Technical case study: simple, invisible language switching
Using a website visitor's browser settings to seamlessly display content in a language they can understand.
Blog posts about Faulensee
Faulensee is a small village tucked into the curve of the shore of Lake Thun between Interlaken and Spiez. It’s a thirty minute walk from both the town centre and the harbour in Spiez. The village affords really spectacular views across the lake to the Niederhorn and to Interlaken.
Technical case study: simple, invisible language switching
A new perspective – Faulensee
Short sequence of aerial views of Faulensee in Switzerland.
Using a church to tell the time
After so many years in Switzerland, we rely on the quarter-hourly chiming of the nearest church bell to know what the time is. Or, if we’re enjoying a summer evening, quickly looking across to the other side of the village. …
Using a drone subtly
Using a drone isn't all about “aerial photography”, but, for me, about the ability to get better angles for photos which are otherwise out of reach.
Aerial photography with the Mavic Air
After a lot of deliberation, a few months' saving, and a lot of review videos and articles, I decided to buy a drone.
Sundlauenen to Merligen
Catching the ship from Faulensee to Sundlauenen, hiking through the forest past St. Beatus Caves to Merligen, and then home by paddle steamer. Approaching Sundlauenen by ship St. Beatus Caves, Beatenberg Sundlauenen quarry The funicular from Beatenbucht to Beatenberg Traditional house in Merligen “Blümlisalp” paddle steamer in Faulensee…
A fresh eye
This year’s aim: see new places and try new things. Close to home, this means going out from home and documenting the village where I live as much as possible. Despite living here for nearly five years, the only parts of Faulensee I’ve really photographed have been the views from above the village or from home.
Changeable Sunday
Views from home across the lake to the Niederhorn on a winter Sunday.
Below the water line
Low water levels in Lake Thun in winter reveal large expanses of foreshore.
Blow-up boating on Lake Thun
Jo found that because we’d saved so many points on our supermarket card, that we could “afford” a kayak using points alone. A few days later, and a large and heavy cardboard box arrived on the post woman’s scooter trailer and we had our dinghy: an Intex Challenger K2.
Faulensee, Switzerland
It’s always good to be near water when there is a special sunset going on. Here, a partially cloudy day ended with a drawn-out bang as the sun poked beneath the clouds. Tthe misty glow to the left of the village in the middle of the picture is driving, misty rain being back-lit by the sunset. I hurried home from the…
Niesen, Switzerland
The pyramidal peak of the Niesen, in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, towers over the surrounding countryside. It heads a range of mountains leading from Adelboden and Lenk and is the “Hausberg” (home mountain) of Spiez and the Lower Simmen Valley, facing out over Lake Thun. There are folklore sayings about the mountain being a kind of barometer…
Faulensee, Switzerland
1st August is Switzerland’s national day, and fireworks and communal events are the norm. On Lake Thun, in the Bernese Oberland, the main ships of the local transport company parade around the lake and the surrounding villages time their firework displays to coincide with their arrival.
The swallows’ viewpoint
Our regular swallow visitors have a preferred perch above the area around our house. And it's just a few metres from our balcony.
Faulensee to Meielisalp
In which we start the hiking season as early as we possibly can, with the longest route we've done to date.
What the Swiss keep in their barns and cellars
A short film by Rick Steves about the unexpected artillery behind closed barn doors, and the overly-secure cellar bomb shelters beneath almost every Swiss home. The main installation featured is the Artilleriewerk Faulensee at the end of our road.
Filming from the air
Sitting at my computer this afternoon, I spot, out of the window, a yellow plane droning lazily around above the village. Not a full-sized plane but a metre-long radio-controlled model, with a GoPro camera attached, filming today’s glorious winter day on the lake. I couldn’t resist taking a few photos for the pilot and chatting for a few minutes…
Photos at Getty Images
I’m proud that international picture agency Getty Images invited me to submit photos for their Flickr Collection a couple of years ago. Since then, I get the occasional request to add more and my small set now numbers 52 photos, with a dozen or so more currently awaiting approval. Although the percentage that I get per photo is pretty…
And so it begins
Just as summer arrived in the Bernese Oberland late this year, so the first snow fall has arrived early. But that’s OK: the sun is shining and it looks beautiful.