My 34 Photos That Show The Mesmerizing Beauty Of Night In The Alps

This photograph was taken on June 28th, 2012, after moonset, from the summit of Mount Rocciamelone (3.538 meters / 11,603 feet), Italy.

The infinite is my favorite subject. Since I can’t go into deep space, I am constantly searching for it here, on Earth…

The point of view in landscape photography is often from the plain. This happens for obvious practical reasons. That’s why I’ve always dreamt of taking pictures from the rarest viewpoints.

Here you can see the Milky Way cutting the night sky in the south direction, so it is perfectly aligned with the distant pyramidal summit of Monviso (3.841 m). This alignment occurs at the beginning of every summer night, then gradually the Earth moves eastward, and the starry sky obviously to the west.

However, the particularity of this wonderful night was the presence of an infinite bank of clouds, approximately 800 meters below the summit where I was spending the night. The lights of the valley below turned this mass in motion in a sort of “primordial ocean”. This was of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen.

This shot was taken on July 10th, 2018, from the summit of Mount Rocciamelone (3.538 meters / 11.603 feet), Italy.

Undoubtedly, the most special thing of that night was the opportunity to observe an excellent planetary alignment: Mars to the left, Saturn in the band of the Milky Way, and Jupiter to the right.

You can also see the silhouette of another guy who also spent the night on the summit, which stands out clearly thanks to the underlying lights of the Susa Valley.

“If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.”

In photography terms, even if I avail myself of the best cameras and lenses on the market, read what famous authors say about how to tell a visual story without the love for adventure, I am nothing.

The shot was taken on June 27th, 2012 at 10:42 p.m. from the summit of Mount Rocciamelone (3.538 m), Italy, as the moon (phase 57%) continued its slow journey to the west. After moonset, I took a bunch of interesting photos to the starry sky (then published in various magazines). I’ve always postponed the consideration of this photo because I thought the scenery was a bit “chaotic”… anyway, all in all, I think it expresses quite well what it means to be above a sea of clouds at night.

On the right, we have the moon, while on the left is perfectly visible the Scorpius constellation. Under the “primordial ocean” of clouds are filtering the lights of the Susa valley 3.000 meters below.

This photo shows the western side of Mount Rocciamelone (3.538 meters / 11,603 feet), overlooking the Val Cenischia (Italy).

The small point of light halfway up the slope is a mountain pasture. This is a scene that I’ve been trying to capture since a long time from the surrounding mountains of Mont-Cenis, and only this shot fully convinced me, thanks to the perfect weather conditions: a carpet of clouds (from which are filtering the lights of the underlying village of Moncenisio), together with higher clouds, quite scenic, which fortunately are not obstructing the view toward the whole size of the mountain in its lovely winter livery.

In other occasions, I happened to immortalize this scene with the mountain barely visible, or with too clear weather and no cloudscape… in short, in this photographic genre it is very rare to find all the elements in perfect balance, but when it happens it is really important not to miss the moment!

This artillery was used during the Second World War.

It is located on the summit of Mont Chaberton, a 3.131 meters (10,272 ft) peak in the French Alps in the group known as the Massif des Cerces in the département of Hautes-Alpes. This very impressive fortress was dubbed “Fort of the Clouds” and mounted eight 149mm guns in individual masonry turrets, which were often hidden in the clouds. Built between 1898 and 1910 by the Italians to control the Montgenèvre pass, this fort was then considered as the highest and most powerful of Europe. Nine soldiers died in this fort, and fifty were wounded.

In this night picture, I’ve focused the attention on the most damaged tower… it seems to have silently observed, for a long time, the wonders of nature and the madness of men. An endless carpet of clouds was surrounding the summit, on a starry, insanely cold, windy, silent night.

Star trail, single exposure lasted 1 hour.

