Cascade Avenue
Late morning sun enters the top entrance of the Partnach gorge in the Bavarian Alps. The recent rains created a stunning display of side falls tumbling down up ...
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Late morning sun enters the top entrance of the Partnach gorge in the Bavarian Alps. The recent rains created a stunning display of side falls tumbling down up to 80 m-260 ft into the icy waters of the Schneeferner glacier that shaped the narrow canyon.
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Dec, 2013Views
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Awards
Featured
Formatt-Hitech Travel Kit
Contest Finalist in Awesome Destinations Photo Contest
Curator's Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Jaw Dropping
All Star
Superior Skill
Exceptional Contrast
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
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Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
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martinscaife
January 01, 2014
Light and water all squeezing through the gap in the rocks. Impressive photography.
jrhalphen
January 10, 2014
Love the side falls and tumbling water with light peaking around the corner--great shot.
itsnickelwell
February 24, 2015
wow... your lighting, exposure, and overall composition is stunning! Well done and congrats on your grand jury win!!!
Totoosart
February 24, 2015
Great work, well done and congratulations. Hope you will produce more stunning images. Thanks for sharing Beauty.
WhitneyDF
February 24, 2015
We visited the Partnach gorge in the winter several years ago. This picture is stunning!
Kksgram
February 26, 2015
CONGRATULATIONS for an awe inspiring, powerful shot. The power of the photo is anchored by the strength of the shot .
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken along the Partnachklamm near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps. The river Partnach, fed by melt-water of the nearby mountains has carved a deep canyon into the rock over thousands and thousands of years and attracts hundreds of visitors each day.Time
The key to get this image is to get there early in the day for two reasons: to escape the crowds of tourists pushing through the carved out walkway and constantly bumping your tripod during the long exposures required to bring out detail from the shadows and to get the sun peeking into the upper part of the canyon, illuminating the falling side falls; which was essential to get the desired color contrast.Lighting
The magic of this shot not only lies in the sunlight breaking into the canyon and lighting the walls, but the many side falls that catch the warm light. This was only possible after a period of heavy rain which allows water pouring down the side of the canyon.Equipment
This was shot on a Canon 7D with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, Hoya circular polarizer and Manfrotto tripod.Inspiration
Ever since seeing images from this captivating gorge, I knew I wanted to create my own take of it. There are only so many shots one can enjoy from a location such as this with limited ways to compose an image, so getting just the right kind of light and amount of water was key and I was happy to find these conditions on this particular day.Editing
Yes, absolutely, due to the stark contrast inside the canyon, blending images and shooting multiple exposures definitely was required to do the scene any justice. These images were blended by hand using luminosity masks and other techniques. For example, the water was shot at a shorter exposure with high ISO to get a good texture and not render the scene in a dreamy mood, because it wasn't dreamy at all. It was cold, violent and powerful and the water should represent this. The opening required a shorter exposure to keep the highlights in check, while the rest of the canyon demanded a long exposure.In my camera bag
A camera and an assortment of lenses from 11 to 300mm, or 16 to 200mm. I really don't care that much about the camera equipment, honestly. Far more important are the essentials that make shooting much easier: A Gore-Tex shell for being protected from the elements, a warm layer - I absolutely LOVE my The North Face Diez down jacket. A decent polarizer to cut reflections when necessary. A great quality micro-fiber lens cloth. Gloves and a hat. A mobile phone for Instagram selfies. No, really, it's for safety reasons, weather updates and keeping in touch with family and friends, these definitely rank higher than IG. Classic notebook for sketches and notes, yes, I am old school like that; but a lot of the content of my bag depends on the location and type of shooting I plan to do.Feedback
Bring a lens cloth, well, lots of them actually, because there will be water dripping down on you and your set-up at any point. A high-quality shell and a warm layer underneath is absolutely necessary most of the time if you plan to spend quite a bit of time in this location as the geography and icy water do not make it a walk in the park. Go early in the day and after a major storm has moved through the area, preferably when the clouds are about to clear. Check the weather carefully and use common sense to evaluate the risk factors the mountains may bring with them naturally.
