22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Breaking Light Illuminates the Chapel

It was summer, the time was right for afternoon storms in an alpine setting, and I knew that this valley often saw storms with dramatic effects as the fronts come down the valley and hit the vertical peaks. I was hoping for dramatic light on the peaks at the head of the valley, when I saw that the storm was breaking and the sun was peering through the storm clouds. Better yet, the sunlight was streaming down on the ridge below a chapel, and inching its way up the ridge. I stayed and waited in case the light might illuminate the chapel, and so it did!

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2024
Date Uploaded: 10.2024
Photo Location: Colle Santa Lucia, Italy
Camera: NIKON Z 8
Copyright: © Thomas Loucks