Lödensee, three-lake area, Ruhpolding, Chiemgau, Germany

Today, I am sharing three recently created fall landscape photographs and a panorama view from the Sonntagshorn (the highest peak in the Chiemgau region of Bavaria, on the border to Austria). The three landscape compositions are not only from my favourite season, but were also taken in one of my most preferred locations - the three-lakes area close to Ruhpolding (also the starting point for our hiking to the Sonntagshorn). I always enjoy walking around these lakes, preferably in the morning or evening (not in summer because there are too many swimmers). The valley, forests, summits, and lakes meld into a perfect landscape; only the road passing through is a source of (distant) noise (but it allows easy access). For me, this valley is a place and source peacefulness, tranquility, and regeneration. However, I am actually not that much fond of the landscape photographs that I take there or anywhere at the moment. They seem boring in a way. They may show a beautiful scenery, but these photographs are not the particular kind discoveries that I am seeking. At least at the moment, I am much more satisfied with intimate landscape and close-up compositions, with hidden details that are only discovered if one looks carefully and intentionally.
I will show you such compositions in the next post. Today, these boring fall landscapes must suffice. Have a nice weekend!

Mittersee, three-lake area, Ruhpolding, Chiemgau, Germany

Weitsee, three-lake area, Ruhpolding, Chiemgau, Germany

View towards the Berchtesgaden alps, Sonntagshorn, Chiemgau, Germany

Rocky heart with autumn leaves.

It is time to share a few autumn color compositions - to celebrate my favourite season! The four examples here have been created during the last couple of weeks (the second capture already in summer) and all show heart-like shapes that I have discovered in different locations. Some of them are rather large and obvious, others tiny and inconspicuous; and the heart-shape created by the underwater poplar leaf was only discovered by chance. I am rather stingy with words today, but hope that you enjoy the photographs.

Tiny heart silique

Overflooded poplar heart

Dried iris heart

The watercolor composition above was discovered on the same trip as Watercolors 18, but a little further up the coast, in Seattle. In contrast to most of my watercolor photographs, it is a man-made structure that is being distorted and reflected: Seattle's great wheel. The waves and ripples multiply and distort the reflection and thus create countless versions of this attraction. This bewildering display and the overall color and mood of the composition remind me of another Seattle reflection photograph of mine: Spacy Space Needle (Carcolor 33), which features reflections and distortions of Seattle's landmark tower.

In contrast to many of my photographs, this creation lacks a regular, geometric pattern and may seem rather chaotic. In my opinion, the dark grey spots, devoid of any great wheel reflection, anchor the composition. In particular the larger, oval shape in the center of the frame attracts the eye. In addition, there is a clear direction from the lower right corner, with countless great wheel reflections, to the upper left corner, where the reflections thin out. Nevertheless, this example is rather distinct and different from the ones shown in the watercolor gallery so far.

Photograph © Nenad Saljic. Twilight - Clouds.

Traveling is not only an occasion to experience foreign cities and unknown landscapes, but also to discover "new" artists. While preparing for a trip one may look at photographs from a potential destination and while on site we may come across a tiny gallery or local artists while strolling through alleyways leisurely. Both types of discoveries happened to me before and during our summer holiday in the Swiss mountains of the Wallis.

While preparing for our trip to Zermatt, I have come across the fantastic photographs of Nenad Saljic, whom I unfortunately did not know before. Interestingly, he managed to catch and keep my interest with only one subject: The Matterhon! Nenad Saljic is a photographer from Split, in Croatia, with an interesting résumé. By education, he is an economist, even holds a PhD degree in that discipline, was a professor, and has spent many years in the world of business. However, he has also been a mountaineer, caver, and photographer since his childhood and now follows these passions (again); mostly the latter one, I think.

Nenad Saljic must have been most profoundly impressed by the Matterhorn, for he kept returning to Zermatt twice a year for several years and created thousands of photographs. He drove there (by car from Split) in summer and winter, waited during the day and at night, observed clouds appearing and disappearing. The results of these efforts have been shown in exhibitions (at the end of october at Kunst Zürich), in galleries, online, and now also in a wonderful book entitled "MATTERHORN - Portrait of a mountain". I particularly like the composition above, because it shows the Matterhorn with a rather unusual shape. The north face is completely veiled and thus changes the appearance of the peak quite drastically.

The Matterhorn project of Nenad Saljic perfectly illustrates the value of series and themes; in particular for such an often-photographed subject as the Matterhorn. There exists a plethora of fantastic Matterhorn photographs created by photographers from all over the world. But the series of Nenad Saljic is the result of many years of closely observing, waiting, and photographing, which elevates his work, in my opinion, into a whole different league. One (lucky) single shot is much less meaningful and admirable (for me) than a series of dedicated, coherent photographs on a unified topic.

Nenad Saljic is of course not only a Matterhorn photographer, but has and is also pursuing other topics. If you are interested, head over to his website and look at the Petrified, Birth of a Ship, or Palagruza galleries. His work has been featured on many websites (e.g., Slate, Amateur Photographer, Mouth Magazine, My Modern Met, additional reviews), has won awards, is part of several collections, and can be admired in the real world, at the moment (until October 10th) in Zermatt, in galleries and in "Matterhorn - Portrait of a mountain" (summarized here). Myself, I hope to obtain a close look at Nenad Saljic's Matterhorn compositions at Kunst Zürich 15, an art fair where Nenad Saljic will have a solo show (October 29th - November 1st, ABB Hall 550
 Ricarda-Huch-Strasse, 8050 Zürich; nearby where I live).