Waipio Valley Big Island of Hawai’i

Photographer and Geoscientist Michael Szoenyi is fully devoted to nature and outdoor photography. The works are not created just passing by, but are the result of extensive preparation, photography know-how and the feeling for the right moment to pull the trigger. This is the recipe for his success of capturing the beauty and unique flavor of individual regions aesthetically and in technical perfection. Michael Szoenyi – to his impressive collection of pictures from Hawai’i:

“Hawai’i is a fascinating island chain in the middle of the pacific ocean, roughly 2’000 miles from any coast, and a dream for anyone into geology. The beachcombers and honeymooners can only be recommended to factor in enough additional time besides the beach to explore the main islands. The most important ones are Big Island, O’ahu, Maui and Kaua’i. Each island has its own, unique character, and it would be really a pity traveling this far without venturing into the heart of them.

In order to better understand the genesis of the Hawai’ian island chain, we need to undertake a journey in space and time, back 5’000 miles and 85 million years to the coast of Kamchatka. There, the oldest remaining seamounts are hidden beneath the sea surface. They are all ancient witnesses of volcanic activity and plate tectonics. This combination leads to constant change among the volcanic island chain in the middle of the Pacific and on the surface of our Earth. These processes can nowhere better be observed than on Big Island, the largest of the Hawai’ian island and home to some geologic world records. Big Island comprises the largest mountain structure on earth, Mauna Loa, with its peak at roughly 10’000 feet above sea level. However, it continues below the sea another 15’000 feet and is surpassing the total height of Mount Everest by far. In addition, you can find the world’s most active volcano on Big Island – Kilauea.

To discover the fascinating world of active volcanism, I have travelled twice to Hawai’i. Since 1983, Kilauea has been incessantly erupting lava on its Eastern Rift Zone – a record with over 30 years of activity now. Then, in 2008, another eruption suddenly opened up inside the Caldera of Halema’uma’u and proved existing theories of scientists wrong, who were convinced until then that a volcano cannot sustain two eruptions at the same time – for over 5 years now, Kilauea is the only one known that can!!

Skylight at dusk Kilauea volcano

The lava streams of the Eastern Rift Zone can cover several miles in a day, passing the old settlement of Kalapana, which was destroyed in the 1980ies. This Kalapana flow will reach the coast depending on the intensity of its activity. During this so-called Ocean Entry, steam and heat explosions create an incredible show when hot lava meets cool Pacific waters. It is an indescribable sensation for a human to be witness of the creation of new earth and the continuous growth of the island. I was lucky to cover such an event during an excursion as part of a National Geographic Film Crew, getting into an area otherwise closed to visitors. This was only possible after long convincing discussions, my qualification as a geoscientist and additional hard work, when my travel friend and I were carrying the heavy IMAX equipment of the crew. These emotional pictures of a smoke- and steam cloud during dusk, the view into a sky light (a hole in the hard ceiling of hardened lava offering a glimpse into the active lava flow) as well as the red arcs of glowing lava bombs in combination of lightning, created by static of the ash cloud, were produced under time pressure with just one camera and two lenses during the instructions of the film crew and their special desires for shooting on the location.

Kalapana Lava eruption at night with lightning and thunderstorm

I returned to the Big Island in 2012 for several months to work as a Volunteer Park Ranger with the United States National Park Service – with two suitcases of photo equipment: 8-15mm Fisheye, 70-200 mm/2.8 plus 2x converter, a Canon 5D Mk III DSLR as well as a complete underwater DSLR equipment with flashes.
During the day, I worked in the Division of Interpretation at the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center, talked to visitors, explaining them the sights and the beauty of the park and why it needed protection and went on guided tours into the volcano. During my time off, I wandered off to the more remote areas of the park, hiked over sharp lava rock to the peak of Mauna Loa, went down over the Pali (steep cliff) to the Pacific Coast, went diving and waded through the rivers of inaccessible Waipi’o Valley, the oldest valley of the island.

Halema’uma’u crater eruption Hawai’i

At night, the lava lake of Halema’uma’u glows in all imaginable shades of red, the intensity and size of the red cloud above the lake an expression of the mythical volcano goddess Pele, who made Halema’umau her final home.”

Halema’uma’u crater glow

More interesting travel notes by Michael are available on bewegtezeit.ch. He also blogged on blog.geoland.ch.

All photographs by Michael Szoenyi shown on alpineSTOCK.com are on sale with rights managed licenses.

Ponte dei Salti – Stone Bridge Lavertezzo

The valley of Verzasca is located in the italian-speaking south of Switzerland, in Canton Ticino. What makes this valley special compared to lots of other valleys in this region is its emerald-green, crystal clear river. The Verzasca river is favored by divers and canoeists; some big rocks in its river bed are equipped with pitons to attract climbers.

