When looking at the country of Austria on a map, you will notice it lies almost entrenched in the exact center of the European Union. While the Guinness World Records disagrees (they claim the geographical midpoint of Europe is Bernotai, a small town 26 kilometers north of Vilnius, Lithuania) do not tell the proud people of Austria that. The 8.5 million residents know that they live in one of the most beautiful and peaceful locations not only in Europe, but in the world. The OCED Better Life Index places Austria well above average in almost every category, proving that life in Austria is indeed ‘better’.
The Austrian Tourism Board’s slogan “Arrive and Revive” had special meaning for England based photographer Sean Byrne. Byrne arrived in Austria during October, arguably the best month to visit, especially for a photographer. The weather is mild, if not cool, the leaves are changing, and beautiful clouds float above the jagged mountain peaks. Byrne told Resource Travel about the revival that Austria provided.
To be in and amongst mountains, especially the Alps, with nature turning the leafs yellow and orange during Autumn is enough to revitalises and refresh anybody. The landscape is a sight you expect to see in a fantasy fiction movie. The Austrian culture is so laid back and extremely friendly. Austria really is beautiful any time of year, but I especially fell in love with the autumn season in Austria.
Byrne provided us with 20 of his favorite images from the trip, and it’s easy to see why the photographer in need of a revival found it in the Austrian towns and country side.
See more from Sean Byrne on his website, Instagram and Facebook.
Find out what to do and how to do it on the highly informative Visit Austria website. Also, get a steady stream of beautiful scenes from Austria by following them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Boat House in Altausseer See, Austria. Whilst walking around this beautiful lake in Altausseer See, I came across this stunning house which I now know that in the summer this house rents out boats for the lake. The colourful paved pathway was a stunning leading line to the house and synced perfectly with the autumnal colours on show. I just had to snap it with my Canon 5D and 11-24mm lens.
Altausseer See Autumnal Tree, Austria. Walking further around this lake in Altausseer See the trees were turning some amazing colours and with this one over looking the peaceful lake, it set the mood for a fantastic composition and giving you that burst of Autumn.
Autumnal Morning in Wachau Valley, Austria. Me and my guide got up early this morning to go sit on the side of this mountain and watch the sun rise. However we were greeted by thick fog and the sun never did appear. So as I don’t like to miss an early morning shoot we went searching for compositions to enhance within the fog. I found this gorgeous tree with such amazing vibrant yellow leafs on show. With the logs next to it it really made for a mood.
Kitzbüheler Horn Lone Tree, Austria. Me and the group of 4 I was with were driving up the mountain of Kitzbüheler Horn to go and capture a sunset. Whilst on the road we came across this lone tree perched on the edge of the hill. Now for me, lone trees in great locations get me very excited and this one did exactly that. It was a perfect view over the valley below with some great light coming from the lowering sun over the mountains.
Parting Clouds at Kitzsteinhorn, Austria. We went exploring the stunning mountain of Kitzsteinhorn and when we reached the top we had this amazing view of the Alps protruding above the clouds. It’s a great view for anyone to see. But we were blessed to then have the clouds part ever so slightly to uncover the Austrian ground at the base of the Alps. A lot of great photography is created on the basis I of being in the right place at the right time. I was certainly feeling that emotional at that precise time.
Piesendorf Lake Reflection, Austria. This morning me and 2 of my friends decided we would take the chance to try and capture a sunrise even though for a day or two sunrises were few and far between because of the low cloud. We never got the sunrise we wanted but we also never complained as this lake was a good substitute. The lake was so still it reflected perfectly the trees in Autumnal bloom at the side of the lake. Needless to say we left vary satisfied.
Framed By Nature, Klammsee, Kaprun, Austria. This was arguably one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. The colours of the trees mixed with this peaceful lake, doubled the stunning view with the reflection. The light was perfect on this day to emphasise all of natures miracle. A must visit lake especially in Autumn. It truly was a mouth wide opened moment. I made sure I appreciated with my own eyes as well as the camera.
