October 2014 - Ibex
Since the last visit to the ibex was such a great trip, I wanted to give it another go before winter hit the mountains. And I really managed to pull it off on the last possible day – lucky me. My last trip was mid September and I was keen to see how much the ibex would have gained in mass for the winter.
I bumped into a group of 6 big males. One of them was really big – he might be around 12 years old. They were all fighting/play fighting, except the really big one. If one of the smaller males came to close, he just turned around, looked at them and they would walk off. But the other boys gave me quite a show headbutting each other. It was great to see them in such a healthy and well fed condition.
Unfortunately, there was just one chance to take pictures of alpine ptarmigan. I have seen them a few times, but since the marmots went to hibernate, the ptarmigan are the golden eagles only foodsource at the moment. So they were all nervous as the golden eagles were constantly chasing them.
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October 2014 - Bergsee Göscheneralp
I have heard about this beautiful lake and seen some nice pictures from fellow photographers pulling off some really nice stuff. So, I was eager to give it a go myself. But it rather seemed difficult. First try ended in a heavy downpour and the second attempt was so close to the bad weather front that left be puzzled if I should go at all. But it is usually the changing conditions that make up for good pictures and so I was hoping that it would come together this time aswell.
As I came up to the lake early in the morning, it didn’t look good at all. The Dammagroup was to a big part behind the clouds. Just as the sun hit to upper cloudlayer, some of them lifted a little, giving a strange red glow to the glacier and the pinkish rocks around the lake. I was hoping for more light, which didn’t happen. But I think I got away with some different pictures of this beautiful lake.
Walking back through the moorland gave me some really nice views of the fall colours and the heavy clouds above the Gotthard mountains. During my drive back home, the eveningsun broke through the clouds and painted the Klausenpass golden.
I hope you enjoy the pics.
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September 2014 - Ibex and Ptarmigan
Last month, I had the chance to spend two nights in my favorite ibex area. It has been two great days with very few people, three really good sessions with a big groupe of relaxed ptarmigan (love those birds) and the encounter with the two big ibex was amazing too. I have spent about 4 hours with them, letting me come as close as a few meters at the end of the day. What a great experience!!
I came home with a lot of pics and it hase taken me quite a while to sort them out. But finally, I'm finished. I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I do.
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September 2014 - Cassonsgrat
Hey there…
On their way from northern Europe, the eurasian Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) makes a short stopover on Cassonsgrat. That is a mountain plateau on 2’600 meter above sealevel. A few days ago, I packed my warm sleeping and biwak bag and decided to give the Dotterels a go.
On the evening of my arrival, I coulnd find the birds. But a strong youngish male ibex showed up instead and posed for me nicely on some rocky outcrops in front of the impressive mountain chains and clouds of fog. I had also a chat with a local hunter who carried his price of the day – an alpine marmot – over his shoulder like “Hans im Glück”! He is also the landlord of the mountainhut close by and told me where he usually finds the birds. So just before it was pitch dark, I made my way into this area and was rewarded with some really nicely lit mountainscenery, unpacked my sleeping and biwak bag, had a bite to eat and just enjoyed the moment with a nice cold chocolate drink. As I woke up in the morning by the noise of the dotterels and some rock ptarmigan, I knew that it was gonna be an awesome day. Not even the condensed water on my sleeping bag could drown my spirits.
I found the dotterels pretty quickly, even they were quite skittish in the beginning. But after a while they got used to that odd looking creature and let me come as close as two meters. Some of them were so comfortable, that they snuggled their heads into their feathers, took one leg up and pretended going to sleep. But every few seconds they would check on me, opening quickly the one eye that was not “asleep”!! ;o))
Enjoy the pics.
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August 2014 - Niederhorn/Beatenberg
It has become some sort of ritual, that my friend Andy Trowbridge and me do a photographytrip every year. As Andy wanted to photograph some big ibex, it wasn’t a bad idea to start of in Switzerland. I have heard of a place, where some workshops are held for that reason and we thought, that we could give it go for a few days. Besides ibex, the Beatenberg/Niederhorn area in the bernese alps holds also a good population of chamoix and rock ptarmigan.
