The most important time slots for landscape photography are the blue and golden hours in the morning and at nightfall. The blue hour with its particularly steady light and deep blue sky starts 30 to 45 minutes before sunrise and after sunset. The golden hour is the time after sunrise and before sunset. The low position of the sun provides an intense light of reddish and orange colour and beautiful shadows highlighting the profile of the landscape. 

A classical motif may be rugged cliffs with morning mists wafting around them. But photogenic details such as a clifftop pine, extraordinary sandstone forms or diverse floral motifs are also worthwhile. Even in bad weather fairytale sceneries can be discovered in the gorges and ravines with their moss-covered rock sides and wild brooks.

The famous sea of mist develops particularly often in spring and autumn when temperatures sink low enough to reach the point of thaw. Heavy rain on the previous day is helpful, too. But the wind also plays a role. If it is too strong, the mist cannot gather in the valley.

A very promising position for successful photos is the area around the Bastei Rock. Countless very special motifs are all easy to access from there. However, you will probably not be alone there. Schrammsteine Rocks and Kleiner Winterberg Mountain also provide very attractive sceneries. 

A distinctive element in the foreground can convey the expanse and distance of the reality. The Rule of Thirds or the Golden Ratio is helpful for the composition. Many cameras in smartphones also provide the option to display a 3 x 3 grid in the viewfinder.

Tripod, headlamp, charged batteries, memory card, windbreaker, snacks and drink, a map of the region - saved offline on smartphone, or on paper – and a good portion of common sense.

A wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle lens is an important accessory. But Saxon Switzerland also provides an incredible range of motifs for telephoto lenses over 70 millimetres. With a 16 to 35 millimetre and a 70 to 200 millimetre lens (full format) you are prepared for lots of situations.

Most lenses produce beautiful sun stars when the aperture is closed. However, many lenses generally lose sharpness, despite their greater depth of field. With most lenses, the best sharpness is between aperture f/8.0 and f/11.0. If you want to photograph the stars at night, you have to open the aperture wide (e.g. up to aperture f/1.8).

Many beginners are too quick to shoot their photo. Precision and constant attention to the composition, sharpness, exposure settings and camera position require patience but pays off at the end with better quality photos. Apart from that, RAW format photography is in fact indispensable for taking good landscape photos.