Michael Schmidmeister Photography

02/08/2026

GOLDEN HAZE

On my way back from my sunrise photo location, I caught a glimpse of this incredible light over the landscape. I parked the car nearby, grabbed my camera gear, and hurried to the opposite shore without a clear plan. The wider scene from just a few minutes earlier is already in my feed.

Now, the haze and mist had already drifted across the lake, gathering around this small group of trees. With moments like these, you never know how long they'll last. There was no time to overthink the composition, and I wouldn't have wanted to overcomplicate it anyway. I kept it simple. Bang in the middle. The light, the golden haze and drifting mist did the rest, naturally separating the trees from the background. Less is more.

Sometimes the best photographs aren't the ones you plan—they're the ones you almost miss.

19/07/2026

Summer has arrived

End of June 2026.

15/07/2026

Lupins at the Lake

I wanted to try and photograph the blooming lupins at this location for a longer time already. Finally did it this year.

I have mixed feelings about the result. It's not a perfect focus stack (5 images). There was a bit of wind. The stacking program handles it quite alright though. And I think it looks mostly acceptable. I just don't have the patience and nerves to fiddle with it more to make it better. If you find ghosting you can keep them. 😂 The reflection I rather like and the light is okay, it was already later, about 0830h (given that sunrise is around stupid o'clock end of June). The composition is not too bad, feels balanced.

Next time I have to be there before sunrise, hoping for more stillness, a slightly cleaner reflection (but I take this one here any day) and amazing light for a proper photogasm. 🤞🤣

09/07/2026

05/07/2026

An early summer morning in the Upper Engadine valley at its finest. The kind of light that makes you stop and simply take it all in.

And yet, it also fills you with a quiet sense of urgency. You find yourself running around like a headless chicken, chasing composition after composition, trying to capture as much as possible before the light, the haze, and the soft mist drifting above the grass disappear.

14/05/2026

A spring evening

25/01/2026

A quiet, frosty winter morning. The sun rose about half an hour ago and is beginning, slowly but steadily, to touch the hills and landscape with its warming light and dispel the fog.

18/01/2026

I like the contrast of the warmer tones in the foreground where there is no more frost against the cooler bluer tones in the background where most of the landscape is still covered in frost. And the sea of fog separating these two parts.

10/01/2026

Winter in the Zurich Oberland.