Breaking Fast by TedGore

***I’d like to announce a special workshop Erin Babnik and I are leading next summer in the Dolomites in Italy. Specific details and pricing are still being ironed out, but if you know you are interested, or want to be the first to know when we release full details, head over to THIS LINK and sign up for my mailing list, or GO HERE and contact me directly. This is my first release from a series of images of mine from the Dolomites, an amazing mountain range in an amazing part of the world I had the pleasure of exploring a couple months ago with Erin Babnik, who knows this area extremely well. This lake is particularly breathtaking to lay your eyes upon, one of the most idyllic I’ve ever seen. It was a pleasure to visit and quite a breath of fresh air having just recovered from a really rough beginning to my trip of three weeks there… and I was leaving only two days later! When I arrived in Italy, the first thing I had to deal with was jet lag. Now, jet lag usually isn’t that bad, but it is when you roll in, can’t get the rental car you had originally reserved, have to drive 4 hours out of your way so that you can borrow a car from a VERY generous person(who then spent 3 weeks riding his bike to work so we could have a car, thanks dude!), then go straight to a 3 hour hike, with a couple thousand feet of elevation gain, only to then blow out and flare up a knee problem that you haven’t had issues with in several years, having your trekking poles decide to not work anymore, limping out the 3 hour hike back DOWN the several thousand feet of elevation gain, and then to contract one of the nastiest colds that I’ve ever had(from Erin’s private workshop client who was sick, she got sick too), no doubt because of all the stress causing my immune system to absolutely tank. Sorry for that sentence… it’s a mess, and I’m not fixing it! I’m too tired from having to recall that entire ordeal! But, by the time we got to this spot, my jet lag was gone, my cold was gone(so was Erin’s, she actually got over hers faster than I did), and my knee was strong as ever. I was finally enjoying myself fully, and able to really concentrate on my photography. Our evening attempt proved to be a bust, so we retired with hopes for a good morning. Waking before sunset we found the area so socked in fog that we just went back to sleep. Oh glorious sleep. Fast forward a bit, and we were all packed up, fueled, and ready to hike out in the rain and on to our next destination. A shot from here just wasn’t meant to be, but signs of breaks started coming and I thought well, maybe something will happen. We went back to the lake, and as the scattered showers passed over, Erin and I hunkered down under those two larch trees you see there in the shot, which did a really great job of shielding us from the rain while giving us a great view of the lake. It’s actually quite nice to sit under a tree with a great friend, in the rain, watching the drops hit the water and enjoying the view. Eventually this magnificent soft glowy late morning light started flooding in, making the teal of the water really punch as the peak of Il Dito di Dio began peaking out. So I got to work, and this is the result. I’m really quite happy with it. Hope you enjoy it! via 500px http://bit.ly/1iQg5WO

RAIN OF LIGHT by mfabius83

Light embraced the storm, to give moments of rare beauty. Location: Pass Pordoi, Val di Fassa, Dolomites, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy - September 2014 Personal web site: http://bit.ly/1EsRVXy via 500px http://bit.ly/1QFCKjN

Carezza Mirror by albertdros

At sunset the peaks behind the beautiful Carezza Lake in the Dolomites get a red color from the sun that is going down at the opposite side. The water was totally still at this point making a beautiful mirror. via 500px http://bit.ly/1LZllB9

Spire of Doom by efossati

WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: Want to join me on an adventure here? I'll be co-leading a workshop in the Dolomites with Erin Babnik this July 17-23. This is an adventure-style workshop that will take us to some of the most amazing wilderness locations in the region. The workshop includes six days of shooting and a post-processing session on the last day. We have a 12-page brochure available that contains all of the details. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1MmLVlx This shot has been taken this summer during the Workshop Adventure in Dolomites with my amazing mate Erin Babnik. For Capture this shot i have used Lucroit Equipment, if you are interested don't foget that you can get 10%OFF with my Discount Code FOSSATI10. http://bit.ly/1JkBhg8 via 500px http://bit.ly/1EWQV2x

