Thomas Luisier:
Landscape photographer based in Switzerland
@thomas.luisier
Starring, Thomas Luisier: Landscape photographer based in Valais, Switzerland.
"Above Switzerland"
With more than 48 summits higher than 4,000 meters, Switzerland has the most “four-thousanders” in Europe. Something remarkable considering the small size of this country. 120 glaciers, 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and a dense network of hiking trails (totaling over 65,000 km in length, or one and half times the circumference of the earth) is what makes of Switzerland a must visit country. If visiting Switzerland is not in your bucket list yet, wait until you see the amazing visual content that our guest has been producing for the past years!
Thomas, better known in Instagram as @thomas.luisier is a young talent based in Valais, Switzerland. Growing surrounded by landscapes with infinite shapes and contrasts motivated Thomas to grab the camera and immortalize his own view of the country. His photography called the attention of accounts such as @agameoftones, and his drone shots combined with the white tones of Switzerland could not be more inspiring.
Thus, in order to dive into Thomas’ art and understand his vision of one of the most beautiful countries in the world I asked him eleven questions. The following was the outcome.
Welcome Thomas! You have been sharing amazing landscape photos of Switzerland for a while now. In your opinion, what makes this country so special?
Switzerland is a very small country compared to the other countries around it (France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein). We have 26 cantons that create enormous diversity for a tiny country. We also have 4 languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh) increasing in this way the cultural differences between regions. I often have to speak in English when I am in a region where the main language is not French.
"Every canton has its own diversity and traditions and this is what makes Switzerland so special"
If you had to choose, what three places in Switzerland would you recommend visiting to our readers?
I do not think it is possible to choose only three locations in Switzerland because there are so many beautiful places. On the other hand, I can recommend three cantons worth visiting: Valais (the canton where I live), the Bernese Oberland, which is an incredible region, and the Grisons. I visited Graubünden for the first time last year with my girlfriend, and since then I have been back twice, there is so much to see there!
You have been sharing amazing drone photos for a while now. Can you share with us some tips and tricks into this art of photography?
I bought my drone in September 2017, it is a Dji Mavic Pro. I love taking shots with a drone because it allows me to capture incredible perspectives.
I had to be patient in order to buy my first drone, mainly because they are quite expensive. I advise you to take the time to know your drone and its limits, this allows you to avoid the fear of flying certain flights. Personally I shoot in manual mode to keep a maximum of control over my photos, whether it is with my DSLR or my drone. When I am flying my drone I always try to find new perspectives in order to innovate, but it is not always easy, it goes through the nacelle tilt, or just at the altitude. Sometimes after a 25 minutes flight, I will only keep a single photo because I am demanding in terms of my photos.
I was also astonished by the resistance of these small devices, I had the opportunity to fly the Mavic Pro at the “Julierpass” where the temperature is generally between -10 and -20 degrees during winter. To summarize, it is important to know your drone, its settings and always look for new perspectives.
I believe that the edition of your photos is a huge part of your success, do you agree? What are the three things you always do when editing a photo?
I like to edit my photos slowly. Usually when I come back from a road trip, I hurry to put them on the computer and import them into Lightroom to avoid any problem with my memory cards. Once that is done I take the time to edit the raw photos, often I do a basic editing to see if the photo has potential. If this is the case, I will spend some time working on the colors and the composition, and I will remove any elements that might be disturbing the picture. Afterwards, I wait a few days before coming back to it so I can make the final retouching and post the photo in Instagram. I work mostly on Lightroom and occasionally on Photoshop but this is rare. I sometimes edit my photos directly on the iPhone X with the VSCO application, mainly for stories because I want to find a certain harmony even on my stories.
What is the best thing and the worst thing of being a landscape photographer?
