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Intimate Verzasca Valley
Intimate landscape photography is a term I can’t translate literally, although intuitively I think I immediately understand what it’s about. Historically, Eliot Porter (1901-1990) is considered the founder of this style of photography. I came across this style through an article by Charlotte Gibb, whom I had the pleasure of meeting personally in Yosemite Valley in February 2020.
The photographer’s gaze does not seek to capture the whole scenery of a landscape, but is concerned with a closer look at parts of the landscape. The sky is usually not part of the picture in this style and the light dynamics, which are often dramatic due to the sky, are greatly reduced. The tension in the picture is created by the arrangement and relationship of the objects. Reduction and simplicity become important components.
Rocks below Ponte dei Salti at Lavertezzo, Verzasca Valley © Julian Köpke The church of Lavertezzo has become known from many photographs, especially its reflections in the Verzasca between the peculiar rocks. Unfortunately, the main building was completely scaffolded for renovation in November 2022 and not photogenic. I planned the following shot because of the beautiful, sometimes almost flowing rock formations that make the Verzasca appear as if it were lying in a fountain basin. The church tower is somewhat blurred by the movement of the water surface. While processing the shot, the colour selector showed me what a bath of colour had been created by mixing the colours of vertical rocks and horizontal water.
Lavertezzo Verzasca Valley reflection of church tower © Julian Köpke Not very far from the last picture, I had been walking around on the rocks and found this shot. Climbing can be very arduous on the rocks of the Verzasca. The rocks are of course slippery when wet, but even the dry rock does not always give the grip you want or expect. Everywhere you can read the warnings about this problem: 10:21h selfie, 10:38h search action begins. Expressed in typically Swiss terseness. It pays to take your steps carefully.
A large part of the spectrum is present in the photograph. The green of the Verzasca was not as emerald here as it usually is. The rocks in evening blue. A rock in stronger red. Golden shimmers a reflection down from the ridge. I only noticed the sea serpent when I was post-processing.
Water snake at crocodile rock, Verzasca Valley © Julian Köpke At a certain point, there was no more water for a composition. The stones there speak to me through their colour and their shape and their relationships to each other.
I could not express it in words. Even weeks later, I can’t express it in a sentence. It is beautiful in any case.
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Glaciers
Long days in Iceland with a time difference of 2 hours to Germany. It’s light here, while at home those who stayed at home go to bed.
Early in the morning we started our tour to the lagoon of Hoffellsjökull. There is no tourist infrastructure, the car has to have a lot of ground clearance and the tyres have to be well inflated to reach the lagoon.
A harmonious light situation awaited us today, light cloud cover making the sunlight a little more diffuse. The contrasts of the icebergs were clear.The constantly changing light through the clouds made the icebergs alternately light and dark. The consistent structures were brought to life by the permanent change of light.
Morning at Hoffellsjökull glacier lagoon © Julian Köpke Changing the lens is not a change of perspective. Nevertheless, the change is worthwhile, because the higher focal length has the effect of enlarging a section. The change of light does its part.
Morning at Hoffellsjökull glacier lagoon © Julian Köpke The drive to Skalafellsjökull via the F985 pass road was somewhat adventurous. Although our Japanese car kept making very different beeps and noises, the meaning of which we could not always identify, the car was technically usable for this road.
At the top we found a base camp for glacier tours with snowmobiles. A short walk over rocks of all shapes and sizes brought us to the edge of the glacier. A cool, almost constant wind blew around our ears. Gloves were great for working with the camera. With a rather dull light I created a panorama of the early glacier.
Glacier Skalafellsjökull at the end of F985 © Julian Köpke The most impressive structures of the glacier are found crosswise and lengthwise to the flow and are called „ogives“ resp. „band ogives“. We had already admired their charm many times on the ascent. We devoted ourselves to them on the descent.
Glacier Skalafellsjökull ogives and some band ogives © Julian Köpke -
Valle Verzasca II
In the morning it is very cold in the Verzasca valley. Two hours earlier on site than the day before saved me the search for a parking lot. Two photographers were just at their last pictures. Again, I was relatively late.
First the rocks of Lavertezzo with the church, then the many puddles in the rocks with their reflections.
Church Lavertezzo and reflection © Julian Köpke 
Early autumn in Lavertezzo © Julian Köpke 
Rocks and water colors © Julian Köpke 
Rocks and water colors © Julian Köpke After many photographic attempts to gain momentum from the waterfall, I took one last picture in which I look at it flowing down into the valley. Note the sun’s rays in the tree on the left, as the clouds slowly move away.
Verzasca downstream behind Lavertezzo © Julian Köpke The bright house near Motta had already noticed me the day before. As good as it is preserved and as beautiful as it stands, it might be a holiday home.
