THE THING ABOUT GENEVA : FESTIVAL ARBRES & LUMIERES

Geneva is having its annual Festival Arbres & Lumières (Trees and Lights Festival) starting from the end of  November until early January 2011. Its too tempting not to go and capture as much pics as possible of the event despite the below zero temperature.

The reflection on the lazy flowing river and lake are simply stunning and I hope I have done enough to convey the amazing sights with my camera. 

I have also submitted 2 entries for this event photo contest. Better to do something with the photo than to keep it in my hard disk. A win would be nice, but the most important thing is that I finally have the courage and the confidence to let my work be judged in a competition. (Thanks for the support and encouragement, FB friends!)

Still got a lot to learn.

Enjoy the pics.

LATIHAN AMALI FOTOGRAFI : APERTURE PRIORITY IN A VERY LOUSY WEATHER

Last weekend, the sky was really cloudy with dark clouds hanging in the sky. But they say (the pros, that is), its the best time to go out and take pictures, so I packed all my stuff and headed out to Nyon, 23 kms from Geneva. At 6.30 am.

It was a teeth chattering windy morning. And cold. Very cold. In short, its just not comfortable for a sun loving Malaysian to be out there, that freezing morning.  Fingers and cheek felt numb. Even the Swiss stayed indoors. Looking around, I realized that I was the only one there.

So I guess this is what pros had to endure in their quest to capture that magical moments. And I am sure my uncomfortable condition that morning was but a fraction of what they had experience.

These are what I came up with that cold morning.

 

 

 

HIKING 101 : LAUTERBRUNNEN - TRUMMELBACH

This time I decided to bring my family and along with my regular hiking friend we headed out to Lauterbrunnen. Quality family time (we need more of that, okay!) The plan was to hike the Lauterbrunnen - Stechelberg route.

THE HIKE - LAUTERBRUNNEN  TO TRUMMELBACH

Unfortunately, at halfway point to Stechelberg, my plan was abruptly shot down by my youngest  6 year old daughter who complained  her feet hurts, "Its the new hiking boots fault, Abah." she insisted. And who am I to argue with such  well thought excuse?

So we went to see the Trummelbach falls instead. Which was great and we had loads of fun there. and the children competed with the roar of the glacier fed rushing waters to see who could make the loudest noise. I was cool with the alternate screaming activity as long as they were having fun. After all, I recently acquired a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 prime lens to take pic in low light situation and the decision to divert our route to see the Trummelbach falls was great for me since what better place to test the prowess of this much talked about lens than in a dark and cold man made tunnels.

Enjoy the pics.

Staubach fall

Staubach fall

Yeap, thats 2 of my girls.

Another waterfall

Moutain walls rising on both side

Fellow hikers

The trail markers

And winter shows its face again...

TRUMMELBACH FALLS

The entrance

The tunnels to the the viewing platforms

Rocks and the mountain walls being illuminated by spotlights
placed strategically to enhanced the wow factor

Long way down!

Bus Stop

The Swiss Rural bus (Macam bas Mara la)

HIKING 101 - LA CURE, SWITZERLAND

Place : La Cure, Switzerland, just a few kilometres away from the Swiss/ France border.
Weather condition : Damn cold and frosty.
Hiking time : 2 1/2 hours.

The foggy area is France, actually.

The hiking route was through a cattle farm. So a lot of careful stepping to avoid the taik lembu booby traps on the trail. To no avail. Terpijak sepiring (Looked like a pancake with icing because of the frost. Boih! Chis ko lembu!

Trail marking so you dont get lost. We did!

The trail sign on where to head next and how long it takes to get there.

And of course, we managed to cross the border to France, somewhere up the mountain, without even knowing it. We were surprised to see the Swiss custom and border office greeting us when we tracked back to La Cure using the paved roads.

HIKING 101 : LAVAUX VINEYARDS

Lavaux Vineyards is a UNESCO World Heritage site. So its no surprise that this is next on my list to visit, or to see, or to hike for that matter.

These anggur terraces stretched for miles and is located between Lausanne and Montreux by Lake Geneva. For those not in the know, basically there 2 types of grapes, one is for makan/ consumption (which back in my childhood days, were categorized as buah-buahan untuk orang sakit. A kilo of black anggur was very expensive then and only the sick, with the objective of pampering them, would have the opportunity to taste it, thus the label. Its also a popular buah tangan for my parents to bring whenever they visited their sick relatives or friends). The other type of grapes is for making wine. Grapes grown in Lavaux is for the latter.

As usual, I will leave my place at as early as possible to arrive at the intended destination before sunrise to capture some pics of the first sunlight. I went with my love one who obviously shared the same hobby as mine (that, or she wants to keep an eye on my outdoor activities! hehe). Daughters could not make it this time. I think its very hard for them to part with those comfortable, warm blanket and braved the cold morning.

We left Geneva at around 6.00 am and arrived at our destination at the Lutry train station where we parked our car. Grabbed our gears and backpack we walked up the marked path up the hill and unto the vineyards itself.

We walked passed by farmhouses and small villages. Some of these vineyards owners produced their own wine and this was marked by the roadside sign advertising their products. Grapes are usually harvested starting from late August to early October grape. This are also the time where many of the small wine makers arrange wine testing for interested buyers.

It as still early and theres not a lot of people around until the hiking path merged with a paved road. Stopped by to take pictures of the views which were simply (for a lack of a other words) breath taking. Its sort of different feeling and viewpoint from up the terraces, since we were no strangers to this area having driven along the road down below many times before. Continued our hike to the lakeside town of Cully to catch the train back to Lutry.

Enjoy the the rest of the pics.