For many, a trip to FH means enjoying incredible images of incredible men. Regular readers know however, that one of the joys for me, is taking a journey through images, to places I have only been able to dream about. I have featured the work of many photographers and models who have originated from Switzerland, but I believe this to be my first visual journey to the country itself.
Growing up in North America, it has always amazed me how little time in school is given to the world outside of our borders. Most of my knowledge of Switzerland, especially as a child came from the movies. Many of us have memories of at one time or another, usually over the Christmas holidays, watching one of the film versions of Heidi. I don't really remember much about the movie, but it did leave a strong and lasting impression of the incredible beauty of the land, lakes and mountains of the region.
I flashed back back to that impression upon seeing my first images from photographer Alain from AlfenPhotography. The image was of model Carlos Lopez and the backdrop, the breathtaking Swiss landscape. Alain says that for him photography is a hobby, he shoots for fun and to extend his knowledge and experience. For this set of images, Carlos, far from his home in Madrid, joined Alain in various locations around the country from Glattalp to the Neu Falkenstein castle ruins.
'Shooting in remote locations and atop mountains sometimes requires long walks but luckily we have lots of cable cars to help us up. The area of Glattalp is one of the coldest regions of Switzerland in the winter. It is a karst landscape. The limestone formation is exceptional. I have done a few shoots with Carlos and once one have new ideas we try to realize them.'
Originally from South America, Alain describes Carlos as very confident with his body and very easy to work with. Although the background may be spectacular, Alain says that for him, the focus is on the model and the background is used to support the model. Alain tries to choose his locations based on his models personality and their body shape and how Alain can visualize him within the setting. Thankfully with these images, we are all able to see the realization of that vision.
