február 2, 2026

Snow Project – When winter returned to Hungary, and there was no time to hesitate

Drone Photography, Hotel Photography, Winter Photography

A fast-reaction winter hotel photography project capturing rare snowfall across Hungarian spa and resort hotels. Shot under extreme conditions, combining drone, flash, HDR, and real-time decision making to create striking seasonal hospitality visuals.

It had been almost nine years since Hungary last saw real winter. Not a light dusting of snow, but proper cold, heavy snowfall, and conditions that completely transform familiar locations.

These moments are rare and short-lived. In hospitality photography, they don’t reward long planning. They reward fast decisions.

That was the starting point of the Snow Project.

A brief window, a simple offer

As soon as the forecasts became clear, I reached out to former clients and larger-profile hotels with a short, direct message. No long pitch, no campaign language. Just a clear observation and a solution:

The weather was exceptional.
It wouldn’t last.
And it could be photographed fast and adequately.

The response came quickly.

Within a short time frame, six hotels in Western Hungary confirmed, with additional interest from Budapest and Miskolctapolca. The route was obvious. The timing was tight.

I left on Tuesday around midday, just after the first wave of snow had already fallen.

The first stop: Hunguest Bál Resort, Balatonalmádi

At the Hunguest Bál Resort, snow was already in the air, but conditions were unstable. Light snowfall, shifting wind, and low visibility made flying unsafe. I chose not to risk the drone.

Instead, I worked handheld and waited. Possibly longer than I should have. I was hoping for a short break in the weather, something usable from the air. It never came.

This was the first reminder of the project: waiting is also a decision. Eventually, I moved on. Hévíz was next, and a more substantial second wave of snow was approaching.

Driving into the storm

By the time I reached the main roads toward Hévíz, the second wave had arrived. This was no longer atmospheric snowfall. It was one of the heaviest snowfalls Hungary had seen in the past decade.

Visibility dropped. The roads were fully covered. Darkness came early.

Despite the conditions, the drive itself was controlled. The real interruption came at the very last turn before the hotel.

Lotus Therme Hotel & Spa – night, snow, and improvisation

Firefighters had closed the road leading to Lotus Therme Hotel & Spa. A car had become stuck on a steep incline, blocking access entirely. In heavy snowfall, six or seven firefighters eventually pushed the car up the hill by hand.

By the time the road cleared, the second wave was roaring on.

I had anticipated brutal weather and brought rain protection for the camera. After the check-in, it went on immediately. I mounted the camera on a tripod, triggered the shutter remotely, and stepped into the snowfall.

The challenge was visibility.
Despite the intensity of the snow, it barely registered in test shots. HDR was a necessity, but also useless for showing the snowfall. The environment was too dark.

The solution was flash. Not to light the building, but to make the snowfall visible. I executed a standard HDR process and then started experimenting with different angles and heights using flash.

I worked both main sides of the hotel:

the front façade
the poolside

Throughout the shoot, a constant question in the back of my mind was whether the protection was enough for the equipment in these conditions.

By the end of the session, I had what I needed. Strong, readable images where winter was not implied, but unmistakable. It was the first time I had photographed a hotel exterior like this.

Morning light

At dawn, conditions finally allowed a short drone flight over Lotus Therme. The storm had settled. The building’s geometry, the snow-covered courtyard, and the contrast with the thermal water finally came together.

This was the payoff for the previous night.

From here, I continued to the next hotel in Hévíz.

Hunguest Helios – the image that stayed

While photographing the entrance area of Hunguest Helios, roughly ten meters from the building, the drone failed without visible physical contact and fell. No one was injured, and no damage was caused to the hotel or its surroundings (had to feel lucky whilst losing a precious tool – weird feeling indeed).

The drone was destroyed.

It was my first drone. I had worked with it for over four years, created countless images with it, and knew it inside out. The batteries had been replaced the previous year. There were no warning signs.

There was no time to stop. I switched to handheld shooting immediately and finished the assignment.

Later, while reviewing the material, one image stood out.
The last frame the drone ever captured.

It made the final selection.

Share the Post: