The Dolomites, Italy

Impressions from my last road trip three weeks ago to the Dolomites, Italy. What can I say? The Dolomites never disappoint, even if you are welcomed at the Brenner pass (austrian-italian border) on a Sunday night with a snow storm and five inches of fresh snow. Nature is starting to bloom at this time of the year and the green pastures gives a great backdrop to the freshly snow-covered landscape. Enjoy!

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Earth pyramids of Platten…

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Green pastures and freshly snow powdered mountains, Pustertal…

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Pragser Wildsee, home of the series “Bergpolizei”…

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Plätzwiese and Dürrensteinhütte…

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Plätzwiese…

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Cima Cadin di S.Lucano, 2839 m and Cima Ciadin de la Neve, 2757 m (right)…

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One of the few nightscapes this time, Hohe Gaisl, 3146 m, feat. Procyon/Canis Minor…

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I love lost places, and I love churches…the inscription on the ceiling says: ” Wer in den Teich hinabsteigt wird gesund. Der Geist Gottes schwebt über den Gewässern.”

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Sextner Rotwand, 2965 m, Kreuzbergpass…

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Town of Padola…

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Parrocchia di San Lucano Vescovo, Auronzo, with the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the backdrop…

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Chiesa di San Martino, Valle di Cadore…

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Suspension brigde @ Igne…

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Vajont Dam site, Longarone, where a massive landslide of Monte Toc (to the right) caused a man-made tsunami and killed almost 2000 people, Oct. 1963…

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Lago di Vajont, Longarone…

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Mist, early morning, rising over the town of Etro…

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Sunrise over a hazy Lago di Vajont…

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Torrente di Cimoliana, Riserva Naturale delle Dolomiti Friulane…

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Val Settimana…

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Lago di Barcis…

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Mosaic, ossuary @ Timau

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Remains of WW 1 @ Kreuzbergpass…

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Spomeniks Of Former Yugoslavia

When I first came across the so-called Spomeniks of former Yugoslavia early 2017, I started to plan my travels to Croatia and Bosnia the coming fall to visit as many as possible of those impressive monuments. To dig deeper into this topic head over to: http://www.spomenikdatabase.org  , with tons of information and illustrations. Enjoy!

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Podgaric, Croatia…

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Petrova Gora, Croatia…

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Garavice, Bosnia…

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Medono Polje, Bosnia…

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Grmec, Bosnia…

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Tjentiste, Bosnia…

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Petrovac, Croatia…

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Vukovar, Croatia…

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Road Trip To Italy and Switzerland

Some impressions from my latest road trip to Italy and Switzerland, late February 2019. Lots of snow around, but uncommonly warm at this time of the year…Enjoy!

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Setting Moon over the Lechtaler Alpen, Tyrol, Austria…

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Anti-tank obstacles, covered in 1.5 m of snow, Plamort, South Tyrol, Italy…

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Eerie looking halo covering the half Moon, early morning @ Ofen Pass, Switzerland…

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Lenticular clouds at sunset over Bernina Pass, Switzerland…

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Pre-dawn with the rising crescent Moon, Venus and Jupiter, Bernina Pass, Switzerland…

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Magical light @ Bernina Pass, Switzerland…

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Not an everyday sight…railroad through the city of Tirano, Italy…

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Paintings around a public well, Tirano, Italy…

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Somewhere around Lago di Como, Italy…

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Simplon Adler (Monument), Simplon Pass, Switzerland…

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Stargazing @ Simplon Pass, Switzerland…notice the bright light to the right…

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…the so-called Zodiac Light, pointing towards the Pleiades and engulfing Mars and Uranus…

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Lots of high-alpine roads are closed in Switzerland during winter times…

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Along the Simplon Pass route…

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Ganter bridge and Bortelhorn (center), 3193 m, Switzerland…

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Second night @ Simplon Pass, with Orion up high…

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Pre-dawn @ Simplon Pass, Switzerland…

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Winter´s magic @ Simplon Pass, Switzerland

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Verbania @ Lago Maggiore, Italy, with the snow-capped suisse Alps in the distance, where I just got down from…

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Lago Maggiore, seen from Villa Giulia, Verbania, Italy…

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Weingut I, Upper Bavaria, Germany

Yesterday, I visited a place called “Weingut 1”, just some 90km away from where I live. I have been to a lots of weird places, but this one ranks up very high in my list. Since you follow my blog, you may have noticed that I´m a WW2 buff, and every time I come around those places, it feels like I have been here myself back in the days. Wondering if there is anyone out there who feels the same like me…Here is a link with tons of information about this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weingut_I . Writings in Italic are taken from the information boards at the newly installed mass grave memorial site…

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On May 2, 1945, U.S. troops liberated the prisoners and organized their food and care. The U.S. military administration had the dead exhumed and given them a dignified burial. 

