Category Archives: New Pictures

New pictures in the galleries

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New pictures in the galleries!

: Facing Worlds
On my last hike this year I got to see an interesting scene where one mountainside was already in all its white glory while the other side was still in autumn mood. Already during the hike - while gaining altitude - we noticed the beautiful transition from autumn to winter. There is so much to discover during change of seasons, I find it really satisfying to see and feel the annual change of seasons

: Flooded by Light
Last May I went on a short trip to the Elbsandsteingebirge - Sächsische Schweiz national park together with my friends Jan and Alex. We were quite lucky with the overall weather conditions, we had plenty of fog and sunsets and sunrises which were not too bad. This picture has been taken on the most beautiful morning during the time we've been there, the landscape was literally flooded by warm light. I guess I'll look at this picture more often in the next couple of weeks when the weather here in Germany turns cold and gloomy.

: Autumn Walk
This is a memory how autumn looked like close to my home in late October, now almost all trees have lost their leaves and winter has taken over. Everything looks bleak now, hence I can't wait for plenty of snow 😉 Are you already looking forward for winter?

: First Snow
This is a rather abstract view from my last hike in the alps. I liked how the gentle snow cover and the soft and fading dusk light emphasized the structure on the mountain surface.

Golden Autumn

New Gallery: Landscape Aerials

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I recently started with aerial photography so I thought it would be a good idea to make a new gallery for those pictures. May I present you my first attempts at aerial photography, all done with a DJI Inspire 1 Pro.

: Alps on Fire
Today I was very fortunate to be at the right spot at the right time, just as the fog rose to cloak the mountains, the sun - already on the horizon - gave it a bright red glow. It was just breathtaking to witness everything from above!

: On Shore
This is an aerial impression from yesterdays outing to Eibsee at Zugspitze. Unfortunately the weather decided to cancel yesterdays' sunset and filled the whole area with fog and clouds only within a couple of minutes.

: Frosted
While looking for compelling aerial compositions I discovered a nice red-green colour contrast in a little forest close-by. The beautiful hoar frost we had this morning helped to emphasize the structure in the trees.

More additions to Alps gallery

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I added some new and old pictures to the Alps gallery.

Finally the gallery takes shape! I hope you like it 😉

: Splashes of Colour
Although autumn is currently at its peak in some areas of the Alps autumn is barely noticeable. On my last hike for the year last weekend I was intrigued by those very subtle autumn colour tones I found, they appear like splashes of colour here and there.

: Heavenly Accommodation
There is nothing like slumbering below the heavenly nightskies in the mountains. I was lucky to have almost perfect conditions on our last night in the Italian Alps.

: Paint the Sky
This is a glimpse of how winter looked like in the Dolomites close to the famous St. Johann chapel in Ranui a week ago. This area didn't have fresh snowfall for quite some time, almost all trees lost their precious white sugar coating. To make up for that I brought some white back in the sky by shooting a star-trail composite.

: Moonlight Sonata
When I was standing there I really almost dazzled by the strong light of the full moon and so my lens 😉 Unfortunately the weather was just not winterly enough to provide for scenic winter scapes. Recently the temperature was too high and there was also a lack of fresh snow so we returned earlier than planned from our trip. The massif in the frame is Cimon della Pala. It is also called "The Matterhorn of the Dolomites" because of it's very similar shape.

: Touched by the first light
Some weeks ago I enjoyed a tranquil night in the Alps and was blessed with magic warm light the next morning. No matter how exhausting your hike and how freezing cold the night before was, those are the mornings which let you forget all the efforts and make them totally worth it 😉 What do you think about it, have you experienced a sunrise on a mountain summit before?

New gallery: The Alps

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I’m happy to present you a new gallery, a dedicated gallery for my pictures of the European Alps!

