A Tapestry of Peaks and Prayers

Everyone has a bucket list. My bucket list is to build a collection of very famous photos and visit notable places. The Dolomites was one of those bucket list items where you're never sure if you'll ever make it there due to the distance and how expensive it is to get there. I was so happy to make this dream a reality this year by visiting the small Church of Saint Giovanni at the bottom of the Dolomites in Italy. It is an iconic photograph.

Spending three nights there, I visited this place 7-8 times to capture the right light and paint the photography to my liking. Never in a thousand years did I think I would put myself in danger, with chances of getting struck by lightning or having my gear broken by the heavy rain and bad weather conditions. I saw the bad weather moving in 30 minutes prior to me getting into position to capture this photograph. I sped up the car to get there, hoping to see a rainbow. The chance was very slim, but it was there. Stepping out of the vehicle in the pouring rain and setting up the composition was a great challenge without any rain gear and only wearing my raincoat. I decided the most important thing was to keep my camera dry and the front of the lens free of water, in case we had a chance of a rainbow that I could capture.

I was able to capture it, even though I was frozen and wet when I looked at the church and realized the sun was painting it with a strong golden light. Before I could blink, it happened. The rainbow appeared in front of it, like a Godsend. This had never happened to me before, and my adrenaline was at its peak. All I had to do was press the shutter button and the picture would come into my camera... oh boy, I was not wrong.

The heavy rain was coming onto the front of the lens and I couldn't capture everything clearly. My lens cloths were all wet, and all I was doing was rubbing more water on the lens. The only clothing I had that was dry was my shirt under the wet long sleeve. Well, I had to do whatever it took to capture this photo. I was never going to be in this position to capture a picture like this again. I forgot to mention that the temperature was already around the mid-30s.

To top off this experience, my wife called me to see why I wasn't in the car yet with all the rain and lightning we had. Finally, as fast as it came, it was gone, just like that. A mix of feelings came across my mind, and no matter how cold or wet I was, the only thing on my mind was if I took the picture clearly enough to produce this photo. I had to wait another 30 minutes to reach my hotel and check my card to see the results. And there it was, a dream of a lifetime, captured in my camera. I didn't know what to do, whether to cry or celebrate with all the emotions and feelings.

I present to you "A Tapestry of Peaks and Prayers," a timeless photograph.