TMB, a photo from Rhône-Alpes, Sud

Photographer's Note

The Mont Blanc Tramway or Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is the highest in France and among the highest in Europe.

The spectacular views of Mont Blanc provided by the tramway make it very popular with tourists. Furthermore, mountaineers and hikers use the tramway because its stops provide the jumping off points for many trails, including the normal French route to Mont Blanc which starts at the tramway's terminus,

Starting from Le Fayet or Saint-Gervais, the Mont Blanc tramway reaches Bellevue (at 1,800m) through pastures and forests, and enables you to gradually reach the Nid d'Aigle (2,372m) under the Aiguille du Goûter peak, at the bottom of the Bionnassay glacier. It is also first stage for mountaineers who start out on the ascension of Mont Blanc.

The trip takes 50 minutes to Bellevue and 75 minutes to the Nid d'Aigle.

Starting from the Col de Voza pass, Bellevue and the Nid d'Aigle, there are hill-walking paths, including the path to the Bionnassay glacier or the Tête de Charme.

From Bellevue, mountain-biking enthusiasts can go down to Les Houches village, either via the 4x4 trail or via "the" Les Houches downhill slope, which is forbidden to pedestrians and reserved for mountain-bikers. Bikes are allowed on the tramway.

The line is worked by three motor coaches which are named Anne, Marie and Jeanne. These were the names of the three daughters of the line's owner at the time of electrification. It likes my daughter, because Anna Maria has on name

The Mont-Blanc Tramway takes 1 ¼ hours to climb from 580 m to 2372 m. Six stops offer hikers a number of possible starting points for excursions:
Saint-Gervais, 792 m
Motivon, 1400 m
Col de Voza, 1653 m
Bellevue, 1794 m
Mont-Lachat, 2115 m
Nid d'Aigle, 2380 m, in front of the Bionnassay glacier.

photoray, rigoletto, macondo, holmertz, pyffepa, pajaran, papagolf21, ikeharel, danos, Romano46, gildasjan, ChrisJ, krzychu30, ourania, COSTANTINO trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

photoray (13981) 2013-09-10 16:54

Howdy Piotr,

Excellent monochrome view of the Mont Blanc Tramway with the craggy Alp backdrop, appearing like a classical photo from decades ago.

We Los Angeles natives got rid of our electric tram to the top of Mount Wilson, over 5,000 feet high, over half a century ago, in lieu of the auto popularity.

Nicely composed and created,
Cheers,
Ray

rigoletto (34279) 2013-09-10 17:13

hi piotr,
the impressive sharp peaks of alps make a great, effective background for your subject, which looks indeed like a vintage tram and gives a timeless feel to your photo. b&w was the perfect choice. great vantage point and clarity are the other technical merits. i also like a lot the square crop.
deniz

GiovanniG (3914) 2013-09-10 18:53

Ciao Piotr,
Fantastic capture with a perfect B&W format. Great exposure and pov.
Regards,
GiovanniG

sabermonajati (11537) 2013-09-10 22:24

hi
amzing frame you shot.this mountain with train exist nice composition.
regard
saber

abmdsudi (95869) 2013-09-10 22:36

Hi Piotr
Cool shot and the bold stark contrast with all the powerful effect in black and white. Bags of detail thrown in together in cheerful bright day that certainly does make this tram stands out strikingly. I just love the effect and the feel which has a certain charm. Lovely work flows, simple but an excellent eye grabber, Congrats.
Best regards

Ciol (216) 2013-09-10 23:44

Bonjour Piotr,

belle prise de vue en B&W, mettant bien en valeur ce train dans son environnement.

Cordialement.

