The beauty of Mt. Fitz Roy in Los Glaciares National Park in Patagonia is hard to describe in words. While I feel that my photography work that came out of my recent trip to the region turned out very well, even the best images of this beautiful mountain don’t do it justice. As you make the hike up from the town of El Chalten, you get your first glimpses of the peaks at either a designated lookout point or along the shores of Lago Capri (depending on which trail you take when it splits). As you get closer and closer to the valley that sits at the base of this range, the sheer magnitude and grander of the peaks seems to increase with each step. I was fortunate to experience a perfectly clear morning with almost no wind on my last day camping under Fitz Roy, which allowed me to take this near perfect reflection shot. I actually stitched together 3 separate images, taken vertically, to create a panorama…but ultimately decided that an 8×10 ratio crop suited this scene best. While it is a very common ratio, having stitched 3 images together, this 31.3 MP image can be blown up to an incredibly large size.

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 17-40 4.0L at 30mm
FILTER: LEE .9 Soft GND filter
ISO: 200
EXPOSURE:1/5 sec at f / 11 for 3 Images stitched together

*click on the above image to view a high resolution version

You can purchase this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this image HERE

You can view more of my photography work from Patagonia HERE

Mt. Fitz Roy in Los Glaciares National Park is one of the most spectacular mountains I have ever laid eyes one. Although I have mentioned in this blog that Cumbre Principal in Torres del Paine is my favorite peak of the region, there is no denying the beauty of Fitz Roy. On the second an final night that my wife and I camped below this beautiful peak, the weather decided to turn in our favor. I woke up at 3am to amazingly clear skies and zero wind. I spent the next 5 hours shooting Mt. Fitz Roy as night turned into dawn which turned into day. This was one of my favorite images of my night shots and the only one that turned up a sharp enough reflection in the water. I have learned over the years that in order to get something unique in a highly sought after location, you got to be willing to go the extra mile. Needless to say I was alone with nature and the vastness of space early that morning….freezing cold…pretty sleepy…and loving every second!

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L at 25mm
ISO: 2000
EXPOSURE: 30.0 sec at f / 3.5

You can purchase this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this print HERE

Located near the base of Mt. Fitz Roy in Los Glaciares National Park are multiple small ponds that have the possibility of offering some incredible reflected scenes. While I was fortunate to have no wind in a number of occasions while working in this area, you will notice that the mirrored reflection in the pond is just slightly blurry because of a very small amount of wind that was present at the time that I took this photo. The next time that I am in this area I will look for this pond to do some long exposure night photography. Until then I am happy with what came out of this area. What do you think?

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L at 43mm
ISO: 400
EXPOSURE: 1/200 sec at f / 11

You can purcahse this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this print HERE

One of the jewels of Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile is certainly Las Torres, located on the Eastern side of the park. It is argued that the hike to this location is one of the most grueling of the park and I would have to agree. I don’t know if that is because my wife and I had just spent 10 days hiking and camping throughout Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, but the 11k hike to the camp site below Las Torres kicked our butts! The extra hour long hike from the campsite at 5am the following morning to get to this view point didn’t help either but In the end, all then energy and effort was certainly worth it. This photo is a manual blend of two separate exposures, one for the reflections and the lower half of the image and one for the peaks and sky. I hope you enjoy!

CAMERA: Canon 5D Mark II
LENS: Canon 17-40 4.0L
ISO: 500
EXPOSURE: 1/40 & 1/80 sec at f / 11

*Click on the above image to view a high resolution version

You can purchase this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this print HERE

You can view more of my photography work from Patagonia HERE

Through my photography career I have learned a handfull of things, including the fact that I absolutely LOVE reflections. I am always on the lookout for that killer reflection shot that has that unique quality we all look for in a photograph. However sometimes I am so amazing by light and color of a location, that I get lost in my own search. This photo was taken durring one of those situations. While sitting on the shores of Lago Torre in Los Glaciares National Park in Southern Argentina, I was dazzled by the soft light reflecting off the water. I stopped shooting the almost mirror like reflection of Mt. Cerro Torre and decided to grab a few shots of the pinkish hues that were bouncing off the mountains themselves as the sun begin to rise above the horizon.

