Switzerland

Northbound At Röti

The view from Röti (1'395 m/4'577 ft) is spectacular but unfortunately it's to the north. When I made the picture it started to rain and I could hear and see thunderstorm to the east. I packed my bags quickly and rushed down the hill. Being on a hill during a thunderstorm isn't very wise.

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

Alt Bechburg And Candyfloss

The ruin is Alt Bechburg which was built in the 11th and decayed in the 17th century.

Captured Treasure Trove

Golden evening light at Schlosshöchi (856 m/2'808 ft) near Egerkingen.

Blues At Ibergeregg

Blue hour at Ibergeregg with the Muotataler mountain range in the background.

Grindel Without Forest

Stürmenchopf And Magical Light

I like the shape of Stürmenchopf (769 m/2'523 ft), a hill with a „pointy“ peak covered completely by forest. There is a path up there but you won't get any nice views because of the trees. What I tried here was to „frame“ the hill. Which wasn't an easy task. Finding anything on a field was hard enough. And I feared the farmer wouldn't like me stomping around on his field. Luckily, he didn't see me. I came upon this fallen tree which hasn't be moved away and I used it to frame Stürmenchopf.

From Darkest Skies

I rushed up the Allerheiligenberg (880 m/2'887 ft) awaiting a nice sunset and didn't quite get what I came for. The problem was that the view to the west is completely blocked by the hill and the forest. Although there is a gap to the southeast where you get a nice view. This might be a good spot for sunrises. Nevertheless, at least there was some nice light on those far away hills, especially that marvellous golden light on the huge rockface was an eyecatcher. I think that was once or still is a quarry. The city to the left is Olten and the one to the right is Wangen bei Olten. What I like the most is the beautiful sky and the tiny cows. The icing on the cake would have been some wonderful light on the pasture. But you can't get everything.

Opportunities Neglected Can Never Be Recovered

Evening light pouring through the trees. I planned nothing, it just happened.

Nothing Endures But Change

A Light In The Dark

This photo needed A LOT of planning. First I had to check the weather to see how the forecast for the night was. Crystal clear skies, perfect! My intention was to take a picture of a tree with the rising full moon. I then had to find out which tree would be qualified for the image I had in mind. I knew a tree from an earlier shoot in 2011, see 'Of Tree And Grass', that maybe suit my needs. The tree faced to the east and had no obstacles in front or behind it. Then I checked 'The Photographer's Ephemeris' to see from which position I had to take the picture. I had to be absolutely sure that there weren't any obstacles in the way when shooting from quite a distance with 400 mm. There were still some questions open I couldn't answer on the computer. What if the farmer parked his tractor right in front of the tree? What if there were cows grazing on the meadow? What if...? I had to find out myself. To my relief, there was no tractor and there were no cows. At first I wanted to have the whole tree in the image but that didn't quite work. There was an ugly signpost to the left that I couldn't get out of the picture if I included the whole tree. So I got a bit closer to use the tree as a frame. Thankfully, that worked. On my photo of 2011 you can't see the signpost because of the high grass and the wider angle. All I had to do now is wait. I felt a bit uneasy because the farm was quite near and I feared the farmer would chase me away from his property. Well, it wasn't the farmer, it was his dog who tried. The dog trotted to me and started to bark. I ignored her/him as best I could. After a while she/he lost interest and left. I was alone again. The hours passed by. At moonrise there was no moon to be seen. I got anxious, were my calculations wrong? I checked my GPS. The point of the compass was spot on. Where was the moon? I ran up the hill to have a look. I could see the moon, it just wasn't high enough to be seen from my position. To my horror, I had to change the composition because I didn't think about that. Thankfully, there was another lone tree to the left which I could use. I composed the picture anew and waited. After what felt like an eternity the moon could finally be seen. I only had one or two chances to get the shot right. I couldn't tell the moon to stop rising. I took the pictures and hoped the best. This is my most effortful photo so far. I'm very pleased how the image turned out.

Secrets Of The Black Arts

The weather looked promising on that day and I went out to capture a sunset. Unfortunately, the sun hid behind the clouds most of the time. I didn't let myself down because of that and set up my gear nonetheless. All I had to do now is wait and hope. My hope sank as more and more clouds piled up. But all of a sudden, a gap in the clouds opened and a beam of bright sunlight hit the hill to my right. I couldn't believe what I saw, it looked unreal. Like a scene out of a dodgy science fiction movie. I quickly pivoted my tripod to the right, composed the picture and shot. Thankfully, I already had my camera ready to shoot otherwise I wouldn't have been able to capture this spectacle of nature. It only lasted a couple of minutes and was gone as quickly as it showed up. After that it started to rain.

Ancient Oak And Moon

Silhouette of an old oak tree with the moon shimmering through its branches.

Half Blue

Winter Funeral