A new mountain landscape in B&W: Come Fly with Me

By Johan Peijnenburg

One of the places I visited this winter is Le Chapelet, a ski area just of the Grand Saint-Bernard pass in the Swiss canton of Valais. There is a snowshoe trail there, that takes you out of the ski area and up to a mountain summit where an 8 km panoramic trail starts. From there you have an open view on the Mont Blanc massif on one side and the high peaks of the Alps of Valais on the other side. As a result, the views from there are breathtaking. Therefore, it is obviously also a great place to capture mountain landscapes in B&W like the one you see below!

Come fly with me

Birds-eye view of the alps of the Mont Blanc massif in winter, in a mountain landscape in B&W.

This photograph features the mont Blanc Massif. I framed it quite aggressively to try to draw you into the image and to give the impression that you are flying towards them. Hence the title Come Fly With Me. I processed the image in B&W using Silver Efex Pro2. This, to emphasise the rugged nature of these mountains.

Most of the peaks you see have an altitude between 3,500 and 4,810 metres (11,500 to 15,750 ft), with the Mont Blanc being the highest. Other mountains you see are Aiguille d’Argentière, Aiguille du Chardonnet, Grand Darray, Le Châtelet and the Tour Noir.

I shot the photograph using a D3x with a Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 lens. The light to the left was a bit bright. As a result, I had to use a graduated neutral density filter to balance the exposure a bit.

Please visit our Mountains & Hills landscape photography theme. It contains mountain landscape photographs in B&W from around the world. Click on the photograph if you would like to know more about it or are interested in buying a print or to licence it.

Cheers, Johan 🙂

242 thoughts on “A new mountain landscape in B&W: Come Fly with Me”

  3. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Patrick: merci Patrick!
    @Sweedon: I am really enjoying your comments Sweedon!! comments like these make posting fun! Thanks for that 🙂

    Reply

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  18. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks you Maurizio !!
    @Wes: they are even more impressive in real life. Did my best to get it across 🙂 Thank you!

    Reply
  19. Wes Lum says:

    Wow! This is amazing Johan. You can really get a sense of just how magnificent the peaks are — especially with how small the trees and clouds look. Excellent!

    Reply
  22. Melissa Kester says:

    This is really amazing – really almsot looks like a model given the 3dness – it is not flat like many landscape shots.

    Reply
  28. Laurent Coppée says:

    Again it needs to be seen large to appreciate all the details! Brilliant contrasts! I love those clouds stuck in the valley and you did a great job getting us to fly into the scenery!

    Reply
  34. Radek Vik says:

    Great shot and BW editing Johan. Yeah it doesn’t get much better than a BW mountain scenery. Especially this one.

    Reply
  41. Dominique Dubied says:

    what to say !! Everything has been said in the previous posts! It is a stunning picture. Moreover I know this region and you did a wonderful job!!

    Reply
  46. shane holsclaw says:

    the textures and contrast are amazing! the trees look like rows of shark’s teeth! love the misty goodness! congratulations on the Photo Extract! Well deserved Johan!

    Reply

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    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thanks! You need to check back in later as I will be posting an image of the bird that was carrying my camera 😉

      Reply
      • Athena Carey says:

        I am sure I would love it Johan! Although yesterday I ended up completely lost in the fog on the side of the mountain! Visibility was down to about 2 metres. It was a bit scary for awhile. 😉

        Reply
          • Athena Carey says:

            Actually Johan, it was more thank goodness I can understand Swiss German so I could talk to the guy in the hut I finally found. haha I was actually really close to a piste and a T-bar lift, but could not even see it! The fog was crazy…

          • Athena Carey says:

            The lunch and beer in the berg restaurant was worth it. It was way too foggy for images – no subjects could be seen through it. lol

          • Johan Peijnenburg says:

            you could have done a shot of a lonely beer in the fog …. and one big beer and one small one in the fog … and one full one and one empty one …. and a dark one and a blond one … and 6 of them fading away in the mist …. would have been a cool minimalistic series!!! 😀

          • Athena Carey says:

            I totally agree with you Johan, but I had to get unlost before I could get a beer and by then it had cleared. I think maybe that is the only reason I got unlost – I could finally see the t-bar lift. Unfortunately I had to walk up the piste by it to get to that restaurant. Exhausting! All part of the adventure though.

  77. Dylan van Graan says:

    I love mountains and this is one of the best images of a range I’ve ever seen. Amazing detail and mood. Thanks for sharing Johan

    Reply
  78. Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

    Superb shot Johan!! Compositionally and from all the other points of view. The vaste range of tones makes this landscape so powerful and charming! Great work indeed!! 🙂

    Reply
      • Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

        Yes Johan, Berlin will be great. I can tell you that!! I hope you’ll be there as well, I’d love to meet you and it’s not too far away from where you live either 🙂

        Reply
          • Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

            I don’t think there is such a thing as city shooter Johan! You’re a great photographer and that’s all that counts! Come and I’m sure you’ll like it! 🙂

  82. Yasmin Simpson says:

    absolutely gorgeous and exactly looks like we are flying, thanks for the ride only is a little cold ☃ for me… :-)))).
    Definitely a master piece and thank you for the description, too. Tomorrow I will love to visit your blog. Have a great weekend!.

