Which Swiss places are good for a photographer

  • sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    24 January 2018 at 5:16:44 #814128

    Hi Experts

    Thanks for patiently reading and answering my novice questions. I am an active nature photographer and love to capture those exciting and perfect moments through my lenses. From your experience, which are the best places to visit for an early morning sunrise or evening sunset (where there are not many people 😀 will be good). Lakes with nice background or historical monumets next to lakes or mountains against a lake backdrop etc.. is highly appreciated.

    Thanks once again

    sreraku

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    24 January 2018 at 7:51:36 #874983

    Hi Sreraku,

    Where in Switzerland will you be visiting? I believe from an earlier post you are here in October? From my personal experience, there are some good pictures to be had in Montreux overlooking Lake Geneva, the 5 lakes hike &the Matterhorn in Zermatt as well as Üetliberg and Käferberg in Zurich.

    If you are looking for mountain landscapes at all, be sure to go to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and into Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and/or Murren.

    sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    24 January 2018 at 16:55:22 #874984

    Hi Lucas

    Thanks for the note. Yes, I am planning for oct 2nd week for about 9-10 days. This is my plan

    Stay close to the places where I can do photography.

    Do some hiking also.

    Of course, train journey and some boat journey is what I am preferring to do. Looks like there is so much of information to digest 🙂

    Also, I am looking at good falls to take pictures.

    Finally, want to take my kids to chocolate factory and show them cheese manufacturing 🙂

    Looks like from your post here those are some places that will help me go around. Do you have any recommendation on sunrise, sunset, mountains with lake backdrop, falls?

    If I plan my accommodation around the above places, what are the recommended cities to stay at?

    I want to do Zurich (1 or 2 days) , Lucerene (2 days) stay for sure and ofcourse there is lot of talk about interlake. So want to stay there too 🙂

    Once again, thanks for all the help 🙂

    Regards

    sreraku

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    24 January 2018 at 23:58:58 #874985

    Hi Sreraku-

    <<“Thanks for the note. Yes, I am planning for oct 2nd week for about 9-10 days. This is my plan

    Stay close to the places where I can do photography.”>>

    Check out the walk from First to Bachalpsee…it will likely still be free of snow in early October. I hope!

    By the time you reach mid-October, the weather may be a problem…snow/clouds…or,may not. 😉

    http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/bachsee

    You can photograph mountains with lakes all over Switzerland.

    I have attached some random examples. I have also attached some examples without lake. It is possible to get nice images without a lake. 😉

    For lakes, look at this map:

    map.search.ch/

    Use the timetable to organize.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

    Slowpoke

    Ooops- All the images disappeared. I have to add them back.

    sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    25 January 2018 at 6:02:34 #874986

    Thanks slowpoke. I will setup things using the planner you sent and go over other details as well. The pictures look good infact.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    25 January 2018 at 8:53:44 #874987

    Yes you won’t have a hard time finding the pictures you want wherever you end up!

    Lauterbrunnen has a great many waterfalls (might be a little quiet in October) and there is the Cailler chocolate factory and the Gruyeres cheese factory both near Montreux.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    25 January 2018 at 14:26:51 #874988

    This might help, too.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/scenictrips/b oat

    The Gotthard Panorama Express offers nice views from on Lake Lucerne, as well as a special photographers car on one daily run.

    It is described in this thread, along with a lot of detail about maps:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/itinerary-advice-8/page/3

    The Gotthard Panorama Express information is in a post on Jan 17th at 11:33PM

    Slowpoke

    Snowman
    Participant
    825 posts
    26 January 2018 at 8:47:29 #874989

    Hi Slowpoke!

    I like especially “View to the Alps from Lake Neuchâtel” 😉

    I assume you want to keep Sumiswald an insider secret…

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    26 January 2018 at 9:46:55 #874990

    HI Snowman –

    <<“I like especially “View to the Alps from Lake Neuchâtel” ;)”>>

    The correct title is “from above Lake Neuchatel…..”

