The Großglockner Hochalpenstraße in Polaroids

As per tradition, I also found my way onto one of the world's finest driving roads in 2019. Thus, another visit to the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße had been born. Once more it had been with my brave Little Mite, which was also happy to return to the grounds the birth of its road trip career. One might - rightfully - think that this is the third time I had visited the very same place and "aren't you getting bored of it?"

The answer is no. The first time I visited, everything had been new and exiting and I barely scratched the surface of what was possible. There was not enough time, and too much nature to look at. In 2018, it had only been a short visit in early summer, when snow was still resting at the side of the road, and I decided that it would offer a great oppertunity to hone my photographic skills.

Having been gifted with a polariod instant camera for Christmas, I decided to try something a little different and capture the road not in digital pictures but with analog little polaroids:

As every year, I stayed at the Wallackshaus, which is on the alpine road and offers a lovely view down the South side and into Kärnten.

Overall, I snapped 21 polaroids, and most of the them were usable. Almost every day on top of the mountain, I had been in luck with weather, with a sunny sky above my head and a beautiful view in front of my eyes.

On the first day, I visited the Edelweißspitze which is the highest place, you can reach with the car. Furthermore, it is also the only place which has the original high alpine road paving. As such it is much tighter and narrower. You have to look ahead because two cars can't pass each other safely without one stopping. However, I always drive up for a visit because of this and, of course, the view.

Even in year three, I still found angels and places that I hadn't discovered before. Such as this little spot with a waterfall, at one of the earlier turn-offs when you come from Heiligenblut.

Personally, I enjoy polaroid photography because it makes everything feel a little more intimate. You capture one moment and that was it, there is no "oh I'll change that in the edit" and it doesn't have to be perfect either. At the same time you only have that one chance, so you spend longer looking for the right shot and finding an motive that you think worthy for the film. I also feel that the atmosphere you capture, comes a bit closer to the feeling that you have in memory. Such as a simple photo of a road but you know exactly what it is and where:

On the last day, the great view had been obscured by rain and fog. At first, I hadn't even been sure if to take my camera with me but in the end, and with only a few films left, I bravely made my way outside. With little traffic and hardly a view, I didn't expect much but then a bright orange 911 rolled up and I captured a lovely and ghostly shot:

As well as one of the finest snow plows in the world:

In the end, the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße offers a great view, a nice driving road and is a great place to explore photography. While it may take a bit to master polaroid photography - and I am hardly a master yet - it slows you down and relaxes you as you focus on the shot. This is exactly what the Großglockner has done for me over the last years, so I considered it the perfect place to combine these aspects.

Feel free to browse and learn more about the Großglockner and my trips to it by snooping through the tag here.