The art of autumn photography: the best photo spots around Breil/Brigels
Capturing light and exposing colours
Autumn photography calls for some decisions.
The first concerns the time of day.
The early morning hours belong to Val Frisal, where, at around 1,900 metres, a high valley some three kilometres long opens up and mist hangs over the alluvial plain. The late afternoon belongs to Lag da Breil, about fifteen minutes’ walk from La Val Hotel & Spa, as golden light sweeps low across the turquoise water. And the quarter of an hour after sunset belongs to elevated spots such as Flanz near the Adlerstein or the Alp Dado at around 1,820 metres, where the sky takes on its most intense hues.
The second decision concerns exposure. Smartphones tend to brighten scenes, which can make autumn colours appear pale. A tap on the brightest part of the image and a gentle drag of the sun icon downwards noticeably enriches the gold and rust tones, while the sky retains its detail. For later editing, it’s worth selecting the RAW format in the camera settings, which preserves significantly more scope in terms of depth and colour tones.
The third decision? The focal length. A wide angle needs a strong foreground. In Val Frisal the branching streams take care of that by themselves, as soon as you hold the camera low over the ground and let the water draw the eye into the distance as a leading line. A telephoto focal length with two to three times optical zoom does the opposite: it compresses the mountain flanks and lifts individual subjects out of their surroundings. Which is exactly what the Sogn Sievi chapel calls for, the small white building dating from 1185 that stands alone on a green slope against forest and peaks. Digital zoom costs you sharpness, so walking a little closer always pays off.
And then there's the weather. Soft light under light cloud cover models the 14th-century Kropfenstein Castle, built directly beneath a rock face. After a few days of rain, Lag da Pigniu at around 1,425 metres shows off the waterfalls at the far end of the lake in full force, and the painted dam wall adds a subject of almost surreal monumentality.
What makes these weeks around Breil/Brigels so rewarding is how close the subjects are to one another. Between mountain lake, cliff castle, and high valley sits La Val Hotel & Spa as a warm fixed point, with a Mountain Spa for tired legs. Set out and discover the most magical photo spots of the autumn.
