The ‘Affenschlucht’ is a tip for all nature lovers and offers a dreamlike scenery along the edge of Winterthur Wülflingen (Hard). The Affenschlucht is very scenic and can be easily combined with a leisurely stroll along the Töss River. It is a very nice place for bathing and relaxing on hot days. You can bring your own drinks and food (you have too, there are no shops) and make a small makeshift grill from the stones. The water is clear and fresh.
Click to enlarge.
Photo Tips.
Body with some good dynamic range. Lenses: bring a wide angle or wide zoom, 15-30mm, 24-70mm or 24-105mm (in full frame or eqv. in crop). And bring an ND filter. If you shoot at daytime with bright light, a Lee Big Stopper or something similar is very useful. I used a Luminox Vari 4 stop ND filter. Shutter speeds went down as low as 2,3 seconds. I could not go lower because I was afraid I got to much movement in the leafs of the trees.
But first, prepare. 🙂 So shooting here requires a bit a prep. The scenery is very very contrasty (especially in the morning) and if you want to shoot the water flowing down, do it in the afternoon. If you wan to shoot in the morning like me, you should think twice. The sun comes up just behind the main waterfall so you will be shooting against the sun most of the morning time. That sun is so bright and creates a lot of reflection on the water so filter stacking can be an option. Use an ND stacked on a CPL. Shooting in the bright morning sunlight can give you some nice shots like ‘sunstars’ on the water. Depends what you want out of the scenery, but overall seen, I would recommend to shoot in the afternoon. You got the sun away from the waterfall, lighting the dark areas on the side. Less contrast and less deep dark shadows.
This chapter will be updated. I will go back there and do a shoot in the afternoon and share my experiences with you. The nice thing from shooting in the morning is that there is nobody…. I mean you are completely alone. How nice 🙂 Let’s see how the afternoons are.
Location
The Affenschlucht is located at the border of Winterthur near Wülflingen. You can take bus 665 from the train station (platform P) and get out at Haltenreben. From there you have to walk about 5 to 10 min. It’s easy to find, you can already see the water and follow the Toss stream. If you want to go back to Winterthur town, take bus 665 (every 30 min.) or bus 607 (also every 30 min) to Winterthur train station.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Text: Winterthur Tourismus
