mistique Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

- I know there are already plenty of them, but I thought I'd add my contribution to the Neuschwanstein gallery. Clearly not one of the best pictures, but a fun trip I wanted to share with you :D

A dream castle.
Ludwig II had it built from his own dreams and with his own money.
It's what inspired Walt Disney's pink castle, and where people flock to everyday of every year.
More about it on Wikipedia

It was a rainy, windy and overall grey day. The second in a series of long wet days.
We set out to conquer the Marienbrücke and the path beyond eventhough the wind and rain slowly made their ways through our clothes and onto our skin. He'd always dreamt about visiting the castle and here we were, desperate to catch a different glance of it.
The rain had turned the little pathways into rolling mud-ways, yet we pushed on. As the trail took us further into the mountain and into the thick rain cloud I feared we wouldn't see anything from the top.
We arrived to the first sightseeing point and saw only a thick white cloud around. We pondered about what to do next as it made no sense to push on; yet at the same time it felt we had come this whole way in vain. After some hard deliberations we decided to head out to the next seeing point, wishing for the best while keeping in mind the worst.
Then, suddenly, the thick white layer lifted.
Our eyes widened and our hearts filled with joy: there it was!
I had just enough time to pull out the camera and take three shots in quick succession and whoosh came in the next thicker layer of white.

Some minutes later we decided it was useless to carry on, and turned back down, wading through the mud and little rivers that were running down the hill.
As we passed the Marienbrücke on our way back, we smiled at the dozens of tourists fighting the wind and rain to catch yet another shot of this amazing fairy-tale castle.

I have slightly increased saturation and lightened it a bit with the help of the curves-function in PS.
The title is a little combination between misty and mystique... :D

Thank You in advance to those amongst you who take the time to criticize and/or comment! :D

Nikon D200
2006/05/29 15:14:09.4
RAW (12-bit)
Image Size: Large (3872 x 2592)
Color
Lens: 18-70mm F/3.5-4.5 G
Focal Length: 38mm
Exposure Mode: Programmed Auto
Metering Mode: Spot
1/100 sec - F/5
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 400
Optimize Image: Normal
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-S
Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
Color Mode: Mode I (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Auto
Sharpening: Auto
Image Comment:
Long Exposure NR: Off
High ISO NR: On (Normal)

InasiaJones, Voltri, urs0114, cobraphil8, Clairedelune, pasternak, soni, rafelito, zeca, axiotea, mammad, Floydian, klingerf, eska, sarju has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

InasiaJones (20695) 2006-06-12 16:39

Hello Julia,

Your contribution is certainly appreciated, since it’s pretty different from some more usual angles previously seen. I like the way you’ve used the pines to create a frame; the castle seems to be in an even more natural setting.

Of course, the vaporous cloud add so much to the singularity of your photo. It create a very moody ambiance and a feeling of peacefulness.

Well done!

André

Voltri (1724) 2006-06-12 16:41

Julia, just an amazing photo! I am interested in castles and constantly looking for photos, posted at TE, to know where to go. With you great photo, you inspired me to go there soon.

cobraphil8 (11652) 2006-06-12 17:30

Bonsoir Julia,
superbe cette ambiance autour de ce magnifique chateau, un peu d'accord avec Urs, cela ressemble à une maquette...
Super note pour illustrer le tout.
Félicitations
Philippe

PS: mistique s'écrit mystique ;)

Clairedelune (4885) 2006-06-12 17:37

Allo Julia,
(I saw that you wrote some critiques in French, since it is easier for me to express myself in that language, I will go in French.)
Tout dernièrement, je parlais d'un possible futur voyage avec un ami, et celui-ci m'a parlé de l'Allemagne et de ce château. Et voilà que je trouve ton excellente photo, qui décrit très bien la beauté de ce château "mistique". Ta photo est un très bon exemple qu'il n'est pas toujours nécessaire d'avoir un beau ciel bleu pour faire une bonne photo. La brume aide à créer une atmosphère de mystère. Sous le soleil, la photo aurait été bonne. Maintenant, elle a une âme. Et j'aime les photos qui ont de l'âme! ;-)
Claire

pasternak (13632) 2006-06-12 18:00

Hi Julia,

You could get 2 points from me for your courage only, I myself never made it past the Marienbrucke, even in good weather, always saying "next time...". But the picture is great, even though the colours are a bit unnatural of course. The diagonal composition, the unusual POV work well, as well as the clouds... And a nice title and interesting note! You really put a lot of effort in writing notes and working on your photos, I appreciate this very much!

