Sunday
I woke up after another lovely comfortable (not really) sleep in the car and made my way up past Bolzano towards my sunrise destination – Santa Magdalena. This was the place that had made me want to visit the Dolomites, and the place I had been looking forward to photographing most. When I arrived it was -4°C however there wasn’t any wind so the chill wasn’t too bad. I wrapped up and made my way up the hill overlooking the town. The photograph I had seen was from a vantage point to the north of the village on a hillside looking south east towards the Mountain ridge that includes the 3025 metre high Saas Rigais peak. I set up and waited for the sun to rise. Usually I don’t like to shoot in the direction of the sun, I much prefer the light to hit what I’m looking at rather than backlighting it but as I was in a new place and was restricted with time sunrise was the time of day I ended up at Santa Magdalena. When the sun rose the sky turned a nice shade of orange/yellow and the few wispy clouds gave some nice interest. I took the shots I was after then headed down into the village for some breakfast and coffee.
Part of the reason for my trip was to check out which locations work at what time of day, so when we return in the autumn we can make the most of the amazing light! Santa Magdalena is best suited to afternoon light as the sun comes from the west and in the golden light will cast a beautiful red glow over the 250 million year old peaks. When we return, we’ll use another location for sunrise and visit St Magdalena in the afternoon when the light is more favourable.
After warming up and having some food at the Hotel Ranuimüllerhof I ventured over to the church of St Johann, a beautiful 17th century church that sits in the alpine meadow beside the hotel. A thin coat of snow covered the field and the church looked beautiful with the dramatic mountain backdrop. I spent most of the day at Santa Magdalena then headed to Pozzale where I’d booked a B&B for the night. I arrived late due to traffic and was knackered so didn’t stay up long, had a shower and went to bed.
Subdued sunrise overlooking Santa Magdalena village.
The church of St Johann.
The church of St Johann.
The church of St Johann.
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