A Quick Analysis of 25 Topnotch Examples of Mountain Photography

Photography in the mountains is a great opportunity to shoot awesome landscapes.

Photographers have been shooting in the mountains for very many years, and it is a great way to bring back a memory of the mountains and also to visually showcase your trekking adventures to those back home.

Here, we’ve handpicked 25 of our favorite mountain images, with a little bit of information on why exactly we love these pictures.

Austria Misty Mountain

Mountain photography is often a matter of prioritizing your exposure over everything else, since you have little control over natural lighting. The photographer has patiently waited for the right moment when the clouds have allowed for a nice contrasting lighting situation to arise, before executing this shot.

Serene Mountians

We cannot be sure if an orange filter was used here, or more probably a filter effect added on Photoshop later, but the end result is fascinating. The blue of the foreground is complimented well by the redness of the sky here.

Blue Mountians

Sometimes it really is just about getting your exposure right, on an already awesome landscape shot, as in this image. If the photographer had taken the exposure reading from the highlight area, all the beautiful foreground details would have been lost!

Chinese Mountains

A great composition, with a thoughtfully given long exposure has given this image that special touch. Notice the streaks of the closer clouds, a result of long exposure. A mild ND filter could have given the photographer just enough exposure time to allow this to happen.

Snowy Mountains

Just the right exposure here again. It is always tempting for a photographer to wrongly get exposure off the foreground, and the photographer here has masterfully overcome that and got good shadow detail where required.

Asymmetrical Beauty

This image is all about great color isn’t it? We love how the photographer has resisted the temptation to split the composition in half to make a completely symmetrical composition. Sometimes asymmetry is better than perfect symmetry!

Blue Mountains

Make it a panoramic! Awesome landscapes call for awesome ideas such as this. The photographer has probably taken three or more images to combine them into this wonderful panoramic picture.

Tatra Mountains Slovakia

The right timing for the light, the right composition with foreground interest, and the right aperture for a good depth of field have all worked together to make this image successful. Kudos to the photographer!

Mountains against Lake

An untrained eye could easily overexpose such a landscape. Notice how the photographer has expertly avoided the burning out of highlight areas probably as a result of accurate spot metering.

Winter Mountains

How often do we see the use of telephoto lenses as far as landscape photography goes? That is exactly what makes this photograph special, the size of the moon being enlarged to apt proportions for this composition.

White Mountains, Waterfall

What makes this image special is the purposeful use of a slow shutter speed to give that beautiful texture to the waterfall. No doubt, a Neutral Density filter was aptly used to make this image.

Backlit Mountain

This image may have possible worked in color as well, but monochrome has definitely given the shape of the mountain extra attention, as has the use of the sepia toning effect enhanced form and shape more than anything else.

Mountains against Colorful Skies

Twilight is a great time to shoot isn’t it? When shooting mountains, the sheer separation of shadow areas thanks to the vastness of the subject can lead to some fabulous images as this one. Also notice the forms of clouds and the texture of the lake thanks to an unusually long exposure.

Snow Landscape

Photographers often like to leave out any human element in their landscapes, but the opposite of that is exactly what makes this composition interesting. This image is also a fine example of how a photographer can ‘plan’ even a candid shot. Get your composition and exposure right, and then simply wait for the right subject to appear in the right area of the frame.

Sunset on Chincey Massif

Underexposure on certain areas of the image? That could arguably be true, but so what? We believe the exposure is just right to showcase what the photographer has portrayed as the mod tone – the shape and form of the curves of this landscape

River Through a Valley

Shooting against the light is tricky business, and you get a lens flare more often than not. If you include any part of the sun into your composition you get a burn out. Notice how the photographer has nicely captured the sun as a reflection in the river in this image.

Lahul Mountian Peaks

We simply loved the low-key areas of this high contrast image. Spot metering at work again, no doubt. Even a half stop difference in exposure here would ruin the nice contrasting tones in this image.

Moonlit Mountains

The sheer color and tones of this picture make it fabulous, and that is obvious. But don’t miss the size of the moon, a result of a long lens once again.

New Zealand Fog Mountains

Most landscape images that we have selected are a result of well thought out compositions where the photographers probably took their time setting up tripods and using light meters. But not this image! We believe the photographer had little time to capture this beautiful image through unusual and convenient cloud formations.

Mountain Lumber

We rarely see the creative use of color balance with landscape images, but the blueness of this picture is a testimony of well thought out color tones, apart from a good composition and an extreme depth of field thanks to a small aperture.

Dune Like Mountains

This image is all about subtle tonal changes, and this is also probably the reason why the photographer decided to make it a monochrome.

Trekking in the Indian Himalayas

Like one of the previous images, the inclusion of human elements is what makes this image a winner. Nicely exposed too! It is easy to overexpose snow with a reflected light meter reading.

The Alps

Sometimes a simple symmetry is all it takes to make a stunning composition as with this picture. A spot on exposure reading as well!

Snowy Landscape

What, a collection of mountain images with snow flakes? No way! An interesting composition, a spot on exposure reading and a stunning shutter speed have worked together to make this awesome image.