You are looking to the otherworldly area below the Freney, southwest face of Mont Blanc massif, Italian side. One of the most geometric locations of the Alps, because of the harmonious relationship between peaks, stars (the Polaris is exactly above the Aiguille Noire) and Earth’s rotation.
From left to right: Mont Blanc de Courmayeur, Aiguille Croux, Aiguille Blanche, Aiguille Noire, Mont Rouge de Peuterey.
Above: Polaris
A faint light from the west: moon (33%) just set.
Light from the east: the area of Courmayeur, many km far away but present in the form of light pollution.
One of the main reasons that lead me to continue this photographic activity is the joy of discovery. I guess this is why I’m also starting to appreciate more and more the star trails… yes, for the “tale of the unexpected” within this photography genre. Of course, knowing the cardinal point I’m directing my camera I can easily predict the shape that the trails of stars will assume (due to the Earth’s rotation). Also, I can carefully choose the focus, composition, white balance, estimate according to the conditions of non-light the various settings, yes I can do this – I have to – nevertheless, just ask any sincere photographer, the end result of a star trail is always an enigma. A most pleasant one! It’s amazing to note the amount of light & color a camera manages to capture at night, in the dark, just continuing to “observe” for an hour, constantly and relentlessly, the spot we have carefully chosen! Well, this is indeed something that our eyes could never do, our eyes can look only frame by frame, we are technically not able to make the sum of light in time. So, what to say, except “thanks to the cameras for this!”… for the chance to discover new things and also for helping us to think in a not too anthropocentric way, reflecting on the fact that there is not only our human way to see. The way we see is only one possible reading of the “reality”, so, let’s discover the others!

The simple idea behind this photo is not to provide a picture of the Matterhorn (which has already been photographed a couple of times, I guess), but rather to frame the sense of silent peace, at night, by the shores of the alpine lake Stellisee (2.537 m).

This night shot was taken from the Testa di Liconi (2.929 m). It portraits the Aosta Valley covered by a thick blanket of clouds that glitters from the lights. Clearly discernible in the distance are the pyramidical shape of the Grivola (3.969 m) and the Gran Paradiso (4.061 m) to its right.

A sea of clouds, exposed to the south-east, is lit by the moon (63%) rising in the east.

Yes, a huge mass of clouds slipping down steep rocky ridges from a height of about 2.900 meters. The shot was taken at night on September 6th, 2012, from the summit of Mount Rocciamelone (3.538 m), Italy.

This is one of the most otherworldly photographs I’ve taken so far. Thanks to the intrinsic magic of the night and to the privilege of being there, silently admiring this amazing moment. This 195 seconds exposure, at 115mm on full frame, turned the slow passage of the clouds in a sort of “silky waterfall”.

A few star trails are already visible, despite the exposure wasn’t particularly long. I guess we all know as the consequences of Earth’s rotation are more obvious when using a telephoto lens. The intensity of colors, contrast and white balance are strongly faithful to the scene.

The main mountains visible here are the Uia Ciamarella (3.676), P.ta d’Arnas (3.560) and, at the horizon, the south-west face of Gran Paradiso (4.061).

This shot was taken on March 14th, 2012, from the summit of Mont Brévent (2.525 m), France. During one evening-night-morning spent up there freezing my tail off, and, also, contemplating the immense beauty of the Mont Blanc massif north face!

A bit on the right of the summit you can see the brilliant star, Sirius. I’ve decided to capture the huge area of the Mont Blanc summit (4.810 m) during the late evening transition time right after the blue hour, when the camera through long exposure is still able to perceive some sort of “atmospheric light”, when the light pollution from Chamonix is still not too invading, and before moonrise that would have spoiled the sight of the first stars in the sky.

So: insanely great subject, right place, and absolutely precise time window.

Unfortunately, at this resolution, it’s not possible to see the Refuge Vallot, located at 4.362 meters above sea level. It’s placed on the iced crest on the right… in the original hi-res file is perfectly visible the entire metal structure!

Rosengarten, Dolomites. The Vajolet Towers at dawn, mystically shrouded in mist.

There are scenes, moments, experiences in our lives, which can hardly be expressed in words. In some cases, a simple image can be more direct, although it is not always easy to “grab the instant”. But it’s always worth at least a try.

Summit area of the Brec de Chambeyron photographed at moonlight.

The Brec de Chambeyron (3.389 m), is a mountain of the Cottian Alps on the border between France (Ubaye Valley) and Italy (Maira Valley). The word “Brec” or “Bric” in French stands for a mountain resembling a rocky tooth.