    And, that is what you said last time, in this thread:

    <<“http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/overwhelmed-with-itinerary-options">>

    Why do you think that the Alps look better from the other side of the Röstigraben? Some kind of atmospheric filter in the air from frying the “frites?”

    Slowpoke

    sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    1 February 2018 at 3:13:34 #874991

    Hello folks,

    Sorry I was away for few days and am back. I have started exploring and here is what I think I should visit for my photography, chocolate/cheese expedition, some gorgeous mountain views and lakes. Some hiking too.

    Lauterbrunnen

    Montreux

    Lucerne

    Zurich

    It will be a 9 day trip. I want to spend my last day of the trip in Zurich. ie land by air in zurich and go to either lucerne or some other place on day 1 and roam around there. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

    sreraku

    sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    1 February 2018 at 5:08:13 #874992

    Also, wanted to add that Mainly from mountains perspective want to visit

    Rigi

    Jungfraujoch

    Titlis is in the plan too 🙂

    Snowman
    Participant
    825 posts
    1 February 2018 at 9:26:08 #874993

    Good luck. It’s always quite a challenge to pick the same spots as the National Geographic.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    1 February 2018 at 10:34:25 #874994

    Hi Sreraku –

    I’d suggest a circular itinerary, with the high Alps first, due to seasonal weather. By mid- to late-October you have a chance of running into difficult weather near the Jungfrau, so you should get there first.

    That is the reverse of the usual advice to start in Luzern, and may involve some backtracking or duplicate routes, but it is the way I would do it. I’d try to keep the lower altitude locations at the end, because Winter comes later at lower altitudes.

    I’d suggest that you go immediately to the Jungfrau region upon arrival. You could stay in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Mürren, or Grindelwald, but Interlaken is a poor choice unless you plan to use it as a rail hub for other parts of Switzerland. More commercial, less scenic than the others.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/la uterbrunnen

    http://www.myswissalps.com/gr indelwald

    http://www.myswissalps.com/mu rren

    http://www.myswissalps.com/we ngen

    http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken

    For scenery, Wengen and Mürren are best.

    I prefer Wengen:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim

    Wengen gives you particularly easy access to Männlichen, and this easy trail is spectacular. For photography, it is best to walk it from Männlichen toward Kleine Scheidegg.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg

    Then. go to Montreux .

    After Montreux, go to Luzern.

    Finally,back to Zürich.

    On the legs between the Jungfrau region, Montreux and Luzern, you can go by the slower, more scenic Golden Pass route for one of the trips, and return by the faster route through Bern on the other. Or vice versa. Or, do both on all or parts of the the Golden Pass route, if you like:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass

    Use the map and timetable that I linked in my earlier post to organize. In the map, zoom in to zoom level 32 to make the train lines visible clearly.

    Slowpoke

    sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    1 February 2018 at 20:40:27 #874995

    This is so awesome. I am very happy at the way this community responds and keeps my excitement soaring.

    We are also looking at itenary 2. Which is basically, the last two days, we want to spend in Paris and travel back to US.

    With this 2nd itenary, I may have to do Zurich 1 day first and then proceed to other places.

    Slowpoke, from your itenary with Paris in the mix at the end, do you recommend

    • Zurich – 1 night
    • Luzern-> 2 nights
    • Wengen-> 2 nights
    • Montreux-> 1 night
    • Paris -> 2 nights

    I will save itenary 1 also. The pictures you shared are something that I love to take and live in it. The link you shared about wengen and the pdf files that one of the forum members added gives really the best view of how to go around.

    BTW, we are vegetarians from the posts I see there are plenty of vegetarian (no fish also) options also. Should we be cautious and be on a lookout for something?

    Thanks once again.

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    3 February 2018 at 7:08:37 #874996

    HI Slowpoke and Snowman,

    I read this exchange: <<“I like especially “View to the Alps from Lake Neuchâtel” ;)”

    The correct title is “from above Lake Neuchatel…..”

    And, that is what you said last time, in this thread:

    <<“www. myswissalps. com/forum/topic /overwhelmed-with-itinerary-options”>>

    Why do you think that the Alps look better from the other side of the Röstigraben? Some kind of atmospheric filter in the air from frying the “frites?”>> and felt that I just had to jump in.

