Outdoor Photography How To

Patagonian Dream
Good things come to those who wait. That’s what photographer Marion Faria learned when she captured this image of the road leading up to majestic Mount Fitz Roy in the Patagonia region of Argentina.

“Along with many other photographers waiting in darkness that morning, we photographed sunrise when the first rays of light hit the red granite mountain from across the river,” Faria says. “After the sun rose and the mountain’s color transitioned back to a less vibrant color, everyone packed up and walked back to the vehicles parked along the road. But when I came down and looked at Fitz Roy, the road leading to the mountain looked like an invitation. I set up my tripod just off the road to the right and took a few images of this view. I remember thinking, this is one of the great roads of the world.”

See a larger version of the image here. 

Faria used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens, and a Gitzo tripod with a Really Right Stuff ball head and panning clamp for the shot. Camera settings were f/22 at ISO 100 for 1.3 seconds with the lens at 90mm.

“As a landscape photographer, I have looked at many images of Fitz Roy taken by David Muench, Ian Plant, and Galen Rowell. Every time I saw the images of this mountain, there was a deep longing to see this dramatic vista in person and experience the Patagonian area. I cannot even describe how exciting it was to fly into El Calafate and see in the distance Mount Fitz Roy; life is brief and it seems to me that if you have the desire to experience something, and if it is possible to do it, you must.”

See more of Faria’s work at marionfariaphotography.com.