FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (57.8mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec, ISO200)

Sometimes the contrast in between one of my business destinations and my home is extreme. Like in this case.

Currently I’m xc skiing in the Austrian Alps. This week we experience a cold wave all over Austria. A cold front straight from Siberia provides us with temperatures that we have not experienced since more than 30 years.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (55mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO320)
Canon PowerShot G7 X (12.898mm, f/2.2, 1/40 sec, ISO320)

Night temperature was about -22 degrees Celsius and on the first day the mercury did not climb above -16. There was some new snow which was extremely dry and cold. Tough conditions, it felt like skating on gravel and the ice cold air made it hard to breathe.

The first two shots were taken through a window. One shows the icicles outside of our apartments living room. The second shot shows a part of the Dachstein in the early morning light. It was taken through the window of our bathroom and instead of wearing winter clothes I was still in my pyjamas.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (200mm, f/8, 1/550 sec, ISO200)

Five days earlier I took images of a completely different mountain. I was in India in the backseat of a Toyota Innova on the way back to my hotel. Just outside of New Delhi I took the image below. It shows a giant rubbish dump. There were large birds circling over the top and I saw a couple of people too. The smell was breathtaking even though we were far away so I can only image how this mountain of rubbish smells up close. Here is what I found when I googled the place:

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/11/delhi-dilema-tonnes-waste-161124095624368.html

A completely different mountain in a completely different world. To see the poverty in India is heart breaking and it makes me grateful that I have been born into a different world.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (23mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec, ISO200)