    In my mind, there are at least three different categories of views of the alps: First are the ones when one is only a short distance away, and with these, if one is doing photographs, one will only get a small number of alps (perhaps only one) in a single image. Second are views from further away, where one can see and photograph a section of the Alps, and if one is stitching together images, one can produce a nice sweep, such as Slowpoke’s lovely Trachselwald panorama. Even if one is not taking photographs, there are differences in the view one has from different distances. And then there is the third type of view of the Alps, the ones one gets from a number of locations from the Swiss French side of the Rostigraben. From over here, one is treated to a view that just cannot be seen from closer up. I submit a video I made before sunrise back in 2016 from the edge of Lac Neuchâtel, so I was standing at an elevation of 430 metres. youtu.be/X1tGkZH1VxA So even down at lake level, if the conditions are right, one can enjoy a fantastic view. Then we have a number of spots above Lac Neuchâtel and Lac de Bienne where the views are more stunning: Chaumont (up a funiculaire from La Coudre) at 1087 metres, la Vue des Alpes (on the road from Neuchâtel to La Chaux-de-Fonds) at 1338 metres, la Tête de Ran (which one can walk up to from the latter) at 1422 metres, and also le Chasseral (which one can drive up to from La Neuveville) at 1606 metres, all well above my video made from the débarcadère in Petit-Cortaillod. My point is that all these views, from close up, from a moderate distance, or from further away, are all wonderful in their own ways. No one is better than the other, it just depends on what one is looking for on any particular day. I invite anyone who has not viewed the Alps panorama from afar to travel to one of the above-mentioned places. If the weather is cooperating (and that is a big if) you will not be disappointed.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    3 February 2018 at 9:15:52 #874997

    Hi Peterli, and Snowman –

    First, my apologies to Snowman.

    I meant to put a very big Smiley at the end of my message above that you quoted.

    Otherwise, the tone could be mistaken. I meant it as a joke.

    So, here is the corrected version:

    <<“Why do you think that the Alps look better from the other side of the Röstigraben? Some kind of atmospheric filter in the air from frying the “frites?””>> 😀

    Second, Peterli, thank you for your serious answer.

    Someone looked at one of the alpine images that I have posted or shown to them, taken from one or another of those places, and and wondered what/where they were. They had only seen the more traditional views from the South, from places like Männlichen Gipfel. I noted that the relationships and relative sizes and the shapes of the peaks change as you go to the West or the North. The Eiger changes. The Mönch becomes less visible. Finsteraarhorn catches the eye more from some angles. So, there are many different panoramas.

    My personal favorites have context or motion.

    The Trachselwald panorama has context. It is a particularly strong reminder of the way the Alps pop up from the horizon of a pleasant Swiss scene in many parts of Switzerland. You turn a corner on a country road and the Alps suddenly appear.

    These attached have motion ; they take your eyes along a path.

    Another feature is emotion. It is there in the grim north face of the Eiger (Ogre), especially if you have walked toward it on the “Grannies’ Walk” from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, and felt it growing up to tower over you. Knowledge of the history of climbing the Nordwand ( North Wall) adds to the grim character of the Eiger, which is especially apparent to climbers or those who have read about the history and details of those climbs. No motion is needed to generate those emotions in some images.

    Slowpoke

    sreraku
    Participant
    68 posts
    3 February 2018 at 15:08:58 #874998

    Hello All,

    Just a small update that, my wife convinced me with the option 2. so we went ahead and booked the flight tickets. We are excited already.

    I looked around the forums for plenty of things like accomodations, food, hiking etc…

    Few questions

    1) Which is the preferrable accomodation type for the 1 day, 2 days stay at each town?

    2) Is AirBnB or VRBO kind of accomodations recommended? If yes, how do people reach to these places from train station where car is not an option?

    3) Is it advisable to book them now?

    3a) What do people do for breakfast, lunch or dinner if they rent apartment or chalet? Are bakeries available in all the towns for us to just get there and grab a bite? Again, we are vegetarians.

