Derborence, by C.F.Ramuz, a photo from Valais, West

Photographer's Note

Derborence, when the mountain of the devils fell...

Derborence, the word sings sweetly; it sings sweetly to you and a little sadly in the head. It begins a bit hard and marked, then hesitates and subsides, as one sings it still, "Derborence," and ends in emptiness, as if one wanted to signify by that the ruin, the loneliness, the oblivion.
For desolation lies now on the places that the word designates; no more do the herds go up there, the men themselves have turned away from it...
"Derborence", by Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, 1934.

Can you see the chalet in the middle of the picture, lost in this immensity?

That was all; he had fallen silent. And, at that moment, Séraphin was silent as well; they felt growing around them something completely inhuman and, over a long time, unbearable--the silence. The silence of the high mountains, the silence of the places uninhabited by men, where men are present only temporarily, provisionally; then, if ever so little one should be silent himself, he cocks an ear in vain, he hears only that he hears nothing. It was as if nothing existed anywhere, from us to the other end of the world, from us to the bottom of heaven. Nothing, nothingness, a void, the perfection of a void; a total cessation of being, as if the world had not yet been created, or was no more, as if one were before the beginning of the world or after the end of it. And the ache lodges itself in your breast where it’s like a hand that closes round the heart.

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Critiques | Translate

kazan (779) 2003-11-24 5:20

Pierre, what a fantastic painting-like photo!!!
I was gaping at it for 5 minutes... Colors are great, framing is perfect, rule of 2/3rds is right!
Don't feel sorry about the chalet, IMHO it wouldn't add much to this frame.
Well Done!
Panos

[2]

clodreno (0) 2003-11-24 5:25

What a great picture. One of my favorite. Here you have capture the essence of Ramuz words.
You master Ps cvery well too.
Nothing more to say,
Bravo Pierre.

maciekda (19895) 2003-11-24 5:33

very impressive picture, looks almost like a paintings, the landscape is really beautiful, interesting composition of colours - whites and yellows, the nature well captured

Gatis (925) 2003-11-24 5:39

I do not think that this specific chalet is that necessary to see here. What makes me surprised here is the diverse beautiful landscape in the Alps.
Partly I feel a little sceptical with all this mastery done with different photographic technics and Photoshop - f.e. sky just does not look natural. But at the same time - is this naturality always needed? To my mind here you show excellent sense of taste in "adjusting" the natural beauty :) Congratulations, this could become a top-class print

henrye (3500) 2003-11-24 5:40

Amazing shot! It does feel like a painting. You really managed to capture the immense proportions. Good technical work. Great note. Well done!

Fredrik77 (672) 2003-11-24 6:10

Very beautiful shot. Interesting note and decription on how the picture was made. Love the colors and the forms in the mountainside in the lower left corner. Maybe a bit artificial sky in the upper left corner.

green (1014) 2003-11-24 7:23

Tres, tres belle photo. Les couleurs, du gris aux jaunes en passant par les vert, rouge, orange... sont fantastique et s'assemble parfaitement. L'image est tres net et rend bien les differentes textures. Et les extraits de Charles Ferdinand Ramuz accompagne bien la photo.

Very beautiful picture. The colours from grey to yellow through red, orange, green... are fantastic and complete each other. The picture is very sharp and show well all the different texture. The excerpt from Charles Ferdinand Ramuz goes very well with picture.

ninadev (5377) 2003-11-24 7:27

You mentioned a chalet in the middle,now that you mention it, I can see it, BUT HOW DO THEY GET THERE? I don't see any possibility of a road. Your Deborence images are just fantastic with so lively colors and nice greys that so really well show the texture of the rock. Howver I feel that the magenta is a little oversaturated, I know the other colors are too, but the magenta looks brushed on.

martin (1242) 2003-11-24 8:17

Another masterly example of stitching, Pierre. The colours are quite hypnotic ... I like the effect of reducing the lightness of the blues.

dsidwell (9783) 2003-11-24 8:26

Much poetry for a very poetic shot! There is real drama here, and the exposure is just right. Magnificent. I can't see the chalet at all, I'm afraid, but I don't care--plenty of other things to look at!

