Photos can also be viewed in the gallery here.
Showing posts with label fog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fog. Show all posts
14 June 2013
Tunjice
Tunjice is a village only a few minutes' drive away from where I live but I never took photos of its picturesque church before. Until last weekend. :) My friend Piotr suggested going there for the sunset on a stormy June Saturday, and we arrived there after a rainy afternoon. The clouds were dramatic, the sun made an appearance for about a minute, just enough to take a picture or two of the sunlit church of St. Ana, and the clouds were chased around the mountain slopes by the wind. After sundown there was so much humidity in the air the lens needed to be wiped after every shot. But it was quite worth it. :)
Photos can also be viewed in the gallery here.
Photos can also be viewed in the gallery here.
22 November 2011
Escaping the fog again
Looking at my photos I see that central Slovenia has been covered with a layer of fog for three weeks! A bit of fog is fine and I love fog photos, but it gets old after a week. And with the days being so short now (sunset at 4.20 pm) it's hard to organize one's day to include an escape to higher altitudes.
I did escape the fog on Sunday. Kamniški vrh hill again, of course. It's close, it's high enough, it has beautiful views, and the 700-meter climb makes for some nice exercise.
And two days later the fog still persists. This is seriously depressing especially if you work the whole day and finish right when the night falls. :(
I did escape the fog on Sunday. Kamniški vrh hill again, of course. It's close, it's high enough, it has beautiful views, and the 700-meter climb makes for some nice exercise.
And two days later the fog still persists. This is seriously depressing especially if you work the whole day and finish right when the night falls. :(
04 November 2011
Above the clouds
The weather has been depressing this week. A fog layer that covered the valleys was thick and humid and dark, and I wanted to see some sun! So on November 1 I packed my camera bag after work at 3 p.m. and rushed to the foot of Mt. Kamniški vrh. The days have been getting shorter and the sunset is at 4.45 already, so I didn't have much time. I broke the cloud cover at about 900 meters above sea level and was actually able to take some fall photos - finally! The foliage is still not fully autumnal, but it was nice to see at least some yellow and orange and red leaves. The sun was low above the horizon and the whole grassy slope glowed red as I was making my way up.
Going down a mountain in the dark is something I'm used to. But going down a mountain in the dark AND the fog is terrible - everything is blurry, you can't focus your eyes, and the whole thing is harder on your brain than it is on your legs. :)
Going down a mountain in the dark is something I'm used to. But going down a mountain in the dark AND the fog is terrible - everything is blurry, you can't focus your eyes, and the whole thing is harder on your brain than it is on your legs. :)
21 June 2011
Sunrise mists over Ljubljana Marshes
It was time to get up in the middle of the night and take some sunrise photos again. And the Sv. Ana hill above the Ljubljana Marshes is one of my favorite spots to do just that. Alex, Debbie, Luka and I drove through the night and climbed the hill a bit after 4 a.m. Not an easy task after only one hour of sleep! The sky above the horizon was already announcing the sunrise, and the mists we were all hoping for were hovering above the ground. Magical!
The Kamnik Alps in the background.
The famous Ljubljanica river bend.
Enthusiastic photographers. :)
This was the morning after the full moon and moon eclipse.
The Ljubljana Marshes panorama - it deserves to be viewed bigger, so click on it.
Ljubljana was waking up.
Fields, trees and mists.
The light was turning from bluish to soft pink and orange.
And then the sun appeared and poured bright orange light over the plains.
The nearby Sv. Lovrenc chapel below.
Play of light, mists and shadows.
Every hill in Slovenia has a church. :)
Sv. Ana church where we took pictures from.
More orange.
Orange hues didn't last long as the sun relentlessly rose above the horizon.
It is interesting to see how the light changed over Ljubljana in the course of 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The sunrise was over, but I just couldn't stop admiring the wisps of mist changing every minute.
Late spring and early summer months are the best to shoot the sunrise here. If the weather is nice, you are almost guaranteed to see mists. It's worth getting up for this! ;)
The Kamnik Alps in the background.
The famous Ljubljanica river bend.
Enthusiastic photographers. :)
This was the morning after the full moon and moon eclipse.
The Ljubljana Marshes panorama - it deserves to be viewed bigger, so click on it.
Ljubljana was waking up.
