It is probably the best hikes I have ever done. It is truly an outdoor Mecca and the best way to explore the magnificence of the Alps during the summer. There are hundreds of hikes that you can do, but if I had to recommend one, it will be for sure the Lacs des Chéserys.

If you followed my work, you probably remarked that I m not really doing outdoor photography. Not because I don’t like that, just because I m living in big city, and it’s really hard to go out if you don’t have your own car. Anyway, this time I was with an expert in mountain photography, my friend and photographer Vincent Viargues (his website here).

We parked in Tré-le-Champ Le-Haut (1450m) and took the quickest way, but the hardest. During the hike we passed by many ladders, which could be dangerous with a 20kg backpack and 1000 meters deep ravine. For the way back , we passed by the col des Montets, which I recommend if you children or if you have a fear of heights. Apart from that, the hike is easy and the panoramas are superb.

Get close to the wildlife

We also got to see some wildlife: we shared the trail with a number of Alpine Ibexes. The king of the mountains was posing for me in front of the eternal snow of the Mont Blanc. He was not afraid of our presence, I guess he use to meet humans. I could get very close and shot him with my 85mm.

Sunset at the lake

It took us 2 hours and a half to climb the mountain, but the effort definitely worth it. Its glassy, mirror-like surface makes this place an amazing playground for photographers. Even if it’s less crowded than the Lac Blanc, we were more or less 15 people staying around the lake for the night. Many of them were photographers.

We could arrive at the lake for the sunset, and we had really good conditions: just enough clouds to get the sunset colors, no wind (so perfect reflections on the lake), and some people to pose for us. It’s was difficult to have different angles, I’ve try to walk around the lake but the best angle was were we were staying. I wanted to have different pictures, so I used different lenses, from 14mm to 200mm.

The perfect night for milkyway

This night was one of the best one of the year to observe the milky way. Even if there is some light pollution from Chamonix, the clouds were gone and the moon was absent. Some people did a campfire, which was a plus for the composition of the pictures.