Photo Gallery » Koscieliska Valley Poland

The first day in the Western Tatras (Tatry Zachodnie) - Kościelisko Valley and the green trail to Ciemniak Mountain. It was a day of water - water in every form: rivers, streams, rain, snow, fog ...There are photos and description of the trail. I also wrote some tips on shooting rivers and streams. If you taking pictures of streams, cascades or waterfalls and you want to get water blur you have to close the shutter to f/11 or f/16 and set a longer time in the camera eg 1/10 or 1/4 second. In the past you had to have a tripod because there was no way to move the picture. Fortunately, my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a 5-axis inbody stabilization system and with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f / 4 IS IS lens allows for long exposure without a tripod.

Dolina Kościeliska (Koscieliska Valley)

Koscieliska Valley in The Western Tatras (Tatry Zachodnie). The weather forecast was not optimistic so we packed backpacks: raincoats, hats, gloves, food and thermo with tea and we headed up the valley.

Potok Kościeliski (Koscieliski stream)

There is a of Kościeliska stream at the bottom of the valley, which is about 9 km long. This is a great place for shooting streams. Parameters: 1/10 sec, aperture f/11, ISO 200 (the lowest one in the camera - you have 100 to set 100) and a photo without a tripod.

Mroźna Cave

Mroźna Cave is a cave open to tourists in the eastern slope of the Kościeliska Valley. It can be visited from the beginning of May to the end of October. The entrance to the cave is 120 m above the valley floor at 1100 m and the exit at 1112 m. The total length is 773 m. A ticket must be purchased at the entrance. There is electric lighting in the cave.

How to photograph rivers and waterfalls

For blur effect of water you need to set a long exposure time eg 1/10, 1/4 or even longer. This photo was taken without a tripod with Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II and M.Zuiko Digital ED lens 12-100 mm f / 4 IS PRO (f/11, ISO 200, time 1/4 sec., focal length 30 mm)

Trail in the mountains, Western Tatras

Green trail in the Western Tatras. You can admire the nature and photograph almost alone after leaving the valley. Most people walking in the valley went to the mountain hut: Schronisko PTTK Hala Ornak.

New life

circle of life
cycles of nature life and death
life and death
life and death
all in the wheel
every death gives a new life
nothing disappears
everything is moving

Stream in the mountains, Tatras

Amazing nature, the smells of the forest, the sound of water in the streams, the birds singing, enchanting light ... worth a stop in many places ...

Light in the forest

Shoot where the light is ...

Nature in Western Tatras

Landscapes and nature in the Western Tatras I liked very much! Long, deep valleys with mountain streams, wild woods, mountain pines and rocky peaks. Beautiful!

View of Ornak Mountain from Tomanowa Polana

Cool place with a bench in the mountains. Nice views and a great place to relax.

Rosebay willowherb (fireweed)

Pink flowers in the glades and meadows in the Tatras are Rosebay willowherb or fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium).

View on the Koscielisko Valley

Suddenly the weather began to change - the sun was hiding behind the clouds, it got cold, it started to rain, and the cold wind came ...

Trail in the mountains to Ciemniak Mountain, Western Tatras

We walked along the green trail Ciemniak, sometimes the sun was shining at times the sky was overcast but it was still warm ... and suddenly the clouds came in a few minutes it started to rain with snow, the temperature dropped to 4-5 degrees C. and a strong wind began to blow - it got really cool ... well we had jackets, hats, gloves and these foil capes :-)

Weather changes quickly in the mountains

Changing the weather was a moment - wind, clouds, rain, snow, wet, cold ... clouds clouded the peaks of the mountains ...

Slope of the Tatras after the rain

We went back to Kościeliska Valley on the red trail. We used everything we took - jackets, hats, gloves, sandwiches, tea and even those funny plastic capes!