Fields, trees and mists.
The light was turning from bluish to soft pink and orange.
And then the sun appeared and poured bright orange light over the plains.
The nearby Sv. Lovrenc chapel below.
Play of light, mists and shadows.
Every hill in Slovenia has a church. :)
Sv. Ana church where we took pictures from.
More orange.
Orange hues didn't last long as the sun relentlessly rose above the horizon.
It is interesting to see how the light changed over Ljubljana in the course of 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The sunrise was over, but I just couldn't stop admiring the wisps of mist changing every minute.
Late spring and early summer months are the best to shoot the sunrise here. If the weather is nice, you are almost guaranteed to see mists. It's worth getting up for this! ;)
20 April 2011
Slovenia in a week
It's not every day that you show off your beautiful country to tourists when torrential rain floods the capital and make you use an umbrella in an underground cave! Well, as luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened last September when I took Jami, Margaret and Kim on a tour around Slovenia. Trampling around Ljubljana in heavy rain, not being able to take photos at all even though that’s what we were there for, made us a little wet and cold (OK, very wet and cold), but a hearty mushroom soup and some Slovenian wine for dinner at the and of the day made up for all the misery during the day.
To escape flooded streets of Ljubljana we decided to explore the underworld. Mistake! While the Postojna Cave was impressive and all, it rained inside! The soil was so saturated with water that it dripped from the cave ceilings everywhere. However, we didn’t let the elements spoil our mood as we delved into the secret chambers of the Predjama Castle and sampled some local schnapps. Especially the latter lifted our spirit!
The third day marked the beginning of some splendid early fall weather. With Bled as our destination we were thrilled to be finally able to leave the rain gear in the car, stroll around and soak up some sun. A visit to the Bled Island is a must, particularly if you can make Jami run up and down those steps to the church a few times. In the boat on the way back we admired the oarsman’s strong bicepses and I almost made everybody believe me we would be climbing the cliff to the Bled Castle.
Sadly, Jami had to leave the following morning (thanks for drinking all that wine and being such a great sport, Jami, hehe), while Margaret, Kim and I visited the Vintgar Gorge. The river, usually green and peaceful, now roared through the narrow canyon. Of course Kim and I played with our tripods to get the milky water effect, and in the mean time Margaret simply used the rail as the support for her compact camera. Then the road across the plateau of Pokljuka through forests and past pastures took us to Lake Bohinj. The water was so still we could take perfect reflection photos!
On the fifth morning we made our way into the heart of the Julian Alps. Alpine valleys, spraying waterfalls and mountains passes with sheep took most of the day. I was hoping for some golden larches at the Vršič pass but we were a few weeks too early. In Bovec Luka surprised us and joined us on the star-trail expedition to the Mangart saddle in the afternoon. Oh, how we enjoyed the sweet sunset light in the mountains! OK, the chill that followed while we were waiting during the long exposures wasn’t all that enjoyable, but with the moon rising we got some pretty cool pictures of star trails and the moonlit landscape.
The area around Bovec offers so many things to see and do we had a hard time cramming them all in one day. We saw yet another waterfall, Kozjak near Kobarid, Kim’s favorite subject and Margaret’s not so favorite subject (because it involves quite a bit of waiting if you don’t take photos!). The afternoon was dedicated to two gorgeous valleys. In the Lepena valley it was interesting, and sad, to see the many abandoned and dilapidating houses set in such beautiful but remote environment. Climbing the banks of the Soča River canyons proved to be exhilarating, especially when we were on the verge of falling in a couple of times!
Landscape photography is a funny thing – you are totally dependent on the weather and light, and there are times when it is impossible to take one decent photo in a few weeks. But then sometimes you simply get lucky. And boy did we get lucky with the early morning mists in Bovec! Kim and I scrambled around looking for the best vantage point as the sun rose from behind the mountains and heated the ground. Then the mists slowly dissipated, offering us magical twenty minutes of magnificent mood. A red tractor under a tree was just a bonus.
The drive across the Predel pass offered perfect views of Mt. Mangart and Strmec, a village on a ridge, and we made the effort to climb to an old fort towering above the road.
