When spring touches Bohinj, beech trees start to turn in lovely green. It’s that time of the year when you just have to be out there in nature and enjoy every minute in green paradise.
There are a lot of spectecular places on the Planet Earth that are also great for landscape photography. But I doubt that there are many places on Earth that are so easily accessible, so remarkably beautiful and have so many opportunities to do amazing landscape photography as Julian Alps and Triglav National Park in Slovenia.
Hayracks and Špik mountain group, Julian Alps, Slovenia
From Ljubljana Airpot is less than one hour drive to the nereast valleys, high plateus and peaks of Julian Alps and Triglav National Park. Most beautiful parts of the area are all accessible with a car and short walks.
Koritnica valley under mount Mangart
Julian Alps and Triglav National Park can be visited in all four seasons. The area is divided in two parts that have dramatically different characters. The south part of Julian Alps and Triglav National Park lies close to the Adriatic see and has more pleasant wheather but also more narrow valleys and wild mountains. The area is best known by emerald river Soča.
Cultural landscape of the area reflects the simplicity of lives that people live in remote parts of Julian Alps.
When you’ll get close to the mountains you’ll be protected by the face of the girl called “Ajdovska deklica”.
In just one day you’ll capture landscape photos of a lifetime and experience so many things that you’ll want to stay in the area of Julian Alps and Triglav National park for a week. And than your journey will begin. An unfforgetable jouney.
Stay tuned for part 2.
There are a lot of excellent professional photographers in Slovenia, of course, but what makes Iztok Medja different is that he also happens to be an outstanding nighttime photographer.
Last night, I went on a workshop run by Iztok, and it showed me a whole new world that is possible in Bohinj. That’s right, “The Night in Bohinj”.
I wish I had come up with this term but I must give credit to Miha Gantar (who was also there) from Slotrips who came up with it. But I digress.
The workshop was arranged by Aleš and we all first met at the Triglav National Park headquarters for some theory. Iztok did this by explaining how certain images that he had taken from around the globe were created. We were also given an overview of his workflow in Lightroom and Photoshop.
We then headed up into the Pokljuka high plains and through a series of practical shooting examples, Iztok showed just the tip of his knowledge. Back lighting, side lighting, strobes and flashes. You name it Iztok did it. I think that originally some star trail shots were planned for but since the sky was totally overcast, Iztok had to improvise and reorganize the exercises which he did with great effect.
So, if you are interested in nighttime photography or have something specific that is beyond the usual and “ordinary” styles of shooting, Aleš and I highly recommend Iztok’s services.
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OK, so I don’t have a mistress or something like that in case you are wondering. It’s from a song by Sting (Sister moon).
Anyways, Photography is full of seductions and one of them is the challenge of shooting into the sun. There’s nothing else quite like it. You can get some great results or some really bad ones.
There are a number of ways to include the sun in the shot. For example, here is a shot from Aleš:
However, when you don’t want the sun in the image you want to avoid direct light hitting the lens.
One simple technique to deal with problems when the sun just hits your lens is to place a hat at an angle to the camera so that the lens doesn’t take a direct hit from the sun. This also works with other light sources such as street lamps or car headlights.
You can see in the shots below how much of a difference it makes. If you want more tips like this, then you are invited to a workshop run by Aleš in Pokljuka this Saturday (18.10.2014).
Leave the mistress behind and bring a small umbrella instead. Aleš will show you how much more useful it can be.
Aleš and I ran a short photo tour called Mali Bohinj on the 11th of October with a group of 13.
It was a beautiful warm autumn day and it was supposed to be a small loop around the village of Studor. However, we made a side trip to Lake Bohinj as there was not enough water in the Ribnica gorge.
At one of the spots for an exercise I explained how the shot should be done. Having shot the Lake for so long I had thought that I knew all there was to know.
Mitja Sodja who is a friend and professional photographer came along for the tour and made some shots that made me realize that there are always new ways to see and photograph the Lake.
So, it’s not at all true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He can even learn in his own “backyard”.
And thanks to all who came along. We hope to see you again next time.
Photos by Mitja:
Photos by Andy:
Photos by Aleš:
Another good workshop in a beautiful environment. It was all about flowers and how to shoot them in a best way. And we also had a help from Tanja (biologist) for flower recognition. Andy was helping with some additional photo tips. It’s always great to work as a team. And Bohinj is a paradise in every way!
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