After 2015 has reached its inevitable end, it’s this time of the year when you reflect on your work as a photographer and browse through the images of the 365 days gone by. If my photographic New Year’s resolution this past year was to shoot less, I would certainly have accomplished this goal, but all kidding aside, here are my 5 favorite images released this year, not particularly taken in 2015.

Nightfall Neret

Neret (the Catalan word for the rusty-leaved alpenrose – ‘rhododendron ferrugineum’) blooming above Gran Estany d’Amitges during one of the best sunset displays I was fortunate to witness in the mountains.Aigüestortes NP, Pyrenees, Spain

Light Bath

The emerging leaves of maples, beeches and alders are glowing in the late afternoon sunlight and offer a great backdrop for trunks such as this Oregon pine/Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the immediate foreground.Ore Mountains, Germany

Higher Calling

Much more than just pixels. Read WHY.Lago di Landro, Dolomites, Italy

Dazzling Dancers

Colorful grasses appear to dancing in the wind high up on a ridge in the Czech part of the Ore Mountains, surrounded by old birches who have seen a fair share of precipitation, wind and ice.Ore Mountains, Czech Republic

Congealed

An intimate view of the impressive basaltic columns that make up the Devils Postpile National Monument in the Sierra Nevada of California. The polygonal structure, which is said to be some odd 100,000 years old, formed when a huge pool of lava cooled evenly and slowly. Similar structures can be found around the globe in areas with high volcanic activity in the past.Devil’s Postpile National Monument, Ca, USA

As usual a few days late, but here’s to a great, stress-free, healthy and prosperous 2016! Cheers.

Whew, that year flew by, didn’t it? It seems like yesterday that I have written a blog post, but it’s exactly one year today since my last post. I hope I can keep up that pace over the course of the next 12 months – kidding. I will hopefully post at least a quarterly update with some new images, but until then, follow me on Facebook to never miss the release of new images, some background info and updates on where I am traveling. To keep a long story short, I hope you enjoy the following ten images- They are my personal favorites of 2013 — made in the Pyrenees, Dolomites and Ore Mountains.

As It Begins

Aigüestortes NP, Pyrenees, Spain

Backcountry Bliss

Aigüestortes NP, Pyrenees, Spain

Mountain Summer

Passo Falzarego, Dolomites, Italy

Emerald Waters

Lago di Landro, Dolomites, Italy

Highcountry Pools

Aigüestortes NP, Pyrenees, Spain

The Portal

Aigüestortes NP, Pyrenees, Spain

Blooming Spires

Aigüestortes NP, Pyrenees, Spain

Autumnal Flow

Ore Mountains, Germany

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Lago di Landro, Dolomites, Italy

Peaches and Cream

Lago di Landro, Dolomites, Italy

Thank you for all the patience in the first half of the year when this blog got neglected, for the continued support and the wonderful emails I receive. Here’s to a wonderful Holiday Season to you all out there!

David

Another year in the books – and what a year that was. I was able to pick up where 2010 ended, photographically-speaking; and make up for the missed opportunities in 2011. Now, with the last days of the old year winding down, it’s time to reflect on the past journeys, the people that made it special and the glorious sunsets (and sunrises) I was fortunate to witness along the way and how could this better be done than with some images. Sit back and enjoy the show! (Images are in chronological order as they were shot throughout the year.)

Leave Only Footprints

Erzgebirge, Germany

Doomsday Caldera

Hirtstein, Erzgebirge, Germany

Els Elcantats Rising

Aigüestortes National Park, Pyrenees, Spain

Light Guardian

Aigüestortes National Park, Pyrenees, Spain

Seeking Solitude

Aigüestortes National Park, Pyrenees, Spain

Dawn of a New Day

Manarola, Cinque Terre National Park, Italy

Ethereal Gorge

Partnach Gorge, Bavaria, Germany

Silent Awakening

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany

The Last Goodbye

Erzgebirge, Germany

Thank you for all the patience in the first half of the year when this blog got neglected, for the continued support and the wonderful emails I receive. Here’s to a wonderful Holiday Season to you all out there!

David

I recently returned from a wonderful 8-day backpacking trip into the Spanish Pyrenees, one of western Europe’s last mountain paradises and let me tell you, it was fantastic. My focus of this trip was to cover as much miles as possible in the heart of the Aigüestortes and Estany Sant Maurici National Park and the surrounding Saboredo basin, above Port de la Ratera. The landscapes I encountered reminded me much of those of the Eastern Sierra, although not as high or filled with meadows full of wildflowers but compared to the Alps, it was quiet, relaxing and very much enjoyable throughout.