Because I’ve been on a one week roadtrip through the Swiss, French and Italian Alps I also want to present you new pictures which appear in the Alps gallery:

: Darkness and Frost
During my recent trip to the Italian Alps I was also able to explore a glacier. I'm always fascinated by the form and texture of glaciers, but also by its colour palette, essentially it's black and white with a turquise tint here and there. Glaciers are also mysterious places for me, they conceal secrets from thousands of years ago, they are well hidden below layers of ice which can be as thick as several hundred meters. As always Alex was happy to volunteer as a model for this picture in order to get some sense of scale.

: The Explorer
During our recent trip to the Alps Alex and me also had a stop in the Italian Alps. Despite a rain shower the night before the weather was very diverse while still cooperative from a photographers point of view. This is one of the more dramatic displays we got to see. What the viewer can't see is the drizzling rain which made shooting this scene very hard, like shooting in the spray of a waterfall. Fortunately Alex and I brought enough patience and microfibre cloth.

: Silent Reflections 2
On the same morning as in "Silent Reflections" we went on a glacier in order to get a top view of the area we already explored earlier. The view from there didn't offer many photogenic compositions but only walking on a glacier during the peaceful morning hours was an exciting experience for sure! While walking there I discovered this intriguing foreground in the small glacier lake which immediately grabbed my attention.

: Goodbye Blue Sky
While hiking in the Italian Alps together with my friend Alex we were blessed with very interesting weather and light. Although it was raining every now and then we never got drenched but were able to witness breathtaking atmospheres, due to the ever-changing weather.

: Let's conquer the Sky
On our last night in the French Alps we had fantastic conditions for night shots, despite the cloud on the right the sky and air was clear, the moon has set and temperatures dropped below 0°C. That's also why my camera froze while leaving it outside over night as already shown in a snapshot I uploaded earlier. The display of stars was one of the best I've seen in central Europe for quite some time. I think being able to see starry skies like that is a privilege not all people can enjoy. They live in densely populated metropolitan areas where light pollution is keeping their eyes from seeing stars. I hope my picture could bring a bit of happiness to those people, at least for a couple of seconds 😉 But you should still experience the real deal sometime, it's so much better to see it with your own eyes!

: Bleak
On the first day during our trip to the Alps we didn't have so much luck with the weather but at least we were blessed with some moody fog which I wanted to show with this shot. The guy on the other side of course is Alex.

: Give Me Mountains
In the French Alps we were surrounded by several breathtaking mountain vistas, I was tempted to take many panorama shots and this is one of them. I'm intrigued by mountains, they challenge me, they always surprise me, and make me appreciate the wonders of nature. Mountains are my happy place - give me mountains 😉

: Silent Reflections 1
A tranquil morning in the Italian Alps. Those are the moments you long for during busy and hectic days in daily life. Fortunately I brought back home pictures which give me a relaxing feeling as if I was standing there right now, hearing nothing but the peaceful silence of a sunrise in the mountains. I hope this works for you too!

Additions to Iceland gallery

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Some months ago I browsed my Iceland picutre folder and finished three more pictures which I uploaded only on social media so far. If you like my work make sure to follow me on social media, I update content more often over there. Please find the respective links in the “About” section.

: Martian Beach
When I selected pictures for a slide-show of my recent Iceland trip some days ago I found so many other shots I want to share 😉 This is the beach at Jökulsarlón, like most places in Iceland it looks like a Martian landscape, hence the name. I really liked the contrast of the black sand and the white appearing icebergs floating and sitting around.

: Fire in the Night
What appears to be a cheap photomanipulation actually is some rare view I was lucky enough to witness once in my life: seeing a starry sky at 9:45pm with a phenomenal moonset below. Seen in Iceland close to Dettifoss.

: The Arctic Photographer
Iceland throwback! One of the most breathtaking locations in Iceland undoubtedly is the Jökulsárlón - Glacier Lagoon. It's really fascinating to observe huge icebergs floating in a big glacier lagoon and seals playing hide & seek while still far away from the arctic circle. While shooting and getting really close to the icebergs Alex was kind enough to pose for me in front of this amazing vista.

