Timmelsjoch Crosspoint
Location Hochgurgl, Austria Architect Michael Brötz Completion 2015 Construction costs 10 million €
The high alpine road over the Timmelsjoch is one of the most beautiful drives through the Alps. The ascent spans the border between North and South Tyrol and offers wide views from all sides. When you drive on the high alpine road – whether from Italy or the Ötztal – you will soon come across an inviting toll plaza that seems to “embrace” you with its shape. It quickly becomes clear that this modern piece of alpine architecture is much more than that!
Timmelsjoch Crosspoint is a building with many functions, serving as part of an alpine toll station, a gondola station, a restaurant, and a mountain motorcycle museum. Architect Michael Brötz told me that all of Crosspoint's functions were both the greatest difficulty behind its design and its greatest strength. Brötz says, "It was generally important to me to create an architecture that, despite its size and modernity, appears inviting and radiates warmth and security."
Defying Alpine weather for atmospheric images
My goal in photographing this incredible building was to give the viewer an overview of the architecture and its surroundings while celebrating the many custom details found throughout the structure. The Crosspoint is a wonderful combination of curved lines, natural materials, and flowing transitions.
As with most other modern alpine architecture projects I have photographed in my career, the biggest challenge when planning this shoot was the weather. Days of strong wind and rain drove a sea of clouds over the mountain range. This brought a dramatic element to the images, which I fully enjoyed. On the other hand, it made some of the images appear low in contrast and flat. To counteract this, I decided to photograph The Crosspoint in the early evening, which meant subtle lighting and less traffic.
The complex interior of the Crosspoint
Another challenge for this building was showing the order and flow that architect Michael Brötz worked so hard to achieve with his design. It was important to me to carefully design my compositions so that they included clear lines from the corner of the image to the center of the subject. This allows the viewer to be guided through the countless motorcycles, engines, blocks, skis, lamps, and information boards. In addition, particularly bright areas of the image provide focal points to concentrate on, and "empty" areas must not be missing in the image in order to bring some calm back into the chaos. In this way, the viewer is able to subtly absorb all these elements while at the same time getting a good overview of the shape and form of the museum as a whole.
A feeling of warmth and comfort for travelers
The Crosspoint Timmelsjoch is a paradise for travelers on the High Alpine Road.
Its modern comfort and clear design are still reminiscent of traditional mountain construction. Brötz explains that he relies on "a strong use of wood as a renewable raw material." The wood-paneled interior and beautiful lighting design convey a sense of simple warmth and security – a concept I strived to represent in these photographs.
The heart and soul of architectural photography
It was with great regret that I read in the spring of 2021 that the Crosspoint had burned down almost to the ground. An electrical short circuit caused a fire in the museum that spread to large parts of the building. This spring, architect Michael Brötz set about redesigning the Crosspoint and completed construction work at the end of November 2021. The structure has now been rebuilt, but many of the exhibits were destroyed by the fire.
This series of images is one of the last testimonies to the original building and the contents of the museum. This unfortunate truth underscores the importance of architectural photography, a discipline used to document and celebrate the achievements of what man has been able to design and build on this earth.
Post-processing with a focus on dynamic range
A major challenge I encountered while photographing the Timmelsjoch Crosspoint was the strong contrast between the view from the windows and the very dark motorcycles, floors, and ceiling elements. To overcome this discrepancy, I knew I had to take a series of exposure brackets for each image. This gave me the opportunity to select the correct tones from each area of the photo and selectively brighten or darken them. By emphasizing the light and color of each localized area of the photographs, I was able to achieve balanced exposure and lifelike colors throughout the series.
Equipment
Camera
Drone
1. Lens
2. Lens
3. Lens
Tripod
Software
Canon EOS R.
DJI Mavic Pro 2
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
Canon TS-E 50mm 1:2,8l MAKRO
Canon EF 16-35 mm 1:2,8 L II USM
Feisol CT-3441T Rapid
Capture One 21, Adobe Photoshop CC