Gondola In The Fog, Kitzsteinhorn, Austria. I’m use to going up in gondola’s when it’s snowing so it was a great experience to travel in one of these in walking boots and not ski boots. It was also pretty cool to travel up through the low cloud to Kitzsteinhorn. It made for a great mood and a great feeling when we came through the cloud at the top.
Hallstatt, Austria. Arguably the most photographed place in Austria and you can understand why. What a stunning town. To achieve this comp which is well known you had to move you way through other tourists who also elated the same composition. Luckily I came away unscathed and with the shot I wanted.
Sun Ray’s Over Kitzbuhel Valley, Austria. I had a good hike to this location. Very hot and sweaty but totally worth it. It was good to blow the cobwebs out of my chest. As I stood on this hill over looking Kitzbuhel Valley the sun started to go down behind the mountains which enhances the rays lighting up the towns below within the valley.
Kitzsteinhorn Walkway, Austria. When you get to the top of Kitzsteinhorn you can walk through a very long tunnel which takes you to this amazing viewing platform where you can walk out over the Alps and have this magnificent view. Word of warning of heights isn’t your thing then neither is this as you can see right through the floor grill.
Klammsee Lake, Austria. Whilst walking around this spectacular lake you could literally take thousands of images of every angle as the colours of Autumn were spectacular. This little boat made for a good focal point and gave the image a good sense of scale.
Klammsee Lake, Austria. Another location on this stunning lake. The way the 2 hills came down from left and right to the centre with the mountain in the rear gave this a real unique composition. Framing the shot to add the reflection from this peacefully still lake doubled the beauty of this location. Nature sure is spectacular!
Krimmler Achental, Austria. We took a very long bumpy mini bus ride to this great location. When we got here we were then told we only had 5 minutes to shoot before the last taxi headed back. As we didn’t dress for hiking we quickly set to work on shooting this gorgeous place. As with most of my shots to pick a focal point helps gives the shot a purpose. And for this it was this great authentic barn/house with the river running alongside. The fence added a interesting foreground aspect to the composition.
Moody Loser Mountain, Austria. We drove from Altausseer See up his mountain road on Loser Mountain. As the name can sound quite funny in English the views from this mountain didn’t give you the Loser vibe. Truly magnificent views. With the low cloud coming and going fast I managed to capture the road being highlighted by the sun through the clouds which gave a great moody feel to this shot and perfect drama.
Heidi on Loser Mountain, Austria. Our Austrian guide Marlena was stood looking out over the mountains and into the valley of Altausseer See below. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to take pics of her doing this unknowingly. Since then many people have told me it has a typical Heidi look to it. I’m very happy to have people relate it to the Famous child from Austrian books and TV programs.
Old Barns on Loser Mountain, Austria. Whilst exploring certain parts of Loser Mountain pronounced Loss-Er we came across these great wooden huts that are used mostly during the summer months to stay or to store. With the colour of the autumnal scene behind and low cloud mood, it really did give the whole shot a great atmosphere.
Kitzsteinhorn Pylon, Austria. Whilst enjoying the view the on top of Kitzsteinhorn gives you, the sun provided a stunning light over the mountain. I like to take every opportunity I have to take pics so this was no different. Using the pylon as my focal point I took various shots at different exposures to get the best light from this location.
Zell Am See, Sunset, Austria. Towards one of our last days in Austria we wanting to capture a sunset as they weren’t delivering a couple of the days. It looked like this day was going to be another disappointing sunset. But then the colours popped into the sky and we raced to a nearby lake in Zell Am See and quickly looked for a the best composition for this sunset shot. I literally going this jetty as I know leading lines work I took 2 shots and the colour had gone. Phew, right places just at the right time.
Stauseen, Kaprun, Austria. After waking down from near the top of this mountain we didn’t get to see much as there was a lot of low cloud about. But once we broke through the cloud we were welcomed by this view looking down through the valley. I have a fascination with clouds so I got very camera trigger happy when I saw this.
6 comments
Thank you so much for featuring my collection of images from Austria. I had such a fantastic time there and I cant wait to return.
Beautiful pix! Just one correction: “Heidi” took place in Switzerland, not Austria, and was written by a Swiss author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi
Thanks for letting me know Robbin, you are correct.
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