Swiss alpine winter in B&W: Come climb with me

By Johan Peijnenburg

A few weeks ago, I posted a mountain landscape photograph with an aerial view of Swiss alpine winter at the Mont Blanc massif. See the post titled Come fly with me, which I shot at the end of January. I went back to the same area in the Swiss canton of Valais at the end of February to capture a few additional photographs while it was still winter. Here is one of them.

The photograph features various snow-covered peaks in the same Mont Blanc Massif. However, this time I captured them from the Orsières valley in Switzerland. The view includes the Grand Darray, Le Portalet and the Pointe des Plines mountains. All with an altitude of about 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). I loved how the light was hitting the mountain peaks and shot this at 140mm to zoom in on a specific section in between them to emphasise the depth of the view.

Come climb with me

This photograph was captured with a Nikon D3x and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens. I used Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 again for the black & white conversion.

Cheers, Johan 🙂

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Please visit our Mountains & Hills landscape photography theme for more photographs of Swiss alpine winter. It also contains mountain landscape photographs in B&W from the rest of the world, including:

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A Nordic coastal landscape in B&W, with last light warming Pantaliatinden mountain at the Kirkefjorden (Kjerkfjorden) in Lofoten, Norway. Reflections in Silver - © 2025 Johan Peijnenburg: www.niophoto.com
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Reflections in Silver, a nordic coastal landscape in B&W

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The Swiss Alps of Engadin in black & white, showing the four snow-covered summits of Bellavista mountain in the Bernina range between Switzerland and Italy. Bellavista - © 2025 Johan Peijnenburg: www.niophoto.com
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Bellavista, a Swiss high alpine mountain view in black & white

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An alpine forest emerging from a thick layer of morning fog in the Italian Dolomites, captured in black & white. Rising Fog - © 2025 Johan Peijnenburg: www.niophoto.com
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A minimalist lakeside photograph in B&W featuring a work of art in the form of a fork in the water of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in Vevey in Switzerland, with the silhouette of the French Alps in the background. A tasty lake - © 2011 Johan Peijnenburg: www.niophoto.com
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A tasty lake, a fork in a minimalist lakeside photograph

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Autumn in the Swiss Alps of Engadin, featuring a waterfall, golden larch trees and the mountains close to sunset. Autumn in Engadin - © 2022 Johan Peijnenburg: www.niophoto.com
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Autumn in Engadin, golden larch trees and a waterfall

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A misty and Icelandic landscape in B&W, featuring rugged lava stone and black sand and the mountains of Landmannalaugar. Rugged - © 2022 Johan Peijnenburg: www.niophoto.com
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Portfolio

Please visit our Black and White Photography portfolio to see more fine art photographs like this one.

209 thoughts on “Swiss alpine winter in B&W: Come climb with me”

  6. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Sharon: thanks again. Missed your comment earlier!@
    @Rohan: thanks for the comment. If you like this one, you should scroll down a few posts to the one calles “Come fly with me”. I am still lost in that one myself ;)

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      hey Ben … missed your comment earlier … thanks for the compliment! I can imagine that you have an urge to come over. I have the urge to come over to Australia! So many beautiful places to visit!

      Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      That is probably the case Harry 🙂 At the moment it is more difficult to get nice shots. We’re in transition between winter and spring. The whits stuff gets a bit muddy …

      Reply
  23. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Anette: thank you and yes you should 🙂 Plenty of possibilities from where you are!
    Thank you very much for the kind words Sarah and Takahiro!

    Reply
  26. Anette Mossbacher says:

    This looks great, wonderful image. I really do need to drive further into the alps 🙂 +Johan Peijnenburg 

    Reply
  27. Margaret Tompkins says:

    This is the most beautiful photograph Johan !! It’s so sharp and clear I can almost reach out and touch it! I love the wonderful lines that sweep into the image. Outstanding!!!

    Reply
  29. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Diego: thanks. Yes, very close. These are very close to Italy 🙂
    Heidi Anne: that’s how I feel all the time here in the Alps 😉 Thank you!

    Reply
  30. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Maggy: thank you. Glad you like it!
    Alan: thanks! Hope all is well in Ireland!
    Hanna-Mia, Skip and Paul: thank you as well and nice to meet you :-)

    Reply
  32. Diego Cattaneo says:

    Wonderful shot Johan! Your B&W mountains are great 🙂 And they are not so far from me 🙂 BTW congrats for the Photo Extract

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      I don’t have a clue Rznag, but I am glad you finally did 🙂 Thanks for the compliment! How are things in Austria?

      Reply
      • Rznag Rmrod says:

        quite fine…spring is approaching, it gets warmer and hopefully a little greener as a result in the next days. And for you ? Everythings fine ?

        Reply
  41. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thank you Javier !!!
    @Nikola: ik kan het wel mooi vinden, maar het is altijd even afwachten wat anderen er van vinden … dank je wel voor het compliment!

    Reply
  44. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Melissa: thank you for the visit! Nice to meet you and thanks for the complimet!
    Sinead: thanks Sinead. That was what I was trying to achieve. Glad it worked for you!
    Matthias: looking forward to the images!!!

    Reply
  45. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Lisa: thank you Lisa! It was not that cold this time. It is a bit the end of the winter season here, so the white stuff is going away quickly 🙁
    Thank you also for the kind words Agustin, Sumit and Matthias!!!

    Reply
  52. H. Larson says:

    Johan It’s always interesting to follow photographers that take completely different types of images than I do. You’re doing a great job, I hope in the future given the chance to shoot pictures as yours but now is not enough time for that – Have a nice evening!

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      it is indeed nice to have some variation 🙂 Thank you for the nice compliment. I will do my best to keep it up!

