The Tower, The Moon, And The Star
I'm not entirely sure when I saw my first photo of Lake Bled in Slovenia, but I do remember it stopped me dead in my tracks. It was probably the first photo of Slovenia that I had ever seen and I immediately scrambled to find out as much as I could about this amazing country which, as it turned out, was just as gorgeous as nearby Austria...and in some locations, perhaps even more so.
Fast forward to October 12 of this year as I took off for a nine day jaunt through Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia on what I eventually began to refer to as "my pre-retirement retirement trip." As October is generally an incredibly busy time for me at the college, I could ill afford the time off, but a couple of things happened recently in my life that prompted this mad dash through the European continent: 1) I turned 55 last June and 2) All of my kids are now in college and pretty much able to fend for themselves for a couple of weeks. I had this image in my mind of grabbing my camera bag on the day I retired and heading straight for the airport to spend WEEKS exploring the alps...from France all the way across to the Julians on the other side. But at the same time, I felt like the clock was ticking. My dad passed away when he was 56. He was gone before we even talked about what might be on his bucket list. Add to that the sobering number of celebrities that seemed in relatively good heath who were suddenly gone for any number of reasons. What if I never made it to retirement?
So for the past two years I had been scouting my butt off as I began to wonder how many other locations I could get to if I made Slovenia my home base. The dolomites had been on my list since the day I stumbled upon 500px, but I as my goal had always been to shoot the entire stretch of alps across the European continent, I wanted to hit as much territory as possible in my short time there. I would begin in Bavaria, move to several spots in Austria, then into the Julian alps in Slovenia before hitting the Dolomites. The last addition to my shot list two years ago was Plitivice Lakes National Park in Croatia as a couple shots of these lakes taken in October on 500px caught my attention. It was settled. My first trip to the alps would be in Autumn.
On October 12, 2017, off I went. In just under 9 days I put hundreds of miles on the rental as I drove from Munich through Bavaria, Austria Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. My home base was a small apartment in Slovenia which I found on airbnb for a mere $30 a day. Although I had to deal with a few challenges along the way (British airways failed to get my luggage on the plane and then sat on it for four days while refusing to give me any info) I had a fantastic time and I can't wait to go back. The sights and sounds of that trip will stay with me for the rest of my life. It wasn't the best time to miss my classes, but it was definitely worth the craziness that I've had to deal with since returning. For those 8 days, I was truly living the dream.
This particular shot was taken midweek after my luggage finally showed up. I knew I wanted to arrive at the lake in time for Blue Hour so I was up and out the door by 5:30 AM. I had initially intended to shoot straight out from the Pier and then move around the lake for different angles, but as I walked toward the lake, the low sickle moon and Venus immediately grabbed my attention. I worked that particular composition for quite some time, until it occurred to me that I should probably keep moving. As I headed east and rounded the corner closer to the Island, I ran into Sean Bagshaw, who was leading a workshop with Luka Esenko and David Cobb.
Many, many more photos to come and a few blog articles as well in the near future. It was truly an amazing trip and, obviously, I can't wait to go back!
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Thank you so much for your views and comments! If you have specific questions or need to get in touch with me, please be sure to send me a message via flickr mail, or feel free to contact me via one of the following:
Blog | Website | Facebook | Instagram | 500px | Twitter | Google +
The Tower, The Moon, And The Star
I'm not entirely sure when I saw my first photo of Lake Bled in Slovenia, but I do remember it stopped me dead in my tracks. It was probably the first photo of Slovenia that I had ever seen and I immediately scrambled to find out as much as I could about this amazing country which, as it turned out, was just as gorgeous as nearby Austria...and in some locations, perhaps even more so.
Fast forward to October 12 of this year as I took off for a nine day jaunt through Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia on what I eventually began to refer to as "my pre-retirement retirement trip." As October is generally an incredibly busy time for me at the college, I could ill afford the time off, but a couple of things happened recently in my life that prompted this mad dash through the European continent: 1) I turned 55 last June and 2) All of my kids are now in college and pretty much able to fend for themselves for a couple of weeks. I had this image in my mind of grabbing my camera bag on the day I retired and heading straight for the airport to spend WEEKS exploring the alps...from France all the way across to the Julians on the other side. But at the same time, I felt like the clock was ticking. My dad passed away when he was 56. He was gone before we even talked about what might be on his bucket list. Add to that the sobering number of celebrities that seemed in relatively good heath who were suddenly gone for any number of reasons. What if I never made it to retirement?
So for the past two years I had been scouting my butt off as I began to wonder how many other locations I could get to if I made Slovenia my home base. The dolomites had been on my list since the day I stumbled upon 500px, but I as my goal had always been to shoot the entire stretch of alps across the European continent, I wanted to hit as much territory as possible in my short time there. I would begin in Bavaria, move to several spots in Austria, then into the Julian alps in Slovenia before hitting the Dolomites. The last addition to my shot list two years ago was Plitivice Lakes National Park in Croatia as a couple shots of these lakes taken in October on 500px caught my attention. It was settled. My first trip to the alps would be in Autumn.
On October 12, 2017, off I went. In just under 9 days I put hundreds of miles on the rental as I drove from Munich through Bavaria, Austria Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. My home base was a small apartment in Slovenia which I found on airbnb for a mere $30 a day. Although I had to deal with a few challenges along the way (British airways failed to get my luggage on the plane and then sat on it for four days while refusing to give me any info) I had a fantastic time and I can't wait to go back. The sights and sounds of that trip will stay with me for the rest of my life. It wasn't the best time to miss my classes, but it was definitely worth the craziness that I've had to deal with since returning. For those 8 days, I was truly living the dream.
This particular shot was taken midweek after my luggage finally showed up. I knew I wanted to arrive at the lake in time for Blue Hour so I was up and out the door by 5:30 AM. I had initially intended to shoot straight out from the Pier and then move around the lake for different angles, but as I walked toward the lake, the low sickle moon and Venus immediately grabbed my attention. I worked that particular composition for quite some time, until it occurred to me that I should probably keep moving. As I headed east and rounded the corner closer to the Island, I ran into Sean Bagshaw, who was leading a workshop with Luka Esenko and David Cobb.
Many, many more photos to come and a few blog articles as well in the near future. It was truly an amazing trip and, obviously, I can't wait to go back!
--------------
Thank you so much for your views and comments! If you have specific questions or need to get in touch with me, please be sure to send me a message via flickr mail, or feel free to contact me via one of the following:
Blog | Website | Facebook | Instagram | 500px | Twitter | Google +