It’s the 10 th of Januari of 2022. I’m back from a family holiday of two weeks in Romania. This is a short blog of my photo walk at the Hautes Fagnes in Belgium at the beginning of December of 2021.
Due to the weather forecast (rain/snow and fog) for the 4th of December I decided to do a photo walk at the Baraque Michel in Belgium. The Baraque Michel with its altitude of 674 metres is almost the highest point of Belgium. With the weather forecast in mind and the latest webcam data on the internet, the chances were high that I would encounter some really wintery conditions.
Fist I stopped at the Arboretum of Meffersheid situated near to the Baraque Michel. I wanted to explore this location for some new compositions. It rained so it was soaking wet, but there was no snow or fog at the Arboretum of Meffersheid. There was even some sunshine.
I took the first image next to the road. A birch tree with still a few brown leafs on its branches and a backdrop of green pine trees. Because of the sunlight I like this woodland scene. The light gives some depth to the image.
The second composition is a woodland scene next to a small stream. Somebody had left a kitchen chair next to a birch tree.
After exploring the Arboretum of Meffersheid I decided to go to Baraque Michel. Whilst driving to the Baraque Michel, the weather conditions completely changed. On top of the Baraque Michel it rained and there was a thick fog. It had snowed days before surely due to the higher altitude on top of the Baraque Michel. It had changed the landscape completely into a winter wonderland.
It was freezing cold. While looking for some compositions I stayed on the trails. With those winter conditions it is not save to leave the official trails. The Baraque Michel consist of a lot of boggy land. Because of the rainy and foggy conditions I left the 35mm f2 lens on my Fujifilm XT3. I had my 50mm and 85 mm lenses with me, but I did not want to damage the camera gear.
The snow and the fog gave a monochrome look to the landscape. With those conditions I like to process the images in black and white. The sun tried to burn through the thick fog. It gives a very faint hint of a backlight effect to the processed images.
I have planned to explore some more parts of the Baraque Michel. Hopefully too in winter conditions.
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All content and photographs are (C) Copyright Ruud Maas. All Rights Reserved.
Woodlands - landscapes - infrared - Streets - Portraits 