Cemetery dedicated to the 392 victims of National Socialism, Neumarkt St.Veit, Upper Bavaria…

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Tombstone for the nearly 1500 Jewish people buried at this and surrounding cemeteries, Neumarkt St.Veit…

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All concrete and iron…The entire armament bunker -except for one arch- was blown up in 1947…The bunker was never completed. It was demolished after the war…

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Plans called for the bunker in Mühldorf to be 400 meters long and 85 wide. The concrete roof was to be five meters thick…

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Information boards at the mass grave memorial site…

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Mass grave site…Inmates died every day in the camps and at the construction site. In a remote area of the woods, prisoners had to dig a grave three meters deep and several meters wide. A work detail with twelve prisoners and four guards used a horse-drawn cart to transport the dead to the site. The naked emaciated corpses were placed in layers in the grave. As the number of dead rose, the grave was extended…

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According to investigations by the American military administration, 3.934 concentration camp prisoners died in the Mühldorf camp complex. Within ten months nearly half of all prisoners had died…

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The newly installed mass grave memorial site, Mühldorfer Hart, Mühldorf, Upper Bavaria, Germany…

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Orion At Simplon Pass, Switzerland

Just a quick impression from last weeks tour to Simplon Pass, Switzerland. Two nights in a row with clear skies and moderate temperatures at an elevation of 2005 m – what more to ask for. Images are shot with a modified Canon 1100 D with a Sigma 1.8/20mm lens on a Vixen Polarie. Enjoy!

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One of the single shots for the stars straight out of the camera, 240 sec./f 2.5…

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A single shot with the Polarie turned off to get a clear shot for the foreground, 240 sec./f2.5, already processed…

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Stacked images, with PixInsight, a total of 76 min…

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Final image: foreground and background image combined, with the constellation of Orion in all its glory and the Rauthorn, 3268 m, to the left…

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Total Eclipse Of The Moon, 21st Jan 2019

Impressions from the total eclipse of the Moon, seen from Lower Bavaria, Germany. Fortunately, the sky cleared up just right in time to watch an extraordinary celestial event early this year. Enjoy!

 

Totality around a quarter past six early morning, with HIP 39749 to the right…

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Totality, wide field…

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Minutes after totality…

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…enjoying the show

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Partial eclipsed Moon with Earth´s Shadow and Belt of Venus…

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My Favorite Images Of 2018

Though I have been to a lot of countries in 2018, some of my favorite shots happened just around the corner of my home turf (Lower Bavaria, Germany). Narrowing down some +10k images into a set of 12 takes some time, but showing them off in a community with like-minded photographers is more than rewarding. If you want to be a part of it too, head over to: https://www.jmg-galleries.com/blog/2018/12/16/blog-project-photos-2018/ and say Hi to Jim Goldstein, who is putting up this project every year. Enjoy!

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Solitude @ Ofenpass, Suisse Alps, Switzerland…

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Mercury (bottom) and Venus (center left) being watched, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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Good Friday´s Full Moon rising, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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Along the Isar River, Upper Bavaria, Germany…

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Pano of 26 single shots taken with a 8″ Meade telescope and a 24mm Hyperion eyepiece, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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Total eclipse of the Moon, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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Stargazing with my teenage daughter at my brothers farmland, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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Colle del Nivolet, 2612 m, Italy…

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Pano of 20 single images, Little St Bernard Pass, 2188 m, looking towards France…

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On top of Mont Chaberton, 3131 m, France…

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Crescent Moon and the hopfields of the Hallertau, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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Camp under the stars with my grown-up sons, Theth National Park, Albania…

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