The Secrets to Finding Compositions in Patagonia

First, I will narrow Patagonia down to 2 main locations: Torres del Paine (Chile) and the small section of Los Glaciares NP west of El Chalten (Argentina). This is where you find Monte Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. TDP sits at a lower elevation – around 100 meters above sea level in the valley – while the Los Glaciares area sits at around 750 meters. This has an influence on snow levels and on when the season starts.

Are you planning a trip at the beginning of autumn to both TDP and Argentina? Then start with TDP and then do Argentina. Even though the fall colors will appear earlier in Argentina because of the higher elevation, they are way more prominent there than in TDP. Most compositions in TDP will be of dead trees, lakes, and leading stones. Argentina is a different story – you are surrounded by trees and forest.

If you do a trip in mid to late April, do the opposite order – so start with Argentina and then do TDP. There is a small disclaimer to this – always look at the fall colors for that year. It can happen that the autumn colors are late or early. Of course, this is only useful if you have the option to change your plan.

As mentioned before, this guide will concentrate on El Chalten – Los Glaciares National Park only.

Your camera batteries are charged, your backpack is filled with snacks, and your tent, sleeping bag and mat are also all there. You hike into Los Glaciares National Park (don’t forget the entry fee and a reservation at one of the campgrounds).

These are the main elements I look for:

• rivers and streams
• leading lines:
  • tree trunks
• framing:
  • tree framing

Rivers and streams around Fitz Roy

Let me start with the rivers and streams. There is one main river – Arroyo del Salta, also called Rio de la Cascada – flowing down from Monte Fitz Roy towards El Chalten. This river is great for leading lines from both a higher vantage point and the shoreline.

When you start from a lower vantage point, so next to the shoreline, make sure the bushes on the side do not hide the view towards Fitz Roy. When you are further away from Fitz Roy (near the Lago Capri campground), the mountain will also look a bit smaller, so you don’t want to use a focal length that is too short. I recommend using 18 to 30mm – depending on the composition. You can go wider, of course, but then there need to be enough other elements in the frame. Think about spectacular clouds or a tree frame on the side. Now – there is a difference between sunrise and sunset. At sunrise, Monte Fitz Roy will catch the light – turning red first and gradually turning a yellowish color. In autumn, the angle of the sun is perfect for creating depth on the mountain walls because of the shadows on the side. In summer, the sun rises directly behind you when you are looking at Fitz Roy – making the light look flat. Therefore, I consider autumn much better for shooting from the Arroyo del Salta at sunrise.

See the difference here: The Elements of a Strong Composition – Part II.

At sunset, you will only see light on the side of the mountain – regardless of the season. The contours of the mountain will show better at sunset because the contrast between the dark mountain and the background sky is higher. Monte Fitz Roy will still have visible details – especially when the sunset clouds catch the light and illuminate Fitz Roy indirectly. A sunset composition will make Fitz Roy look bigger than at sunrise. This is because its shape has better separation from the sky. Including a sunstar is possible – but then you would want to use a tree frame to block the sun and not the mountain itself. This way, you can still have light shining into the background. When you use the mountain edge, the background is all in the shade. However, if you use a tree frame to block the sun, you also need other clouds in the sky to create a play of light and shadow in the background. You also want to make sure the sunlight is not present, or only softly present, on the water itself. An ND filter can help here, or you can bracket your exposures.

When you shoot the Arroyo del Salta from a higher vantage point, you want to find a place where the river makes a nice bend and also leads to Monte Fitz Roy. There are also a few waterfalls you can include as a foreground. One waterfall is called Cascada Escondida (the Secret Waterfall). However, this waterfall is far from a secret anymore, with many photographers shooting here for sunrise.

The river below Cerro Torre

Now let’s go to Cerro Torre. There is one river flowing from Laguna Torre down towards El Chalten – called Rio Fitz Roy. This name is indeed confusing since it leads towards Cerro Torre. Nonetheless, it is a great river to shoot from. The best side is the south side of the river. You can use different foregrounds, like a tree trunk or the trees themselves a bit higher above the shoreline. You can also shoot from the north side, where the main trail is. Here you don’t have trees, so you want to find a good stretch of flowing water.

Streams below Fitz Roy

There are also smaller streams more directly below Monte Fitz Roy – right at Lago Sucia and further away. This location allows you to use a wider lens and show just the mountain without trees. The downside of this spot is that the right side of the Fitz Roy range will be blocked or won’t be as visible. These are the Aguja Mermoz and Aguja Guillaumet peaks, north of Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy will still have some framing from the ridge on the right.

The easiest leading lines to find around El Chalten in Patagonia are tree trunks. With many dead lenga beech trees, there are a ton of potential leading lines lying on the ground. However, only a few out of many work well, and a very select few work perfectly. You simply have to look around you, look for something with potential, try it out and most likely move on to the next. Keep exploring until you have found something. The midground is also important here. Does the midground maybe block the mountains partly, or does it help guide the viewer’s eye towards the mountain? Each midground has some pros and cons – but it is often the foreground that makes you look at the midground. There is an exception to this rule though – if you happen to see an exceptionally good midground, you can then look for a foreground. But the midground will quickly look different when you walk in a different direction – so the chance of finding a great foreground there is not that big.

Choose your background first

So the midground is relevant, but it often does not determine where you scout. This is different for the background. You want to start scouting for your foreground where the background looks its best. For example, a river underneath Fitz Roy lines up with a lake and a glacier from a certain angle. You then keep walking until you see this alignment. Another element is the sunrise light on Monte Fitz Roy. As I described earlier, the autumn sunrise light is not the same as the summer sunrise light because of the angle. From the Fitz Roy River, autumn sunrise light is definitely a lot better than in summer. However, if you walk further to the north towards the Rio Electrico Valley, the summer sunrise light becomes better the further you go. In autumn, it is the opposite – the sunrise light becomes less impressive. So, before you start exploring for your foreground or midground, you choose your background first.

