Talking with Wilfried Klein
Good morning and welcome back to another appointment with Inside the Photo! I’m beyond grateful to see new friends join the newsletter and I want to thank each of you for the support.
As I already mentioned, it’s time for a new Inside the Photo, which means I’m going to introduce a photographer I love. His name is Wilfried, I discovered his work on Vero quite some time ago.
I am taking photos since almost 60 years. Many many years with film. I had my own darkroom and tried as good as I could to edit my photos. When digital cameras came on the market I hesitated a long time to switch from film to digital. But when I was over I was fascinated about the possibilities digital was offering. Especially post processing was amazing for me. Since then I didn’t enter my darkroom anymore.
I have two great hobbies, photographing and traveling. After my retirement I intensified my traveling, finding very interesting locations to photograph. I photograph mainly landscape and nature, but I am taking every opportunity to try something new, either in photographing or in post processing using Lightroom and Photoshop.
One of my favorite travel destinations are the Dolomites and here, one of the amazing locations is the Catinaccio Massif or Rosengarten Group.
There’s a huge quality in Wilfried’s images. Be that colors or black and white, his pictures always tell a story of beauty, showing how incredible the world we live in is. His body of work, as stated by himself, covers mainly landscape and nature, but I noticed also some great portraits, again full of emotions.
© Wilfried Klein
About a 45 min. hike from our hotel you can reach the small Wuhnleger Pond, a small lake located in an alpine meadow at an altitude of approx. 1,400 m a.s.l. This beautiful spot offers an unforgettable view on the Catinacio Massif. Besides that there are a lot of dragonflies around and in the water of the small lake you have wonderful reflections of the surrounding mountains and of course the Rosengarten Group in the water.I took there many photos, but to shoot really extraordinary photos, you have to go there before sunset and wait for the moment of the “Enrosadira” phenomenon, when the rocks of the Rosengarten shine for a short period of time in beautiful red colors. Of course you need the right weather conditions. I needed a few attempts before I finally saw the Enrosadira Phenomenon.
Story of the Rose Garden
Maybe for the lovers of legends, the legend of King Laurin and the name of this part of the Dolomites. King Laurin was the ruler of dwares in this part of the Dolomites and mined the mountains for precious jewels and valuable ores. He possessed a subterranean palace made of sparkling quartz. But his special pride and joy was the great garden located in front of the entranceway to his underground crystal castle. Countless wonderful roses blossomed in this garden, whose scent was enchanting.
One day a king in the neighborhood decides to marry off his daughter, the beautiful Similde. He invited all of the noblemen in the neighboring lands to join with him the wedding, but he didn’t invite Laurin, the king of the Dwarves. Because of this, Laurin decided to wear his magic invisibility cape and attended without being detected. But when he saw Similde, he immediately fell in love with her. So he grabbed her, leaped onto his horse, and galloped away. The father of Similde sent out his knights to find and rescue poor Similde. Laurin, who believed that they would never discover him, walked in his Rose Garden. But the knights saw the roses swaying, and thus knew where Laurin was hiding and were able to trap him. Laurin was so angry at being discovered that he turned around and cursed the Rose Garden, which he believed had betrayed him: “Neither by day nor by night should anyone again glimpse this lovely sight.” But in saying that, Laurin had forgotten the time between day and night, the twilight. And so it is that the red glow of the Rose Garden still can be seen just after sunset.
I am Italian, and even if I’ve never been on the Dolomites, I very well know how beautiful they are. And today I know a little more about them, the magic story of the Rose Garden.
Thanks a lot, Wilfried, for sharing this beautiful image and story with us!
Take care and talk soon!