Donaueschingen

Donaueschingen at the confluence of the source rivers

Brigach and Breg flow together near Donaueschingen. In the aerial photo, the meeting of two watercourses can be read by the shape of their banks. The broader city views integrate the river motif into the surrounding buildings and green areas along the water.

Two rivers in one picture

Watercourses meet in Donaueschingen. A picture that contains both feeders and the common further course is more helpful for spatial classification than an isolated section of the bank.

At the river it is worth taking a second look at both edges of the picture. Sometimes a road ends there and continues along the water in the next section. In another place, a line of trees frames a stretch of bank. Such clues connect the place with its river valley. For a double page spread, you can choose an overview showing the course and juxtapose it with a close-up view of the shore. It helps if at least one bend in the bank or a building can be found in both motifs.

The shore zone in detail

On the bank, the familiar solid surface and the changing water surface lie right next to each other. An embankment or a narrow path can appear significantly wider when viewed from an angle than when viewed from a steeper perspective. That's why it's helpful to keep a point such as a junction or a prominent curve in the image. It combines the close-up view with the panorama. Even when switching from landscape format to portrait format, this transition should remain visible if the location on the water is the actual topic.

What the roofs reveal about the floor plan

A city center can often be read by its roofs. Where narrow gables are close together, the street space is also divided into short sections. A large, connected building interrupts this sequence. In the aerial photo you can follow the direction of an alley from such an interruption. For an illustration in a smaller format, a section with just a few easily distinguishable roof groups is worthwhile. In a large print, however, the spaces and small changes in direction are allowed to keep their place.

The distribution of blue tones

For a direct image comparison, use shot 3 and shot 5 from the gallery with 9 aerial photos. 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.

According to camera data, Shot 9 and Shot 1 were taken on April 25, 2020. There is a gap of around 3 minutes between the two pictures. The exposure time was 1/500 second for the first of the images mentioned and 1/240 second for the second.

In the Aerial Videos section there are 2 clips for this article. One example is “Donaueschingen aerial photos”. Its preview leads directly to the video in the aerial photographer's Adobe Stock portfolio.

Explain the course of the river in the picture

For a publication about a river, it is worth explicitly naming the bank side if it is known. The left side of the photo and the left bank of the river are two different details. The photo can look in any direction, the bank name follows the direction of flow. Anyone who describes a desired view to the aerial photographer can therefore orientate themselves on a bridge, a settlement or an easily identifiable section of the bank. The same reference points make it easier for the reader to orient themselves later when the river appears to be going in a different direction in the next shot.

Related motifs in the aerial photo archive

The article Riedlingen offers another perspective. In Riedlingen, the red roofs of the old town are close to the water. In the gallery Munderkingen there is a different focus. The Danube forms a pronounced curve around the buildings near Munderkingen.