A stroll to the shore of the serene Rabelj Lake on the Italian side was pleasant as always, and then we bid our farewell to the Julian Alps as we headed back to Ljubljana. Seeing it in completely different light on a warm and sunny afternoon we enjoyed a cup of coffee while people-watching along the Ljubljanica River, we found Julija’s window across the square from Prešeren’s statue and looked for examples of architecture by Plečnik. Kim and Margaret became quite expert at distinguishing his work from the work of others! The love locks on the Butcher Bridge were another great photo subject. As the dusk settled upon the city, we had our last dinner together.
One week flew by too quickly. Jami, Margaret, Kim, I will never forget the fun times with you guys. My stomach hurt from all the laughing! I truly hope Slovenia stays in your hearts. :)
To escape flooded streets of Ljubljana we decided to explore the underworld. Mistake! While the Postojna Cave was impressive and all, it rained inside! The soil was so saturated with water that it dripped from the cave ceilings everywhere. However, we didn’t let the elements spoil our mood as we delved into the secret chambers of the Predjama Castle and sampled some local schnapps. Especially the latter lifted our spirit!
The third day marked the beginning of some splendid early fall weather. With Bled as our destination we were thrilled to be finally able to leave the rain gear in the car, stroll around and soak up some sun. A visit to the Bled Island is a must, particularly if you can make Jami run up and down those steps to the church a few times. In the boat on the way back we admired the oarsman’s strong bicepses and I almost made everybody believe me we would be climbing the cliff to the Bled Castle.
Sadly, Jami had to leave the following morning (thanks for drinking all that wine and being such a great sport, Jami, hehe), while Margaret, Kim and I visited the Vintgar Gorge. The river, usually green and peaceful, now roared through the narrow canyon. Of course Kim and I played with our tripods to get the milky water effect, and in the mean time Margaret simply used the rail as the support for her compact camera. Then the road across the plateau of Pokljuka through forests and past pastures took us to Lake Bohinj. The water was so still we could take perfect reflection photos!
On the fifth morning we made our way into the heart of the Julian Alps. Alpine valleys, spraying waterfalls and mountains passes with sheep took most of the day. I was hoping for some golden larches at the Vršič pass but we were a few weeks too early. In Bovec Luka surprised us and joined us on the star-trail expedition to the Mangart saddle in the afternoon. Oh, how we enjoyed the sweet sunset light in the mountains! OK, the chill that followed while we were waiting during the long exposures wasn’t all that enjoyable, but with the moon rising we got some pretty cool pictures of star trails and the moonlit landscape.
The area around Bovec offers so many things to see and do we had a hard time cramming them all in one day. We saw yet another waterfall, Kozjak near Kobarid, Kim’s favorite subject and Margaret’s not so favorite subject (because it involves quite a bit of waiting if you don’t take photos!). The afternoon was dedicated to two gorgeous valleys. In the Lepena valley it was interesting, and sad, to see the many abandoned and dilapidating houses set in such beautiful but remote environment. Climbing the banks of the Soča River canyons proved to be exhilarating, especially when we were on the verge of falling in a couple of times!
Landscape photography is a funny thing – you are totally dependent on the weather and light, and there are times when it is impossible to take one decent photo in a few weeks. But then sometimes you simply get lucky. And boy did we get lucky with the early morning mists in Bovec! Kim and I scrambled around looking for the best vantage point as the sun rose from behind the mountains and heated the ground. Then the mists slowly dissipated, offering us magical twenty minutes of magnificent mood. A red tractor under a tree was just a bonus.
The drive across the Predel pass offered perfect views of Mt. Mangart and Strmec, a village on a ridge, and we made the effort to climb to an old fort towering above the road.
A stroll to the shore of the serene Rabelj Lake on the Italian side was pleasant as always, and then we bid our farewell to the Julian Alps as we headed back to Ljubljana. Seeing it in completely different light on a warm and sunny afternoon we enjoyed a cup of coffee while people-watching along the Ljubljanica River, we found Julija’s window across the square from Prešeren’s statue and looked for examples of architecture by Plečnik. Kim and Margaret became quite expert at distinguishing his work from the work of others! The love locks on the Butcher Bridge were another great photo subject. As the dusk settled upon the city, we had our last dinner together.
One week flew by too quickly. Jami, Margaret, Kim, I will never forget the fun times with you guys. My stomach hurt from all the laughing! I truly hope Slovenia stays in your hearts. :)
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