The Heroes

Tearing The Veil From Grace

To Come Of Age

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.

Ancient Oak And Moon

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

No Sun At Sunset

I already mentioned it in 'Kaamos'. During December the sun doesn't rise above the horizon north of the Arctic Circle. You might still get to see some nice colours during sunrise or sunset time though. I got lucky that afternoon. The sky looked gorgeous when the day ended. Taking the picture was a bit dangerous because I stood right beside the Arctic motorway. There was a lot of honking going on when I composed the shot which was kinda fun. For me at least.

Deep Cold

An other stormy day. Even worse than the day before. This photo was taken in the morning on Kaunispää (425 m/1'394 ft). The tunturi has a restaurant, skilifts and a toboggan run, the longest in Finland. The stormy winds let the temperature drop to around -30° Celsius/-22° Fahrenheit. Could you imagine skiing at those temperatures? The Finns are tough people. All those ”scars” in the snow were made by the strong winds and are not skiing tracks.

Ranting And Raving

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.

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.

Dark Threatening Sky

Some special weather here! Right in front of me, the sky was pitchblack, while behind me the sun was shining. The meadow is bathed in soft light.

Cold White Desert

Dark Tree In The Limelight

As I „swam“ around the mountain lake Obersee (992 m/3'255 ft) I spotted this lovely dark tree. The low sun shone beautifully behind it.

The End Of The World

You don't get to see this kind of weather often. I got very lucky.

Illuminating The Alps

Evening light at the Hohe Winde (1'204 m/3'950 ft). The low sun illuminated the Alps, which are about 100 kilometres (62 miles) away, beautifully.

Night Of The Shrub

Picture of the Etang de la Gruère covered with ice and snow. The light of the moon lit up the lake.

Teeny Weeny

To Bore Or Not To Bore

A Grey Dream

A solitary tree lost in the mist.

Snow White And The Hundred Trees

I made a trip to Couvet where I wanted to take pictures of the Creux du Van. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be bad. Very foggy with almost no sight. At first I was of course disappointed, but instead of going home, I tried to make the best of it. So I took some photos of some trees. I could forget the Creux du Van or anything else. This photo is one of the many I took on that day.