Once up there, there is actually not much else to do but photography. Prima vista, there was lots of chamoix and the terrain looked not too difficult to hike. But in terms of weather and big male ibex, the trip was quite disappointing. Besides rain, snowfall (in August), fog and cold, we didn’t see any big male ibex at all. So, what do you take pictures of, when you can see just plain fog? In all honesty, we did sleep quite a lot.
But there was some femal and young ibex around. And especially the young ones acted as a good substitute and made for some nice pictures. Also the one sighting of some rock ptarmigan delivered some nice pictures, which I am quite happy with. Besides that, the occasional view onto Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau and Schreckhorn is a awe inspiring sight.
And besides the smaller birds, we also had a few sightings of a golden eagle and a wallcreper, which really was unexpected and special. At the end of the day, it was – once again – a great trip. Andy, I really enjoy going on those phototrips with you and I am looking forward to the next one. Thanks a lot!!
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July 2014 - Eagle Owl
A few days ago I went to help my friends Steven and Daniela to make hey. It was quite a strenuous job, mainly just because I'm not used to wander around with a huge rake - but definitely a different experience. But it was nice to see them again and have a laugh with them. As they breed different types of birds of prey, we came up with a idea and a plan to take portrait shots of their eagle owl. After a few days I went back with a few worked out ideas and Daniela helped me to realize those pictures.
Daniela and Steven, thank you very much for your help, your time and making those ideas come true.
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June 2014 - Common Viper
Last weekend I went to see my friends Andi and Petra. Our plan was again to look for common viper and with a bit of luck we would be able to take some pictures of them. Normally you would think, that nice and warm weather would be essential to find snakes in the swiss alps. But the opposite is the case. Changing conditions with sun and clouds and an occasional short rainshower are best to find snakes in the mountains. Of course we were unlucky and the weather was sunny, hot and dry. Andi promised a difficult search.
Non the less, Andi found a female common viper after a few minutes of looking – sometimes I think this man knows all snakes personally. We were able to take a few photos and let the snake go its own way after a while.
For the evening I went up to “Gratflueh” which is the eastern corner of the “Gastlosen”, a mountainchain on the border of canton Bern and canton of Vaud. As it was the 21st of June, it was also the longest day and I had to wait for a while for the sunset. Non the less, I enjoyed it as I was the only one up there…. and the icecold “Brandlöscher” made it even better.
Andi and Petra, thank you very much for a great weekend.
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June 2014 - different Approach
The last few weeks I decided on a different approach for my photography. On my jogging lap I found a pair of breeding black redstarts in an old barn. After asking the farmer if I could pitch my hide for a few weeks, I started feeding the birds with mealworms and after a few days I was able to start taking pictures of the redstarts. The female was very quickly accustomed to the new foodsource and acted and posed very nicely on the different perches. The male wasn’t as laid back and made it onto the perch just once.
At that time we also spotted a juvenile grey wagtail in a creek in the closeby mountains. The next day, I went to look for him again and studied the behavior of the juvenile and its parents. I also saw a breeding pair of dippers and with a little luck, I would be able to take some pictures of them aswell.
So over the next weeks, I went early in the morning into the hide or into the creek to take photos of my birds, came back home, had some coffee and went to work – at 10 o’clock. That really is a relaxing start into the day - I loved it.
I hope you enjoy the pics.
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May 2014 - Market in Port Sudan
So - here it is! My first Blog on my new Website.
Last week of April 2014 I went on a Liveaboard Diving Trip to Sudan. The journey to get there was a bit of a zig-zag-route, but we eventually made it. We stayed on a turkish yacht-type called "gulet". The diving was fantastic, the food great and the people on the boat nice, funny and a blast.
My underwater pics are not much to show, as I don’t have the right equipment. I just take underwater pics because I like taking pictures. Every now and then, I come up with something worthwhile showing. There is a few new pics in my Gallerie Into the Blue. Check it out!
On our last day, while we were desaturating, we went to the market of Port Sudan. The market was amazing and so different again from anything else I have seen so far. Lots of exotic smells, bags of unknown goods and baskets of millet, incense and dried dates. It wasn’t just the sight, but those different smells (be it nice or yak) really made for the whole trip to the market.
I managed to get a few shots of some of the exotic people on this market. I hope you like the pics.
