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Shapes of grace part I

Friday, 21 June 2019

Unfortunately I couldn't visit the lovely Chess Flowers in bloom this year due to our New Zealand stay. But luckily I never managed to show my 2018 images of these mersmerizing little treasures ;) So, here we go ... These flowers always instantly amaze me as soon as I spot the first one. They are extremely rare now and can only be found in two places in Austria and of course they're strictly protected. Enjoy this first of three upcoming series!

Dew covered meadow and super soft light before sunrise.

The unmistakable shape of a Chess Flower at sunset.

One of the taller individuals I could find.

Of course also some other flowers like Buttercups are in full bloom at this time of the year.

I just cannot resist this magical glow the flowers generate. Beside their fabulous beauty, it always fascinates me how they seem to lighten up like little lanterns. Even when there's just very poor light as on this image taken about an hour before sunrise.

Every now and then one can observe a busy Bumblebee approaching a blossom.

A morning close-up of a still wet blossom, clearly showing the chessboard-like squares, which are responsible for the flower's name.

Another one of my 2018 favorites you could already find in a previous post.

The nights are usually pretty cold with temperatures around zero degrees. So most of the flowers just have to stand up again in the morning.
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Tiny artists

Sunday, 16 June 2019

First of all I would like to point out that I finally managed to update my showcase on this website after two long years. I added 43 pictures, so now you can find a mixed collection of 100 of my images. It also contains a few brandnew teasers from New Zealand. ... and please don't forget, that most of my photographs can also be purchased as prints.

But now let's come to the images you can see in this blog post. Actually I was always fascinated by the tiny water deformations Water Striders create with their legs, because these deformations can cause really stunning reflections but I never payed enough attention to them. One day, when I was actually waiting for some water birds, but the birds didn't show up, I started playing around with the Water Striders in my favorite location of the Traun-Danube Wetlands in Upper Austria. In the end I only spent about three days photographing this little insects, but I got a few shots, I would like to show. I was especially thrilled by the situations when the legs of the animals created this amazing sunstars. As all my images also the ones below were taken without the use of any artificial light, flash or special technique. For me it's important to work with the natural light, because in my opinion it's also part of the natural scenery I would like to capture in an authentic way. So the pictures are just simple handheld shots showing the natural beauty and magic. But it was actually quite challenging to get a few rather sharp shots because these little insects are always in motion and my autofocus didn't catch them, so that I had to focus on them manually.

The shadows of the reed did a little painting on the water surface on this one.

When the insects start to move, they create these fantastic symmetric shapes.

I was placed under some trees which cast a dark reflection on the water from my point of view but the insects were actually hit by the sun and the water deformations at the ends of the animals legs shaped the surface in a way that tiny parts of the surface created a reflection of the sun instead of the dark foliage and so they caused these stunning sunstars. The entire setting with all these little colorful stars, caused by countless (dust) particles on the water, reminds me very much of some cosmic scenery with the Water Striders as spaceships.

This one decided to disguise as a tiny scull.

You cloud already find this particular image in my 2018 recap. If you're wondering about the title: I took it in the morning of my brother Peter's 40^th birthday ;)

It took me many, many attempts to get some shots where all six "headlights" of the "spaceships" lightened up simultaneously.

The rather dark water surface dims the bright sunlight, so one can find all colors of the rainbow close to the relfection of the sun.

Another strange fleeting face appeared.

Photographers mostly try to avoid the harsh midday sunlight, but it can also create some very unique sceneries.
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Altitude encounters part II

Tuesday, 11 June 2019

With immense delay I would like to display the second series of my 2018 Alpine Ibex images here today. All of the pictures have been made in the Carinthian part of Austria's biggest national park, the High Tauern National Park, which stretches over the states of Salzburg, Carinthia and Tyrol. In the mean time most of the snow up in their habitat should have been already disappeared, so it's time to go up there again soon. Can't wait :) ... nothing more to say, just a handful images to share. Hope you like them. Cheers.

A big male wanders along the edge during fantastic "bad" weather conditions while three states of matter of water make a great backdrop.

I was super lucky to get that guy right infront of this snow covered peak and a rare sundog (this is not a rainbow it's an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright and colorful spot to the left or right of the sun).

Most of their habitat is actually made of rough rock.

If the animals are really cooperative, there's the chance to shoot more than one of them as an appealing silhouette in a single frame.

When I hear this unmistakable sound of the crashing horns, I know where to go.

This little iceberg in the background is actually one of the most fascinating ones I've seen so far.

During the day the animals commonly wander up into higher tarrain, to come back to the lower areas in the late afternoon.

Another shot of this delightful sundog experience.

A little rest in the evening before the night finally falls in.
If you want to receive a short e-mail notification every time I post any news in my blog on this website, just drop me a line to photo@rupertkogler.com and I will put you on my mailing list. And of course I will remove you from the list anytime you want me to.

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