More from Saxon Switzerland

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Here are recent additions from Saxon Switzerland to the “Landscapes – Beautiful Germany” section!

These two are dedicated to the delicate life we can see in nature, trees that literally grow out of sandstone. Life is amazing!

Tree of Life

Tree of Life 2

Trip to Saxon Switzerland

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At the beginning of may I went to Saxon Switzerland with my buddies Alex and Jan with the hope to get some impressions of spring back home. Besides driving to some locations with the car we went on a 3 day hike in the park. We got really lucky with the weather, on the first two mornings we had beautiful layers of fog covering the lower areas of the park and during the day we had warm and sunny weather, perfect for hiking.

I’m already sure to go back there in autumn to get some shots with a different palette of colours.

Here are the first shots I’ll add to the gallery:

: Castle in the Sky / Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta
Can you spot the castle in the sky far away? The title has been obviously inspired by one of the best anime I've ever seen, directed by genius Hayao Miyazaki. I took this image close to the famous Bastei in the Saxon Switzerland national park. Can it get any better when you have those conditions after the first night?

: Fogtown
The river Elbe did an amazing job cloaking the towns around the riverbed in beautiful fog. A view which is not so rare in the Elbsandsteingebirge - Sächsische Schweiz national park.

: Mighty Wehlnadel
After scouting this place in the night, Alex and I only had left a few hours of sleep before heading out again to be in time for blue hour and sunrise. On the next morning we woke up to beautiful foggy conditions. We already expected fog but didn't imagine such a dense layer of fog, which was a nice welcome surprise on our first day in the Elbsandsteingebirge - Sächsische Schweiz.

: Bridging the Gap
This is a rather classic view you get in the Elbsandsteingebirge - Sächsische Schweiz, a view towards the famous Schrammsteine. Nevertheless I was very intrigued to frame the setting sun in the rock crevice when I saw this location the first time. Those 5 days in the national park have been very successful in terms of pictures, having nice company by my friends Alex and Jan was just the icing on the cake 😉

: Secrets in the Mist
On that very morning I was incredible lucky, the mist stayed in the valley for a long time so that I was able to capture several angles of that valley close to the famous Bastei in the Saxon Switzerland national park. There are more fog pictures in the pipeline, I hope you can bear it and don't get bored quickly 😉

: Gloomy Gorge
During the first day when we arrived in Bohemian Switzerland we had plenty of rain and an overcast sky. Good for us, because we had the ideal conditions to pay the Kamnitz Gorge (Edmundsklamm) a visit and were blessed with beautiful lush and saturated colours. Because we went to the gorge quite late, like only a few minutes before sunset, we had the gorge to ourselves. Therefore we could totally enjoy the peaceful atmosphere there.

Landscape pictures from Japan added to gallery

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The gallery “Japan” with the first pictures of the natural beauty of Japan has been added to the “Landscape” section. Enjoy 😉

: Hidden Gem
This literally was a hidden gem, a little bit off the main trail. Well, I discovered it while I was already walking through the dense forest because I didn't want to be limited by the views I got while walking only on the trail. At this waterfall it was very fortunate that I didn't approach it from the front, I would have probably walked away immediately because the front is not very photogenic and there were so many more waterfalls I wanted to see. When I approach the waterfall from the left I immediately saw the beautiful bend with all those lovely lush plants around which act as the perfect frame for the waterfall. In the end I was really happy that I discovered this composition so quickly because there was so much more to discover on that very day. The waterfall is called is Kudan (九段の滝) and is located at the Oirase River, close to Lake Towada in Japan.

: Forest Magic 1
This one is from Shirakami-Sanchi, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Although this area is quite touristy I didn't see many tourists on that particular day, maybe because the weather was not the best. We had (drizzling) rain more or less the whole day. Good for me, because having everything wet around you means beautiful lush colours in the pictures later. In this forest I even spottet wild monkeys here and there, but I couldn't get any good shots, they might be a little bit scared of foreigners, which are indeed a very rare species in this area of Japan.