The unique stone bridge Ponte dei Salti near the village Lavertezzo provides a deep view into the crystal water. Additionally, it works perfectly as a jumping platform for high divers who dare. Everyone else can enter a nearby rock and start a less exposed jump there. In summer, the smooth stone river banks are usually occupied by sunbathing people, in winter you can watch ice divers there. Most interesting places are the river-ponds “Pozzo della Misura” and “Pozzo dei Salti”.

River-pond at Lavertezzo

Currently, alpineSTOCK.com is looking for professional, expressive images of the river Verzasca. If you are a photographer and have high quality images available, you are invited to contact us for special conditions.

Korsak, the photographer of a series of moody, subtle and well composed images of remote alpine-like country sites, says:

“I created this photograph in in the early afternoon, during spring time. I travelled through the country side, looking for a special place to portrait. Eventually I found a small village which looked almost deserted. When I spotted an old barn I was very curious what’s inside. So I stopped by and walked through a broken fence towards the barn -  it was open. Immediately I saw many opportunities to get an appealing picture. I always remember Ansel Adams words: first visualize your frame, then take the photograph. So I took my camera and looked trough the lens in order to figure out the most interesting composition. Instantly my attention was drawn to the light beams falling trough the old boards of this barn.

I took several shots to make sure that I would match the difficult light situation and to get the framing right. I always try to create photographs which do not need any reframing in post-processing. Because in photography the lighting conditions are most important, I am very sensitive to this fact. Very often some “non-photogenic“ objects start to be very exiting in interesting light. So for me, the whole day can be interesting to take pictures, it’s not only the common “golden hour”. Even with very diffuse light it is possible to create superb photographs, for example on foggy or snowy days.

Most important thing in photography is to do it. There will be no opportunity for great images when staying at home… at least when you do landscapes!”

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Spring in higher alpine regions is different from fresh green meadows, first flowers and leaves. The alpine spring offers photographers uncounted opportunities to enter the highest locations in the mountains. Days are already longer than in winter, the sun is much stronger and temperatures are comparably comfortable. Still, weather can be unstable. Bad for the mountaineer, good for photography: A reasonable amount of clouds always adds some drama to the mountain landscape.

This image presented in 2013 March’s special is frequently asked for by our customers. The visual key is the well balanced combination of a person, a rough environment and a dramatic sky. As a special advantage, the image shows Switzerlands highest peak, Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa. This image is available rights managed only. For price request click here.

There are many routes to climb a mountain. In case of the Aletschhorn (4’195m / 13 763 ft) the old regular ascend route lead via Mittelaletschbiwak and the NE – flank to the summit, clearly visible here by the large snow fields below the peak. Today, the regular ascend is considered to start at the Oberaletschhütte, leading up the SW – ridge, directly to the summit. The combination of both routes makes for a wonderful traverse, in summer and wintertimes.

The Haslerrippe (Ridge Hasler) is a very special route, to be seen here to the left of the distinctive buttress leading directly to the summit. It’s a perfect but cold winter climb.

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Backcountry skiing is a great way to combine sport, recreation and photography. Especially if your company acts as models-in-landscape. With the inclusion of people photographs of landscapes get a scale, the viewer compares the size of climbers and skiier with the surrounding.

This image shows the key part of the alpine ski climb route to mount Sulzfluh, Grisons, Switzerland. It’s a small couloir which you can’t ascend by ski, but some guys do ride it down. Most skiers told me they had the impression of facing a very steep and narrow passage on their way down. Looking from below, there is nothing really steep about it. It’s just as standing on a 3m spring board: Not high from above but veeery high when you stand up there.

The use of a wider view reduces the steep impression even more. Just as in this image.

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The Château Chillon belongs to the frequently visited sight-seeing destinations of Switzerland. Tourists come mainly during the daytime, taking snapshots in daylight. There are many images of this iconic castle available, but only a few show this beauty in special light conditions.

Our photographer was especially lucky by capturing Château Chillon by night, covered with fresh, unspoiled snow. The snow cover is simply immaculate. At alpineSTOCK.com, we are happy to have the opportunity to offer our clients this very special view ot Château Chillon. Click here to view our royalty free photo collection of Château Chillon photos.

