ANTERNE LAKE

Mountains have inspired me since a long time. Capturing nature's beauty is an endless quest I'm following since I've started photography.
I've discovered Alexandre Deschaumes's work few years ago, and I had the chance to meet him during the Salon de la Photo in Paris, where he was giving a conference.
After a long conversation about inspiration, inner journey and travel, I joined him and my friend Lorelyne in an adventure in the French Alps mountains to spend a night at Anterne Lake (alt. 2 063m).
It was the very first bivouac of my life and it will remain an incredible experience and memory. I will cherish this place forever.

A long afternoon of hiking later, we arrived at the lake just before the sunset.
The lake was surrounded by a million of cute yellow flowers and even if we were in June, the snow was still present here and there, giving an Islandic atmosphere to the landscape.
The sky started to turn into fire and the sun was slowly setting, offering us an dramatic scenery where clouds where dancing with the mountains, until the night won the battle.

Few hours later, while the sky was an black empty canvas, stars started to shine brightly.
The milky way was so clear over our heads, like a magic bridge going to heavens.
It was the first time I could admire this mesmerizing gift from Nature, and I was like a child, feeling incredibly tiny and lucky to be alive under this magical sky.
Far away beyound the summits, summer storms were lighting up the clouds.

The first lights woke me up at dawn and the sun was running on the lake like a lighted fog. I jumped out of the tent to admire the soft golden gleam of the early day.
Few photos later, it was time to go down the mountains and come back to civilization.

I cannot describe how I have loved spending this night in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by wilderness, the night watching over us.
It was my very first time slumbering on top of a mountain and hope not the last!