Cheers
Alexander

beijokense (498) 2006-06-12 18:55

Hi Julia, TFS your fun trip ;)
I'm not concerned about the other Neuschwanstein photos, I like this one... the "mistique" athmosphere.
Regards,
Beijo

rafelito (3645) 2006-06-12 20:02

Hi Julia, Fantastic shot for a love story, nice POV and perspective.Well done.Many regards, Rafael

zeca (20026) 2006-06-12 23:00

Wow Julia! What a nice high POV! Excelent capture to TE! The colours are fantastic and that fog atmosphére really gives some mysticality to the picture! Well done!!! Very nice note as well!
Regards,
Zeca

axiotea (16263) 2006-06-13 3:28

Hi Julia,
I like that misty compo! A great one with a beautiful castle!I like the POV, the natural framing made by the trees and the colors...

All the best,
Marilyn

anesugur (16980) 2006-06-13 3:30

Hi Julia,
Very beautiful scenery.
Good light, nice composition and very beautiful colors.
Well done. Uğur

mammad (3181) 2006-06-13 7:49

Dearest Julia,
This one is exceptional.It's so hard to get a crisp feeling of the mist but you've done it here.The green color tone is great and the orange roofs have added great contrast.But above all the pov smart and the " Focal Length: 38mm " has resulted fine.I'm also amazed from the Iso .Setting to 400 could have resulted in a grainy shot but it didn't.Nice work done.
Regards adn wishes ,Mammad.

Floydian (30970) 2006-06-13 9:01

Hi Julia,
Yes your right, the weather is not perfect, but the view you show us is not common, even mine here on TE is classic.
Yours is something we don't see much and for that reason only it's allready a winner..
Good work..!!!
Regards, Henk

Polonaise (5638) 2006-06-13 10:47

Have I seen them all?? YES!
It this one of the best? YES!
Have you seen a White Snow down there? YES!
Good God...I'm still seeing her...
g.

Stunning, literary note...

klingerf (56) 2006-06-15 22:17

Hi Julia, what a great photo. You complain about the weather, but I think the cloud really adds to the fairly tale feeling of the photo (although I'm sure it wasn't very much fun to hike in). I also like what you did with the colors - great work!

Kevin

sarju (5308) 2006-06-25 0:50

Hi Julia
There might be many of photos like these ... but I had never seen a photo like this on TE before.
I am really kind of speechless for this photo ... in my opinion this photo is too good to be true ... the clouds, the castle ... everything looks as if it is taken right from the fairy tale or something.
A+ for the timing and the composition of this photo ... you did had an excellent view from this place and I cordially thank you for sharing this view with rest of us on TE.
cheers Julia .... bravo pour cette prise
Sarju

Loic_bzh (7061) 2006-07-24 16:05

Bonsoir Julia,

ta photo est à couper le souffle! Les nuages apportent beaucoup. Bien vu!

Loïc

wrangell (23) 2006-07-28 5:30

Darn all those people. Always every where! Does that bother anyone else; having to fight tourists for a people-free shot? On a differant note, I think you framed it well. This seems to be a tecneque that you like and used well on both of your Germany posts. The mist/clouds add a great atmosphere, no pun intended. The moisture really makes the greens green.

ebayrakci (242) 2006-08-01 14:31

Hi Julia. Great picture, excellent POV. I like it very much.

Ertugrul.

magost (565) 2006-09-27 6:08

Hi Julia,
simply a perfect shot... The best I've ever seen about this famous castle. The high point of view is original and uncommon, and I also like the colors and the soft, magic atmosphere given by the cloudy day. I find interesting the green all around the main subject too!
Congratulations,

Federico

tizrysyahnon (0) 2006-10-05 3:10

wow!!! unbelievable!