One of the top landscape destinations I've ever had the pleasure of photographing is the Tianzi Mountains in China. The extraordinarily beautiful limestone formations are covered with striking vegetation, and in the early morning low clouds and fog transform the stunning mountains into pure magic. Trees grow in unlikely places, sunrise is incredible, and everywhere you look there is a picture. For the best vantage points, you have to get up very early -- before the early-rising Chinese -- to watch dawn turn into golden light. There is a hotel where you can stay, and now there is a cable car to take you to the top. When I first visited China in 1983, landscapes like this were only accessible by climbing stone steps. In the Huangshan Mountains, similar to the Tianzi, I climbed 15,000 stone steps to the top carrying 40 pounds of gear. I couldn't do that now, so it's great the government built the cable car system. My settings for this picture were 1/640, f/13, and 200 ISO.
4 Comments
Jun 30, 2023, 5:47:13 PM
Jim - No, never.
Jun 30, 2023, 4:53:13 PM
Rosemary Sheel - Stamina and determination…in spades! Did you think about quitting?
Jun 30, 2023, 9:59:12 AM
Jim - It took me about full day. But I was only 43 years old at the time.
Jun 30, 2023, 9:48:40 AM
Rosemary Sheel - I learned of these mountains from you. And your wonderful photos remain in my mind. But now, I want to know how long it took you to climb 15,ooo steps!