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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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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Winter Glory

This is the alpine peak Spitzmauer with a height of 2445m. It is in the Stodertal valley in Austria, a well known area for hiking in summer and skiing in winter. We are often there, especially in winter when Sylvia wants to ski. Because I don't ski I always walk around and take some pictures. As you can guess I already have dozens of images of the motifs there, but there's always something new to discover. For instance I like the Spitzmauer because it is such a distinctive mountain, you can recognize it from any angle.

When I took this particular image it was a cold winter day this January. After some days of bad weather the sun finally came through and the light was gorgeous. I also was lucky because most of the time clouds are around the summit. The look of the snow and rocks is great and the contrast to the blue sky works very well. It's one of the best photos I took of this mountain.

If you're ever in Austria you should visit this valley, you can do any sorts of summer or winter sports and the scenery is great.

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Cool

One of the photos that got much better then expected. We've been at Hinterstoder for skiing (actually my wife skies, I don't) and got there at 8am. While Sylvia took the chair lift up to the slopes I walked to the Schiederweiher, a little pond usually covered with ice in winter. This time it was warm enough so I could see the dark green water.

Just as I came there the morning sun started to shine through the trees and suddenly a haze emerged from the water surface. I tried to get out my tripod of the rucksack as fast as I can! I knew there would be little time to capture this scenery. If the sun will rise more it will get warmer and the fog will disappear.

While preparing the tripod I also walked around to find the right place for taking the photo. As you can see I decided to put the ice covered trees into the background. And it works very nice. The haze floated in my direction and the sun was right into the lens. I feared there will be lens flare but all was ok.

The result is good and I like that photo a lot. Such kind of scenery is rare and I was lucky to be at the right place the right time.

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