I'm already looking forward to the next trip to these beautiful mountain range. — A touch of light

Formed by mother nature

This is a new image from my trip to the southern coast of Portugal. I have been working on this image now for a while since I am back. I started a couple of times editing this image and othes from the same location. In the end there were two shots where I needed to make a decision which of them I would like to publish. I put the other image into a Whatsapp group with other photography friends and let them judge the image as I wasn't 100% sure. In the end I kept the editing style and simply put a minimal different composition out. Thanks @northawayphotography , @photoxscape , @erenatis, @jarrodtobeck, @rorymarland and @riccardozambelloni for all the great critique. Check out their profiles if you haven't, you won't regred it! — Critique

Lómagnúpur

From the summit to the sea it is not a long distance in the Faroe Islands. The mountains are often shaped in the forms of pyramids due to the volcanic origin and close to one of the many fjords. — Fjord view

Watching the sunset at the edge of this cliff in the Faroe Islands reminded me a lot to the movie Jurassic Park. It would not be a surprise if where dinosaurs around if only there would be a jungle around. But that's not the case in these lovely islands. — Forgotten world

The traverse

Snow steps

Misty morning

Búðakirkja

Badlands II

Spring blues

This is an image from trip to the Dolomites back in 2016 with Riccardo Zambelloni Photography. The memories of this beautiful morning are still vivid and I do remember the numb fingers which I had shooting in subzero temperatures as well as highly humid conditions. It took me a long time to finish this image as I was not really satisfied with the editing I applied over the years. Reason for this was a strange blueish hue in the sky. It might not be perfect but I don't think that I will ever reach perfection with this image. Hopefully you enjoy the view as much I do. — Famous views

Dragon tail

Fog & Rain

Hazy summer days

Let's continue with another glacial shot from the Alps around Chamonix, France. Undeniable it is a picturesque mountain area and I really loved taking pictures of those mountains and glaciers. Especially when the light is as good as on that evening, I easily understand why both photographers and mountaineers alike a drawn to this area. — Aiguille du Midi

Kirkjufell foss

Vincentpyramide

Hidden popularity

The wild mountains

Am Monadh Dubh

Bavarian pearl

Thus is probably the most famous lighthouse in the Faroe Islands. At the end of an island this little island marks the way for ships and offers great views towards one of the highest sea cliffs in the world. Definitely worth the little hike to this view point. — Faroese lighthouse

Icelandic icon

Many of the small villages in the Faroe Islands are located somewhere hidden in the Fjords. This one is at the end of a single track after passing through several single-track tunnels. This alone is worth the trip but with the view towards some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe in the back, it is even better. — Remoteness

Quiraing classic

Although this scene looks pretty relaxing, you should always be cautious while walking on glaciers. Glaciers are beautiful and devious at the same time. Often the most dangerous things are slightly covered by snow and ice and barley visible. Walking in roped parties becomes inevitable as well as to have knowledgeable and experienced guide. At this point I would like to thank our guides Thomas and Gernot for a memorable tour. — Mindfulness

There aren't many badlands areas within Europe. This particular area is famous for its canyons, plateaus and tabular structures due the mixture of clay, chalk and sandstone which is formed over time by rain and wind. — Formed by time

While exploring the French Alps last year, I saw this beautiful shaped mountain from the distance. I decided to explore the region and came across this vista. While we had some challenging weather throughout the trip with blue bird skies in the morning and cloudy evenings, it a bit of light made through clouds every now and then. — The mad mountains

Sometimes in landscape photography it is important to simply turn around. Often you can be distracted by the big sceneries which are in front of you. As my buddy @RoryMarland and myself were shooting a amazing sea cliff in the Faroes Islands, I turned around saw these beautiful sunrays peaking through the clouds at the end of the horizont. — Sunrays

Hidden waterfalls

Reminiscence of the past

A picture taken on a windy, cold but sunny morning in the north of Scotland. The area is home to one of the rocks in the Europe and the world but also to million of midges in summertime. Luckily there were no midges around at that point in time of the year. — Far north

There is lots of trophy hunting in landscape photography and sometimes for a good reason. Some locations are just breath taking as well photogenic. That's why you see so many pictures of them. However, I prefer to explore new locations more than going to the popular places. On my last trip to the Dolomites I hiked up to this new location and hoped that it will turn out well. In fact, I'm very pleased with the result as I haven't seen any similar pictures from there. — New perspectives

Faroese Coastline

Tindhólmur

The realm of the druids

Háifoss

Loch Toll an Lochain

Arkle

One of the many waterfalls in Iceland. It's not one the spectacular ones, however, the water is flowing down nicely. — Stjórnarfoss