      Reply
  61. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thank you Paul!
    Andrew: the light in the s-curve made me go for this shot 🙂 Thanks for the compliment!

    Reply
  62. Andrew Sanigorski says:

    This one is stunning Johan, with the crisp light and awesome contrast. Just love the high lit snow s-curve in the middle. Wonderful image.

    Reply
  67. Emanuele F. Fusco says:

    Another great work Johan! I particularly like the nuances created by the snow! It seems in three dimensions! Beautiful!

    Reply
  69. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks for the very kind words Daniel, Layla, Don, Patricia and Mikko! Really appreciated 🙂
    Nithin: thanks. Glad you like it!
    Bjorn en Anne: dank jullie wel voor het commentaar en het bezoek!!

    Reply
      • Meg Rousher says:

        Great because I’d love to see more of this place. I can just imagine what it looks like in the summer 🙂

        Reply
        • Johan Peijnenburg says:

          it is a very nice region also in the Summer with loads of hiking opportunities. It’s only a one and a half hour drive from where I live 🙂

          Reply
          • Meg Rousher says:

            That’s not a bad drive for such a beautiful place. I can’t wait to see the shots you get there in the summer 🙂

  86. Kerry Murphy says:

    Gorgeous. Fantastic contrast, Johan. And I am just a bit jealous that you were able to spend time with Athena. 🙂

    Reply
  88. Yasmin Simpson says:

    Thank you for the invite Johan, I already have been climbing with you these days with all these stunning shots, imagine I found a beautiful bearded vulture bird that I didn’t know about it before and I could see sweet Athena shooting with her beautiful style … :-).
    Thank you for sharing such a beautiful material and all the information, you really help us to travel all the way there, feel cold and thinking about hot chocolate 🙂
    In other way, I was enjoying a lot my visit to your page NIO-Photography, a pleasure to see all the images presented in such a clean-lovely-perfect way.
    You mannn are very talented. Blessings

    Reply
  89. Charles Lupica says:

    stunning. Your last few images in particular, have had this stunning sharpness and clarity. Any tips you would share ?

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thank you Charles! Think it is a combination of the camera, a bit of shooting discipline and I guess the software used for the processing (LR3 and Silver Efex). I usually do play with the image tones/contrast/structure until I find the mix I am after for a specific image …

      Reply
  90. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Elles: dank je wel 🙂
    Radek: thank you! I was indeed looking for a certain look and feel. Glad you like it!

    Reply
  94. Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

    beautiful and so impressive scene Johan! A great processing also, love the contrasts!! And I’m sure you and Athena had a great time. Who wouldn’t in this amazing place!! 🙂

    Reply
  96. Wilfried Haferland says:

    Johan, thank you very much for your generosity! Your photo is really impressive. Not only that it’s full of details, it has a wonderful strong but smooth contrast at the same time. The s-line leads the eye up there, quite magnificent.

    One day I want to visit your huge exhibition of xxl-sized prints, my friend!

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thank your for the compliment Wilfried. One day I will probably publish an image like this with a tiny you in it by accident! And you are always welcome to visit … even if it would be for a cheese fondue only 🙂

      Reply
  98. Vivienne Gucwa says:

    Gorgeous. Love it so much in black and white. Really brings out the detail and contrasts and gives the whole photo a great winter feel. I want to go there!

    Reply
  99. Jerry Johnson says:

    I will never look at your photos on my smartphone! They are to good and so I would not deprive myself in this way. Rather, I will pull them up on my large monitor and gaze upon their beauty.

    This one is so amazing, words don’t do it justice. Well done!

    Reply
  100. Athena Carey says:

    Very cool Johan and somewhat surreal! I feel like parts of the photo are 3D and I could touch them. 😀

    I think I have a photo of you taking a photo from this location (but with a shorter lens). Was this taken from the spot where that guy came and parked his van next to me?

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thank you shooting buddy 🙂 Yes, this was one of the shots from that location. The mountain with the rock sticking up is just slightly to the right of this. I was more intrigued by the curve in between the mountains I think …

      Reply
  101. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thank you so much Alan, Nathan and Jean-Michel!!!
    Albert: dank je wel! Net even wat anders dan NL niet 🙂

    Reply
  105. Joanna Pechmann says:

    This view is really fantastic and it looks great in B&W Johan I believe it must be wonderful feeling to be there and see it live 🙂

    Reply
  108. Randall Sanger says:

    Amazing scene and image, Johan – Always a treat to view your work, gives me a glimpse of places I may never have the opportunity to see in person.

    Reply
  110. Douglas Dietiker says:

    Exquisite. I love the B&W choice. I assume D3x? Must be tons of detail in this. I think I could look at this one for quite some time.

    Reply
  112. Rikard Lindby says:

    We plan on staying in Chamonix and to do some night time photography from up in the Mountains. I hope for clear skies, but the forecast looks pretty bad.

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      that sounds great. I want to go there as well soon. Hope the weather will be great when you are there. A bit of bad weather in the mix could be nice to add some drame 🙂

      Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thanks and I can imagine. I usually limit the amount of ascent to something reasonable as well …. it’s hard especially with photo gear in the back 🙂

      Reply
  118. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thank you Francis, Stefanie and Nicholas!!!
    Stefanie: that’s how I feel all the time when surrounded by these beauties. Gets the adrenaline pumping as well 🙂
    Nicholas: just trying to get you to like snow 😉
    Thank you as well Allen and Roberto … and you are very welcome 🙂

    Reply
  123. Cho Tang says:

    Echt waar Johan, al je zwartwit sneeuwlandschappen zijn echt fantastisch! En wat gaaf dat je een mini walk hebt gedaan met Athena Carey

    Reply

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