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2013-09-11 2:19

generally we are familiar to see coloured photos in such views. But here after seeing this monochrome I think it may be the best for such situation. Like your composition. Excellent natural beauty of this place is eye catching and the train is nicely balanced it. Great depth and very good tonal quality. Excellent one. Tfs.
S

ktanska (44492) 2013-09-11 5:15

Hi Piotr,
Marie has quite friendly looking face! This little mountain railway is really impressive, climbing so high on the slopes of Mont-Blanc. Weather is clear and the mountain peaks so sharp. Square framing fits well.
Kari

macondo (20449) 2013-09-11 6:11

Hello Piotr
A fabulous conversion and super crop for this b/w postcard shot. Without the dates given, this could be from many years ago. Your processing achieved an excellent, striking tonality and contrast. The viewpoint is superb. The mountains are so sharp against the sky. Great work and good note.
Regards,
Andrew

holmertz (102096) 2013-09-11 6:53

Hello Piotr,
The B&W conversion suits this photo and the old-fashioned train very well. The tight cropping and square format keeps the composition very neatly together with no wasted empty areas. The diagonals of the tracks and the wires give the view a nice depth, and of course the mountains provide a spectacular background. This is like a tourist brochure from the 1950's.
Kind regards,
Gert

tedesse (25147) 2013-09-11 7:30

Witaj!
Wspaniale foto w B&W.
Doskonaly POV i kompozycja, super ostrosc.
Pozdrawiam
Tadeusz

pyffepa (625) 2013-09-11 7:42

Hello Piotr,

Your picture is so enthousiastic.
You choice of B/W is great and you render a gorgeous old fashioned photograph. Just the fan and the shirt of the driver give a clue about the period.
The composition focuses very well the tramway and give a feeling of motion.

A very good picture.

Best regards,
Patrick

Nicou (193806) 2013-09-11 7:52

Hello

Il est bien beau Marie sueprbe compo nostalgique et ce train de montagne quelle nostalgie et image avec les montagnes en fond mervielleux.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

limielski (0) 2013-09-11 10:23

Cześć!
Słyszałem o tek w sumie kolejce - gdy planowałem hiking/traking na Mont Blanc.
NIestety wyprawa nie doszła do skutku.
Ładne zdjęcie B&W z super ekspozycja- widac całą game odcieni - cały zkes tonalny
Dla mnie jest to przykład perfekcjnego zdjęcia B&W.

Miłego wieczoru!
Jak bedziesz sie wybierał na Festiwal Singera - daj znac :-)

Silvio1953 (220759) 2013-09-11 13:21

Ciao Piotr, great capture of lovely train in a fantastic mountain landscape, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

korbee (6619) 2013-09-11 13:32

This is how to make a good railphoto Piotr!
Ithink the B&W works out good here it gives a retro atmosphere ;=],looke like Swiss railways ;=]

Thanks and good night!

jan

Fis2 (169877) 2013-09-11 15:02

Witaj Piotr!
Super tramwaj!
Kolorystyka zrobiles klimat retro.
Zdjecie robi wrazenie.
Dobrze skomponowany kadr.
Dobranoc!
Krzysztof

emka (157280) 2013-09-11 21:53

cześć
Po kolorowym strasburgu nie rozpoznałam tego Twojego czarno-białego zdjęcia. Fantastyczny ten tramwaj, wspina sie prawie jak na Rysy. I jakie muszą tam byc bajeczne widoki przez okno. tez bym pojechała tym tramwajem. Fajne zdjecie, ma urok starej pocztówki. Fantastyczne poszarpane turnie z tylu.

Pozdraiwam M.

pajaran (115047) 2013-09-11 22:12

Dobar dan.
Interesantan i dobar tekst o tramvaju i planini, sa datim podacima ...
Dobar trenutak snimka, kontrast i perspektiva, lepo pokazan tramvaj i planina.
Lep tramvaj i planina.
Imajte lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon.
Interesting and good article on the tram and the mountains, with the given data ...
A good time recording, contrast and perspective, nicely shown tram and mountains.
Nice tramway and mountains.
Have a great and successful day, all the be
Paja.

papagolf21 (152605) 2013-09-12 0:01

Bonjour, Piotr,
Très bonne mise en image de cette micheline ou similaire traversant monts et montagnes.
Le choix du noir et blanc est parfait pour restituer un effet ancien.
Une bien belle réussite.
Amitiés.
Philippe

ikeharel (112549) 2013-09-12 0:55

Good morning Piotr,
I just imagine how this would show in colors, as the car must be in some notable "warm-color" and contrast the green, grey and blur sky.
Technically - a fabulous B&W shot, good clear view and even an almost 3D vision.
regards,
Ike

claudeD (47754) 2013-09-12 1:18

Hello Piotr,

very fine idea to show us this train in b+w mode. Very good composition and fine sharpness. Reminds me my first trip to Mont Blanc region ...Very well done.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC

danos (110407) 2013-09-12 8:06

Hello Piotr,
excellent presentation in B/W format of the passing by Tramway du Mont-Blanc,with the clarity and the sharpness to are captured superb.
I like the creative perspective as we can see the driver and the man on the last wagon to be out of it.

