Jay is a passionate traveler and photographer whose curiosity drives him to explore both faraway landscapes and hidden gems in his own country. In this article, he shares how travel and photography intertwine as journeys of discovery, growth, and creativity. Jay shares insights into his process, the lessons he’s learned, and the story behind the photograph that won the Best of the Week 46, 2024.
Traveling opens your eyes to different cultures and ways of life, helping you grow and refine your values. But more than that, it’s a journey of self-discovery – stepping out of your comfort zone teaches you so much about who you are. And you don’t have to go far to experience that. I love to explore my own country too – there’s magic everywhere if you stay open to it, whether in a faraway land or right in your backyard.
By trying out different activities, you also find out what you are passionate about. Photography came into my life later, but once I picked up a camera, I was hooked. Just like with travel, it’s about exploration, experimenting with different genres, and editing techniques until you develop your style and refine your vision. In both travel and photography, my curiosity and drive to grow have fueled my passion. These two elements I believe are essential.
I think you never stop learning lessons while traveling and shooting. I quickly realized that adaptation is key: you can go out with an idea or a plan, but reality often unfolds differently. Being able to adapt and react to the conditions you’re facing is key. From there you can create even better images, forced to work with what is the surprise and the unknown. If you are willing to accept the situation and use it to your advantage, these circumstances can push you to new creative levels.
The second lesson I learned that allowed me to live many adventures is to always believe something will happen: if you don’t go, you’ll never know! So even if the conditions look bad, there’s only one way to know what you can make out of it! Stay positive and go shoot! There’s always more happening outside than at home.
Going the extra mile would be another one – this means making more effort than the average person. It can mean different things; wake up early to get to the spot for sunrise and be there before the crowd arrives, hike further than the obvious spots and explore around, or get out in bad or cold weather. All these little efforts lead to the most rewarding shots.
Finally, enjoy: If you enjoy being out in the fresh air, and having fun while getting active, this will help you in the long run! If you don’t bring back bangers from a session, it should still be ok. Great shots are just the icing on the cake—the real reward is the joy of being out there, doing something good for both your mind and body, something to feel grateful for. For me, photography is one part of a bigger experience.
Joy was also what I felt when I took the photo that won Best of the Week, during a road trip with my camper van. This picture (see picture 1) was shot in October 2024. I was traveling in Switzerland for two weeks to explore my country and capture the autumn colors in different spots. That day, I took the first train from Zermatt up to Gornergrat. At that period of the year, you can arrive at the lake just in time for sunrise.
This picture is an in-camera double exposure. I realized that I already had the “classic” sunrise reflection picture from that spot that I took in 2021. By looking around me and seeing all the other photographers on the spot with their tripods which were all aiming at the Matterhorn, I told myself, “How can I differentiate my pictures from the others?” Instead of just focusing on the classic reflection shot, I looked around and noticed the moon rising above the Gornergrat glacier. I got the idea to take a picture of the moon and then a second one of the Matterhorn reflecting in the lake and got this final result. With the viewfinder showing me the first image, I could align the moon with the top of the mountain to get my final composition. I also tried some other double or triple exposures that day.
Most of my creative process was done on the spot while shooting. The game changer for this image was to place the moon where I wanted while shooting. I also had to be careful not to leave too much space at the bottom of the pic below the reflected summit cause I couldn’t have the moon reflection there with the double exposure technique.
The edits I made in the post-processing were first to brighten the center of the image by applying a circular gradient to make the Matterhorn pop out a bit more. Then I applied another mask on the moon and tried to find an acceptable exposure and brightness to match with the rest of the image. Finally, a slight color correction to enhance the luminosity of the pink and purple and that’s it.
I usually edit my pictures from the start without using presets. Sometimes I also like to re-edit an old picture just for fun. As I progress in photography, I revisit old shots I once thought were unusable, only to find new creative possibilities through improved editing skills. This is a nice reward to see that I now understand much better Lightroom and editing techniques than a few years back. But I still have a lot to learn and understand and this keeps me motivated!
So if I had to give tips to a beginner, it would be to shoot what you like and edit it your way – aligned with your authentic artistic vision, even if not aligned with social media trends. Learning by doing is a process that should be fun (and a little frustrating because that means learning takes place). Experiment with different edits and see which ones truly align with your vision. Don’t overcomplicate editing and try to convey the feeling you had on the spot while shooting. With editing techniques, you can truly add your touch to share your artistic vision.
Also, your shooting and editing skills will evolve with time. You have to be patient, it’s a process. Improvement in photography doesn’t happen overnight. But if there is one thing I wish I understood sooner it would be the power of local adjustments by using masking techniques the right way. So I’d be happy if a beginner photographer who reads this interview could understand that and apply it quicker than me!
To keep improving and to enjoy what I do, I like to set the goal to travel for photography at least once a year. This helps me build up a portfolio with different kinds of pictures like landscapes, portraits, or sports and adventure. I often choose my travel destinations with photography in mind. The last trips I did were to Peru, Vietnam, and Kyrgyzstan, all three very different places but all have very good photography potential! And I’m also lucky to live in Switzerland, an amazing playground for outdoor photographers.
From time to time, I participate in photography contests. By having a varied portfolio, I can submit pictures in different categories. I have won some contests and have been a finalist in others, like for example the Red Bull Illume, the world’s greatest adventure and action sports imagery contest. The final of this contest has been an amazing experience. We’ve been invited to Sölden in Austria for three days, allowing me to meet some of the world’s best action and adventure photographers I look up to. As an amateur photographer amongst all those pros, this has given me a huge motivation to continue to create and to level up my photography game.
I also collaborate sometimes with tourism boards or shoot sporting events. Anything I do though, is to develop new skills and ideas and be able to create images that inspire people to get active and explore more. For that, I would love to collaborate more often with other people, may it be other photographers, brands or athletes. I usually create solo and work spontaneously, but I’d love to start collaborating on bigger projects with others. So, hit me up if you want to collaborate on some cool and inspiring projects!
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