Eloping in the Shadow of an Active Volcano: Cotopaxi as Your Ceremony Backdrop

Cotopaxi is 5,897 metres above sea level and it is an active volcano. When I am photographing a couple in the national park below it, with the snow-capped cone visible above a plateau of high-altitude grassland, that fact is not background information. It is the central element of the scene. The combination of immensity and instability that Cotopaxi projects is unlike anything I encounter photographing in the Andes, which is not a region short of dramatic peaks. Cotopaxi is in a different category.

The National Park

Cotopaxi National Park covers around 33,000 hectares of páramo, the high-altitude ecosystem unique to tropical mountains, at elevations ranging from 3,400 to 5,897 metres. The ceremony locations I use are in the páramo zone, typically between 3,800 and 4,200 metres, where the grassland extends in every direction and the volcano dominates the skyline. There are no trees at this altitude, which means the sky and the mountain are the only vertical elements. The light at 4,000 metres has a quality I have not found anywhere else: thinner atmosphere means sharper contrast and colours that appear more saturated than they photograph elsewhere at the same time of day. Morning is the best time. By afternoon, clouds typically build around the summit and the view closes.

Positioning the Ceremony

I place couples facing each other rather than facing the mountain, which sounds counterintuitive but creates better photographs. When both people face Cotopaxi, I get the backs of two heads and a mountain. When they face each other, I can work from a low angle behind one person to include the volcano in the background above the other’s shoulder, or I can step back and include both in the foreground with the mountain filling the upper half of the frame. The intimacy of the ceremony space is preserved while the scale of the backdrop remains visible. The volcano does not need to be centred to be present. It fills the sky regardless of where I am standing.

Altitude

The ceremony site is at 3,900 metres. Couples arriving from Quito (2,850 metres) are already partially acclimatised. The jump to 3,900 is noticeable but manageable for most people if they move slowly, hydrate consistently, and do not arrive at the site expecting to perform physical exertion immediately. I recommend arriving to Quito at least two days before travelling to the park, spending the first day at a lower altitude activity, and ascending to the páramo on the third day. Coca tea is available throughout the Quito area and at lodges near the park and does help with symptoms. The altitude will be part of your day. Working with it rather than against it makes everything easier.