This little path leads into the core of Cinque Torri in the Dolomites. The towers and area have been a battle station during WWI. You can still see the leftovers from the war as they have been maintained as a museum for future generations. — Into the core

High winds

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The mountain ranges you can see in the front of the image are called "The Black Cuillins" and "The Red Cuillins", whereas in the background of the image you can see the beautiful hills of Torridon. It is fairly easy to understand why the Cuillins might have got their names. — The Cuillins

Moonshine kingdom

I have posted a smiliar picture some month ago from the same location in the French Alps. I would like to show you what the difference a couple of minutes can make in terms of light. While the first images was definetly clearer as you can see details in the back, this images stands out to its lensflareish glow which the first sunlight caused in my camera sensor. I like both images in their own way. Which one do you prefer? — First light

Before everything will start to bloom in fresh green, one more picture from my last trip to the Dolomites. From this view point you can the see the beautiful church of Colle Santa Lucia. — Golden days

Seeing the moon setting behind majestic mountains covered in snow and ice is simply beautiful. These moments are always a pleasure to remember when I am browsing through the myriads of images on my disks every now and then. That is why I don't mind editing old pictures as they help me relive these moments in a certain way. — Moonset kingdom

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Isolation

Katla

Goðafoss

The Forge

High cliffs

Heather bloom

Simplicity

On the shoulders of giants

You can plan many shots in landscape photography in advance but sometimes it is just luck, an instinct or an idea that helps to capture great moments in the outdoors. There were chances that I would miss some great colors in the higher other direction due to my spontaneous decision to hike up the ridge close to sunset. I had no idea of the views on the other side would be good or not. Until now I don't regret my decision and enjoy the good memories of this great evening, a very steep ascend through snowfields and view towards one of the great north-faces of the Alps. — Grand Jorasses

Misty conditions

Basque shoreline

Snow chaos

Icelandic resemblance

Portguese Coastline

The spine of Suilven

There are still many shots from last years trip to the Dolomites in autumn. This one is portrait version of my previous published picture. Slightly different approach to the processing. As I'm not sure which one I like more, I leave that up to you. — Autumnal reflection

Lundi

Nordic pyramids

Golden Skye

Inside the canyon

The Peitlerkofel (Sas de Pütia) is gorgeous mountain peak in the Dolomites. Its prominent location in the north of the mountain range offers great views deep into the Dolomites but also towards the main chain of the Alps in the north. The summit is reachable via a via ferrata which starts at the end of the trail in the shadows. — In the shadows

This image was taken last year at the beginning of June in the French Alps on a trip with Riccardo Zambelloni Photography. Whereas the lower valleys where already in full spring mood, the higher parts of the mountains were still covered deeply in snow. During the trip we had plenty of options for compositions. From wintry images such as this one to more spring related pictures. Soon I will be off again with Riccardo Zambelloni Photographyi and Alex Leeder to explore a new area in Europe which I have not seen until now. Let's see what Snowdonia has to offer for us. — Change of seasons

Views of Assynt

Autumnal sunrise

Waterfall of the gods

Erosion

Second time I hiked up to the summit of the An Teallach mountain area. Second time I had to struggle with no clouds during sunset and sunrise. However, the the view towards the ridge next to Sgurr Fiona is still one of Scotland's finest. — Sgurr Fiona and the Corrag Buidhe pinnacles

Risin & Kellingin

This slot canyon was a hidden meeting place of druids centuries ago. Today it is a meeting point of photographers, tourists and locals who are enjoying natures beauty. — Hidding meeting place

Spring hyacinth

The Barre des Écrins is the most southern and western 4000er mountain in the European Alps. The summit is surrounded by 4 glaciers within the national park. The next higher mountains are more than 100km away in the Mont Blanc massif. Seeing the first light hitting a mountain top is always something beautiful, especially when the views are as great as this one. — Barre des Écrins

Trident

Faroese puffin

Ice cap

Minimalism

Gásadalur

Small mountain path

At the end of Kalsoy there is nothing except water, clouds, beautiful light and a little lighthouse. Oh I forgot about the sheep. There are plenty of them in the Faroe Islands. — At the end

It is always a challenge to decide what of your photography gear to bring on mountain tips. Every single piece adds weight to your backpack that takes it toll. As a photographer I would love to have a lighter backpack from time to time but I cannot imagine going out without a camera or the right amount of equipment. For this glacier hike I decided to go "lightweight". That is why I only brought two lenses: A 16-35mm and 100-400mm as well as my fullframe camera. — Ice structures

