December 11, 2025

A short walk: a mountain hut above the treeline

The alarm went off before dawn, and by six I was already at a mountain hut above the treeline. A light drizzle started around ten. I sheltered under a bus stop roof and photographed people hurrying past.

Locals barely noticed me. A man feeding gulls told me the place looks completely different in spring. I underexposed most of the frames on purpose, to keep the mood strangely warm rather than bright.

On the way home the train was nearly empty, so I reviewed the day's notes and planned the next trip. Halfway through I switched to black and white, which suited the strangely warm weather much better.

Walking back, I found a side street I had never noticed before, lined with tiny workshops. The path was muddy and longer than the map suggested, but the view at the end made up for it.

By noon the crowds arrived, so I walked further along the path, where winter colours were still undisturbed. I tried a few long exposures, but the wind had other ideas. The handheld shots turned out better anyway.

It was a good reminder that interesting pictures rarely require going far.