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I promised earlier that I would post another photo for the symmetry theme and here it is. One of the most instantly recognisable mountains in the world - Matterhorn and its reflection in Riffelsee lake. I took this photo back in 2019 when we did long hike from Rotenboden station to Grindjisee lake and then back down to Zermatt. I have already posted a few photos from that hike. It was great autumn day for wandering around. Weather was just about perfect, light winds, thin cover of clouds which allowed for nice soft light to filter through, mountains and autumn colours everywhere. I honestly wished it would last forever and also that I would have the energy to last together with it.
Riffelsee lake is almost right next to the train station and we went there as soon as we got off the train. We actually went up to the last station at Gornergrat and then went back one stop to start our hike. This is the kind of scene that just stops everyone in their tracks and it certainly stopped us. One a clear day the view is incredible, and we were lucky to get such a fantastic perspective of the great mountain. We explored a bit around the lake but the best spot for photography was the obvious one. It was late in October so it was reasonably quiet in between the summer and winter seasons. In summer, I would imagine that this place would be full of people enjoying the surroundings, and I would not blame them for doing so. It was quiet and peaceful with wonderful crisp mountains air to breath in. We simply felt alive.
When it came to taking photos, it was not as straight forward to choose a composition as it may seem. The very obvious photo is the one when you zoom in towards the Matterhorn and focus on the peak and its reflection. However, I did like the bronze hued reeds underwater and I wanted to include them in a wider perspective. I though that they made for a great foreground, as otherwise the empty bottom of the lake would be a little boring. I could not use any of the rocks surrounding the lake because there was only dark mud between them and they would spoil the scenery somewhat. Another consideration was the tall dark cliff to the left. I did not want just a big wall of darkness there but luckily there was enough light to reveal sufficient detail in the shadows.
This is a single exposure and no blending was necessary in post processing. I mentioned that the light was beautifully soft and that helped to avoid overly bright highlights which would end up blown out. I used a polarising filter, which stays on my lens for 95% of my photography, and used it to balance the lake surface between getting enough reflection while revealing reeds in the immediate foreground. It was a balancing act when it came to the cliff as well. I wanted the detail to come through but hopefully avoid making it too bright. It took a few different attempts to get it right and to match my vision. With today's cameras having such a great dynamic range, it is much easier to ensure that there is enough information in highlights and shadows to help in post processing.
It was the beginning of one of my best days for photography and hiking. There have been so many highlights through our travels but this day ranks as one of the most enjoyable and satisfying ones. I would gladly do it all over again. If only it was not so far away.
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This image has been featured in 1 Remix collection.