PHOTOGRAPHER'S PERSPECTIVE ON LOCATION SERIES: GERMANY
INDEX
ALPS
PARK KARWENDEL, BAVARIA
NATIONAL PARK BAYERISCHER WALD, BAVARIA
ALPS
PARK KARWENDEL
BAVARIA, GERMANY and TIROL, AUSTRIA
Text and image copyright Hans-Bernhard Beykirch, all rights reserved
ACCESS
The Alps Park is accessible year-round and located at the German / Austrian
border between Innsbruck, Mittenwald and Schwaz. The closest major airport
is Munich which is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive via the freeway A95 in the direction
to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Innsbruck has a regional airport which can
be reached from the major central European hubs. The access to the Alps
Park from the edges can be done easily from the east, west and south via
the German and Austrian secondary roads 2, 177, 171 and 181 which is the
connection between Mittenwald, Innsbruck, Schwaz and Lake Achen. A private
road reaches one of the most interesting parts from the north to the village
Eng which is located in the Large Maple Valley. To reach Eng, the shortest
and most picturesque way is to leave the A95 at the exit Murnau in the
direction to Kochel. After passing Lake Kochel and Lake Walchen, turn
left in Wallgau to the private road to Vorderriss. In Vorderriss turn
right to Hinterriss and proceed to Eng. Parking is free, but you have
to pay small fees for access to the private roads. Keep your tickets,
because they are valid for the return trip on the same day. Hotels can
be found in all adjoining villages including Hinterriss and Eng where
you are right in the middle of the Alps Park.
AREA
LAYOUT
The Alps Park Karwendel is a part of the northern Alps between Isar, Inn,
Lake Achen and the Seefelder Valley with the highest peaks reaching 2.750
m rising from 900 m in the North. The river Isar which flows through Munich
has its headwaters in the Karwendel. Approaching from the north via the
private roads will lead you along the wildest part of the Isar.
This Alps Park has a size of 920 sq. km with the largest part on the Austrian side. It is located at the German / Austrian Border north of Innsbruck which is the largest city in the area.
The Alps Park consists of a main mountain part which is a Nature Reserve in the middle surrounded by landscape protection areas and nature rest zones. In these areas extensive agriculture is allowed; these parts were inhabited since the last centuries. Hinterriss and Eng are two of these agricultural villages which are now tourist oriented.
WHAT
YOU’LL FIND
You will find landscape photography opportunities year-round. The characteristics
are a high mountain zone with the typical vegetation of the European Alps
in the lower elevations. Around Eng you will find two of the most famous
mountain maple regions of the Alps, the Large Maple Valley in which Eng
is situated and the Small Maple Valley located at a higher elevation after
a 2- to 3-hour hike.
Generally you will find mixed forests consisting of beeches, elms, ashes
and several conifer types. Infrequently you can find ilex and yews. In
spring, the blooming of the alpine roses makes a perfect foreground for
landscape photography.
The wild rivers of the Alps Park are protection zones for the sandpiper
[which sandpiper???] which is now very scarce in the Alps. It nests on
the river banks which should not be entered. Other wildlife in the Alps
Park include capricorns, snow hares, Black Grouse, snakes and the Golden
Eagle, which is now back in the Alps.
For hiking in the Karwendel, especially with the usual photo gear, you should be in a good physical condition. One of the most interesting hikes goes from Eng (1.000 m) via the Hohljoch (1.794 m) down to Laliderer Reisen and again up to the Falkenhütte (1.848 m) which is a rest house. You can hike the same way back or further on to the Small Maple valley and back to the road via Gumpen Alm. This hike takes overall 5 – 6 hours with an overall elevation gain of 1,100 m and includes hiking in light maple forest, mixed forest and rocky terrain at the Laliderer Reisen as well as mountain pastures. All hiking trails in the Karwendel are very well marked.
An easy hike goes from Eng straight on the Enger Grund where you are looking straight up from 1,300 m to the tops of Grubenkarspitze at 2,663 m and Spritzkarspitze at 2,606 m.
Due to the steep terrain, you should pack light. Usually, I use my EOS 20D together with the 4.0/17-40mm L and 4.0/70-200mm L lenses and a carbon fiber tripod. If I am looking for wildlife, I add the 4.0/300mm L IS to the equipment used.
LIGHT
The nature park has locations for all seasons and lighting conditions.
During sunrise, Lake Achen and the wild part of the Isar in the north
of the Karwendel are very picturesque. Due to the steep mountains surrounding
the Large Maple Valley, the sun reaches the trees some two hours after
sunrise in autumn. Then you can shoot the backlit trees with the mountains
in strong shadow in the background. The area around Mittenwald is very
good to photograph the alpenglow during sunset.
MORE
INFORMATION
The official website of the Alps Park is available in German only and
can be found on http://www.karwendel.org.There
is an unofficial website which is available in English on http://www.xs4all.nl/~rvlaam/Karwendel.htm
but contains less information.
