Fotoalpy.cz

Author

Aleš Baloun (1960)

„I like mountains and I feel a respect for them."

Trips with my parents in the nature, scouting and sports in my childhood, hiking, cycling and cross-country skiing afterwards, it all brought me to mountains. I began taking photos when I was about 18 years old. I bought a cine-film reflex camera Praktica PLC 3 when I was at university. In the course of time my interest declined and it was mostly reduced to taking photos for the family album. I returned to the photography seriosly again in July 2005. I satisfied my dream when by acquisition legendary digital reflex camera Nikon D70. Today I use camera Nikon D300.

„It is a pity to see so much beauty and do not share it.“

I have an especially strong relationship to Austria where most of the snaps have been taken. It is a gorgeous country, full of fabulous nature beauties where you can meet pleasant and affable people who are always willing to give you an advice and help you. They have built up a system of mountain chalets in which I stay very often during the year (It is operated by 3 associations - Alpenverein, Naturfreunde and Oesterreichischer Touristen Klub, mutually acknowledged).

Rif. Vittorio Emanuelle II,Gran Paradiso

Books by Bryan Peterson are a great inspiration to me: ”Learn digital photography: Techniques For Getting Great Pictures”, ”Close-up photography:creative close encounters with or without a macro lens” and ”Learn exposure: How To Shoot Great Photographs With a Film or Digital Camera” and a splendid book by the British landscape photographer Guy Edwards “100 Ways to Take Better Landscape Photographs”. The book by Robert Thompson “Close Up and Macro Photography” is also perfect. ZonerPress published all the books (ZonerPress).

The photographed regions

The snaps originate from the nearest region of the Eastern Alps, The North Lime Alps, where Totes Gebirge, NP Gesäuse, Eisenerzer Alpen, Hochschwab, Dachstein, Tennengebirge, Steinernes Meer, NP Hochkalkalpen-Hochkönig and NP Kalkalpen-Sengsengebirge belong.

The main Alps´ crystalline mountain range (Hauptkamm) represented by Rottenmanner Tauern, Schladminger and Radstädter Tauern pertains to the group of the Niedere Tauern, the area round Schwarzsee in the group Hafner mountain in Hohe Tauern and some pictures of the South Lime Alps, Italian Dolomites, visited by myself (2006), appeared too. They are from their east part, from Prag- and Sexten Dolomites region and from the admirable “rock dome” Monte Pelmo. I have up-to-date impression from another visit Dolomites after three years on break of October and November 2009. I saw the colours of rusted ochre larchs in mountain groups Sella and Nuvolau-Averau with sights on almost dominant summits of Dolomites Sorapis, Antelao, Monte Pelmo, Civetta and the white queen Marmolada with the rock wall of Gran Vernel. The horizons were full of only light snowy groups Monte Cristallo, Tofana, Rosengarten, Langkofel, Kreuzkofel, Sannes, Fanes, Braies and Marmarole.

There are new photos in summer alps (2009) which survey the climbing on the highest peak of homonymic National Park Gran Paradiso in Graian Alps on Italy and the last images in trips abroad come from wandering in canton Wallis and Graubünden in Switzerland including surroundings of the most famous alpine summit Matterhorn in Wallis Alps (June 2009).

Recently I appeal more often to my native town Budweis and my attention is atracted to magic Český Krumlov. I try don´t miss out myself even other historical monuments in South Bohemia.

I like travel and detect culture in foreign countries and so I hope that also in the galleries trips abroad will be expand with new pictures. To be sure that the visit of Netherlands interwoven by the waterway, cheese markets and full-blown carpets of tulips or walks in romantic and glamorous Venice or getting to know Switzerland, the country in the heartbeat of Europe with many powerful glaciers summits of mountains still, it all belongs to the experiences on which we cann´t forget.

I have the live impressions from the visit of Florence, Siena and pictorial landscape of the South Tuscany (April and May 2010), from pleasant and magic historical small towns as Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, Monteriggioni, Volterra and San Gimignano and I hope that I brought the pleasant memory and strong experiences from surroundings of the roman abbey Sant'Antimo and really very leaning tower in Pisa named Torre Pendente. Unfortunately, the weather had no wish for shooting rightly in surroundings of Pisa and Lucca.

Also the visit of the south coast of France, Cote d'Azur (June 2011) enthused me. The sea bathing beside the full blown esplanades in such resorts as Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Menton and Monte Carlo, together with the visiting of their historical quarters, the trips into the surrounding mountain area with the traditional villages, the sightseeing of the museums and the art-galleries with the productions of the modern authors such as Picasso, Chagall, Matiss and Renoir, that all means to me much untasted experiences.

Thanks

„I would like to thank to members of my family, mainly my wife, for the toleration for my hobbies and for the patience they help me with selection of the best snaps, my son Pavel, for the critique my text (he has his own website druhá světová válka) and especially to this website designer, my son Jiří."

" I deeply bow to and I feel gratitude and respect before all the people which they had merit in rehabilitation and development democracy in our country. They enabled us to free move and decide about ourself fates. Without valiant position of these people I could never make what I like."

"Thank you very much to my customers. You believe me that your interest put me under an obligation all time make better my offer."

"I also thank to all my friends for understanding they have of my frequent “photographic stops“".

"I would like to thank to Mrs Barbora Danha and Mr Tomáš Trnka for their beginning help with the translation of this text into German and English languages."

"I thank to all visitors of this website for their visits, notes and comments on possible mistakes (see the contact)."