Dolomites - the pearl of the Alps

When you once there you will never have enough of those views.

I had this luck to be there just for a week but in the colourful time of an autumn.

Of course I couldn’t visit and photograph all the famous and less famous location. I had to decide and choose because of limited amount of sunrises and sunsets.

This is the small foretaste of a trip

Everywhere there were no parking problems, but remember it was end of October, no summer, no high season and the hours when we arrived were as well either very early or very late.

Very early you can of course expect some photographers, very late some as well. 

But this experience in the Dolomites shows me that it was acceptably. But as well unfortunatelly absurd.

Some more demanding section weren't so full. Like the Alpe di Siusi. The way there is flat but quite long. Anyway I registered a lot of photographers but the area there is big enough to work peacefully. 

Of course full are Lago di Braies, Antorno, Misurina. Difficult is Antorno. Very thight. People have to mix themselves somehow to get the image to let the instangramers take their social media yellow raincoat photo etc.

Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Easy, flat way. Almost highway. But to get to the Rifiugio from the parking lot you will need ca. 2 hours. And in the evening we spottted some people and night no one. But the Rifugio was already closed. That's a factor for sure.

And of course Val di Funes. Overcrowded. With the fence and one small view point around the church of Ranui. 

Generally all this looks like Olympic Games. If your goal there ist to photograph. Everybody is running with a camera from point to point, to be the first before the others come. But it is hard not to give in to temptetion and not to have all this in your portfolio.

To hike, to enjoy the nature, to admire this is a faboulus place

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Allgäu - green hilly paradise

We spent one summer August week in  East Allgäu. This small but already established region, first of all among social media, is really rich in photo locations. You don't have to visit those most famous  locatoins like NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE to get the feeling about Allgäu.
Itsels Hopfen Lake is already a magnetic point for selfie tourists.

Just riding a bike around, walking or hiking takes you to unforgetable places, which you want to see at sunrise or sunset.

We weren't very lucky with weather. However for our trips we could made an advantage from some indoor activities or we were counting on luck to get some dry or even sunny gaps.
For me as a photographer three first days were down the drain. The flat, gray, landscape.

Anyway to be in the middle of landcape mine let me to react quickly like  in a rainbow case ;)...
That's a great point to get a hotel on the spot or just couple of km away...








Afterwards I had to face the fact the sun was gone for whole two days. But than I could get two fine sunrises, both at the lakes...

 Hopfen Lake

in the morning hours no problem with parking just in front of location. And you don't have to pay... first after 8 a.m.

 Hegratsrieder Lake

I didn't know firstly where to park. First time there. So I went from above, where the chapel is seen on a photo. And I left my car as well above further away, at the crossroad, where the way to this house goes. But you can drive further left down till the lake, and there is a lot of place to park. In the morning of course.




And most besieged placed. In the high season you can forget to get quick on the Marien bridge. There is always a queue. But photographers they prefer to appear in a different time of a day. I have chosen evening. Unluckily not very atractive sky but quite empty location. Cold wind and late hour didn't deter another snapshoter and photographers.
Parking at such late hours is not a problem. All are empty, but I left my car just on the side of street just before you reach the Hohenschwangau from Füssen side.

Allgäu is not only this one castle. There are a lot of more either renovated or ruined.

Hohenfreyberg     Eisenberg and Hohenfreyberg                      Ehrenberg in Tirol

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Zanzibar dream

The june holiday in Zanzibar. Still low season with already slowly incearsing number of tourists after mid of the month.
I didn't see entire island just the essentials.
You can book your small trips in a hotel or just from vendors, catching tourist at the beaches around hotels.

 We spent our two weeks in Paradise Beach Resort. It doesn't have a super beach but the jetty with the jetty bar was an excellent substitute.

And became my subject for some landscape shooting in the morning and in the evening

Another direction was of course driving to the famous restaurant the Rock, that we wittnessed in the low tide

and Paje beach, huge and sandy, clean beach perfect for some photoshoting.