Sunrise light on Cerro Torre

When we go to Cerro Torre, you have fewer options for positioning yourself to change your view of the mountain. You have to work with the light of the season. Cerro Torre will not get fully illuminated at sunrise in autumn like Fitz Roy, because the light is blocked by Fitz Roy, which sits to the east and north. In summer, it does get fully illuminated when the sun rises in the east-southeast. When there are some soft clouds on the horizon in the east, this can give some good light. But if it is clear during summer, you often see a harsh line. Since the sun is rising directly behind you when you are looking at Cerro Torre, there are no shadows visible on Cerro Torre. You won’t see the definition and contrast of the mountain. In autumn, you will only see part of the top illuminated. The sun comes from an angle, and you will see some contrast on the peaks. The amount of contrast will increase as the sun rises and moves further to the north. And the later in the autumn season, or the closer to winter, the more contrast there will be. The part of Cerro Torre that remains in the shadow does have more contrast because it will indirectly catch the light coming from the illuminated part. Whether sunrises are better in summer or autumn depends on the weather conditions. But in general, I prefer autumn to winter for sunrise at Cerro Torre.

I consider Patagonia the best place to include trees and use tree framing in combination with the mountains in the background. Unless you are very close to Monte Fitz Roy or Cerro Torre, you will always use some element of trees in your frame. Including trees and using tree framing often go together – but you can also just include a tree without using the full framing effect. You can think of tree framing on the sides, on the top and bottom, or any combination. Tree framing works great for 3 reasons:

• it frames the subject in a natural way
• it creates a natural vignette around the frame
• there are often leading lines visible in the tree framing

Considerations

• When you have a great sky, like one with lenticular clouds, consider a frame that leaves the sky open. Otherwise, it will be blocked by the tree framing.
• Watch out for unbalanced tree framing, for example when one part is totally open and the other part is closed.

The best way to find a tree frame is simply by exploring and testing out each frame you find along the way. It can take hours of exploring to find one that really works. When you make your list, try to find one that is symmetrical – this will automatically make it feel balanced. Also look for one with as many leading lines in the frame as possible, like branches leading towards the background.

The light is also important with tree framing. You can use the sunlight to illuminate the framing and keep the background darker when the light comes from the front. Only parts of the framing should be illuminated; the remainder on the outside should be dark. You can also do the opposite when the light is coming from behind, illuminating the midground and background and keeping the framing dark. Regardless of the exact light, there should be separation between the framing and the background.

The easiest way to create a good frame is to use a wide-angle lens – from 10 to 20mm. Of course, you can also find frames in the 20mm to 30mm range, but it is more difficult to create depth in the framing itself. When shooting Fitz Roy or Cerro Torre in Patagonia, I recommend using something around 14 to 20mm as the best range. The 10mm to 14mm range makes the mountains look a bit too small – but of course there are exceptions, if the framing itself works exceptionally well and you can’t create the same effect at 14mm and above.

When you only use a tree in the photo, try to create balance with the mountain in the background. A composition will be balanced when the mountain is slightly off-center in one direction and the tree is placed on the opposite side. The tree will create an even stronger composition when it has leading elements pointing towards the peak.

You can also use trees or dead trees only in the lower foreground. You then use them in a similar way to flowers. In order to create this effect, you need to find a vantage point that sits above the trees. This will also allow you to show the midground and background below the mountain. Again, it is important that the trees are balanced – so you don’t want one to stand out more than the others. Even better is when the middle trees are a bit lower than the ones on the sides – to create a little framing effect with the mountain in the upper part of the frame.

Finally, we have lakes as a subject to include with Fitz Roy. We can concentrate on the following lakes:

• Lago di Capri
• Lago Sucia
• Lago de Los Tres
• Laguna Torre
• Laguna Piedras Blancas

I will not describe all the lakes, but will concentrate on a few instead.

Lago Sucia

This is the lake I already mentioned before. You have some good streams here. It is also a popular lake for landscape photography because it sits directly below Fitz Roy and there are many trees on the south side – allowing you to find a tree, lake and mountain combination. While you have probably seen many photos from here, it is certainly not that easy to find something great right away. It requires a day of exploring if you want to find something yourself.

Lago de Los Tres

This is the most famous lake and, for many hikers, the final destination when they start in El Chalten. This lake sits next to Lago Sucia, but a bit higher and to the north. I don’t find it the best lake because of the lack of foreground objects. You do have a great view of Monte Fitz Roy, seeing all the peaks up close.

Laguna Torre

The lake near Cerro Torre. There is also a river starting from this lake on the east side, named Rio Fitz Roy, and Glaciar Torre on the west side. The best photo potential is when you have icebergs touching the shoreline – using them as a foreground. You have to be lucky, since I have only had icebergs once during my many visits – but unfortunately, the peak of Cerro Torre remained in the clouds. There is a chance of having icebergs year-round, but when temperatures drop, the chance becomes smaller. Other than that, the chance of having icebergs on the shoreline depends on glacier calving and wind direction.

Finding a good composition in Patagonia takes time. Start with the mountain and the light, then look for a river, a tree trunk or a frame that works with them. Most things you try won’t work, and that is normal. Keep looking, try a different angle and give yourself time to explore. Even around Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, there is still plenty of room to find something of your own.