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 170mm
ISO: 400
EXPOSURE: 1/25 sec at f / 7.1

You can purchase this print HERE

Mt. Fitz Roy is in Southern Patagonia is known as the “Crown of Argentina” not only because of its sheer beauty, but also because…well it looks like a crown. Located just 11km outside of El Chalalten in Los Glaciares National Park, this beautiful mountain certainly tops the life lists of my photographers from all over the globe. My wife and I were fortunate to get crystal clear weather with no wind on the 3rd and last day that we were camping at its base. It was an incredibly magical morning!

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 17-40 4.0L at 21mm
ISO: 200
EXPOSURE: 1/15 sec at f /11

You can purchase this print HERE

This image is used in my new 2011 Colby Brown Photography Wall Calendar that you can pre-order and preview HERE

As I have mentioned before, Patagonia is known for its intense weather and unbelievable light. Every so often you will get one without the other. Looking down the valley that holds the jewel of Argentina in Los Glaciares National Park, Mt. Fitz Roy, a small pond of water offered this beautiful scene as the wind died down late one afternoon. As the sun began to set, the light on the opposite horizon began to light up with this amazing pinkish hue. While laying on the ground and using my body and arms as a make shift tripod, I was abole to capture the beauty and stillness that you don’t always get together in the wild landscapes of Patagonia.

CAMERA: Canon 5D Mark II
LENS: Canon 17-40 4.0L
ISO: 400
EXPOSURE: 1/4 sec at f / 10.0

You can purchase this print HERE

Lago Torre, like most bodies of water in Patagonia, is rarely without wind. The highly unpredictable weather patterns of this region of the world make it very difficult to plan ahead when it comes to setting up for photography. After spending 3 days camping near the shores of Lago Torre without even catching a glimpse of Cerro Torre because of the intense cloud cover, my wife and I were greeted with clear skies and almost no wind, which was very rare for this time of year. Sometimes you just have to have patience and be prepared for not only the worst situations, but the best possible weather as well.

CAMERA: Canon 5D Mark II
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L
ISO: 400
EXPOSURE:  1/100 of sec at f / 8.0

You can purchase this print HERE

A visit to Los Glaciares National Park in Southern Argentina is certainly not complete without a hike up to Lago Torre. Located just 11k outside of El Chalalten, this beautiful remote lake offers incredible views of Cerro Torre, Techado Negro and Cordon Adela…that is when the weather allows you to. After spending 3 nights camping near this amazing lake, the clouds finally dissipated and revealed the beautiful scene you see before you. Shooting photography in places like Patagonia requires patience, creativity and the ability to adapt to changing conditions.

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L
ISO: 200
EXPOSURE: Multiple Exposure Blend

You can purchase this print HERE

Every once in a while, a photographer is given the rare opportunity to capture a highly photographed subject in an incredibly unique way. This photo was the result of that chance metting of clear skies, little wind and soft moon lit glow over the beautiful Cerro Torre. Like many of the jewels of Patagonia, Cerro Torre is very difficult to capture…mainly because of the weather. With fierce wind and unpredictable weather patterns, Patagonia has ruined many photographers dreams of coming home with “The shot”. While this image is not perfect, it does a great job of capturing the beauty and peace that I felt as I stood on the shores of Lago Torre at 3:45am starring up into the vastness of space above such a beautiful mountain landscape.

CAMERA: Canon 1D Mark IV
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L on manual focus
ISO: 800
EXPOSURE: 30 secs at f / 2.8

*Click on the above image to view a high resolution version

You can purchase this print HERE

You can inquire about licensing this print HERE

You can view more of my photography work from Patagonia HERE