There are four interesting gorges in the Mühlviertel (The mill quater) and no doubt more of them. Located in the north-east part of Upper Austra – Öberosterreich. About an hour from Linz on the romantic road as they call it.
The chance of rain
However the weather and the promise in the forecast, was late in delivering it’s load of doom and gloom – the much needed ingredients of making gorge pictures. I mean the prognosis was for thunder and lightening followed by an afternoon of overcast glory. (As you see I get quite excited with the prospect of bad weather).
I waited and grabbed lunch in the village of Grein, photographed it in both infrared and color with the little G10 more as a warm up and also with the purpose of documenting my trip. Lunch followed and there it was the threat of rain bucketing, oh yes, as everyone ran for cover. I pay the bill, got up walked right out on to the square, nothing much – a few large droplets in the baking heat.
The journey
Nonetheless I prepare and headed for a gorge, the weather was not on time at all! Beautiful skies, clouds too but the plan of an alternative venues to capture a vista or two was far too late. Neither was I in the frame of mind for that. I traveled around and marked out the correct locations for the gorges entrances.
The Stillensteinklamm would not reveal herself, solely the teases of walking signposts everywhere. I gladly followed and ended in a giant circle. I gave her up having marked it twice on the car’s GPS. I went on in the direction to Niederösterreich, lower Austria. (Upper Austria is on the left while Lower Austria is next door on the right, not as you would think, as above and beneath each other.) As I drove onwards, I came across Giessenbachklamm admittedly I whizzed pass it and u-turned. Only for reading about it did the name recollect, I knew it was not too long in the way of walking as it was now evening it maybe worth a visit.
The Giessenbachklamm is quite overgrow and not a major attractive but this didn’t deter me away. Often these small wonders offer brooks and falls which are worthy of an exposure or two. Packed up the sack and tripod. After the steep grassy path a short wooden bridge rested over the Giessen river.
How the image was collected
Something that interests me, in taken an image, especially in Black & White (which I tend to work the majority of time in) is shape, form and texture. Taking these characteristics applying them to stone, wood and water then on top of that a composition where all the elements join together. Not by direct human intervention but how nature chooses to place each object on display whether it’s to be found or discovered by us is entirely left to us a species.
The top left corner features a twisted piece of trunk or branch evened out by the rush of the spring waters. Along side it is the smoothed star shaped rock wedged in. Below the square shaped log and small fall of water behind the moss covered rock. The right side the water dashes over the stones while drops sprays to the left in a semi circular motion. The pool of water is near still, resting from the sudden spring rapids when the snow melts. Through the image textures of moss, dried grass, wet darken stones, flat water shocked by the flow. The rocks are of granite and sandstone.