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The mountain Piz Bernina at 4’048m elevation a.m.s.l. is the highest peak of the Canton Grisons and the only 4’000m peak of the “eastern alps”. The most beautiful alpine ascend to its summit is the famous Biancograt, a pure snow ridge of approx. 800m lenght and over 400m height. Piz Bernina is surrounded by beautiful, ice covered summits like the well-known Piz Palü, Piz Roseg and Piz Morteratsch. This majestic ensemble is also called “Festsaal der Alpen”. Movies have been produced here and countless books were written about this region. At this given altitude, glaciers are still present here, although the Glacier Morteratsch (“Vadret da Morteratsch”) is melting hugely. It lost about 2.2 km length since 1878 and measures at approx. 6.4 km lenght today.

Images of the Bernina region are spectacular in most cases. If the right light strikes the summits and ice terraces, photos can get even more exciting. Check out our Bernina images and see for yourself.

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F5E Tiger – Live Fire Event Axalp 2012 climbs up to Mt. Wildgärst with visitor’s areas in the background

Every year in October, the Swiss Airforce demonstrates its capabilities in an outstanding air show in the mountains, the Axalp Live Fire Event. The event takes place during two days at the Axalp-Ebenfluh firing range at an elevation of 2’250 m a.s.l., above Lake Brienz in the Canton of Bern.

F-5E Tiger and F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets are performing formation flying and low passes over the “Grätli”. Below this small saddle between Axalphorn and the peaks of Wildgärst, firing targets are prepared. The jets are firing several rounds from their cannons (see image below), which is extremely impressive for the public.

F-5E Tiger firing cannon rounds to ground targets at Swiss Live Fire Event Axalp

Besides these fighter jets, many other aircraft display their capabilities. There are displays of the Super Puma dropping flares, EC635 Helicopter, the PC-21 turboprop training plane, and the Patrouille Suisse.

Swiss Air Force Super Puma is dropping flares at Axalp Live Fire Event

The regular visitor’s areas are located on the grass flanks of Tschingelhorn and Axalphorn. The access to these areas is only possible by hiking and takes more than one hour. Shortly before the display starts, the visitor’s sectors are closed for security reasons. From these sectors, visitors can enjoy a very close view of the low-passing jets. In 2012, approx. 7’000 visitors came to see the event.

F-5E Tiger of the patrouille Suisse passing by at the Axalp Live Fire Event

In the south of these visitor’s areas there is a moutain chain, including Mt. Wildgärst, 2’830 m a.s.l. In some maneuvers, F-5E Tigers and F/A-18 Hornets are heading directly towards the north face of Mt. Wildgärst, climb up and perform a roll. The pass canopy down only a few meters above the summit and dive down to the valley behind Wildgärst.

F/A-18 Hornet canopy down low pass over Mt. Wildgärst with a men’s arm

This location is extremely interesting for photographers; the perspective is pretty outstanding. But getting there means to take a 3 – 4 hours hike in snowy conditions, carrying all your heavy photo gear. In 2012, about 20 -30 people made the effort to go there.

F/A-18 Hornet in front of people standing on the summit of Mt. Wildgärst

How to get to the top of Mt. Wildgärst?
Alternative 1 is to access the Reichenbach valley from Meiringen and leave the car at Schwarzwaldalp. From there, you can follow the road, following direction Grosse Scheidegg. Reaching an elevation of 1’522m, you leave the road and follow the white-red-white marked path up to Mt. Wildgärst. Alternative 2 is to start in Grindelwald, taking the bus to Grosse Scheidegg and start the hike there. If you want to be in time, consider a walk over taking the bus as the first ride might be too late.

In 2011, the whole Axalp Live Fire Event was canceled out of consideration for the cleanup efforts which were necessary after the landslips caused by the melting snow of early October. See this article of Tagesanzeiger newspaper. The Swiss Army helped to clear the damages.

The shown photo of this climbing F-5E Tiger fighter with the Tschingelhorn visitor areas and Lake Brienz in the background was made from the top of Mt. Wildgärst, using a Nikon D4 body and a Nikon AF-S 200-400mm F/4.0G ED VR II lens. The show on the first day of the Axalp Live Fire Event was canceled due to bad weather conditions, and the second day was a bit cloudy. So the photographer was lucky because of the weather in 2012!

Fresh summer snow? Of course! Many regions of Switzerland are located at high altitude. Snow in summer is a common event there. In most cases, the virgin snow is gone within a few days, but this should be enough time for the photographer to capture the pure beauty of a new snow blanket over green meadows.

This image features the Macun National Park, a lake plateau at approx. 2’600m asl. 23 lakes can be found there. The protected area is situated in the Canton of Graubuenden, a nice hike leads through it. More info here: nationalpark.ch

alpineSTOCK.com is searching for new snow photos as they convey the opposite seasons summer and winter very well. If you are a photographer and got such images, be invited to sell your photos with alpineSTOCK.com!

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