Regards,Danos

Romano46 (18472) 2013-09-12 8:57

Ciao Piotr
un bianco nero di ottima fattura per un soggetto che anche a colori avrebbe fatto la sua bella figura, ma che in versione monocromatica assume un fascino particolare di antico.
In effetti la ferrovia, con il suo aspetto tradizionale che risale a diversi anni fa, dà l'impressione di un ritorno indietro nel tempo e la foto così elaborata simula molto bene una ripresa del secolo scorso.
Sembra di essere andare a ritroso nel tempo: pare ieri ed eppure è oggi.
Complimenti!. Una bella idea sviluppata ottimamente grazie ad una ripresa perfetta in tutti i suoi parametri.
Ciao e buona serata
Romano

mesutilgim (0) 2013-09-12 11:33

Hello Piotr,
Amazing b%w capture from Rhone Alps with great graphical effect.
Nice framing and many interesting notes
TFS and bes regards
MESUT ILGIM

gildasjan (43826) 2013-09-12 11:56

Bonsoir Piotr
Belle prise de cette de ce petit train électrique en B&W ce qui donne du cachet à cette ancienne machine.
bonne soirée
Amicalement
Gildas

mohammad_H (10178) 2013-09-12 13:46

Hi
Eye -catching and pleasant , tram vehicle back into the city , black and white photos are very attractive , good quality, unique , beautiful display with good resolution

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-09-12 23:01

Hello Piotr,

Great shot of the tramcar from the mountains.The sharp shot of the tramcar in black and white with the massive mountain peaks at the back make this shot very special.Excellent composition, good presentation too.Very well done, TFS.

Regards
Farhat

ChrisJ (171366) 2013-09-14 4:32

Ciao Piotr,

A superb b&w image with good density, contrast, tonal range and graphism. Well composed and the jagged peaks make a fine backdrop to the funicular railway train. The diagonal axis adds dynamism. The square format works well here. Tfs!

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-09-16 2:18

Witaj Piotr,
bardzo podoba mi sie ten wyjatkowy klimat tego zdjecia.B&W w tym przypadku naprawde zadzialal rewelacyjnie.
Rowniez sama kompozycja i kadr sa swietnie przymyslane i wykonane.
Widok robi wrazenie!

Pozdrawiam
Krzysiek

npecanhuk (79329) 2013-09-18 3:35

Hi Piotr!
Very nice and attractive picture of an interesting train and a wonderful location (I was there back in 2005!).
Black & white, sharpness, exposure, chosen pov and composition are great!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

ourania (51103) 2014-05-28 9:30

Hello Piotr,
you are presenting a very fine perspective and great depth within the square frame. Your composition is very elegant, the monochrome makes the scene also atmospheric and enhances the impact of the solid and dynamic layout. I like very much the sense of movement and the thorough description of the natural scenery. You handled the lighting very well and achieved a rewarding range of grey tones. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great evening,
Ourania

COSTANTINO (115645) 2014-07-08 11:16

Hello my dear friend
In the heart of the summer I prefer this
shot in sepia with the tramway du Mont
Blanc the highest in France and among
the highest in Europe
spectacular view it seems like
a scnery from the movie
great exposure and pov
I just love this great effect
regards
have a nice time
Costantino

Karolina999 (0) 2015-12-23 14:07

Dear Piotr,
piękna Marie, w starym dobrym stylu, kocham fotografie BW, a ta jest po prostu nadzwyczajna, świetna ramka, nie mogłeś wybrać lepszej.
Thanx for sharing.
Cheeers!!!