Continuing my review of the the past decade…

I attended my first SATW Annual Convention in 2004 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It was an absolutely amazing trip. A highlight during the convention was a sunrise shoot from the peak of Mt. Pers in the Bernina Alps. A small group of us took the cable car up to the ski area at Diavolezza the evening before. There were some dormitories there where we spent the night, rising well before dawn to hike the rest of the way to the peak. With only LED headlamps to see by, we followed our guide up a steep, narrow and rocky trail. It was almost total blackness. I regretted taking my full pack with me immediately.

We arrived at the summit just as the horizon began to glow. I shot like a maniac for what seemed like only minutes but was probably more like an hour and a half. The shot above is one of the later images when the sun had risen and was beginning to send beams down through the fog in the valleys.

When it was time to head back to the lift, I finally noticed the trail we had come up on. It was a treacherously thin line snaking down an incredibly steep incline of sharp, loose rock with a sheer drop to one side. I was glad I hadn’t been able to see where I had been going on the way up. Once back at the cable car deck, there was another surprise — it had broken down. After some phone calls the decision was made that a rescue helicopter would be sent up for us. A great morning just got better!

When the helicopter arrived, we were divided into groups of three for our trips down the mountain. On my flight I got the distinct impression that the young pilot was trying to frighten the “tourists” by buzzing low over the mountain tops and descending quickly at a dizzying angle to the valleys below. I absolutely loved it.

After the convention, I spent a few days in Lucerne before continuing south into the Ticino. I stayed at the Art Deco Hotel Montana within walking distance of the old town and its famous covered bridges. The hotel had its own funicular that would take you up the steep hillside from the lake and right to the lobby. My room had a balcony overlooking the old town — basically the reverse of the scene you see here as the hotel is on the near hillside in the center of this photo.

I had an unlimited rail pass for 10 days and made use of it to cross the Alps and spend one last week in the Ticino — the southern, Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. This area is very different from most people’s idea of Switzerland. The Italian influence is everywhere and the climate is more tropical.

I remember having difficulty in planning for this trip in choosing between staying in Lugano or Locarno. Both are in the same region and I was really looking for a town that would be walkable and very distinctive. My thought process was that I had shot many of the iconic Swiss scenes in Zurich, St. Moritz and Lucerne — I wanted this last week to focus on a side of Switzerland that would be entirely different and visually unique. I also felt that the Ticino was less well-covered in the stock world so images might have more value.

In the end I chose Lugano and just made a day trip to Locarno. I feel that Lugano was definitely the right decision and had the picturesque setting that I had hoped for. On the shore of Lake Lugano and surrounded by mountains, my rail pass also gave me free access to excursion boats to more remote towns like Morcote and Ghandria (seen here).

It was a great trip and I came away with a lot of images for the stock files. The only downside was a cold or sinus infection that I came down with while in Lucerne. Upon arrival in Lugano I visited a small pharmacy in amidst the butchers and grocers of the local market. I pantomimed my symptoms to the non-English-speaking pharmacist and was given something called “Retard”. To this day I’m not sure what it was but I felt nearly perfect within hours.