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Thread: Alps Tour/Vacation

  1. #1

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    Alps Tour/Vacation

    We will join a Alps tour and visit following cities and regions, Zurich, Lucerne, Annecy, Lake Como, St. Moritz, Innsbruck and Munich. I have never been in those areas before and am wondering which places may go and take large format photos. I look foe suggestions and recommendations. Thank you! David

  2. #2
    John Olsen
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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    Quote Originally Posted by diversey View Post
    We will join a Alps tour and visit following cities and regions, Zurich, Lucerne, Annecy, Lake Como, St. Moritz, Innsbruck and Munich. I have never been in those areas before and am wondering which places may go and take large format photos. I look foe suggestions and recommendations. Thank you! David
    Annecy will be your best bet. The old castle above town and the canal area in the town center are very interesting, but the central area will be tricky just because of tourist crowds.

    In the really big places like Munich, just focus on details above the street level, as there's just too much traffic and surges of tour groups. Or take a taxi out of town to one of King Ludwig's castles and get something picturesque in a quieter environment.

    I hope your tour group is all photographers who understand the large format pace, not a bunch of digi-snappers. Good luck.

  3. #3

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    From Innsbruck you can take the train a short distance to Solden and Hochsolden. I don't know about photos but they sure know how to party!
    Lake Como is gorgeous. St. Moritz is beautiful as well. I like Zermatt which has an incredible year round ski lift system to get you to various scenic overlooks with little effort and for more effort there is alpine touring on the Monte Rosa plateau.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  4. #4

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    David, You've gotten some good suggestions, to which I'll only add that to get some decent street-level images in those cities you'll have to plan to get up and out to locations EARLY before the vehicles and pedestrians ruin your compositions. One of my favorite areas in Switzerland is the Lauterbrunnen Valley, which is accessed from Interlocken.
    ... JMOwens (Mt. Pleasant, Wisc. USA)

    "If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." ...Michelangelo

  5. #5

    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    Hello David,

    That sounds like a great tour. The options for LF photography obviously depend in part on how much time you are spending in each place, and, if you’re in a group, whether you have free time to get out of the cities and into the areas near them. Other factors are whether you want to walk or hike with LF gear, and the weather, depending on which time of year you’re visiting. Here are a few random ideas with some links where you can make your own choice about what to do - often it is the less well-known trails that are the most rewarding;

    Zürich
    Walk around the old town, visit the Kunsthaus, and then the ETH law library to see Calatrava's interior design. The Rietberg museum currently has a really interesting Osiris exhibition.
    LF - go to Uetliberg to have a panoramic view of the city and the Lake; perhaps in the late afternoon or evening if there is likely to be a good sunset. Other ideas here.

    Lucerne
    The town is beautiful to walk around. The Rosengart museum is close to the centre, and has an excellent collection of twentieth century art, including Klee and Picasso (it’s one of my favourite museums).
    LF - there are regular ferries from Lucerne to different towns on Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee); you could go to Vitznau and take the cablecar up Mount Rigi, or go to the top of Pilatus, for example. Alternatively, you could visit Engelberg and go to the top of Mount Titlis (very touristy), or do the four lakes hike (Trübsee, Engstlensee, Tannen and Melchsee) if you have the best part of a day free and are up for a fairly strenuous hike. Other ideas are here.

    St Moritz
    So much to do here in the heart of the Engadine, with many well-trodden tourist paths which you can also get away from easily with a bit of effort. For example, Morteratsch is a receding glacier, and you can hike to its face on a trail that shows how much it has receded in the last hundred years. It’s quite a dynamic environment near the face, with bits of ice and rock falling off it – a great place for LF photography if you are careful. Alternatively, Diavolezza (another spectacular glacier), or Samedan (another potential hike to the tongue of the Diavolezza glacier). Or use the cable cars at Corvatsch or Corviglia to get great views and hiking trails; many more options are shown here.

    I look forward to seeing some of your photographs!

