The year is slowly coming to an end. Time for a short retrospective on my photography work this year. I have chosen juxtaposition to be my topic for this review. Juxta what?

Juxtaposition refers to a side-by-side placement of elements in order either to compare or contrast them or to show similarities. My essay describes the juxtaposition of two opposing images.

Cityscape | landscape

This comparison seems to match up very well with me. I moved to the city many years ago as a country girl who grew up in an idyllic village of 2300 inhabitants surrounded by mountains. In the beginning, everyone at home thought I was crazy – what does she want in a city? And if you ask me today where I feel more comfortable, the inevitable ” it depends” comes back. I love Vienna, the city in which I live. And I couldn’t live without beautiful landscapes either.

For cityscape, I chose my photo of Quito, taken during my photography tour to Ecuador. From the impressive Basilica, you have a fantastic view of the capital of Ecuador.

The landscape shows the view from a Miradouro on the Azores. The landscape there is breathtaking. In May 2019 I was privileged to lead a photo tour to the Azores. The photo was taken during this trip.

Animal | Plant

Huh, difficult. I don’t have a green thumb, but all my balcony plants are lucky this summer because they survived. In my early days of photography, I photographed a lot of plants. I liked the play with the depth of field. I have an ambivalent relationship with animals. After I had found a new family for my beloved cat Jimmy before I moved to Vienna, I cried and swore to myself that I would never have a pet ever in my life. I have kept to that until today. If someone asks me about my favorite animal, I have no answer. I like elephants, they would come to my mind first. Or the iguanas on the Galápagos Islands…

The land and sea lizards on the Galápagos Islands are very fascinating animals. Their shells, the details, and the colors. The sea lizard is black, the land lizard orange-brown.

If you ask me if I have a favorite plant, the answer is no. Ferns, however, I find to be interesting. I have never seen so many different species as on the Azores.

Mountains | Sea

I love the sea. It calms me down. And somehow my big dream is to live by the sea someday. When I travel and am at the sea, I could spend hours photographing all facets of the vast expanse. Coming from the mountains, obviously, I have a very special connection to them. I can start my hikes from my parents’ house. And there too I have peace, absolute silence and pure nature.

The photo of the mountains shows the mountain landscape of the Schatzberg in Alpbach shortly before sunset. I had a picnic with friends on the summit. An unforgettable experience.

The extreme contrast shows the turquoise sea in front of the Galápagos Islands. Also unforgettable – in a different way.

Sunrise | Sunset

At sunrise, I particularly like the clear air, the morning mist, and the silence. Who likes to get up so early? I don’t. But when I do, I’m just happy afterward. Sunsets are magical. In Santorini, I even experienced people applauding when the sun sinks into the sea. I prefer the sunset purely of comfort, but I have to expect many more people around me – unless I’m standing at the top of the mountain.

I experienced the most beautiful sunrises in Tuscany. At such a sight I forget the alarm clock in the second.

The sunset I took during the photo journey on the Azores. The clouds let the sun flash through briefly.

Black and white | colorful

From a purely photographic point of view, this battle ends in a draw. Some magnificent photographers were or are true black-and-white artists. Colorful photos, on the other hand, appear more lively and usually more cheerful. A fallacy in photography is that a bad color photo will look better in black and white. In most cases, it doesn’t.

For this category, I have chosen the same picture for a better comparison. It shows a famous photo spot in Oia, Santorini. Which one is your favorite?

Golden hour | blue hour

The golden hour is one of the most beautiful and most popular times of the day at which we photographers are out. The soft, golden light is so smooth and magically adds a beautiful dash of color to the picture. The blue hour follows after sunset when the sun is 4-8 degrees below the horizon (it also occurs in the morning before sunrise). The sky turns deep blue.

For this category, I have chosen two photos from my Venice photo trip in March. The Basilica at the Canale Grande at the golden hour and the Canale Grande from the Rialto Bridge at the blue hour.

Static | dynamic

It is always very interesting when I ask my photography course participants the question of what they rather like: a waterfall captured with a short exposure time or one with a long exposure. I always thought that the more artistic one, the waterfall captured with long exposure time, would perform better. But actually, this game ends in a draw. That’s good.

This masterpiece of a waterfall can be found in Baños, Ecuador. Which version do you like better? Need some help in daylight long exposure photography?

Summer | Winter

Brrrr. The sight of the picture on the right makes me shiver. As beautiful as I find snow-covered landscapes, I prefer summer. I am a chilblain by nature. Without at least 3 layers I do not leave the house in winter. In summer it is so much less complicated.

From a purely photographic point of view, both seasons have their charm. Juicy green meadows with colorful flowers are just as beautiful as a winter wonderland. By the way, I have some tips on how to take fantastic photos in winter.

Grey sky | blue sky

Who says you can’t take pictures on cloudy days? A grey cloud cover has just as much charm as a blue sky. The mood the pictures convey is different. While an overcast sky seems rather melancholic, a photo with a blue sky radiates more cheerfulness and creates a more positive mood.

I took both photos during my trip to the Azores. In one minute it may rain and in the next, it may be brightly beautiful weather.

Round | square

Round or square – that is the question. Both forms have their strengths in photography. While a round shape often looks more harmonious, corners create a certain firmness. Corners stand for strength and stability. Round shapes, on the other hand, reflect reliability and safety.

Which type are you? Round or square?

My most beautiful photo in 2019

The choice of my most beautiful photos in 2019 was very difficult for me because I took a ton of photos this year. I decided to take two photos and I see a juxtaposition here as well. The photo of the sunset at Lake Neusiedl is minimalistic: water, poles, sun. The picture on the right shows the town of Oia on Santorini after sunset. In this picture, a lot is going on in contrast to the first one. It shows houses, windmills, alleys and the sea in the background.