Seasons blurred

Weather conditions in the Dolomites can be unpredictable, but an early flurry of snowfall provided the best of two seasons

- Tom Mackie

Of all the various types of landscape environments, I enjoy photographing mountains more than anything else, simply because they are so unpredictable.

One thing I’ve learned about weather forecasts in the mountains is that they are hardly ever correct. On one side of the peak it can be tipping it down, while the other can be bathed in sunshine. Rain isn’t always a bad thing, either, as it often brings low clouds through the mountains, which can be very atmospheric.

The forecast for the week during my autumn workshop in the Dolomites was rain every day, so we were pleasantly surprised to have only one day of rain in the valley; and with temperatures dropping at the higher altitudes, the mountains were covered with a foot of fresh snowfall.

I’ve visited in all seasons, but sometimes they can blur into one another. We went with the intention of photographing the autumn colours in the mountains, and instead got a touch of winter mixed in too.

Snow really helps to define the craggy shapes of the mountains and conceals unnecessary details, strengthening the main subject in compositions. Dark green conifer forests are transformed by a bit of snow, like sprinkling icing sugar over a scene.