Mountains at True Scale and True Light

A trek through the climate zones

A mountain is not one environment but many, stacked by altitude. Photographer EBalt walked the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest region in Nepal with a Sony a7R II, and his packs follow that climb from warm valleys to ice. All are 7952 × 5304, and many include stitched panoramas.

• Himalayan River Valley: 300 photos from the early part of the trek, where subtropical jungle gives way to highland, with 3 large panoramas.
• Himalayan Cliff Valley: 489 photos from the middle of the trek, as plants thin out and the air cools. River canyons, castle-like mountains, giant boulders and villages.
• Primal Valley: 193 photos of a valley where summer, autumn and winter are visible at once, depending on the altitude, with 4 panoramas.
• Himalayan Arid Mountains: 97 photos of the dry mountains and cliffs beyond the Thorong La pass.

Base camps and high passes

• Everest Base Camp Scattered Glacier: 305 photos on the way to and at Everest Base Camp, with 8 panoramas. It was the off-season, so there are no tent villages in the way.
• Everest Range Day and Night: 370 photos of Everest and the surrounding peaks from Kala Patthar, through the day, evening and night, with 9 panoramas.
• Himalayan Mountains and Glacier Lakes: 557 photos of the Annapurna Sanctuary, a high glacial basin, with 12 panoramas.
• High-Altitude Himalayan Mountain Pass: 238 photos of the Kongma La pass, with 5 panoramas.

Air between you and the peak

Distance changes a mountain more than anything else. The farther away it is, the more air sits between it and the viewer, so it becomes lighter, bluer and lower in contrast. This is called atmospheric perspective, and it is the key to painting depth in a range. These packs show it clearly:

• Hazy Mountains in the Morning: 120 photos of layered ranges in morning haze in the French Alps, with panoramas.
• Stormy Mountain Ranges: 141 photos at Arthur's Pass, New Zealand, just before a summer storm.
• Mountains Aerial View: 70 photos of New Zealand ranges from an airplane on two flights, with morning fog between the peaks and low cloud in the afternoon. It costs $1.99.

Other great ranges

The Mt Cook National Park pack is very large: 1,159 photos sorted into folders for cliffs and mountains, boulders, streams, vegetation, vistas and more, plus 4 handheld videos. The Elbrus Alpine Landscape (180 photos) covers the area around Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, in the Caucasus. For green summer slopes, see Carpathian Mountains in Summer (205 photos, Ukraine) and Alp Mountains in Summer (148 photos).

For glaciers and snowfields, see snow and ice reference. For the valley where Edoras was built for the films, see our Lord of the Rings locations page.

Frequently asked questions

What are the stitched panoramas, and how do I use them?

Several Himalayan packs include panoramas made from many frames joined together. They are much wider than a single photo, so they work well as matte painting backplates and sky domes. Each product page lists how many panoramas are included.

Are these photos good enough for large matte paintings?

The Himalayan packs are 7952 × 5304, about 42 megapixels per frame, which leaves room for large crops. Most other packs here are 6000 × 4000. For more high-resolution landscape sets, see matte painting stock photos.

I paint landscapes in oils or watercolor. Where should I start?

Start with packs that have clear light and simple shapes: the Everest range at evening, the hazy Alps and the Carpathian slopes. More painting-friendly packs are collected on our landscape painting reference page.