    3b) Is Murren better to stay or wengen? from nature, photography, accomodation, food perspective.

    4) from Montreaux is there a train that we can hop on to Paris? Or do we need to do reservations?

    5) Can we visit both chocolate factory and gruyere cheese making in montreaux in a single day?

    6) My son saw, make your own choco bar on wheel of fortune the other day. He wants to go to that place to make his own chocolate bar. Anyone has an idea of where we can find such a “chipotle type chocolate” kind of places?

    7) We are arriving in zrh in the afternoon and will go to basel only for the night as we have to meet someone. Then the next day morning we have to be back to zrh to explore the lake, nature etc.. What is your recommendation for the trains? Also, we want to leave bigger luggages in zurich while we go to basel to explore and come back, take the luggages to our accomodation. Is there some place where we can leave the luggage like this?

    As I am reading through scores of documentation, I might have more questions. Thanks for patiently answering.

    Appreciate it.

    sreraku

    Snowman
    Participant
    825 posts
    3 February 2018 at 17:16:37 #874999

    Bonjour Sreraku,

    1) Everything is available. It depends on what you can/are prepared to afford. Not a cheap country, but there are budget alternatives.

    2) Not recommended. These solutions remove accommodations from the housing market of local people.

    3) The answer would be the same everywhere. You book early, you are safe. You don’t book at all, you are free. Both options are available, just check if there is a big world congress in Montreux at the time you want to be there.

    3a) Yes, there are bakeries.

    3b) I don’t know.

    4) Montreux-Lausanne : plenty of trains, probably 2 per hour, travel time approx. 20 min. Lausanne-Paris TGV Lyria. The rule is you need a reservation. Without one, you can’t sit, but if you are bold you can travel the whole trip (4 hrs) in the “voiture bar” (snack), possibly standing. There are 3 or 4 trains per day.

    5) No, but you can travel to Gruyères and Broc where you can see both.

    6) I think this can be done on the top of the Jungfraujoch. Mind you, with a little google surch, I’m sure you can do this with him at home. Wouldn’t it be fun? Doing it on the Jungfraujoch would involve some competition with other tourists, be prepared to show patience…

    7) during daytime there are at least two trains in every direction between Zurich and Basel. And there is a luggage storage facility at the Zurich main station.

    Enjoy your trip!

    Snowman
    Participant
    825 posts
    3 February 2018 at 17:20:56 #875000

    Rats, this site does not make it possible to edit….

    7) …at least two trains PER HOUR between Zurich and Basel.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    3 February 2018 at 17:42:35 #875001

    Hi Sreraku.

    Sorry that I did not respond more quickly to your itinerary post.

    You are moving very quickly. You will also have to move quickly on that itinerary.

    You will have very little time in the scenic places to carry out the photography that you described as your goal. None of that in Paris.

    <<“Stay close to the places where I can do photography.

    Do some hiking also.

    Of course, train journey and some boat journey is what I am preferring to do. Looks like there is so much of information to digest 🙂

    Also, I am looking at good falls to take pictures.

    Finally, want to take my kids to chocolate factory and show them cheese manufacturing 🙂

    Looks like from your post here those are some places that will help me go around. Do you have any recommendation on sunrise, sunset, mountains with lake backdrop, falls?”>>

    In order to allow for the changeabilty of the weather in the High Alps, I was going to recommend that you spend several nights in Wengen. You will have two half-days there. If you have even one cloudy day at altitude your time will be extremely limited for photography of the type that you described.An option would be to skip Montreux, since you’ll only have a half a day if you go there by the very scenic Golden Pass route:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass

    Since the most scenic part of that trip is the descent from Montbovon to Montreux, you could try for some photographs from the train in the late afternoon, which would give you more time in Wengen on your last day there.

    Or, take the faster route via Bern.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    3 February 2018 at 17:49:03 #875002

    Hi Snowman,

    You should be able to edit your post using the “Edit post” button at the top of your post. It is available until one hour after posting.

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