    David

  6. #6

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    That's a nice trip.
    I think every place has some good locations for LF photography.
    But, if you have the time, visit the Chiemsee. It's a large lake in southern Germany close to the Austrian border. On a island in the lake stands the Herrenchiemsee palace, which is one of the King Ludwig palaces. It's modelled after Versailles in France. And the large garden has some great views. Indoor photography in the places (all of them) is not allowed, unless you have a special permit.

    I hope you'll have a great trip. The people are friendly, the food is good, and nature looks awesome. It's one of my favorite parts in the world.

  7. #7

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    The food is good! Definitely try the rosti Swiss wines are also exceptional but are seldom encountered here in the US because the Swiss drink it all (is what I remember being told.)
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  8. #8

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    An Alps tour organized for tourists is probably the last place you should take your LF camera to. They will surely let you understand why.
    If you enjoy a small cup of coffee for $5-7 with a view on other tourists doing the same thing you will enjoy the Swiss Alps with your organized tour.
    By the way, the bus drivers often take their load of tourists to a specific restaurant where they get a free lunch for themselves, courtesy of the restaurant owner with whom they have a secret deal.
    Been there, seen that. Enjoy!

  9. #9

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    Quote Originally Posted by Pfsor View Post
    By the way, the bus drivers often take their load of tourists to a specific restaurant where they get a free lunch for themselves, courtesy of the restaurant owner with whom they have a secret deal.
    Been there, seen that. Enjoy!
    Same thing here in the USA and the rest of the known universe. That is certainly no secret LOL!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  10. #10

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    Re: Alps Tour/Vacation

    We will join a Alps tour

    Hello from France!

    I know some of the places you are speaking about, I've been, at least once, to Zurich, Annecy, St. Moritz and Munich.

    The place I'm most familiar with is Annecy, France.

    I would be happy to help, but if as mentioned above, you are in a bus, not free to go to interesting spots (I mean interesting for a LFer), it is difficult to be helpful, since good spots are usually quite far away from busy places.

    Annecy, France, in summer is as busy and as overcrowded as the French Riviera, actually it is a place I usually avoid in summer if I dot not want to be stuck for hours in traffic jams along the Annecy lake.

    Nevertheless the area is very rich in mountain landscapes, very probably on your way you'll have at least a few opportunities for a panoramic view over the Mont Blanc range, the highest peak in Western Europe.

    Not far from Annecy you have a moutain range named "Les Aravis" a small limestone chain of peaks facing the Mont Blanc Range. So, If I was free for a one-day hike, I would go to a place named La Clusaz and go for one of the easy climbs in the Aravis range, to get a magnificent panoramic view over the Mont Blanc range, Chamonix side.

    A global view of the Aravis range with the Mont Blanc range in the background, in summer.
    http://laurence.puillet.free.fr/Para...-Pano07-08.jpg


    If we combine the keywords "Annecy, France" and "Large Format Photography" we get this famous video where a friend of mine is hauling his ULF camera to make a night picture above Annecy!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwI5By945R

    There is a road pass crossing the Aravis range, named "col des Aravis", from there a motorist can also get a magnificent view over the Mt Blanc.
    But from Annecy, no view to the Mont Blanc, hidden behind La Tournette range and the Aravis range.
    If you are good hiker I would recommend to climb "La Tournette", a peak just above Annecy, but this is a long climb, about 6 hours altogether with some very dizzy parts close to the top.
    Probably not a photographic trip for a LFer

    -------

    Regarding St. Moritz, the place is a Swiss mountain resort full of old-style unaffordable hotels, probably built to accommodate rich British alpinists in the 1900's .
    I did not find the place exceedingly interesting from a photographic point of view, but not far from St Moritz you have the Bernina mountain range with nice views over the glaciers.
    On the road to Italy, to Pontresina and Passo del Bernina, road #29, you have a famous train station named "Morteratsch", as explained above by David Hedley.
    When the train line was built, more than one century ago, tourists could just step off the train and reach the glacier a few minutes walk from the train.

    Now the glacier has receded about 3 miles away south of the station, due to global warming ...

    And North-East of St Moritz close to road #27 to Austria, you have a very nice village named Guarda with typical houses with painted walls, a well-preserved place, sure full of tourists, but authentic like many Swiss villages can be, and very picturesque.

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