Fresh perspectives with Matthieu Gafsou

Matthieu Gafsou has been nice enough to let us publish a selection of his internationally admired series, Alpes. His atmospheric and surreal photos of the Swiss mountains may be considered fine art, but many of the techniques he uses can be applied to travel photography.

1) Rather than waiting for “perfect light”, these shots show that soft, cloudy conditions can lend a dreamlike quality to photos:

2) Here, he steps back or turns around completely to include tourists in the frame. Not only does this give a sense of scale, but it is also tells a  more interesting story about the location than your average landscape snap. I love this approach.

3) This image clearly illustrates the quality of light you get when shooting in the snow. Even though he is shooting into the sun, the tourists are perfectly exposed. That’s because the snow is highly reflective and bounces the sunlight back into the shadows. This is a great trick to remember. It can also work on bright sandy beaches.

Some more of my favorite shots from the series. There’s plenty more on his website – check them out!