Hiking Germany without Tripod

[john_womack]

Im planning on traveling in southern Germany and in and out of Venice

in early May. Will be shooting cityscapes but since I am primarially

a nature photog, I am trying to find nature shots too. If anyone is

familiar with the area I would appreciate any tips of places or

reference materials. Also, for the first time in about 5 years, I

plan to leave Velvia (since I don't want to carry a tripod) and was

thinking about Provia 100 or 400 or Kodak. Any suggestions?

[don_baccus]

Since you're not leaving until May, you should have some time to try

the new E100VS or whatever Kodak calls the new super-saturated E100

family film. This family is characterized by being fine-grained,

sharp, and saturated. E100SW has become a favorite of mine for

wildlife shooting, and I'm not alone. Others report that E100S is a

fine film, not as saturated as Velvia (but neither is Provia). E100VS

is reported to be heavily saturated, not as much as Velvia, but more

so than E100S or Provia.

 

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Current ISO 400 slide films from Fuji and Kodak aren't very hot. E200

is, I've been very impressed with it, and again I'm not alone. It

looks pretty damned good pushed a stop, too...

 

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In case you're curious, yes, my cold storage stuff sack is half full

of Velvia along with the E100SW stuff, I'm not an anti-Fuji guy. (I

still think Velvia can't be beat for shooting landscapes).

[howard_creech1]

John, here are a few suggestions for nature areas in Bavaria (I

assume that is what you mean by Southern Germany) Bayerische Wald

(Bavarian National Forrest..near Furth im Wald) The Fichtelgebirge (a

lovely fir forrest with craggy hills near Bayreuth) Frankische Schweiz

(an otherworldly valley with limestone spars rising above the valley

floor..centered on Pottenstein...about 100 km from Nuremberg) Also

not to be missed are the alpine area near Garmisch and the sub alpine

lake area near Fussen (site of King Ludwig's Fairytale

Castle...Neueschwanstein) from the German border it is only about 60

km (accross the Inntal...centered on Innsbrusck) to the Italian

border (Sud Tirol lovely alpine area centered on Bolzano) look also

in this area for Paso Stelvio (highest pass in the Alps)...you will

have snow in May and the back road to the pass has seven glaciers and

47 switchbacks...very neat mountain road...two lanes. Venice is

lovely in May..with only a handful of tourists....I have never liked

Velvia (or other super saturated chrome films)...but you may want to

try the local product...Agfachrome "Precisa" which is named for its

precise color balance and neutral color palette...the Agfachrome

"pro" RS films are excellent too. Have fun...you should get some

wonderful pictures.

[ron_shaw]

I use a lot of Provia, and I like it a lot. If you want faster film,

dont forget good old K200, still one of my favorite 200 speed reversal

films.

[alan___1]

John, I would go for the Provia 100. Push it one stop if you must.

This is the film I used most besides Velvia. The weather during that

time should be good so you may not need a fast film(depending on what

you shoot).

 

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Also, while in Germany, don't forget Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is

near Ansbach. Ask the locals for directions. I discovered this

medieval jewel last December. It's a very old town with beautiful

buildings.

 

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Enjoy.

[guenther_fuernsteiner]

I would also recommend the vacation triangle Berchtesgaden,

Reichenhall, Salzburg (Austria). A beautiful, photogenic area. That's

were the movie 'The Sound of Music' was made. For example you could

take a bus up to former Hitler's eaglenest. You will have a

spectacular view from there. Also a lake called 'Koenigs See' is a

famous attraction and while you are there: Between Salzburg and Munich

is the largerst lake in Bavaria "Chiemsee". There you will find one of

King Ludwig's famous castle "Herren Chiemsee". I don't like Velvia -

the green is too green, the red too red. I often use Kodak E100S and

look forward to try their new E100VS.