Icing in Godeanu

Autumn slowly gives way to winter. This feeling is especially strong in mountains, where streams and brooks start to freeze. The winter aims to destroy all movement and put it in cessation. This time of the year also provides a great potential for nature photographers.

When reaching the alpine zone you will find no running water. All streams are frozen solid. To obtain drinking water you need to melt it, or to carry bottled water on your pack.

Small rills running over rocks, almost invisible in summer, now decorate rocky escarpments along the forest road with hanging icicles.

Close look reveals simple, but great beauty, especially when the ice is hit by direct sunlight.

They appear to radiate, but actually they hang vertically. This is called paralel distortion for which our visual system automaticaly compensate. Our cameras don't, unless we use special tilt/shift lenses.

To maintain visual sea level, some of the icicles should be rendered straight on the image.

The best way to get an interesting image of the icicles is to get your camera position very close to your subject, or even behind them....

...and including the sun into the picture.

 Mountain streams begin to freeze. Close your diapragm down a use long shutter speed for silky effect on water. If you have a tripod it's simple. The image above was made with camera fixed on tripod.

 If you don't have tripod with you, brace your camera on a rock. Like I did in making the image above.

These places are most likely found in narow, deep valley which are far colder than areas higher on mountain slopes. In these days, the difference in temperatures between the valley floor and the top of a mountain can vary in between 10 to 15 °C.

Pools are remainig unfrozen, they are deep and large. Icing occurs only on the edges, where water touches cold rock.

Photography opportunities can not be exhausted in the mountains. For a devoted photographer there is no end of the season. When one season ends, the next one takes over.

Godeanu-weekend trip

I

 I got a crazy idea to go to Romanian Mountains only for the weekend. I asked my friend-photographer in Timisoara to join me on the trip. He has proposed Godeanu Mountains as our destination. His friend Dan joined us. On Saturday morning we left Timisoara, drove to Godeanu and climbed the ridge. After setting up our basecamp, all three of us headed for Varfu Olanelor to take photographs. In the morning the scenario repeated itself with sun and earth's shadow in opposite positions. In mid-morning we retreated from the ridge and went back to Timisoara.
At basecamp below Varfu Olanelor in Godeanu Mountains.

 Semenic massif seen from Varfu Olanelor over foggy valleys.

HDR image taken at sunset on Varfu Olanelor.

Photographer at Varfu Olanelor.

Photographer has to move around quickly to take advantage of the best light.

Semenic massiv after sunset, when the light was at it's best.

Magic moments high on the mountain.

Parang and Valcan seen at dawn from Godeanu.

Before sunrise in Godeanu, Varfu Olanelor.

Oslea Romaneasca and Piatra Glosanilor at dawn from Varfu Olanelor.

As a bonus I saw Buila-Vanturarita, where I have been in August.

A pile of rocks is reminding me "mani" stones in Tibet. Sven Hedin's (explorer in early 20th century) photographs from Chang Thang looks similar.

Before we leave the place I got taken my portrait by Dan.

Autumn in Malá Fatra

A few pictures from my most recent solo trip in mountains of Slovakia. I experienced cloudy and windy weather on the first day and sunny weather on the second day.

Autumn grasses blowing in the wind.

A look under the cloud layer revealed that in nearby Velká Fatra mountains was clear weather.

Velký and Malý Rozsutec. I climbed the lower peak on next day in perfect weather.

Due to bad weather and a state of exhaustion I descended into the valley on the trail leading along the cableway. The total lenght of the cableway is 1850 m and altitude difference between the top and bottom is 750 m.

Common tourist went down on cableway. I had no envy, I wanted to experience the mountains on their own terms, not inside artificially introduced facilities.

From valley it was difficult to find a good position to capture moon with the peaks. This angle was the only possibility.

For this image I put two ND grad filters at once over the lens in order to prolong the exposure time. It added a sense of movement to the image.

On the next day I climbed Malý Rozsutec peak (1343 m) in perfect weather. I got my reward.

Velký Rozsutec peak (1610 m) from a side of malý Rozsutec peak. Unfortunately I was after catchin my train home on time, so I had no time to climb the inviting peak.

Including a sunstar adds a drama to scenes in mid-day, thus saving the day for a photographer.

Fall colours below Osnica peak.

Even though I was in a hurry I took time to take pictures. I had to run last hundred meters to catch my train. Catching the train was a kind of a game, because half and hour before it's departure I still was 3,5 km away from the station.

At the end I catched my train and the trip was a succes, even though I took no photos at dawn and dusk, as I planned at the beginning.

Outdoor Adventure Photography

My photography style is outdoor adventure. I love being outdoors for extended periods and documenting events which unfold before my lens. This genre, called "participatory photography", was pioneered by late Galen Rowell. I learned a lot from his work, reading all his books during last decade. I tried hard to put into practice philosophy of outdoor adventure he so lively described in his work.

Participatory photography means that a photographer is a part of a scene being photographed. He doesn't take pictures as an outsider, but rather as an active participant of events happening in front of his lens.

All my previous effort would come to naught if I hadn't combined a passion for Romania with a passion for photography. And, without befriending local adventurers and photographers as well.

Only through this connection it became apparent that there could be something more than mere pictures posted on my web album, which I could share with the world.

Out of blue I have gotten an offer which is a kind of a dream job. It relates to outdoor adventure photography.

On these pictures you can see what outdoor adventure photography can be about.

On my future trips with interested people I wouldn't probably get things so far, as it is illustrated on pictures from an extreme winter adventure in the wilds of the Nemira Range.

It is a great joy to be on an outdoor adventure focused on photography with a small group of friendly people.

If you find yourself interested in my future adventures, they will be provided here, later this year. http://www.idif.cz/cs/expedice.php

All three pictures are by courtesy of my romanian partner, Ioan Stoenica. http://ioanstoenica.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/ploua-infernal-si-eu-colindam-prin-padureeeee-singur-in-penteleu/