    Reply
  90. Christophe Friedli says:

    This is fantastic Johan! It have me goosebumps! Love it! I’ll send the link of this photo to my dad ’cause I know he’ll love seeing it too! 🙂

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      that is really nice to hear. I had goose bumps as well up there. If you like, I can send you a large version of this file by mail for you dad.

      Reply
  92. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks Gerard! You can always come back later 🙂
    Thanks also Rolf. I can imagine. I don’t want to leave anymore!

    Reply
  94. Gerard Charnley says:

    There is so much going on this shot. So many peaks, the low level cloud, the snow and the trees. I could look at this for ages! 😉 Super shot+Johan.

    Reply
  99. Mikko Tyllinen says:

    i definetly love to came and fly! Magical view Johan! Love mountains and this is such amazing capturing! so beautiful and still mysterious! Very powerful!

    Reply
  107. susan leonhardt says:

    Francis, Randall and Filippo: thank you!
    Thank you Louisa! I came up with that title already when I shot it. Sometimes these alpine scenes are so inspiring!
    Chris and Susan: thanks for the kind words and for stopping by!!!

    Reply
  113. Joel Tjintjelaar says:

    Spectacular mountains Johan – and they look good in BW! BTW just saw on your FB profile you also studied at the KUB Tilburg, same period as I did so we must have met before without knowing it:)

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Thanks for the compliment Joel! That is indeed an interesting fact. You should upload an image of how you looked back then. I know I played a lot of cards back then 🙂 Your name always has sounded very familiar. What did you study over there?

      Reply
        • Johan Peijnenburg says:

          don’t think so … the 50 was referring to your awesome page 😉 I studied business economics, so we should indeed have run into each other!

          Reply
  118. Peter de Rooij says:

    Wow. This is like you’re flying towards it all (I really thought “aerial” when I saw this). Brilliant perspective. And great B&W conversion – it looks so barren and inhospitable.

    Reply
  123. Jerry Johnson says:

    Such a brilliant capture of the majesty these wonderful mountains, Johan! I really can’t say enough good things about the stunning photograph. Well Done!!

    Reply
  124. Margaret Tompkins says:

    Johan, this is incredible beautiful! I love the crisp detail on the mountains and looking down on the clouds rolling in. Awesome!!

    Reply
  125. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Daryl .: thank you!
    Emanuele: glad you also like this one! I have plaxed a while with this image to get the tones just right. How is/was the Carnival in Venice?

    Reply
    • Emanuele F. Fusco says:

      This is a super photo Johan!
      This year everything went well in Venice even if they were three days with snow, ice and very freezing wind! Thanks!

      Reply
  127. Emanuele F. Fusco says:

    Beautiful moment captured with these clouds so low. The tones of black and white and details are exceptional. Great work Johan !

    Reply
  134. Quentin CAUDRON says:

    Beautiful shot ! Like everyone above, I love the B&W detail. The feel is fantastic 🙂 Would you mind explaining your method for converting to B&W ?

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      thank you! I used Lightroom 3 for the initial processing: a bit of contrast, a bit of clarity and a bit of playing with curves. No sharpening yet. Then loaded the image in to Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 for the B&W processing and the sharpening using the structure sliders. I applied structure to some tones but not all. When I was done it came back in Lightroom, where I added a slight vignette and did a bit of noise reduction (which is necessary after using Silver efex Pro). Some like the grain, but I mostly don’t. Hope this is helpful. Silver Efex Pro 2 has a price but is so worth it!!!

      Reply
        • Johan Peijnenburg says:

          you can get a free trial for two weeks or something and there a plenty of coupon codes flowing around. Make sure to check out some of the tuts on YouTube!

          Reply
  135. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks Andy and Sumit !!
    Wilfried: thanks! Cropped it only a bit. I framed it aggressively when I shot it already 🙂 You can have the original if you want. I can send you a large jpg or tiff if you want!

    Reply
  136. Lori Hibbett says:

    Just magnificent! I tried to see these beauties up close and personal but was denied due to cloud cover. Perhaps one day again… Great job.

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      you definitely have to try again. It is so worth it! I am lucky that I live reasonable close 🙂 Thanks for the compliment!

      Reply
  137. Charles Lupica says:

    You succeeded in every way with this. It definitely gives the feeling that this was taken from an aircraft and the B&W portraits the RAW beautify that only a well done B&W can.

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Thank you! You should do this trail, really! Go up with the ski lift and snow shoe down. I have some great pano’s coming up from this trip as well !

      Reply
  138. Wilfried Haferland says:

    Really a great photo, perfect contrast in every detail. I wish I could see this one in original resolution (cropping included). Btw, the agressive crop fits perfectly. That is not only the camera… 😉 Thank you, Johan!

    Reply
  146. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks Dane, Stuart and Kerry! Credits for the detail go to the camera … which I am about to trade-in … maybe … argh

    Reply

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