Dresden

The Elbe in front of Dresden's old town

In Dresden, the width of the Elbe leaves enough space to see the city skyline as a continuous line. The larger historical buildings stand out on the bank, and behind them the roof image thickens. The deep light emphasizes the different heights of domes, towers and neighboring buildings.

The old town bank from the Elbe

In Dresden, the wide Elbe gives distance to the old town. The opposite bank can open the sequence of images before the striking buildings on the water come closer into focus.

A river changes its role with the direction of view. Across the water you can clearly see how close the development is to the bank. A view along the run connects several sections that appear separate from the street. A particularly vivid image is one in which there is a prominent bank in the foreground and a second reference point further back. The eye can then follow the distance between them itself. A picture caption is achieved by indicating which side of the river the main motif is on.

Church building and neighborhood

A church can often be identified in the townscape by its height. In an aerial view, the arrangement of the roof surfaces also helps. It shows the length of the ship, the orientation of the building and its relationship to paths and adjacent areas. A particularly clear angle is where the tower only covers a little of the rest of the building. To create a portrait of the location, some of the surroundings can be included in the picture. Only it turns the individual church building into a concrete place with a neighborhood.

Shapes in the side light

Deep light places a bright side and a shadow side on the same shape. In this way, even small elevations gain a clear profile. However, a particularly bright area can also distract from the main subject. When selecting an image, it is helpful to briefly look at the photo in a reduced size. What first catches the eye will often be the introduction to a publication. Another crop can take advantage of the light accent while still showing enough surroundings to see the location.

Warm tones within the series

To switch between two of the 42 aerial photos, shot 18 and shot 22 can be called up directly in the gallery. In the second view, warm reds and browns have more weight than in the first. Red-brown and yellowish areas are particularly noticeable next to cooler surfaces. What is interesting when comparing is whether they are concentrated on a single object or appear spread out across the entire view.

Shot 42 and Shot 1 are among the views from December 18, 2020. According to the camera's time information, there are approximately 17 minutes between the two images. ISO 100 and an exposure time of 1/320 second are recorded for both files.

In the Aerial Videos section there are 5 clips for this article. An example is “Dresden from the air”. Its preview leads directly to the video in the aerial photographer's Adobe Stock portfolio.

Explain the course of the river in the picture

An image path along a body of water can follow the direction of flow. In order for readers to understand the transition between the local views, they need a recognizable reference point for each section. This can be a crossing or a significant bend. Whether water can still be seen on the left or right of the finished print also depends on the page format. It is therefore worthwhile for the aerial photographer to know whether a wide double page or a narrow single image is intended. A cut-off bend in the river can significantly change the view of the town.

Related motifs in the aerial photo archive

Two additional views can be used in the archive for comparison. The first can be found under Bischofswerda. Bischofswerda appears in the photographs under a wide sky. The second belongs to the article Obermarchtal Monastery. The Obermarchtal monastery complex can be recognized by its large, connected roof areas.