Edwin (188) 2003-11-24 8:30

Very very beautiful landscape shot Pierre! The opposite colours grey and yellow work excellent here. Great post camera work too. Thumbs up for both and thanks for sharing both your photo as well as the informative and moving note.

jrj (34843) 2003-11-24 8:37

Great and powerful landscape in a very strong composure. Well done.
I believe you there is a chalet there, but I am really unsure on where.

richtersl (3546) 2003-11-24 8:49

I'm speechless! This is a fantastic photo. It's good to know that the chalet is there because it gives you an idea of the size of the mountain, but it isn't necessary. But now that you've pointed it out, I do wonder how the owners go to and from that chalet off the mountain.

The color and clarity of your photo is what is most appealing. Very nice work. Congratulations!

htremblay (1666) 2003-11-24 10:33

Très réussie cette photo. Superbe, bravo.
Very successful this photo, saturated well and centred. Haughtiness, bravo.

ronners (10) 2003-11-24 13:09

This is a wonderful photo - it jumped off the gallery page! There's so much detail, but the detail is subservient to the great, yet subtle, composition. I like your workshop as well, since there are a few 'pink' areas in the shot which may not belong there.

aferrao (1145) 2003-11-24 17:51

Wow! What a view!
It's one of those places that makes us feel so small!
Amazing shot!

emax (920) 2003-11-25 18:35

The yellow larchs on the grey mountain are amazing. The broken cliff in forehead seems so realistic, the textures of those wall are marvellus. On a composition like this you could put any kind of background, the pic will be always beautiful.

appie (8) 2003-11-28 9:47

Great pic!

See my workshop on a different view...

[workshop] [compare]

joseelias (0) 2003-12-30 4:32

Fantastic contrast of colors and textures! Your PS work is very nice and enhances sucessfully the harsh atmosphere.

desman (2222) 2004-11-12 9:36

majestueux, superbement coloré, original, tout y est !
bravo

dabri (1692) 2005-03-09 15:32

Excellent!!

Davide

keribar (43841) 2005-03-23 1:02

Je trouve aussi que c'est une image impressionante, quelle belle photo et quel bel endroit! Bravo Pierre - Izzet keribar

stefi (1230) 2005-06-09 16:04

A very impressive work, with great details in this picture, I would like to see the original, it has to be very very impressive.
I have to say that I prefer the original one, nature is more beautiful than our imagination!

CDez (1415) 2005-07-27 15:07

Bonjour Pierre,
splendide couleur d'automne dans le vallon de Derborence.
Les falaises, vertical souligne le caractère dramatique de l'image.
Bravo.
Christian

jonp (0) 2005-10-17 9:56

Superbe Pierre il ne manquerait plus qu'un splendide Gypaète Barbu vole dans le ciel de votre image.

Compliments

jernej (1113) 2006-12-10 17:47

Hi there;
Very nice photo. The composition is excellent. I have a feeling that you exaggerated using photoshop - I would like it even more if it is a little more natural...
Cheers;
Jernej

Hellas (7123) 2007-02-16 6:10

Hi Pierre,
amazing photo, brilliant colors.
I feel wonderfully looking this scene.
Refering to the chalet, I see it in an opened region in the middle. It seems small but it is because of the long distance.
TFS.
Athanasios.

bend1k (934) 2008-05-23 23:16

pierre, it is good to see there are still parts near the rocky summit where trees grow. i see some purple near the peak, is it really purple when you took it?

Photo Information

Copyright: Pierre Sottas (padam) (186)
Genre: Plaatsen
Medium: Kleur
Date Taken: 2003-11-00
Categories: Natuur
Camera: Sony DSC-S70
Belichting: f/4.8, 1/250 Seconden
Fotoversie: Originele versie, Workshop
Thema's: Magic places, Derborence, the Alps, Mountains, My favorite photos (14) (Gatti Matti) [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2003-11-24 5:13
Favorieten: 16 [Zicht]