Afterglow is one of the magical moments of certain clear days when, immediately after sunset, a soft and diffused light – with warm colors – lingers on the landscape, transforming it into a dreamlike vision. Like the one in the photo taken – one evening several years ago – on top of one of the peaks of the Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise National Park in Italy.
A small group of Apennine chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata grazed and rested in the suspended atmosphere of an autumn day drawing to a close. In the background, the theory of mountains shrouded in the dense November mist gave a sense of place and heightened the feeling of a timeless experience. An experience that was actually fleeting: after a while the darkness would in fact take over the scene and would soon hide every detail. Meanwhile, the last light warmed the colors of the mountain prairie and those of the mantle of the most beautiful chamois in the world, as local people call it, enhancing their profiles.
I enjoyed that peace and lingered in that vision for as long as possible, considering it a precious gift. The darkness came too early that evening and all I had to do was start the slow descent towards the valley in the light of the headlamp.