This mild slope is just above the drop-off of the most feared pass in the Indian Himalaya on a main route - the 4550m Kunzum La - the gateway to Spiti. The mountain is 5km distant and is 6080m. It's not so much the height or the rise of the pass that spooks people but the fact that the one lane 'road' up has to be pushed clean with earth movers each season; it is near vertical with no protection; and it's softened by snow melt. The old route is seen to the right here. Spiti is still something of a lost world, an ethnic Tibetan land of no compromise and great people.
Photo taken in Magic Hour about 15 minutes before sunset.
Looking across Big Meadows in late afternoon, magic hour light.
Tripod mounted A7r camera and Leica M 90mm f2.5 Summarit lens.
ISO 400, f11 for 1/200 second.
Exposure corrected +0.10 Stops.
October 19, 2015
At Big Meadows, Shenandoah NP, Virginia.
Spiti in India is a highly active alpine zone with roads bulldozed through the valleys. #1 the guys at the left are a little disturbed that the road was experiencing scree slide and rockfall, you can see the lighter toned scree. #2 shows the situation graphically; compare the size of the blue car (bottom right) with the boulders on the cliff face. Slopes reach 75 degrees and more here, and once the heat gets on the face.. I learned from the Sikh officers the best approach is to observe carefully for 5-10 minutes, then gun it! Less exposure time below the face means less risk of being squashed.
Looking at Blue Flag Irises.
Cropped, tripod mounted A7r and Leica M 90mm f2.5 Summarit lens with Hawk's Factory Helicoid V5.
ISO 200, f11 1/200 second.
Exposure Corrected +0.20 Stops.
July 2, 2015
At Schoodic Point near Winter Harbor, Maine, Acadia National Park.
