A new colourful lakeside sunset: Stillness in Colour

By Johan Peijnenburg

I have been keeping myself busy so far this month with catching up on my backlog of photographs to be processed. The leaves have fallen here in Switzerland, and there is not a lot of snow around just yet. So, November is the ideal month to catch up on various things, including processing photographs. I did free up some time last week to scout different long exposure photography locations along the shores of Lac de Neuchâtel in the west of Switzerland. I did this together with fellow photographer Dominique Dubied. As you can judge from the lake landscape photograph to the right, we got lucky. We witnessed a bold and very colourful lakeside sunset at the end of the day.

I shot quite a few photographs while this sunset scene evolved. Partly to capture it with different perspectives, but mostly because the swan didn’t want to stay put. So I have a lot of sunset photographs with a blurry swan as well as photos featuring his/her “less photogenic” side. This one came out quite well, though. I hope you like it!

The viewpoint for this sunset is at the eastern shores of Lac de Neuchâtel, near Cudrefin, a small municipality there. I captured this photograph with a Nikon D800E and a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. A graduated ND filter balanced the exposure of the photograph a bit.

Click on the photograph to learn a bit more about it or to buy a print or licence of this colourful lakeside sunset. Make sure to also check out Dominique Dubied‘s work by the way!

Cheers, Johan 🙂

Stillness in Colour

A colourful lakeside sunset at Lac de Neuchâtel in Switzerland, with a swan, reed and the silhouetted mountains of the Swiss Jura in the back of the lake.

241 thoughts on “A new colourful lakeside sunset: Stillness in Colour”

  12. Anna Ryndak says:

    Absolutely beautiful! Love the tones! You have so many excellent images which I didn’t see it before!

    Reply
  16. Joan Munford says:

    I came across your work today and in the first place this had to do with your last name which is Dutch( and so am I). Now I am only very glad that this made me curious because your photographs are truly magnificent, each and every one of them!

    Reply
  27. kamal deep singh says:

    the high altitude desert mountains…very spacious in the region of leh and laddakh…with lakes as long as 135 kms…a very diff terrain would be fun to capture…offcourse with a rejuvenating hot brew….detailed information available with lonely planet india…i hv been their twice Johan …your skills would do the justice to scapes for us to watch….i hope you will give it thought…thank you…

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      that is a great place and thought! I have a lot of nice locations on my list though, so not sure it wil happen soon 🙂 

      Reply
  29. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Michael: thank you Michael!
    @Emanuele: many thanks Emanuele. Hope everything is fine with you! Still busy? 
    @Jorunn: thank you for the great compliment Jorunn!!!
    @Davorin: no pier in the image this time indeed! Someone else was shooting the pier and i was focussing on the swan 🙂 Thank for the kind words Davorin!

    Reply
  30. Davorin Mance says:

    You’re not photographed the pier 🙁 Photo is nevertheless beautiful. Great colours, beautiful sky and reflection. Swan is cherry on top :)

    Reply
  38. Thierry Bouriat says:

    It’s sometimes difficult to work with a model, even a swan …but it’s a beautiful photo Johan,… as always :-))

    Reply
  45. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @David: thank you David!
    @Kamal: thank you as well 🙂 
    @Vitor: thank you Vitor! Yes the colours of the sunset are reflected quite nicely in the water 🙂 

    Reply
  50. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Henrik: thanks for stopping by Henrik and thanks for the feedback 🙂
    @Christa: danke dir Christa 🙂
    @Lilia: glad you like it Lilia! I go to that lake quite often. Usually for long exposures 🙂 

    Reply
        • Lilia Lin says:

          Oh, I see…. you do have so many ‘offices’ 🙂 That reminds me of a place I go to for bugs, definitely not a favourite but I go because I can find them easier there. The last time I foolishly went just after the rain, I swear I got by bitten by a 100 mossies! :/ But I did get some nice shots, so can’t complain :)

          Reply
          • Johan Peijnenburg says:

            yes that is the nice thing. I can set up office wherever I please 😉 I know the mosquito problem. Glad that I don’t have that many here in CH :)

  56. Julia Anna Gospodarou says:

    What a perfect sunset Johan!! I love the reflections in the lake and the swan is just the piece that brings everything together. :)

    Reply
  72. Wilfried Haferland says:

    Very good you’ve chosen the portrait format to work out the different layers of water / clouds as well as the different layers of subtle colours. I like it! :-)

    Reply
  75. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Kurt: hey Kurt! It’s been a while 🙂 Thanks for the compliment and the yes the swan was pretty helpful 🙂
    @Baldur: many thanks Baldur! Now I need to find some with fog in it 😉 

    Reply
  81. Baldur McQueen says:

    Superb shot, Johan! Everything works… lovely light and subject – and the silky texture on the water is simply wonderful.

    Reply
  87. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Many thanks Monte!
    @Robin: I knew you wood 🙂 Tnx ! 
    Thanks Michael! “It” was fishing for food, so it was quite a challenge to get it in the right spot, still and with the right bird parts in sight 🙂 

    Reply
  89. Michael Russell says:

    Beautiful shot Johan. This is one reason I like photographing Herons, they tend to stay still for a while! Swans just don’t seem to do that. :)

    Reply
  94. Jerry Johnson says:

    This gorgeous photo of a moody sunset has helped to put me in a good mood Johan ! But I suppose your expert placement of the swan upon the gentle waters of the picturesque lake could also be responsible for my good mood? 🙂 Well done!

    Reply
  107. Yasmin Simpson says:

    This is adorable and thank you for the story behind the image ;). I always enjoy your lovely world… Thank you dear Johan.

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      I am pretty sure yours are lovely as well Dominique! I loved the pastel/muted colours when I came back. I resisted temptation to hit the saturation slider 🙂 

      Reply
  123. Jan Andersen says:

    Very good sunset-mood picture .
    Agreed, monochrome is a pity with this one
    Just processed a mountain lake picture (from China) this week end myself (and put it on my blog). Very different from yours, in full sunlight. (Tried a monochrome image as well)

    Reply
  128. jens Ceder says:

    @Marianne: you are SO very kind 🙂 Thanks!
    @Sumit: artistic … moi? Thanks Sumit 😀 
    @Dominique: dank je wel Dominique!! Merci 🙂
    @Ono: many thanks for the kind words!
    @Subra: thanks for the feedback Subra! Much appreciated! 
    @Jens: thank you Jens!

    Reply
  138. Margaret Tompkins says:

    Incredibly beautiful!! I love the wonderful colours you captured and that little swan is perfect!!! Gorgeous in every way!!

    Reply
  142. Matthias Haeussler says:

    I can see now what you mean with the reflections at sunsets that are lost with LE 😉 … excellent capture Johan 

    Reply

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