Chasing golden hour above treeline

The light above treeline changes by the minute. If you're not set up before it arrives, you've already missed it.

Scout the afternoon before

I walk the route in daylight, note the compositions, and mark where the sun will rise. In the dark, you want decisions already made.

Sample image of violet mountain layers fading into dusk — Long lenses compress the ridgelines into layers — this is the look I'm after.

Settings I start from

Aperture: ƒ/8 for depth and sharpness across the frame
ISO: base ISO, on a tripod
Shutter: whatever the meter says, bracketed ±1 stop

Why a telephoto

Wide lenses are the obvious choice in the mountains, but a 50–140mm lets me isolate the light where it's best and stack ridgelines into something calmer.

The light above treeline changes by the minute. If you're not set up before it arrives, you've already missed it.

Scout the afternoon before

I walk the route in daylight, note the compositions, and mark where the sun will rise. In the dark, you want decisions already made.

Settings I start from

Aperture: ƒ/8 for depth and sharpness across the frame
ISO: base ISO, on a tripod
Shutter: whatever the meter says, bracketed ±1 stop

Why a telephoto

Wide lenses are the obvious choice in the mountains, but a 50–140mm lets me isolate the light where it's best and stack ridgelines into something calmer.