I have a deep interest in portraying the worldly elements, especially when they are connected with things that go… far beyond. Hence the title “The Eternal Rivers”, as the Milky Way here seems to find the continuity in the clouds of our tiny planet. This photograph was taken in Val Cenischia, Italy/France, shortly after midnight on June 17th, 2018, thanks to the union of two shots taken with different exposures. I saw that the mountain ridge in front of me was caressed by slowly floating clouds, so I immediately understood that in order to get a dreamy-looking scene I would have to dedicate a quite long exposure to the clouds and the classic exposure for the starry sky.

So I did, and these clouds turned out like rivers of cream and the stars perfectly spot-like. The result was obtained! However, the clouds also benefit here from some lunar lighting, as the moon
had just set. Enough light reverberation to still offer some three-dimensionality to the earthly things without compromising the darkness that the Milky Way requires.

The Milky Way aligned with the northeast face of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Dolomites) seems flowing into the two rivers of clouds below. Hence the title of this photograph.

Among the many stars, is perfectly recognizable Altair, the biggest and brightest on the left of the Milky Way.

A misty evening, with fog and low clouds, allowed me to take some lovely shots during the blue hour, just along the path that leads to the Forcella Lavaredo, here portrayed in the picture. Place where I’ve then mounted my tent (visible in the lower center) for the night.

So, I’ve got also the priceless opportunity to admire the dawn and sunrise of the next day, both simply magical.

This shot was taken in front of the southern side of the world-famous Vajolet Towers, South Tyrol Dolomites. It is actually one of my favorite places in the Alps.

Here you can see the transition between the blue hour and the night.

The moment when the stars appear in the sky, or, at least, when the camera begins to capture them. In the upper right corner, you can see the Andromeda Galaxy. I opted for a black and white photograph just to make the most from this almost otherworldly atmosphere.

This is the north face of the Grand Combin, a 4,314 meters (14,154 ft) high mountain in the western Pennine Alps in Switzerland.

At the beginning of the night, the moonlight illuminated the Corbassière Glacier (9.8 km long, with an average width of slightly more than 1 km and covering an area of 17.4 km²).

This is the fantastic face of the Mont Blanc massif as seen from the Malatrà plateau at moonlight.

The sector goes from the glorious Pointe Walker (4,208 m) of the Grandes Jorasses to the Mont Gruetta (3,684 m). A sublime view, obviously thanks to the pyramidal shape of the Pointe Walker, was, in fact, what truly inspired me to visit this place.

It’s like having an immense pyramid of Giza in Val d’Aosta!

The Matterhorn (Cervino), by some just respectfully called “The Mountain”, at night under a clear starry sky.

The light of the refuge Duc des Abruzzes à l’Oriondé is clearly visible and, towards the west side, along with the Italian normal route, there is also a tiny trail of light left by the frontal lamps of the climbers who were approaching the Refuge Jean-Antoine Carrel.

This is the French side of the Mont Blanc massif mirroring in the still waters of lake Cheserys (2.211 m), high up in the Aiguilles Rouges above the Chamonix valley.

Night shot, taken on September 13th, 2012, at 10:07 p.m.

Waters of alpine lakes are not always still as well as not always in motion. Let’s say that during regular weather conditions they are just alternating phases in accordance with the winds. Sometimes, even in this Cheserys area, I’ve seen photographers observing the waters a bit rippled… and then moving on, looking for other places. Patience is the base, also while we pay attention to reading the phases of the wind, somehow predicting the moments of quiet, having everything already set up to take the shot. Usually, during the moments of wind, I just define perfectly the composition and the camera setting, in order to be totally ready when everything will start to calm down.

This kind of photography with starry sky rarely exceeds the 30sec of exposure (because of Earth’s rotation), therefore the fact to be operating in such a relatively short time increases considerably the chances to get water totally still during that specific time window. Sometimes it’s possible, sometimes not. In any case, it’s always worth trying.

This night shot was taken practically at the end of the blue hour from the lake Riffelsee (2.757 m), depicting the Matterhorn transfigured between immense waves of clouds.

Observing this, in the dark, felt like becoming a part of Dantesque vision. In the foreground, I’ve been careful to include the algae of the lake, as almost longing to reach a higher state of being towards the mountain.

I take this opportunity to quote a sentence of Master Yoda, from Star Wars Episode V, which is actually the heart of the entire etiology: “My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere”.