A yawn. Another yawn. And another yawn. It was 3:20 am. And time to get on top of a fell.

We started the hike after a long drive around 5 am. We hiked in pitch-black coldness but it was such an amazing experience. Stars, silence and snow crunching under us while we walk. The hike was fun and took us 1.5-2 hours I believe. There was potential for this to be an amazing sunrise.

My dad and I both were insanely tired. But the potential of the sunrise and the views that would soon be in front of us, gave us the push we needed.

Once we reached the top we were greeted by stunning views... but there was a thick layer of clouds in the horizon…

"How could it be clear - but be cloudy in the horizon..."

I felt disappointed. A worry came to my mind. We only had one try at this location.

It did seem we might not get light when I’d need it. During the golden hour.

I didn't let this stop me though. I started to work. I started finding compositions.

After eating a banana, and wandering around the fell looking for compositions, my eyes opened wide. I smiled and ran closer.

I found this tree. It was alone. It was perfect for a minimalistic shot. Now I just needed leading lines for a foreground.

“I can’t just run through the scene - otherwise it’ll ruin the shot - the potential leading lines - and the flow of the image…”, I analyzed the scene.

“All this time I have been trying to find this tree on top of a fell. Now I have it here. I just need to leading lines… cmoon Hugo you can find them”, I hyped myself up.

I bypassed the tree and checked many potential leading lines. “Nope, nope, nope…”, I counted.

But then I saw it, the lines that finally worked. I excitedly jumped on my stomach in the snow. I didn’t care how hard it’d be to get up from there. I was in the moment. Present with the tree.

I snapped the shot. I let out a huge sigh…

After some time - we did get some stunning light. I couldn't be happier. I ended up with many photos I was happy with.

But this tree shot became my favourite photograph from the shoot.

People seem to love this shot a lot as well. Always when I post it on social media it does super well.

Couldn't ask for more. A beautiful sunrise. At a beautiful location. And dad alongside me on this adventure.

A beautiful way to start Tales of The North.

This piece is part of Hugo Korhonen's Tales of The North series

Season: 1
Art: 1