Rechtenstein

Rechtenstein between the rock face and the Danube

At Rechtenstein, the Danube follows a forested cut. Houses and individual larger buildings stand noticeably close to the rising slopes. The oblique view shows how the settlement adapts to the narrow space between water and rock.

The place in the valley cut

At Rechtenstein the townscape lies between the rock and the Danube. The different brightness of the two surfaces alone makes it clear how narrow the built-up space in between remains in places.

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.

The shape of the rock in the light

Rock surfaces are often harder to read in an aerial photograph than their sharp outline suggests. A dark area can be a deep crevice or just in shadow. The connection of several visible edges provides information. Where they converge and cover a surface, a spatial jump is understandable. A location with clear rock contours is suitable for publication with smaller images. In a larger format, the eye can wander more over the finer differences in the surface.

How the place changes from the inside out

The center of a town can often be recognized from the air by the intersection of several streets. These lines diverge towards the open landscape, the properties become longer and the distances between the houses become larger. Anyone who chooses an image for a location portrait can pay attention to these transitions. A motif with a piece of the surrounding area tells where the place is. A narrower shot, on the other hand, gives people who live or have lived here more opportunities to find familiar buildings in the picture.

The distribution of blue tones

To switch between two of the 9 aerial photos, shot 7 and shot 4 can be called up directly in the gallery. In the first excerpt, shades of blue play a smaller role. In the second shot, blue areas take up more space. Blue can extend over a large contiguous area or only appear in individual parts. What also counts for the effect is whether these areas extend to the edge of the picture or surround the main subject.

Shot 9 and Shot 1 are among the views from April 26, 2020. According to the camera's time information, there are approximately 4 minutes between the two images. ISO 100 and an exposure time of 1/500 second are recorded for both files.

For a selection of moving images, the gallery contains 5 linked clips. Among them is “Rechtenstein aerial photos”. Under Aerial Videos the preview leads to the aerial photographer's respective offer at Adobe Stock.

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 at Sigmaringen. In Sigmaringen, the castle occupies a rocky outcrop on the Danube. The second belongs to the article Mühlheim an der Donau. The overview of Mühlheim an der Donau shows a juxtaposition of dense settlement areas and wide meadows in the valley.