Photo gallery: European Alps

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European Alps photo gallery taken on a Travel Images photo tour


Photography © John Baker, Travel Images

The following images represent the typical range of subjects for this Travel Images photo tour, and were selected in the knowledge that every client is able to obtain similar images. That is my goal for each client.


European Alps
by Micah Kaplan  |  European Alps by Eleanor Culling
European Alps
by Angelo Mourino  |  European Alps by Randy Howard

This is a 'no click' zone! . . . just scroll on down . . .

Tall churches tend to dominate the European landscape wherever you go, and whether or not they are your 'cup of tea', you might admit that given the right setting they are pretty spectacular. This one is near Mieming, Austria, and as you can see it's all about being there when the light is right.

 

  

One of the most stunning scenes in the entire European Alps. The church is
St. Magdalena in the Italian Dolomites, and was added to my Alps itinerary in 2007.

  

 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com

While you and I check our texts and e-mail, traditional ways of life continue in the Alps.
No matter what age you are, families work as one when it's time to get the winter cattle feed in.

 

 

Near Sellrain, one of the many tiny churches in the region does it's best to get into next year's calendar. All that was needed to make it a certainty was for those slopes to be covered in wildflowers, which probably was so before the silage was cut. © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com
  
Rona, Switzerland.
  
 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.comCandids like this can happen from Detroit to Kyoto, and Jaipur to Cancun, but as it happens to be in Austria I think I'll toss this one into the pot!

Actually, the group saw this one coming and were ready when the of ladies made their way past the group.

  

It actually rains on Travel Images photography tours once in a while, and when it does it's the ideal time to get a little more creative than usual! This was shot through a wet van window for an authentic water color effect, and the slight over exposure gives the image a pleasant high key feel to the image.
  

A tale of two mountain passes . . . the one at right shot on the Grossglockner pass in Austria, and the one below recorded on the Furke Pass in Switzerland.
Motorcyclists love the curves on the European passes, and Glossglockner is a favorite with the 'Biker's Nest' sitting at the top of that pass. Cyclists on the other hand prefer the downhill bits!

 

 

Another typical Alps scene, this one from near St. Pietr in Italy.

 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com

This is just about being ready when the opportunity arises. It's an overcast day, but this shot is all about capturing the essence of European life as it happens. It also helps that our farmer is wearing orange wellingtons! 

  

Maria Gern church, Berchtesgaden, Germany, and the Watzmann massif as a backdrop. I must confess that I 'flopped' this image as i felt it was 'stronger' with the church on the the right hand side.

  

 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com
A lot of the alpine wildflowers grow on the grassy slopes, and are cultivated with the silage. This one was growing from a fallen tree alongside a stream.

 

Cloud drama on the Furke Pass in Switzerland.

  
The first of a trio of Matterhorn images. The one above was shot at dawn from the village of Zermatt, but that was the end of the drama light-wise that day, as the clouds dispersed . . .
The Matterhorn, Switzerland: Strict copyright John T. Baker Photographer LLC
. . . leaving the Matterhorn in Switzerland in a not-so-photogenic state, but hey, we'll take it! Of course, my 'focus' here was on the wildflowers, and I just love the depth that this perspective gives the viewer.
A reflection to round of the Matterhorn set. The sky is somewhat 'characterless', so I made up for that with some foreground detail. Landscapes composed in this manner should be shot with apertures of f.16 to f.64.
  

Symmetry of a kind in Wengen, Switzerland.

  
A set of 3 bovine images with the picture above coming our way on a rainy day near St. Sigmund, Austria.

The second shot is a bit of a 'peek-a-boo' scene . . .
. . . and the third a close-up of a pretty lady showing off her new necklace.
  

Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany influenced Disney as you can see, and was started in the late 1860's as somewhat of a dedication to the musician Wagner by King Ludwig II. Photographically, there are plenty of angles and times of day to shoot the castle, but one of the best, above, is inaccessible to the public during the early and late light.

But from the village at twilight one can capture this striking image of Neuschwanstein.

  

Heiligenblut church and Grossglockner peak in Austria.

A pleasant scene in Ramsau, Germany, made all the more interesting by the low angle to add foreground interest.

St. Bartholomew Church on Konigssee [lake] in south eastern Germany

  
This is typical alpine Europe, and I included this one as I like the juxtaposition of the two buildings an their respective flower boxes. Unfortunately they get lost amid the low web quality.  © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com
  

It's the steps that make the image for me, leading as they do to attractive 'blobs' of color in Murren, Switzerland.

  

A Bavarian character in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

  
 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.comThe cows don't just wear bells because their horns don't work [honk-honk], but because the tone can aid in locating a misplaced cow. This is a Glocken bell, louder than the standard Treicheln bell, and noisy when several cows and chomping away!
  

Even though taken on an an overcast morning, this shot of Gutenberg Castle in Balzers succeeds purely because the lower cloud bank gives nice separation between castle and mountain. The castle is estimated to be 11th century, and after falling into ruin in the 18th century was rebuilt in the early 1900's by the sculptor Egon Rheinberger of nearby Vaduz.

   
 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com St. Oswald's church in Sargans on the eastern edge of Switzerland. This is the dawn shot, and if it just happens to look very similar to . . .
. . . this shot it's because St. Oswald's and Sargans Castle are just a few hundred yards apart. The castle, really a fortress, originally dates to the 12th century, with additions being made in subsequent centuries. © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com
   
There are many, many high passes in Switzerland, and thus one will bump into a few low-flying clouds once in a while. This is not the time to put the camera away, but a time to explore a subtle world of soft hues and 'ghostly' sentinels.
  
A Harebell - the American Bluebell - growing above Murren south of Interlaken.
I always suggest that folk shoot healthy species of any flora, but the 'bell' at the top of my image looks a little forlorn due to heavy raindrops, and I couldn't come up with a creative way of cropping it out!
 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com
   

Wonderful late light on the Eiger 'foothills' from near Stechelberg, Switzerland.

   
 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com Another typical set of European windows on the side of a small chapel. Again I suggest squaring up to your subject as best as possible so that the viewer is 'comfortable'. Sorry, a recliner doesn't help.
  

An image that can be taken during any of the many photo stops during Travel Images photography tours.

  

Well, ya' gotta dry 'em somewhere!

  

Another shot that could be just anywhere, but was taken in Sargans in the northwest corner of Switzerland.

 © John T. Baker Photographer LLC, JayBee Stock.com Village notice boards tell a lot of stories, and the image itself can often be very colorful. This one was in Murren, but the web quality won't let on as to whether you still have enough time to get over there for that buffet!
Lauterbrunnen Falls [right], just outside Lauterbrunnen in the heart of the Berner Oberland, Switzerland.


Butterfly, Grossglockner, Austria.
Yes, they generally fly off if you get too close, so start by taking a shot from distance, and move closer between shots.

   

The backdrop is the Eiger as Swiss farmers gather winter feed for their cattle, which 'churn out' the notorious Swiss cheeses. The spot is Sonnenberg, Switzerland.

A client catches the action and moment just below Sonnenberg, Switzerland.

 

Looking toward Sonnenberg. The wonderful thing about the Alps is that you can wander about in the mountains and stumble upon tiny picturesque villages where you can get a meal and drink.

The wild Swiss Orchid shot with selective focus, i.e. I shot wide open and intentionally got just the one Orchid in sharp focus. The longer the lens the better for this technique.

  
Why jump when you can take the cat ladder provided?! This was in Wengen, Switzerland.
 

An image that sums up the Alp culture for me. Taken high above Haiming in the Imst region.


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