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The wild Isar River

Not even so hidden, easy to reach for drivers. With a lot of parking lots. The toll road between Wallgau and Vorderriß in Bavaria has a lot of to offer.

 
And first of all the nice spots for photographers.

Now it is a little bit harder, because the river has become really wild and white due to the high level and strong current after a many days of ranining.

But anyway the nature fans could explore hier new corners.
Like for example some normally dry waterfalls are now lively

The good start point for your photo walk would be for example Parking
3 or 4.

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Rottach-Egern

A year ago I won a main prize in outdoor bavarian photo contest in the "Bayerns Bestes" Magazin. I was awarded with the 5 nights in a luxus holiday apartment at Tegernsee in Bavaria.

Thank you to Ignazhof, Bad Wiessee for sponsoring so amazing stay

It is actually around the corner, so I didn't expect much unless you know the area well. I must say the Tegernsee is a little bit neglected direction and I should get to know it even better.
What I have always had in my mind and planned somewhen for my photo trips was the famous view at Rottach Egern from a lake-promenade

I have checked all the corners with google maps to find some place for my car.
And I think this small gap on the street, which I outlined is only doable out of main season.

Surprisingly I was the only one with tripod both in the evening and in the morning. With cameras, there were some people for some snapshots. Generally not crowded. So I could freely spread myself :)


Friday evening was really spectacular. With fast flying clouds. I was already afraid that thay would take all the light away, but the sun came at the right time to lighten the background up. Saturday morning was already a small annoucement of long rainy days, that came later.

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Flying high

I've been trying to fly a little bit recently. Not much time and May weather hasn't been the best lately.
Anyway the 1st of May was a good sunny oportunity to get the Mavic Air in the air.
Doing some research on maps to find some interesting spots is an issue.

One of such spot is an area od Osterseen in Bavaria...
I've been looking for as well some interesting canola fields.

Iffeldorf and Osterseen

 

some canola fields
near Gauting

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Barmsee - the night spot

Night photography at Barmsee in Bavaria, Germany. A dream place with just a little light pollution. Easy to get there. Short, like 20 till 30 min walk from a parking lot.

Our group has spread along the shore, where the arrows are. I was more further up on the map. Some people were trying with the spot lower on the map.
Sky was actually clear that evening.

Unfortunatelly the milky way comes around this time like between 2 and 3 o'clockt in the night. There was only one guy who decided to wait for it.

Maria Rast Kapelle is as well seen. Maybe little annoying, but fortunatelly small thing.
And of course those lights on the right is a small city of Mittenwald. Just above it on the top of Karwendel you can see the lights of Karwendelbahn Bergstation

So next time maybe some milky way.

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Bretagne - the great trip this year, where to park, what to photograph

Hi after a very very long break. I was for some time focused on my new Instagram account mummy_has_a_hobby. It consumes already much of my time, but I have decided to get back to my internet page and blog.

  

The big event this year, the Brittany round trip. The family trip. Combining family holiday with my photo destinations. But if landscape photographer offers some points of interests on the way, the trip should be just impressive easily for anyone. There are some exceptions, like teenage kids, they have just another idea for spending holiday. Beach and laze around. But mummy had another idea. The small daughter didn’t complain. She was just enthusiastic about all the staff. So we started in Paris, with obvious things. And after two nights in the capital city we drove west. To start by the Mont Saint Michel.

1. MONT SAINT MICHEL

My first impression when I saw The Abbey, was just an exclamation because it was stunning . From the speedway it looks really huge, although it is not a small distance.

So first evening at the abbey. The famous serpentine small river view… you can forget it in summer. It is dried out. The best time for this location is either spring or autumn. So needs to be done again ;). 

