Here I present the majestic Pointe Percée, the highest summit in the Aravis massif of Haute-Savoie. I've waited several years to be able to photograph it in this very special light, as the storm recedes and the clouds break to reveal a landscape both grandiose and intimate. As the long-awaited day dawns, only a few rays of sunlight pierce the horizon, caressing the mountain with a golden veil. This rare sight makes the Pointe Percée look like the Matterhorn, a nickname I like to give it in homage to the nobility of its lines and the strength of its character.

The first light of day bathes its freshly snow-covered summit , sculpting a relief both Soft and tormented. Shades of white and gray respond to each other in a play of Light contrasts, while the blackness of the rock outcrops in places, recalling the immemorial ruggedness of the site. Snow, fallen in abundance the day before, covers the steep mountain walls. The low, still timid sun makes the frozen crystals glisten, giving the scene an almost dreamlike atmosphere. In the background, the dark clouds, remnants of the nighttime storm, gradually dissipate without ever completely leaving the scene, as if to underline the constant dialogue between light and shadow.

I must have studied the meteorology of the Aravis for a long time, waiting for that perfect conjunction of enough precipitation to clothe the peak in a white coat, coupled with the promise of a sunrise clearing. The magic of this moment lay in its brevity: between the end of the storm and the arrival of full light, I had only a few minutes to immortalize the moment. The air was crisp, almost biting, and the wind was still carrying the remnants of the storm, gusting up veils of snow that clung to the ridges. Each time I clicked the shutter, I felt a mixture of excitement and humility at this fleeting moment of grace.

The Pointe Percée emerged in all its splendour, silhouetted against the sky. Like the Matterhorn in Valais, it imposes its charisma with a pyramidal shape, albeit on a more modest scale. Its snow-covered face plays on different planes of light and shadow, conveying the complexity of a mountain that constantly oscillates between gentleness and harshness, fragility and power. It's this paradox that I seek to express in my art: sublimating the strength of the high mountains while preserving the delicacy and poetry of black-and-white contrasts.

This work illustrates the union between photographer and nature, when the chance of the weather finally comes together with years of patience and preparation. An intimate communion in which the mountain reveals itself, large, pure and luminous. As we contemplate it, we realize just how rare and precious these moments are, like the first snow covering the rock like a mantle of silence. This is the real magic: the impression of having witnessed an ephemeral rebirth, when the Pointe Percée, queen of the Aravis, reveals itself in a breath, like a secret Matterhorn in Haute-Savoie.