Two minutes by rene15985

Rene Colella Photography via 500px http://bit.ly/1N7JLvb

Requiem by ErinBabnik

Life is too short. Too short to accomplish everything that you could want to do, to go everywhere you could want to go, and to spend enough time with everyone you love. I had the most painful reminder of this truth one afternoon while I was temporarily living in Portland, just over a year ago. As I was preparing dinner, I got a call from the wife of one of my best friends: Jeff Swanson, her husband, my shooting buddy and fellow sailing crew member, had passed away that morning. At the age of 30. Anyone who knew Jeff, even just through photography circles on the internet, genuinely adored him. His inimitable wit, playful charm, and positive attitude made him an internet darling and, to those of us lucky enough to know him “in real life,” a cherished friend. We all knew that he had melanoma and was fighting it valiantly, but somehow I felt that nothing could bring down a guy like Jeff, at least not so soon. It’s really hard to communicate even an inkling of the pain that I still feel today, pain and frustration that this amazing world with all of its wonders and miracles couldn't save this awesome person. Perhaps with more support, the Melanoma Research Foundation will achieve a breakthrough that will make a huge difference, maybe even a cure. Wouldn't that be awesome? If you would like to help, please consider visiting the memorial page set up in Jeff’s honor and generously hosted by SmugMug, with all proceeds from print sales going to fund the MRF. ABOUT THIS PHOTO Of all of the photos that I could dedicate to Jeff right now, this one seems the most appropriate. It is about friendship, about photography, about the trials and wonders of life, and it perfectly encapsulates Jeff’s famous motto of “f/it and be there”. While exploring some of the higher elevations of the Dolomites with my dear friend Ted Gore, we both caught a nasty cold from someone we had been shooting with earlier in the week. That cold took us down hard, and we spent days holed up in a tiny room of a refuge hut just big enough for two bunkbeds, feeling pretty sorry for ourselves as we sneezed, coughed, sniffled, groaned, and slept the hours away. We were completely off the grid, with no data signal or WiFi, and because we were in bunkbeds, we couldn’t even see each other. It’s about as close to solitary confinement as I’ve ever come, but there was great consolation in knowing that I was in fact there with my friend, and we were in it together. Finally, we decided that we would try to “f/it and be there” for a sunset outing. Could we muster the strength to venture out, hike up a peak, and try to be creative? Would it even be worthwhile, given the thick weather that day? Well, it wasn’t easy, but we got ourselves out and up the peak, and I soon found this spot to park my tripod and wait for a clearing. Just as it started to happen, Ted came down from where he had been scouting and asked if I wanted a figure in my shot. Of course I did, but I replied, “No, I think I like you too much for that.” The cliff where he wanted to stand would put him in a death-defying position with a drop of hundreds of feet beneath him, so I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of him standing there. He climbed up anyway and took a few photos of the drama unfolding before us, while I shot a couple of frames and held my breath, hoping that he would be sure-footed as usual. My concern amounted to a complete double standard, since I tend to be pretty foolhardy around cliffs myself, but I had already lost one close friend in the last year, and I couldn’t bear the idea of losing another one. I don’t ever want to lose another friend, especially not Ted. I remember us being all giddy after having seen such a wonderful display of nature, and Ted remarking that, for a while there, he had completely forgotten that we were so sick; I had forgotten too. So we accomplished something, went somewhere awesome, and got in some quality friend time. Thankfully, Jeff’s spirit of optimism came alive in us and made us head out instead of remaining incarcerated in our bunks. Like I said, life is too short. Make the most of it. Get out and do awesome things. Love your friends. Peace. via 500px http://bit.ly/1LOO8Lp

Spirit of Tre Cime by AtomicZen

Tre Cime, Italian Dolomites. via 500px http://bit.ly/1fZ13MO

Last Rays by LucaBenini

Stunning sunset over Dolomites http://bit.ly/1IIec52 via 500px http://bit.ly/1c6x3wA

Meditation moments by dinom

via 500px http://bit.ly/1v9mdyD

Light on the road by dinom

via 500px http://bit.ly/1BvKmhW

Antorno Sunset by francisco19_88

via 500px http://bit.ly/1JetnUR

The paradise under the storm by mfabius83

I want to share an amazing sunset which I was lucky to admire last September near Passo Pordoi, Dolomites. The rain came down upon me, and a incredible light filtered and struck the walls of the Gran Vernel and the Marmolada, the Queen of the Dolomites. Take this shoot was not easy, the rain bathed the lens and the cold became pungent because the clothes was completely wet. Despite the difficulties were very exciting moments. Location: Pass Pordoi, Val di Fassa, Dolomites, Italy Personal web site: http://bit.ly/1EsRVXy via 500px http://bit.ly/15AkAhQ