A little bit further you reach some small ponds with a hills just nearby with some strange facility. There you can shoot calmly, without crowds. The strange facility is a hideout for ducks hunters, which I could realize the next morning, when I came for sunrise. I heard a lot of gun shots and I had to just disappear. But good place anyway, with no parking problem by the way. By Auberge de la Baie there is a small shoulder on the side of a street.

By the famous area, when the bridge to the abbey starts you can expect just a swarm of a photography fanatics. So install yourself in time, before you have to fight for some place for your tripod ;).

We left our car far away by the small Auberge restaurant, on the street side. Afterwards all of the area was under water. So calculate this on your way back.

The next day, after my unlucky sunrise with gut shots (anyway the sky was just gray), we drove to Genets to get our mudflats tour, with a guide of course. Luckily the one I found was a german spoken guy. You should do it with a guide. My husband and our guide had to rescue one woman, lonely stuck in a mud till her hips. She was exhausted, could hardly move. Her friends were waiting for her already on the shore. But no one dare to get to her. So really you have to know the area, all the streams and mud spots.       

Very interesting tour, even for teenagers. And of course unforgettable view from another side of the abbey.  You park your car in Genets, on the parking lot by small bakery.

     2. CôTE DE GRANIT ROSE

Our next stop was the Red Granit. A very good Golf Hotel De Saint-Samson, as a start point for our small trips and photography excursions for me. We missed on our way the Cap Frehel and Fort La Latte. But everything was not possible to get in our plan. For kids it was anyway a little bit overload. Fortunately the Golf Hotel had a pool, so that gave them some summer, beach feeling ;).

So firstly I went alone to the Phare de Ploumanac’h for a sunset. Parking a little bit full at the evening. For sunrise almost empty. In summer there was always high tide at the evening. That’s why sunset was more interesting and of course with a lot more photographers. But luckily not so full and you could install yourself in some interesting spot.

And another sunrise spot, where I was completely alone, as a photographer, I mean, not counting some runners and strollers, was a Le Gouffre – the old lady’s house, The House Between Two Rocks.

And parking possibilities. The big, free parking lot just couple of steps away.

    

  3. FINISTERE

My actually last photo stop was the Finistere. On the way to Brest we got the short stop at Phare du Pontusval.

But in the day light with no water because of the low tide it was just a next stop. More interesting place was the Meneham. Historical place, showing the way of living in the past. Everywhere you can park easily

Our small hotel we booked in Brest. Actually a good start point for some trips.

The real highlight was for me the evening at Kermorvan.

From the parking area it is a bit to walk to the fence. At the beginning I wasn’t sure what should I do, but then I saw some guy jumping over the fence. So I did the same and afterwards surprise or not. Quite a lot of photographers. They didn’t probably hesitate so long about that fence, but I am kind of fraidy-cat.

There was some organized photography group from Germany with their tutor, like 5 people. Some Spanish teacher and his young student. The interesting spots were already taken, but the place is big, so even if you have to be careful not to get in someone’s frame you can get something out.

Next morning I drove to Phare du Petit Minou. I didn’t’ have that spectacular light. But I was alone and this is already an achievement in such popular photographic spots. After scouting out some corners there I had to get back so we could get some breakfast, visit the Oceanopolis, a highlight for small and big ones and then driving east to next stop at Carnac. A big staff for me as a history fun.

What I didn’t really photograph here was the big area of a Point Saint Mathieu, we went there just touristic. But just nearby a very interesting touristic spot the II World War fortifiaction. With the museum and one hidden room - shelter pretending being under air raid. And I miss as well a Pen Hir, amazing rocky shore south of Brest. But anyway I was lucky that the kids did this trip, lots of driving, not very exciting for them and we had anyway a lot of memories to really go through them. More places on the list would be just too much.

The weather was perfevt. But sea is not that warm for us as for the locals who bath just as if it waa the Mediterranean :).

Last stops just for touristic and to see as well something really monumental for this big peninsule was CARNAC and holiday area, Morbihan. There is absolutely not so easy to park :)

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