The Winter of a Lake

It’s always interesting, at least for me, to visit and observe small communities during or around the holidays. This time I happened to be in a small village somewhere in the Burgenland region, Austria. The village is called Podersdorf am See, and as you probably guessed, it is a place where a “see” (lake) can be found. It is called, of course, Podersee, and it is well known in the Austria for its water sports in the summer. However, when I visited it, the year was drawing to an end, with only 3 days until 2025. Not much water sport in December, as you can imagine, but the views were really great, the lake a real treat for my eyes, I can tell you that.

In the morning the village had a “Sleepy Hollow” feeling to it. Not a soul on the streets, which sometimes can be a blessing (or not) for a photographer. The village is deserted, and I suspect many houses here are empty, no one seems to be home. Remnants of the summer is visible in the courtyards: barbecues, garden furniture, children playgrounds, and so forth.

Oh, and boats. Boats of all sizes, small boats, medium, large boats, all easily seen because of the tall masts visible from a distance. You can tell who has a boat because they are rising like thin, metallic needles above the courtyards everywhere. In many places, they are even taller than the trees. They are parked near houses, in the car parking lots, along the fences. Boats galore, as it were. This village is like a small marina, only on dry land. Clearly, boating is the thing for these people, and one can understand why this village is the place to be in the summer; water sports are home here.

This is the last frame on the roll. The end of the film created some sort of waves, so I thought it would be fun to include it in the scanned image.

Walking at leisure, it took me some 40 mins to stretch my legs, from the hotel to the lake’s shore. The small shops, open for tourists in the summer, are now closed. In this freezing cold, one can only dream of the warm weather, crowded streets, lake’s refreshing breeze and the welcomed shade provided by the beer gardens. Well, only 4 months to go; I was told the season starts early in the year, like the first week of April or so.

While the lake is not completely frozen, the ice has claimed its shores and a good portion of the water. The middle of the lake seems free of ice, to the delight of the innumerable flocks of geese, who are, by the sound of it, in a major dispute over territory, food or just quarrelling as they do. The vastness of this lake and its forlorn spots of reeds, its deserted piers and decks, the ice-locked sightseeing boats, the freezing weather are something to be appreciated; a completely opposite tableaux to the summer.

With no people around or in sight, its not a very different feeling from the Discovery series  “After People”. The freezing air and the steam rising from the lake makes for a very interesting lens view of the mountains across the lake, all snowed tops and the image adds to the general feeling of this place.

The sun has risen, and while the light becomes all right for some snaps, the temperature continues to stay low. I can see a few people arriving on the shores, to take the crisp air of what starts to become a beautiful day. From what I can tell, many are visitors to this place, children in tow, old couples, young couples, enjoying it all. Many with cameras, even film cameras; my Nikon F3 (color) and Nikon FM3a (bw) are seen, noticed and asked about, so I am getting a good number of questions on the gear I have. Wonderful conversation starters, and I am having a good time.

The ”piece de resistance” or final destination for all is obviously the lighthouse, sitting at the end of the long wooden pier. Nothing major, not your usual lighthouse, so it’s not very tall, but it’s there and its profile against the increasingly sunny skies, with fluffy, contrasty clouds, attracts all the visitors like flame attracts a moth. Surrounded by the frozen water, its piers going straight into the half mist floating on the lake, people are clearly having a good time now. The sun begins to warm faces and hands, and the crisp air of the morning slowly becomes warmer, more pleasant. The mood has obviously risen a bar or two.

Children playgrounds are deserted; what kids there are around are not really interested in playing with any of the contraptions set for them. Much more fun to run along the shore of the lake, throwing pebbles onto the ice and watch them skid endlessly, or chasing the seagulls, counting the geese, making swords out of reeds or simply running around. I was quite curious to see them contraptions for myself, and they make a good subject for a couple of photographs.

Much more warmer than I was a couple of hours ago, I enjoy this all. Just sitting on a bench and leaving the sun to chase the chill off my face and hands is pure bliss. Closing my eyes, I can imagine myself here in the summer, and I like that image. This could be my next destination when warm days will come. And why not?

All images were taken with Nikon FM3a on Ilford FP 517 Cine film negative, my own process and scan. Lens wise, I used a Nikkor 35/2.8 and a 105/2.5. I have found this Cine film much more forgiving that I would’ve thought. Some of the photographs were taken with an orange filter attached.

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