Donnerstag, 30. April 2009

Pond with a view


What I really like about hiking is the hidden treasures you can find. Whenever I walk though nature in our Alps I always end up seeing something unexpected. Like this little pond in the Tuxer Alps, Tyrol. My way led up a grassy hill and I almost missed this water beauty. It must have been melted snow that built this pond. Although it was August there was plenty of snow in the heights, so no wonder there were brooks and ponds around. A year later I passed the same spot and there were no ponds anymore.

The photo is nice because it shows a reflection in the pond which is a good motif for itself. Combined with the mountains in the background it makes for an idyllic and wonderful alpine pasture. And besides, my wife Sylvia was skiing on that snowy slopes in the background while I was hiking and taking this photo.

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Sonntag, 26. April 2009

Parliament


While the capital of Australia, Canberra, is a rather uninteresting place, its Parliament House is a good sight. It is located on top of a hill and has some architectural features, including walls, places and the flag mast. Combined it made for a good motif and I'm pleased with the resulting image. The mixture of colors and the lines running to the flag works very well. Also the little cloud makes an interesting counterpoint. It was worth getting on my knees there ;-)
We found the city boring and scattered over a large area. There's really not a "center" , at least we couldn't find one. The Parliament and the other government buildings in that area are the only intersting things to see. At the end of our journey we thought Canberra was the least intersting place we surely could have missed. But with a organized tour we had to stick to our route. Next time we'd rather stay more days in Sydney or Melbourne :-)

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Sonntag, 19. April 2009

Far Away


While we travelled along the Australian east coast in 2007 we always enjoyed the endless roads and the vastness of the landscape. Often we've seen so different places then we have in Europe. The roads seems to go forever into the horizon and the colors and light were magic.

This is a good example of such views. While it may seem common to any Australian it is an unusual sight for us. And we didn't have to drive off the highway that much, this is just a side-road leading to a farmers land. The red of the soil, the green grass and the bright blue sky made for some gorgeous scenery.

There are more photos of this kind I'll show you. Although they all have roads running to a vanishing point they are still different. Australia is a great country for travellers, no doubt.

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Donnerstag, 16. April 2009

Water Ghosts


Shooting waterfalls seems to be an easy task. But in my opinion it is rather difficult to get something interesting on film (or chip). Using normal shutter speed doesn't really give a good image, lower shutter speeds are essential to me. But that's not enough. There are so many waterfall photos with a good water blur, yet they are boring. I always try to find a different approach to the water flow.

Two weeks ago we've been again in the Stoder Valley where the river Steyr has its origin. Now with the snow melting and flowing from the surrounding mountains there's plenty of water in the river. It has some smaller waterfalls, too. This time I tried to use my tele lens to find new views. Mounted on the tripod I scanned with full focal length at 300mm (times 1.6 crop factor). I noticed that rock barely visible and the water jet it caused. Taking some pictures this one was the best.

I love it, it has a eerie feel to it because of the whirls at the end of the jet. To me they form little water "ghosts", like hidden creatures living in the rush. And the form of the jet is important for the photo as are the matching colors of the water and the rock. Overall I'm happy with the picture, I think it will make a wonderful print. It surely will look good hanging on a wall, maybe in our bathroom ;-)

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(You can view more images of the river Steyr here).

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Mittwoch, 8. April 2009

Watercolors


Sometimes I'm blind. I just can't see the beauty right in front of me. It must have been a dozen times I walked by this brook and enjoyed its clear water and colors. But I simply missed to notice what a great photo this would make.

So finally last weekend I was on my way back form a walk and so again I passed this place. Maybe it has been the light or some other thing, but I noticed the beauty of the colors, they are even in layers. I took the photo and at home I saw the beautiful variations of water colors.

Thinking about it, I wonder how that different colors are possible in such a small place. The area you see is about only 1 meter across. It must be the different kinds of rocks, soil or vegetation on the ground. However, I enjoy its beauty. Just imagine the water running, bubbling and glistening in the light. Refreshing.

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Freitag, 3. April 2009

At the beach


Fraser Island is a wonderful place. The island, completely made of sand, has lots of vegetation, forests, fresh water lakes and gorgeous beaches. The photo shows a scene at 90-mile beach, a well visited place among tourists. We've been on Fraser Island on our Australia trip in 2007 and spent some days there. Exploring the island (with a guided tour) was both interesting and fun. We enjoyed the scenery a lot.

If you do a tour on that island you will definitely drive to 90-mile beach. The tour buses and jeeps all drive right on the sand besides the surf. You will see the famous Maheno shipwreck (I post an image some day) and walk up a fresh water river that runs out of the forests into the sea.

I took the photo while we walked around the beach when we did a short stop. The colors and light were amazing. I took some shots of the beach but this image is the best I think. I always prefer the portrait format for landscape shots, this gives an additional contrast. Especially here you have the shades of blue and the layers of sky, water and beach that assemble to a fine result. I like this image, it just looks so "holiday"-like. It always brings back good memories.

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