: Forest Magic 2
Another one from the beautiful lush forest in Shirakami-Sanchi, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Lately I'm missing these lush colours a lot, winter has only been dull so far here in Germany, not even white, only grey and brown, can't await spring!

: Cascade of Joy
The Anmon Falls (暗門の滝) have been one of the highlights of my visit to North Japan last year. It is a collective name for three waterfalls in the forests of the Shirakami-Sanchi World Heritage site in the northern Tohoku region of Japan, stretching between Akita and Aomori Prefecture. Here you can see the highest waterfall which drops 42 m, the second drops 37 m and the third drops 26 m. It's a beautiful and peaceful place which seemingly is not visited by many tourists during rainy days in autumn 😉

Recent additions to the “Beautiful Germany” Landscapes category

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I almost forgot to also upload the rest of the pictures from 2015 of the “Beautiful Germany” Landscapes category. Especially the picture “Gently Touched” has a special meaning for me and remembers me of a good time and days of pure happiness together with an important person in my life. Enjoy!

: Mysterious Fog
And here comes a fresh shot from tonight’s moody scene in the local forests, close to my home. Of course I'll continue uploading the rest of my Iceland pictures later! After doing a fog timelapse (youtu.be/3_ZXh367AAQ) I went back to the forest because the fog totally blocked the view over the scenery I wanted to take more pictures of. Because it was already quite dark I had to expose for over 6 minutes to get in enough light. I had to use the flashlight of my mobile to find back the way to my car and when I arrived at the car I noticed I came back with only my tripod and the camera fixed on it, but my backpack was still in the forest, so I had to walk back all the way again in an already pitch-black and misty forest. Wow, this was a really spooky mood 😉

: Gently Touched
While I was browsing my archive I found a shot from November 2014 which I really liked but never intended to upload. For me the picture has a special meaning and remembers me of a good time and days of pure happiness.

: Morning Glow
The first upload from the recent hike to Mohnenfluh summit with a bunch of befriended fellow photographers. We were camping close to the lake and had to get up at around 3:30am in order to be at the summit to photograph the sunrise. Every time you witness a sunset from a mountain summit you get this amazing feeling, you are far away from civilization, it's peaceful and quiet and you have an amazing view, while the sun cloaks the landscape in beautiful hues, the type of palette you can't see during the day.

: Mohnenfluh Panorama
Another sunrise view from Mohnenfluh, this time as a wide 3:1 panorama over the Lechquellen area.

New stuff from Japan

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Lately I’ve been processing more shots from my past travels to Japan. This not only includes the beautiful landscapes of North Japan but also includes some modern architecture from Tokyo. I also managed to continue two recent series, the “Observer” and “Zebra” theme got an addition each.

Here are the first 3, enjoy 😉

: Zebra 2
The zebra theme is getting an addition, I'm considering whether I should do more series just like the "The Observer" series. The zebra was seen in Minato Mirai, Yokohama, Japan.

: Tunnel View
This one was shot in Minato Mirai, a central business district in Yokohama, Japan with a lot of interesting (modern) architecture.

: The Observer 4
Again, from time to time I keep updating repeating themes which I like most. "The Observer" is a series about dominant, rather abstract looking buildings gazing over a bunch of smaller / inferior buildings, with an intimidating posture. In this case it's the second tallest building and 4th tallest structure (as of 2016) in Japan named Yokohama Landmark Tower. It's located in a central business district of Minato Mirai, in Yokohama, Japan. The area around the tower is very vibrant and I really liked the way how the tower is connected to the surrounding buildings, it's very clever and looks amazing.

Photography by Philipp Lutz

Landscapes and Architecture Photography

Category Archives: New Pictures

New pictures in the galleries

New Gallery: Landscape Aerials

More additions to Alps gallery

New gallery: The Alps

Additions to Iceland gallery

More from Saxon Switzerland

Trip to Saxon Switzerland

Landscape pictures from Japan added to gallery

Recent additions to the “Beautiful Germany” Landscapes category

New stuff from Japan