Frosty morning view

Stone sculptures

While the north and middle of Germany suffered from the intensity of the storm Herwart last autumn, the Dolomites only got the last pieces of it. Even though there were high winds and dramatic clouds, no rainfall has come down in couple of days. — Herwart

Moonstar

he north-west of Scotland is a quite unique landscape. The mountains are monoliths in a wide scenery surrounded by myriads of Lochs. Last year we decided to camp up on Suilven despite high winds of 60mph. There haven't been many places to put up the tent but one. The winds made it quite difficult to shot picture with the tripod as they would be simply blown away. However, here and there it was possible to use the tripod and take picture of the beautiful surroundings. — Rough conditions

An Teallach and Sgurr Fiona

Mountain heart

If you look very carefully you can see two mountaineers on top of the mountain. It took me a bit to realize this. The view must have been amazing but the temperatures even more freezing than where we were standing. — Morning climbs

Natural fireworks

Vertigo

This is one of the most famous view in the Dolomites all year long. During summer you are more less never alone on that location during sunset and sunrise, however I didn't expect (so) many people up there in late autumn. I heard quite a few terrible stories from some friends while they were shooting on particular locations. Luckily I have encountered only one bad experience on all of my trips. Most of the times I met interesting and nice people from all over the world who respected each other and left enough space so that everybody could pursue his/her photographic vision. Just a small advice. If you have to pass through through somebodys frame or need to step into the frame, please simply ask the other photographer if that is okay. It won't hurt ;) Many thanks to @kimjenssenphotography @marcograssiphotography and Alexiev Photography for the great time up there. Please check out their photography pages, you won't regret it. — The golden mountains

While scouting a new location during sunset in autumn I came across this beautiful view in the Dolomites. The valley below is famous among photographers as the mountains outside this image are just gorgeous. — Sideways

A beautiful inversion layer in the north-west of Scotland. I took this picture during a trip at the beginning of May. Often people associate Scotland with rain and wind. During my last trips I barely had rain but the wind was intense. The poles of my tent are still bend from that trip. — Layers

Icelandic puffin

This image came by accident. I had the scouted the location the evening before and had something completely different in mind. The conditions however were not as I would like to have same. Nonetheless, the light was very beautiful in a complete different direction. I simple turned around, switch my lens from wide angle to tele and here we go. That is why it is important not to be stiffened on a certain composition at location. Rather it will bring you more joy if you approach locations openly and see what the landscape has to offer to you. Until know I have no knowledge about the name of this mountain range or what the mountain is called which I framed. Happy to hear if you know this mountain. — Unknown territory

Desert structures

Formed by the sea

Area of retreat

The Bardenas Reales are a semi-desert in the northern part of Spain. From this viewpoint the small valleys formed by erosion over time look like a labyrinth from an ancient Greek saga. — Labyrinth

Church mountain

Alpine drama

Thundery weather conditions

Italian roar

Faroese puffin

Red Cuillins

Purple rolling hills are not a common sight you imagine when you think about the Netherlands. However, this small and fragile area shows the opposite. Heather fields such as this one are particular beautiful during their flowering season. — Rolling hills

Misty mountains II

Dragon tail II

Badlands

Deep in space

Coolin' down

The beauty of glaciers in the Alps is simply to grasp. They appear majestic, indestructible and long-lasting until eternity. While hiking through the mountains the last couple of years, you can quickly see that they beautiful structures are heavily suffering from increasing temperatures. They retreat can easily be spot everywhere in the mountains and the speed is ever increasing. With the latest heatwave in central Europe - 42.6 degrees Celsius as a new all-time-high in Germany - I fear that the speed of destruction this will increase one more time. And more importantly it is not only targeting glaciers and mountains areas. Most trees and other plants such as heather are heavily being damaged at the moment. Sad days for landscape photography... — Transience

Wetterumschwung

Stegosaurus

Rugged

Deception

Buachaille Etive Mòr

Hidden in the fog

Another picture from last year's trip to the northwest of Scotland where we had beautiful weather for a whole week. However, camping in the mountains was not as easy as expected (it never is in Scotland). High winds limited the possibilities for pitching up the tent. Gusts of more than 60mph also limited the options for shooting with the tripod. In the end one flank of the mountain was a bit sheltered and we were able use the tripod and shoot the sunrise. Can you see the tent? That was more or less the only place for our tent. — High winds

"Reading" the weather in the mountains is a very important thing to do. It can quickly change from blue bird skies to dark thundery and dangerous conditions within short time-frames. You better turn back to safety rather than reaching the summit or your planned destination. On this occasion we made just in time back to hut where we could safely enjoy the thunderstorm raging outside. — Weather signs

