Drum roll for the epic beauty of this fabulous portrait of Dent Blanche. Definitely one of my favorite photographs. I dreamt about it for so long before I managed to immortalize it like this! I'm very proud of this work. At summit of my art as it pierces the sky. A monstrous coquette, as Guy de Maupassant liked to call it, Dent Blanche takes on its incredible dimension here. Rising to an altitude of 4358 metres, the queen of the Valais Alps stands between val d’Anniviers, the Val d'Hérens and the Zermatt valley in Switzerland. Between shadow and light, its southern ridge, the normal route to summit, guides us to the heights without trembling.

I took this black-and-white portrait of Dent Blanche in 2017, at dusk on a harsh winter's day. Having emerged victorious from a major snowstorm, the mountain rises from the clouds, decked out in its thick blanket of snow. A pyramid of rock and ice, defying the sky with its colossal stature. Between light and shadow, the succession of shots adds depth to the work. The perfect balance of a nature in the grip of the elements. The diagonal of the ridges runs to the left, while the clouds impart an opposite movement to the painting. The confrontation of earth and sky brings the photograph to life, lending a dramatic, almost mystical intensity to the work.

Some time after taking this magnificent photograph, I was lucky enough to climb Dent Blanche to reach summit. That day, I had an incredible experience in contact with the mountain. For almost an hour, my guide and I found ourselves in the middle of an impressive thunderstorm. The relentless violence of an all-powerful nature against which we could do nothing. The winds have whitened summit, making it almost inaccessible. It was a tragic and terrifying moment, but one that I experienced in a very different way. While I was up there, I thought again of this portrait of Dent Blanche. The unique sensation and unspeakable joy of finding oneself at the very heart of the work one has created. I was living the moment, lost in my imagination, at a distance from reality. For a few minutes, I became the hero of a scene I had photographed myself. I was happy, out of time and out of the dangers that beset us all.