Kabru's Awakening

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you may remember my post about the trip to Khangchendzonga National Park in northern India. In this post I talked about the ups and downs I experienced during a 13-day trek through the park - and I also mentioned that there were more images to come..

It was freezing cold and soon after I had finished shooting "Himalayan Twighlight" from my chosen vantage point along Rathong River, I started packing my gear. Fog came creeping up the valley from behind me, blocking the sun and I was more than keen on crawling back into my sleeping bag. I was just about to peel off the ice that had accumulated on the legs of my tripod, when I saw that, amidst the fog, Kabru's southern peak started catching some light. Wind was blowing snow around the ridgeline and the sun's first rays painted a warm glow onto South Kabru's south eastern face. Back to one: I grabbed my camera and long zoom from my bag, attached it to my tripod and composed a shot.

Himalayan peak South Kabru in morning light.
Kabru's Awakening © Joerg Bonner

The light was getting more and more intense but somehow the scene was still lacking contrast. Despite the protest of my freezing fingers I knew I'd have to pull out my polarizer. My filter-bag was iced-over too (of course, I keep it hanging on my tripod all the time), so I had to be careful handling the bag and the filters, as not to get them murky. It took me quite a bit longer than usual to fit the filter onto the lens, but I succeeded just in time. I pushed the shutter button twice - then the light was gone.


Equipment:


Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm
ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/250
Gitzo GT1541T
Polarizer

Location:


Rathong Valley, Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim, India

1 comment:

  1. sir, i am going to sikkim in feb 1st week.right i am doing intern at national geographic channel
    my gears will be
    nikon D7000
    nikkor 50mm/1.8
    tokina 11-16/2.8
    tamron 70-200/2.8
    which polariser or filter shall i use and which lens will work better in that condition
    and last Q ( where did u stayed to take such an astonishing pic?)
    thanks ,
    ashish

    ReplyDelete

Don't hesitate to get in touch with me! Feel free to ask me any questions regarding the images, places or whatever you want to know.