My trip started out with a flight from Munich to Barcelona, two backpacks and a 17-hour layover in Barcelona to catch the bus to Lleida the next morning — a day which turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year. When I set foot into the bus that should bring me to the drop-off at the foot of the steep and winding road to Espot, the city just outside the eastern entrance to the park; the thermometer showed a cozy 45 degrees Celsius (113F).

Arriving just after 9 in the evening, I settled to spend the first night in one of the campgrounds around Espot. I chose to set my tent at Camping La Mola which turned out to be an affordable deluxe camping experience. Little did I know when I approached the friendly staff that the campground not only offered bathrooms and showers often time not found as nice in hotels; it comes with pool, tennis court, soccer field and a small store that made a backpacker’s heart open up. I especially enjoyed the selection of fruits, Salchichón and the fresh bread, which provided a great energy kick for the trails to tackle later on.

The National Park Aigüestortes y Sant Maurici itself is a mere two hours of very moderate GR11 trail walking (The long distance trail which crosses the Pyrenees east to west from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.) nested above Espot. From the entrance to the park to my first night high in the mountains in 2012, however, it was another four and a half hour hike in the cruel heat of a cloudless day up steep switchbacks and over loose rock trails up to the Refugi D’Amitges, enjoying the views over the Sant Maurici valley and lake on the way and replenishing energy with a trail snack at the Fountain of the Marmots. Camping and off-trail hiking is not permitted and fined immediately (as I was told) within the National Park and the surrounding zone of protection, so the refuges provide shelter and a place to sleep for the night. Reservations have to be made beforehand as the 70 bunk-bed capacity fills quickly over the summer months.

Exploring the area around the refuge, I quickly realized why “Aigüestortes” translates to “winding waters” — dozens of lakes and tarns fill the gaps between the granite boulders and reflect the towering peaks while little streams meander through the meadows and rush down the cliffs.

I was blessed with beautiful weather throughout the trip with temperatures ranging from low 70’s (~24C) in the afternoon to 36 degrees (2C) at night at elevations of 2,400m to 2,700m (roughly 8k to 9k ft.); which made hiking a very enjoyable undertaking.

More images from the trip will have to wait for my return, as I am getting ready for a road trip with Aperture Academy instructor Brian Rueb; which will lead us to the Cinque Terre region and Venice in Italy, the Austrian and German Alps and possibly a few other places. So stay tuned and happy shooting!

I had planned to share some more images today but this idea was quickly turned down by a thoughtful post on Tony Wu’s blog that I felt needed my commentary here too.

Tony Wu is a professional underwater photographer whose work I regularly check out because it takes your breath away. Got it? Underwater photography – breath…. never mind. Anyway, I highly recommend checking out his portfolio. It oozes greatness.

While we’re at it and this is the whole reason of this blog post…

Can I have one of your images for free, Tony? It would make a great background for my non-commercial site! Thanks in advance.

The problem is right there. Everybody believes anything on the internet is free to use for any matter you can think of and to some degree, I think this is true for about anyone on the internet, me included. Hey, I am not Mother Theresa either but truth be told, a quick Google image search revealed my images on blogs in Japan, Brazil, Zimbabwe and a couple dozen other countries; most recently on a photography website in Portugal. Yes, they gave me credit – at least.

However, I can’t even count the numerous times I have gotten requests to use my images for free for whatever reason, which I sometimes felt bad to decline, but mostly was just annoyed or even amused to some degree about the impolite way of asking for it. As a person trying to make a living with photography, you just cannot live off of water, love and image credit. You need money in the bank to support your family and travel to all those fancy places you like to decorate your homepage with, you save the environment with and help a fellow of yours out for a great cause. That’s fine and all, but while you help others, you’re not helping me. Every image spread across whatever medium that I did not get paid for, is one place less traveled and photographed. Think about it. Do this a couple of times more and you might have nothing left to take for free.

Tony’s thoughtful blog post covers just this experience and the way to handle requests. There is just no perfect way to respond but Tony’s way of dealing with it proves to be a real time keeper, raises valid points for the “right-grabbers” to consider and to eventually change their habits. (Which, in all honesty, I doubt.) Read the whole response here and share with whomever you think might enjoy it. It’s free!

So let it be that, another rambling. Remember, not everything on the web is free! 😉