Perched in the deep ocean over 600 miles from the coasts of Portugal, the archipelago of Madeira is often called the ‘Garden of the Atlantic’. The benevolent Gulf Stream currents that lap its shores encourage subtropical plants and flowers, and its inlets and canyons burst with greenery. But its mountainous uplands can be a different story. Sweeping up towards the peaks, the Atlantic wraps them in thick mists, veiling the ancient laurel forests, and above those, snow dusts the mountain tops in winter.

“That sheer range of weather is so appealing to me,” smiles Mickaël Peralta. Drawn to climate as much as location, “I always choose destinations where I can find a ‘hard time’ because it’s something that adds a very special atmosphere to my photos,” he says. “I frequently travel to these places in winter, just when most tourists are going in the opposite direction! For me, the weather is part of the character of a place,” he continues, “and that’s what makes a great travel photo. It’s all part of creating emotion and moods.”

“While the weather’s my friend,” Mickaël continues, “of course I can’t control it. So as for any field trip, I made sure I had a proper itinerary for this trip to Madeira, where I was shooting with the Sony Alpha 7 IV and Alpha 7C for the first time. I looked for the most spectacular spots, knowing that if I was in the right place, the right time would find me. Fortunately, on Madeira that’s easy. It’s a grand volcanic landscape of peaks, oceans and waterfalls, so part of the pleasure is just hiking from one place to the next.”

Finding a perfect vantage point and compelling weather, Mickaël next looks for balance in his images. The components of light, focus and framing sync to make images like this portrait of a dead tree during a beautiful moment. “The sun was sinking and the clouds danced around the mountains, to give it this magical feeling,” he explains. Shot with the Sony Alpha 7 IV and FE 24mm f/1.4 GM at f/1.4, it also shows how Mickaël likes to isolate focus on his subjects to give depth and a more intimate perspective.

Of course, working with the weather doesn’t mean waiting only for fleeting sunsets. “Another of my favourite images from the Madeira is this one,” he explains, “which shows my friend along with another of the twisted old trees. It tells a tale of how quickly the power of nature can change the feeling of a place. Here, again using the Alpha 7 IV and 24mm GM, I pushed the ISO up to account for the gloom of the fog.”

In another image from the trip, this time shot on the Sony Alpha 7C with FE 24mm f/2.8 G, “I framed my friend through an opening in a tree rock with a mountain behind,” Mickaël explains, “creating the impression of a photo in a photo. The Alpha 7C is so compact and convenient to shoot with when travelling and it’s the same for the compact G Series lenses. It combines to give professional results in a camera I put in my pocket.”

As for the Sony Alpha 7 IV, “it’s really evolved from the Alpha 7 II,” Mickaël says, “and I love the adjustable screen for very high and low angles, or to shoot from waist level. It’s also very light and the quality of the Raw files from its 33Mp sensor is amazing. That’s vital for me because I always develop my images through Lightroom to get the maximum amount of highlight and shadow detail, as well as colour grading them to my own style.”

In terms of visual style, Mickaël also likes to stick to regular, rather than extreme, wide-angle lenses. “I mainly use the FE 24mm f/1.4 GM,” he explains, “because it lets me capture the natural character of a landscape without deforming proportions, as some much wider focal lengths do. It’s also relatively compact and has that wide aperture I need for handheld shooting, working in low-light or focusing attention on the subject.”

Of course, both the Alpha 7 IV and Alpha 7C have great weather sealing, too, as do Sony’s GM and G lenses, making them perfect partners for Mickaël’s adventures. “I definitely think my photography will keep going down this path,” he finishes, “finding drama, but remaining faithful to the reality of the landscapes I discover. What that means is working with whatever weather I find to tell the story. I want my photos to pass on all the emotions that I feel when I photograph these wonderful places and my Sony gear is instrumental in doing that.”