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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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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Reach Out

The days before taking this picture I was snowshoeing and I sprained my ankle. So, despite it was a beautiful, sunny day, I had to restrain myself and just walk a bit instead of longer hikes. So while Sylvia was skiing I hobbled through the alpine village of Gosau. Luckily for me the night and morning had been really cold. The trees were all white with hoarfrost and ice. And as the sun finally came over the mountains at about 10am the trees startet to glow!

First I thought it would be easy to get good pictures, but guess what: in a village there are houses and other not-so-interesting things. And they always tend to show up in the background! So at a point I concentrated to look up and find a good motif. Which was not easy again, because either the branches just look boring or you end up shooting straight into the sun.

Finally I managed some shots, this was one of them. I really like the abstract feel of it. The color contrast is good and the details are fine, too. These are the winter images I'm after but don't get to often.

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Winter Blues

Sometimes a turn can offer complete unexpected views. While snowshoeing in the quiet Längental valley, Tyrol, I turned my head because of the chilly wind. I saw the slope and bright blue sky and I knew, this will make a great abstract.

I like the gentle curve of the slope and the crossing with the mountains. The little white peaks in the middle are a perfect eyecatcher and the white is a good contrast to the blue.

Walking for about 3 hours to this spot with cold winds and through deep fresh fallen snow was worth it. But I almost always end up with some good images on any hike. Nature has so much to offer.

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