For Maciej Pesko, landscape photography is all about emotion. It’s the feeling of awe as the sun lights up a mountain pass, or the sense of peace from a pristine Alpine lake. “Each landscape tells its own story,” he explains, “and every trip is a reminder that beauty is all around us. I want anyone who views my photographs to feel that too.”

That outlook recently took Maciej to the Italian Dolomites, some 1200km from his home in central Poland. “I’d already been once, in May 2024,” he remembers, “but those mountains are a place of such thrilling beauty that I knew I had to return. I followed some of the Dolomites most famous treks, shooting around Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Sassolungo, Cinque Torri, as well as the passes of Passo Gardena, Passo Sella and Passo Falzarego, and the two Italian lakes nearby, Iseo and Garda.”

Scouting these locations and spending as much time in the mountains as possible led to something very important, says Maciej: opportunity. “The real value of being out there, even when the light and weather are less than inspiring, is that you get to know the place,” he explains. “You learn where to stand with the camera and what lens to use to get the best frame, so it’s all muscle memory for when nature gives you something special.”

“But it’s really the weather that plays a primary role in landscape photography,” he continues, “and during this project it was clear that during days where it seemed like nothing was going to happen, things could change in a few seconds. That’s exactly what happened at Santa Maddalena and Passo Gardena. On both occasions, the sky was grey and I was thinking I'd recon the area and come again. But landscape photography is all about waiting, and I was rewarded because as soon as the sun hit a gap in the clouds I didn’t know if I was shivering from the cold or excitement. For 30 minutes, the colours were unreal.”

To catch the light at Passo Gardena, Maciej had to push himself. “The sun was entering the valley before I was in position,” he explains, “so I had to speed up my stride, climbing some 200m in a hurry. I had to run uphill with my rucksack to make it, but it was worth it.”

It’s here that Maciej really valued the portability of his Sony Alpha 6700 and lenses. “The camera’s lightweight and compact design makes it the perfect companion for long hikes and staying out in the field, waiting for your shot,” he explains, “and the thoughtful design for landscape photographers, like me, doesn’t end there. It has excellent sensor stabilisation, which helped a lot, because all photos I took on that climb, even those taken handheld and at longer exposure times like 1/10sec, were blur-free.”

While the Alpha 6700 uses a smaller sensor to improve its portability, that doesn’t come at a cost in terms of image quality, according to Maciej. “The APS-C sensor offers great resolution and dynamic range, which meant my Dolomite photos were wonderfully sharp and detailed with natural colours, even in difficult lighting conditions. In fact, the camera does very well in low-light situations, allowing me to capture beautiful landscapes at dusk and dawn with great dynamic range.”

Adventurous landscape photographers choosing the A6700 can also make the most of some excellent lightweight lenses. “The decision to use the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G and FE 70-200mm f/4 Macro G OSS II lenses on this trip was down to how well they complement each other, as well as their lightness and quality” he says.

“The 16-55mm, it’s a highly versatile tool, which lets me capture both wider frames and more detailed shots in one. When I really wanted to pick out details, I fitted the 70-200mm, with the longer focal length allowing me to flatten the perspective and pick out the delicate layers in the mountainsides, veiled in mist.”

“Overall, the Alpha 6700 worked great for this project,” he finishes. “Thanks to the way it’s designed, I was able to focus on what is most important to me – capturing nature and conveying the emotions that come from observing it. Along with Sony’s lightweight lenses I could focus on creativity and exploration. It's the perfect kit for those who want to capture the beauty of the world around them, and hopefully those images can inspire people to take care of that world too.”