Summer

Dragon Fire

Forgotten But Still Remembered

The Empty Stare

Zeglingen Gold

Night Of The Vampire

It was ten o'clock in the evening when I headed down the mountain. I came upon this scene and stopped immediately, old British Hammer horror movies came to my mind. Vampires on the hunt for prey, lurking in the shadows. Evildoers roaming through the mist at night searching for clueless wanderers. Bloodthirsty beasts hidden in the fog, waiting... Okay, I should stopp now ;-). To make a long story short, I had to take a picture. Even though it was quite dark, I had to use a ND filter to darken the sky. Without the filter the sky would have been blown out. The blotch of pink is alpenglow, I guess.

Endtime Hearts

I was hoping for some light when the sun set but got disappointed. The clouds were too thick to let light through. This didn't discourage me to take a picture. In the center of the image is the Seefeldsee (1'833 m/6'104 ft). A lake well known among fishers.

Dreamlike Experience

Five minutes before the alp was covered with clouds. I couldn't see a thing. It was my first time that I stood in clouds and it was a very eerie experience. Kinda dreamlike, otherworldly. Thankfully, the clouds dissolved into light and I grabbed the opportunity and took a picture.

Seefeldstock In Low Clouds

Nature's Golden Treasure

At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to shoot a picture because the weather got worse in the evening. More and more clouds were forming up. Therefore the sun came and went. Luckily, I was able to press the shutter at the right moment as some soft light hit the high „grass“.

Swiss Pyramid

The Niesen (2'362 m/7'749 ft) is not the highest mountain in Switzerland but the one with the distinctive shape. It's often called the Swiss Pyramid. There's a funicular in which you can reach the summit of the mountain easily. The funicular operates only from April to November and is closed during the winter months due to ice and snow. On top of the Niesen is a restaurant and hotel, built in 1856, 54 years before the funicular. Now imaging getting up there by foot! And how did they build the guesthouse at that time? There weren't any helicopters back then. I guess they hauled all the material up that mountain on mules. Those who wanted to take a drink up there could either climb the Niesen on foot or, if they had enough money at hand, hire horses, mules or four carriers who took them up in sedan chairs!

A Storm Has Passed

Weissenau is a small nature reserve on the east side of the Thunersee. I wanted to capture a colourful sky as the sun set. I knew from the beginning that the sun would set behind the mountains to the right and hoped for some red, yellow and what not. It didn't happen, of course. And the photo almost didn't happen too. 30 minutes before a malicious storm blew over the lake which shook the trees along the shore dangerously. I stood beside a tree looking over the lake as the storm unleashed its fury. And guess what happened. The tree fell! A short creak and the tree crushed to the ground. If I would have made one step forward the fallen tree would have buried me. Not sure if I would have died but I would have broken some bones for sure. And therefore no photo. I didn't get lucky with the sky but I got lucky that I didn't get injured.

Lothlórien

I knew the location from one of my previous trips, the light just wasn't right the last time. But this time everything fell perfectly in place. To my surprise the sunlight was shining on some plants in the foreground which I didn't expect. All I wanted was some light on the trees, so this was a big bonus. This magical scene reminded me of Lothlórien of Middle Earth, a forest realm of the Elves, the centre of restistence against Sauron.

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

I made a trip to Münchenstein to stroll along the river Birs. My intention was to take a picture of the river in beautiful light. Unfortunately, the sun wasn't up to what I had in mind. I got a bit grumpy as the hours ticked away. Shortly before sunset, at the golden hour, I spotted this meadow a bit off the river. I got curious and went to have a look. Soon afterwards stunning golden light hit the meadow. I set up my gear quickly and took a picture. I used the apple tree to balance the image, the green leafes of it are a great contrast to the golden light. The golden hour lived truly up to its name. Even though I couldn't shoot what I had in mind I returned home happy and satisfied.

Lauchflue In Evening Haze

Scorched, But Still Standing

Some hiking trails in Switzerland lead through „cow territory“ due to the narrowness of the country. That can be a problem. I composed this picture on a „cow pasture“. One of the cows was very curious and plodded to me, sniffing and staring at me with its big dark eyes. It was a friendly cow, but nevertheless I felt a bit uncertain. A couple of days ago a farmer got killed by a tame bull. You never know what cattle are up to. Even a friendly cow can turn into a killing machine. Just like that.

Mirror Of Water

Reinacher Heide is a nature reserve between the villages of Dornach and Reinach. I strolled along the river Birs in the nature reserve when all of a sudden this magnificent light appeared. I stormed through the underwood to the shore and set up my tripod very fast, mounted my camera with a CPL and a Lee Hard Grad 0.3 on it, composed the picture and shot. After three minutes or so the light was gone, I was only able to shoot one photo. Thankfully, the image turned out fine.

Time Was Running Out

It was already 18:30 hours with about two hours of daylight left. I would have liked to hike around the Silberenseeli (1'944 m/6'378 ft), you only see a small part of the lake on this photo, if possible, to look for better spots for taking pictures, but time was running out. I still had a two to three hour hike down a mountain in front of me with no torch at hand. Hiking down a steep mountain trail in complete darkness is near suicide.

Inn At The Lake