Lupins at Lake Sils
- Adrian Wirz
- Dec 20
- 4 min read
At the beginning of July, I spontaneously decided to travel to the Upper Engadine; the lupins at Lake Sils were in full bloom. In other years, this was already the case in June, but this year spring was taking its time around Lake Sils. On a whim, I packed everything I needed to "survive" two days in the Upper Engadine.
Shortly before sunset, I reached Lake Sils and the spot with the lupines. Even then, I could already imagine how breathtaking it would look when the light fell into this high valley. I used the evening to take some photos with focus stacking. I'd used it before, but somehow I'd gotten a bit too lazy in the past and neglected it. So I practiced for a good hour, but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I'm a one-shot photographer; for me, everything has to be perfect within a single image. There are already plenty of moon and Milky Way photographers out there.
So I set off to find a cozy spot for dinner; it was already past 9 p.m. and I was hungry. No, this time I wasn't looking for McDonald's; I had macaroni and cheese on the menu... or in other words: a plastic cup of freeze-dried Knorr. Boil water, then pour the water into the plastic cup, wait a few minutes, and "enjoy."
I've often been asked why I chose a high-roof station wagon as a (mini) camper. Since I rarely spend more than 2-3 nights in the car at a time, I don't need anything bigger; for most of its life, it will be used as a normal passenger car.
I opted for a camping box from Campal, which is easy to remove and reinstall. I can sleep fully stretched out, and the mattresses have the perfect firmness.
Very often, taking photographs also means waiting; I often bridge this time by surfing the web or editing images on my ASUS laptop with an OLED screen.
After a hearty dinner, I drove to St. Moritz. I wanted to take a panoramic photo of this idyllic mountain farming village. But it didn't work out; the lake didn't reflect well, and the sun set behind St. Moritz. This meant the sky remained bright for a long time, and St. Moritz, despite the lights, was dark.
Back at the car, I had to find a place to park. I used one of the public parking lots in St. Moritz Bad. The thermometer read 8 degrees Celsius, so I unpacked the electric blanket. Of course, I had a power station with me to keep the blanket warm and the compressor refrigerator cool. Since I feel constricted in a sleeping bag and get claustrophobic when everything is twisted, I bought a thermal blanket. It's perfect down to 8 degrees; below that, I have to use a heater. So, after the short night, the alarm went off at 4 a.m. I was quickly back on the road, waiting to see what would happen. First came the fog, thick and sticky like a thick bowl of barley soup. But it didn't reach this small bay on Lake Sils. And as expected, I was completely alone and could really stretch out without anyone in my way, which is something that can easily happen there. Because only with a 14-16mm focal length can you capture these lupins in the frame and still have sufficient depth of field, I didn't bother with focus stacking at all. The Nikon Z8 has a menu item for this function, where you can adjust several parameters, such as how many images it should take and whether the focus should be close, etc. But back to the fog: of course, I was hoping for a magical atmosphere. Shortly after my arrival, it lifted again, and the first rays of sunlight fell on the opposite mountain peak. I think this mountain is called Piz da la Margna. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong! First I was enveloped in fog, then I was clear again, then the mountain peak became visible through the fog. This continued for a good hour until the first rays of sunlight also reached the lupins and made their colors glow.
After about three hours, I packed my things and left. Below are a few photos from this beautiful day among the lupins in the Upper Engadine.
I hope you enjoyed looking at the photos?? No, of course not... You can find fun on other (picture) blogs. Large-leaved lupine - Invasive neophytes. The large-leaved lupine is native to North America. It was introduced to Europe as an ornamental and forage plant, as well as for soil improvement and erosion control. In many regions, it is now subspontaneous or established, encroaching on protected mountain meadows and displacing native flora. Furthermore, the leaves and seeds contain alkaloids that are toxic to livestock. I took all the photos with the Nikon Z8. You can read about whether this camera is an improvement over the Z7 in a new blog post: Nikon Z8. Subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this page and you'll always be notified immediately when a new post is online on my website. Approximately 3-4 times a year.