Bright house in Verzasca valley above Lavertezzo © Julian Köpke Waterfalls can be seen everywhere, in some places several waterfalls from different directions converge into a large one.
Waterfall near Motta, Verzasca valley. This image is slightly irritating. © Julian Köpke -
Valle Verzasca
The valley of the Verzasca is famous for its clear water, which makes its way through rocks and takes on a characteristic green colour. Correspondingly, many people are attracted to it. Actually, you’re here for hiking. The Postbus stops at manyplaces and spits out large groups of hikers.
The first day I wanted to try out different locations to see what to expect.
The bridge, named Ponte dei salti, with the two arches is from Roman times and is good for many selfies. With a long-term exposure one can see the arcuate construction with its reflection in the water. And the many visitors who flock on the bridge are miraculously invisible.
Arcuate reflection of Ponte dei salti, Lavertezzo © Julian Köpke Swirling water can be found everywhere, in a natural way picturesque photographs are created.
Verzasca water play © Julian Köpke To my surprise, the sun was seen and felt in the valley for along time. It got really hot. Only in the evening, when the rocks gave off their heat, did it become less agitated.
Light and shadow in Verzasca Valley © Julian Köpke -
Reflection
The word „reflection“ has a double meaning. It describes the mental process of thinking and the physical process of mirroring. In the German language the same sounding word is written in two different ways. Reflection meaning thinking in German language is written with an x (Reflexion).
The image in a mirror or a reflection of a water surface makes us thinking. That’s a pleasant quality. So I got attracted by some leaves on a water surface of a fountain in the well preserved older part of Weinheim.
These leaves showed a beauty of color and a sense of rest. They seem to float motionless and at the same time flow slowly with the water. This is an image of time.
Autumn leaves © Julian Köpke 
Autumn leaves © Julian Köpke 
Autumn leaves © Julian Köpke -
Expanding universe
With these pictures, I attempt to take the water in a fountain the scale by using macro technique. Additionally, through different exposure speed the structure of the photographed water was changing at the same time, which made me think of the early phases of the expanding universe.
By pure coincidence, there is a help for the scale, because a little blue tit passed by the fountain. The exposure was too long to get an unblurred image of the bird. With the size of the bird in mind, you can estimate the size of the fountain.
Blue tit at my fountain reveals the scale of my fountain universe © Julian Köpke 
Reflections in a fountain: birth of a universe emerging from a black hole © Julian Köpke Blurry images look soft, the water more like a wad of cotton wool, the colors more like watercolors. The shorter the exposure speed was, the more the surface of the water appeared and the reflections from inside got more clear and distinct. Increasing structure reminded me of the early phases of our universe.
At the end of this process I found a crystal, the water surface and the reflected color from inside structurizing it. I couldn’t stop admiring the structures that appeared to my eye when photographing the fountain.
The increasing darkness during sunset interrupted my joy of discovery. Only the observation of the stars would still be able to mean an increase.
Reflections in a fountain: Crystal structure © Julian Köpke -
Play of colors and light
In our garden is a small fountain just beneath a hedge. A remarkable number of birds showed up to drink or to take a shower in it. The urge of the birds to bathe there was always stronger than the fear of our presence. What do they see in the fountain ? I couldn’t imagine an answer until today.
Great Titmouse (Kohlmeise) © Julian Köpke 
Crow in our garden © Julian Köpke Today I made macro images of the fountain with a wide variation of exposure values to find a small world within it. Many of my fountain images remind me of the night sky and its wonders. Sometimes I had to think of our universe.
The birds might see this ? I cannot be sure. But they are not blind, for sure.
A macro of our fountain appears like a painting under many exposure conditions. A first glance of four images is presented here.
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Is this a photography ?
My conference schedule allowed me a walk through the Berlin Tiergarten Park in the morning. Of course, with a cam handy. While I was sitting on the shore of the Landwehr Canal, I let myself be carried away by the waves.
The waves made the reflections of the trees and bushes softly tremble. The resulting reflections became like paintings.
Reflections © Julian Köpke The processing was carried out only with regard to brightness and colors. Lab colors were used. Light-dark-contrasts were given by the waves.
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Low water at Lake Constance
This year we suffer from low snowfalls and low rainfalls during winter and spring. Since end of January we had blue sky and one only few clouds. It was nice to see the night sky and many phases of the Moon. But our garden is dry.
A short vacation at Lake Constance showed this drama. The shorelines around the island of Reichenau are becoming more visible than ever. And a boat on the lake shore is no longer a reliable means of traveling.
Low water at Lake Constance © Julian Köpke