There are 37 words for fog in Faroese language. Each of them has a specific use case such as pollamjørki. One translation I found is "low-lying fog with good weather above". I hope I picked the correct one out of the 37! — Pollamjørki

Through the clouds

Elduvík

Skogafoss

Golden light

Black and white mirror

The Dolomites are probably one of the most dramatic mountain area in the Alps. Currently, the region presents itself with beautiful golden autumn colors, whereas wild flowers bloom everywhere in summer. Each season has its own gems. — Memories of summer

The coast of southern Portugal offers great views and at the right tide level also good photographic options. Even though the rushing water around your legs feels great, for a photographer this does mean a lot of effort afterwards. Saltwater is the enemy for most of the gear. Corrosion in between the parts can quickly lead to broken tripods, damaged equipment and a good financial loss. This is why it is important to clean all your gear after a successful beach. For a tripod it is always a good to simply place it for a couple of minutes under a freshwater shower. — Ripple effect

Standing out

Faroese coastline II

Rubha na h-Eist

The great herdsman of Etive

Shooting landscapes is not always easy but often it is really rewarding. Due to heavy wind gusts getting non-blurry shots was quite difficult and changing lenses impossible as fine black lava sand was swirling through air. I had to clean all my closes intensely after shooting this sunset, however, I still find some sand in my backpack from time to time. — Fighting elements

On last new year's eve I was able to witness an early natural firework in Saxon Switzerland. The area is probably one of Germany's most beautiful nature reserve. It is full of sandstone cliffs, hidden gorges and other gems like this crooked tree. — Festival of light

Mirror stream

Zick-Zack

Faroese puffin

French Patagonia

Purple dream

Pointy peaks

Another image from last year's trip to the French mountains. Currently I have to re-plan my trips to the Alps as my previous plans were not feasible this year. On my list are currently the French Alps, Slovenia, Friulian Dolomites and the Aosta Valley and maybe Switzerland. — Remnant of winter

Alpine color set

Fork junction

There are many famous peaks in the European Alps which are great for photography and other activities. Some of them are in the French Alps and reveal their full potential for photography in certain conditions. Obviously light and clouds are import ingredients for landscape photography. When you venture out for taking pictures there are days where you are lucky or not. On that particular occasion the conditions turned out to be great with some low hanging clouds and exceptional light around these great pinnacles in the French Alps. — Pinnacles

Passing storm

A throwback to this summer hikes in the Italian Alps. It was my first visit to this area of the Alps but it was definitely worth it. That morning mostly everything worked out perfectly, except some clouds were missing. Still a beautiful memory from a good mountain trip with my dad. — A calm summer morning

The first picture from my recent trip to the French mountains. The weather my buddy Riccardo and I got was everything from blue bird skies to thunderstorms. This means that I will probably post some moody shots of the next couple of weeks. Additionally, I tested my new Tamron 100-400mm lens in its new natural habitat. The 200mm I got on top allow me to get should some new motives which I was not able to shoot before. — Mountains of madness

Burning spikes

A sense of scale

Chamois

Sgorr Tuath

While most of Europe is currently battling wintry conditions, I would like to show a picture from this year's summer trip to the Dolomites. The actual plan for that particular evening was to shoot some reflections in the small lake nearby, however due to the dry spell there was nearly no water left. In general, this year you could see the effects of the climate change very clear. I have never seen so many small mountain lakes been dried up. Furthermore, the intensity of the summer storm is increasing every year. The damages to nature and human environments from this year and the years before can be easily seen in the area. — Incoming storm

Intimacy

Saksun

Usually photographers complain about clear skies during sunset. I had plenty of those evening in the Dolomites during my last two visits in autumn. However, it is not as a bad for pictures as you think. The pale mountains transform into golden peaks for a certain time after sunset. — Alpenglow

There are still many shots from last years trip to the Dolomites in autumn. The region is just blessed by beautiful mountains and also gorgeous trees. During the high season in autumn the larches are turning on their golden coat. During that time the landscape is just a gem for the eye. I highly recommend to spend some time in that region during that time of the year. — Autumn colors

Torridonian views

Area of retreat

Bluebells

Sometimes everything comes together without spending to much time on planning every detail. On this particular occasion the tide, the location, the moon and composition options were all perfect. I spent the entire late afternoon walking around this area in the south of Portugal looking for different kind of compositions. In the end I ended up with the many shots but this one speaks to me the most and brings back many good memories. — Crescent moon

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