For someone like me who enjoys exploring lakes, dams and passes, winter is very frustrating. Many places are inaccessible in my area and I have to travel hundreds of kilometers to discover new places. It is not something that bothers me, but it is very expensive when you are an intern (gasoline, maintaining my old car, food, etc). On the other hand, there are many advantages, we learn to look for places we did not know existed.
What is the most mind blowing thing you have ever done to capture a moment?
Probably leaving at 3am, having slept 2h30, to explore the Graubünden from Valais. Since some of roads were closed due to the weather conditions, it took us about 4 to 5 hours to reach the Graubünden by car.
"During this day I drove more than 1000km in 17h, being amazed by each landscape I saw. It was a beautiful experience!"
Can you share with us your most notorious anecdote being outdoors?
Actually I have several of them. When my girlfriend and I went to Zermatt to camp, we checked the temperatures in the city since it is located 1.608 meters above sea level. However, we forgot that actually we were sleeping at 2.757 meters above sea level in a place called the Riffelsee. The temperatures were extremely low, almost reaching 0 degrees instead of the 15 to 20 degrees we had planned. Of course we did not prepare accordingly, we were wearing shorts and t-shirts and our sleeping bags were suitable for temperatures above 15 degrees! It was an icy night but what an experience to see the Matterhorn with the sunrise!
The other anecdote concerns the Graubünden. The first time I went there in September, we left Friday evening after work by the Furka Pass. After several hours driving we had planned to sleep in the car in Flims but unfortunately the reception area of the campsite where we wanted to sleep was closed because we arrived too late. We ended up sleeping next to a “gouille” in Laxx. The night was very cold and putting a mattress in an unsuitable car is not always the best idea. We slept very little and got cold all night. But this is the kind of adventure I like!
Among all your photos, which one is your favorite? Why?
It is hard to choose only one photograph. I think that my picture of the Landwasser Viadukt is one of my favorite because this photo is part of a 3-day trip to Graubünden with my girlfriend Magdalena Bralewska. I was looking for a different perspective from what we are used to see. My drone took off and I prepared my composition. Once everything was ready I let my drone fly while I was waiting for the train to pass. At the same time as the drone was flying, I held my reflex camera (1.5kg) on one hand and the drone’s remote control on the other hand to shoot. It was not easy, but it was worth it in the end!
What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
I did not have any particular wishes, I do not think I was pre-destined for photography. I did an apprenticeship as a “Mediamatician” at Swisscom SA (it’s a very little known profession outside of Switzerland, but to sum up it is like a Swiss media knife; videos, design, photography, marketing, administrative and sales). But I remember that during my first year of apprenticeship I laughed at my colleagues who took pictures and invested a lot of money in equipment.
Back in 2015 I was doing a lot of sport, but I had an injury that forced me to give up. Just after this injury we went to the United States for 3 weeks with my family. My little sister had taken her reflex camera (a Canon 1100D), and this is when I started to take pictures, they were very basic but I liked the fact of capturing a moment. After this trip I borrowed for several months the old reflex of my father, a Sony Alpha 300. I published only very few of my photos on Instagram but I liked it. In January 2016 I started practicing “urbex” (urban exploration) and at the same time I bought my Canon 70D which I still use today. After several months doing “urbex” (without having a lot of spots to explore in Switzerland) I decided to focus on landscape photography.
As from August 2016, I really started to publish my photos on Instagram and this allowed me to understand how important it is to work hard to stand out from the crowd, which is not easy. I do not know if it really answers the question, but in the end the fact that I started photography is a mixture of life experiences.
Who are your favorite (top 3) landscape photographers in IG?
I really like the work of Alex Strohl and Johan Lolos, I had the opportunity to meet him when he came to Switzerland during his 5-month trip to Europe. This is where you can see all the work and sacrifices behind the photos you can see in Instagram. In my top 3 (there is no precise order), I also admire the work of Marco Lopes, a young Swiss photographer who has a way of seeing our country that amazes me every time.
Can you fix the world in one sentence?
Explore the world but above all respect it because we only have one!
