Footprints in the Snow

Footprints in the snow. A lonely path toward a journey in the mountains.

I took this shot during a solitary walk across an off-season ski slope, where the infrastructure rests in suspended animation. The snow was untouched but for a single trail—mine—cutting through the soft silence. What drew me to stop and lift the camera wasn’t the cold or the scale of the landscape, but the purity of the composition: a line, a light source, and an expanse.

Technically, the exposure required some compromise. Shooting directly into the sun flattens the highlights, but I wasn’t after tonal perfection. I wanted the viewer’s eye to follow the footprints without distraction, and the haze around the sun actually helped. It softened the scene without muting the detail. The horizon, with its lift pylons and closed cabins, adds a necessary counterweight. Otherwise, this would risk becoming yet another “winter nothingness” cliché.

The path leads to nowhere visible—just a fold in the hill—and that’s the whole point.