© 2020 Nomadict. All rights reserved.
Nomadict's First Online
Exhibition
June 26 - July 26
With Patrick Meier
@patmeierphotography
“Once you get into photography, you will never see anything in the same way again.” These were the words of my best friend’s dad, who ignited the photography spark in me a long time ago. Today, I often catch myself thinking in f-numbers while composing images in my head when I see picturesque sceneries.”
PRESENTING PATRICK MEIER
NOMADICT'S FIRST ONLINE
EXHIBITION
“My beginnings are humble: As a youngster growing up in the Swiss Alps, I spent most of my early days in the mountains and forests nearby. The mountains will always be one of my first loves. It has taken the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle in London for me to rediscover it. I would often travel back from London and go on multi-day hikes and return to the UK with beautiful pictures and a clearer mind. Finally having made a permanent move back to Switzerland in 2016, I found my happy place – mountain photography. It’s not just taking pictures of stunning landscapes but also being out there, in the wild, with no one around.”
“To capture these immense landscapes, I plan pictures well in advance and try to leave as little as possible to luck. It can take years for the conditions to be right to get my desired shot, and it takes hours and hours of planning and preparation. But all this preparation is then manifested into the final picture you see, which makes the hassle of carrying all my outdoor and photography gear up to high altitudes and finding a suitable spot to crash for the night, well worth it.”
“Editing is an essential part of modern photography and in my case, I try to recreate the scene in post-processing with certain adjustments. It is very important and vital to do justice to the image, just like understanding light. Nevertheless, finding a good composition is crucial. Even in bad conditions with flat light, you can create impactful images simply by focusing on your composition. Nevertheless, in the end, the most important element of photography is to just get out there, grasp the surroundings and focus on your vision. The pictures will come to you when you put in the effort – and love – to achieve your goals.”
“I remember coming across a series of pictures of the so-called fog wave quite some time ago. Although I was initially very fascinated by it, I did not give it much thought. A few years later, while checking the weather for another project I had, the forecast predicted ideal conditions for a fog wave. I quickly did some research and virtual location scouting on Google Earth and other similar programs. I knew how the first light of the day would come into the scene and wanted to capture the backlight coming through the fog. This meant starting a drive to the location at 4 am and a hike up to my desired spot before the first light of day. Luckily, my plan worked out perfectly. I reached the spot approximately 30 minutes before the blue hour and had plenty of time to set everything up and find the right foreground. Then everything just got better by the second. The blue hour was great but when the sun came out, it enhanced the scene. Trees that pierced through the fog looked even more spectacular in the glory of the backlight and the gentle soft tones.
The fog wave picture is a picture that stands out and has already won several awards. I love the colors and the calmness of it. It’s something that many don’t get to witness with the naked eye.”
"A long-exposure shot gives the scene a completely different perspective of the ‘movement’ of clouds over a mountain range, that a fast shutter speed or the eye itself cannot capture.”
“On the day of my fog wave mission, I also knew there was another spot somewhere close by to potentially capture the sea of fog with the very prominent rock face in the midground. I started wandering through the forest hoping that I would find the second desired spot and actually found it! The scattered trees on top of that little mountain with the calming sea of fog below, combined with the warm autumn colors in the trees, make this picture extraordinary. Technology and research apps really helped in getting me to this unknown place. I also used them to learn how the light would behave. I will certainly return, maybe when there is a touch of snow or during the first light of the day. Often, going back to the same spots in different weather conditions and at various times of the year or times of the day, can make a huge difference.
"You just need to get out there!”
“I find the image beautifully captures a picture within a picture out of this scene. I feel the fog getting blown through the trees and remember the cold breeze on my face. I also love the light in this close-up, which makes this photograph very special to me.”
This photo was taken on a 5-day hike, exploring the south-eastern part of the Swiss Alps – sleeping in my bivouac bag. That was the plan. The night before this shot, a storm hit, bringing heavy rain and even snow. I took shelter in an abandoned barn. The next day the weather remained the same. Eventually, I managed to make it up to an alp and met a few mountain farmers and hunters who invited me to spend the night in their hut. Shortly after settling in, the weather cleared up for just a minute or two… there was my window of opportunity! I was fast enough to capture this lush green, backlit scene. I have a print of this at home and every time I look at it, it gives me a sense of calmness.
"The various shades of green combined with the dramatic clouds take you to opposite extremes of both tranquility and excitement."
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