Hans-Bernhard Beykirch lives in Starnberg near Munich and tries to visit the Alps and the Bavarian National Parks as often as possible. You will find some of his images from the Alps Park Karwendel on his website http://www.hbbeykirch.de.
NATIONAL
PARK BAYERISCHER WALD
BAVARIA, GERMANY
Text and image copyright Hans-Bernhard Beykirch, all rights reserved
ACCESS
The park is accessible year-round. There are two sections of the park,
north and south. Both sections can be accessed from the freeway A3 running
from Regensburg to Passau. The exits to the National Park are well marked
– for the more interesting southern sections it is the exit ‘Hengersberg’.
For both sections you have to drive some 40 km from the freeway exit on
secondary roads to the park entrance; the directions are well marked.
The closest major airport is Munich International Airport; it takes approximately
1.5 to 2 hours driving to the park entrances. There is no entrance fee
for the national park, but a parking fee on the major parking lots of
EUR 1 per hour will apply. Hotels can be found in the adjoining villages.
AREA
LAYOUT
The more interesting southern sections have their main entrance in the
village of Neuschoenau at the parking lot ‘P1’. This parking
lot is between the visitor center ‘Hans-Eisenmann-Haus’ and
the animal enclosure zone. From there you have an easy access to the main
hiking trails to the mountains Rachel and Lusen as well as the animal
enclosure zone.
With a size of 250 sq. km, this is a mid-sized German national park. It is located in the southeastern part of Germany along the Czech Border. Together with the adjacent Czech national park, Boehmerwald, its size is more than doubled.
The animal enclosure zone is accessible on hiking trails only. You will need approximately 3 to 4 hours for circling the main hiking trail which passes all of the enclosures. If you want to visit only some of the enclosures, you can use a couple of short cuts. Most of the enclosures are constructed in a walk-through style, e.g., to cross the deer enclosure you will need approximately 20 minutes only for hiking. Even some of the raptor enclosures are walk-through. The carnivore enclosures (bear, wolf and lynx) and the wisent (European bison) enclosure have convenient viewing platforms.
WHAT
YOU’LL FIND
You will find landscape photography opportunities year-round. The characteristics
are a forested, middle-sized mountain zone, partly with primeval forest
consisting mainly of firs and beeches. Since it is a wet region, a lot
of creeks, small waterfalls and hill moors can be seen.
Don’t
expect a zoo in the animal enclosure zone. The enclosures are very large
compared to other animal enclosures, and it can happen that you won’t
see the inhabitants of an enclosure for the whole day. I saw this lynx
for the first time on my fourth visit and I have never seen the beavers,
otters and wild boars until now.
Circling the enclosure zone counter-clockwise, which is recommend by the trail signs, you will approach the enclosures for forest birds, wisent, lynx, eagle owl, wolf, wild cat, wild boar, otter, deer, owls, bear, raptors, black stork, marten, beaver, ducks, raven, capercaillie and black grouse. The enclosure zone is most famous for their wolves and lynx. Apart from wolf and bear, all these animals exist in the open part of the national park.
Based on my visits and some discussions with other photographers, the wolves usually can be seen in the morning. If they are close to the viewing platform, you will need a 300mm lens (based on full frame) but you’ll have an unpleasing angle shooting some 5 meters from above. If they are farther away, you need not only a longer lens;additionally you have to deal with a lot of trees, bushes, etc. making the shooting more complicated, especially in sunlight.
The best time for bears seems to be between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. On all my visits, I saw the bears within this timeframe, in summer playing in a small lake and the youngsters fighting during fall. The situation in this enclosure is easier. To reach the small lake, you need a 135-200mm lens, but have to shoot again 5 meters from above. If the bears are at the slope in the front of the enclosure behind the small lake, you need a 500 or 600mm lens, but are shooting from eye level.
After never seeing the lynx during my first three visits, I have heard from other photographers that the adult lynx are most often seen in the afternoon sunbathing on the stones and the youngsters playing around. That happened during my fourth visit; the best time seems to be after 3 p.m. until sunset. The preferable focal length is 600mm and up.
LIGHT
In these enclosures the typical lighting situations during the day apply.
The wolf enclosure is a little bit more complicated due to the denser
wood. In the other enclosures expect a strongly forested surrounding,
so that you need high ISOs and slow shutter speeds. I have made my best
owl images with ISO 400, f/5.6 and around 1/4 second exposure time.
MORE
INFORMATION
The official website of the national park is available in German only
and can be found at http://www.nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de/.
There is an unofficial website which is available in English at http://www.germany-tourism.de/e/6399.html
but doesn't include as much information.
Hans-Bernhard Beykirch lives in Starnberg near Munich and tries to visit the Alps and the Bavarian National Parks as often as possible. You find some of his images from the National Park Bayerischer Wald on his website http://www.hbbeykirch.de.
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