Look Up!

This was a great winter day, I walked up a seldom visited side valley near Hinterstoder. There I reach the Dietl Alm, in spring it's a beautiful alpine pasture. Now in winter all is covered in thick snow and its very quiet and tranquil.

After walking to the end of the valley, right before the mountains' walls, I stopped and enjoyed the scenery. There was total silence, not even a bird was flying or singing. Lookup I noticed that gorgeous blue sky peeking through the white branches. It was amazing!

The image got really well, the bright contrast between the snow and the sky is perfect. I also managed to have all trees point to the middle.

If you ever need a break from everydays hustle I recommend a walk in the forest. Best you can do for your soul.

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Alpine Reservoir

I really like this photo, it shows brilliant colors and contrasts. And I didn't have to tweak or manipulate it, it came out of the camera that way. That's because it was such a beautiful day with bright light and a clear sky. Using my tripod helped a bit to get a crisp and sharp image.

To take the shot we had to walk/climb a small hill nearby the dam. Not many people walk up there, most are tourists who prefer to walk around the dam a bit and then sit in the small cafe to enjoy the sight and sun - which isn't a bad thing ;-)

I had no idea how beautiful a reservoir and dam can look. From now on I will take every opportunity to explore new sights at these monuments!

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Follow the Light

What a glorious day out this was! Hiking with my snowshoes into this beautiful valley and enjoying the bright sun, fresh cold air and the quiet alpine scenery.

It's the Langental valley in the Sellrain mountain range, Tyrol, Austria. A small side valley seldom visited, in winter only back country skiers will walk here. That's because it is not accessible easily when all is covered with thick layers of snow. I guess I was one of the few people walking there in winter time.

After a two-hour walk upwards I stopped and walked back, but I could easily have walked for many hours more. The weather was gorgeous, although a chilly wind blew. Sometimes I had to stop and turn away from the gust blowing snow crystals in my face.

On my way back I walked past this wooden cross and then turned around to see my back view. I always do this to see if there's a good view backwards. Many people just walk ahead and never turn back - a mistake in my opinion. I then took this photo and I deliberately positioned the sun right into the picture. Often this doesn't work and just results in a great white spot or lots of lens flare, but this time it was perfect. The suns circle makes such a great motif.

I thoroughly enjoyed this day and I will recommend snowshoeing to everybody who loves nature. Unfortunately it's planned to build a reservoir and dam in that valley starting from 2011. It's sad, because another beautiful place is sacrificed for human needs.

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(Copyright Notice: All pictures and text are copyrighted by the blog's author. You may not download the images and use it except with written permission.)