About Me

My father was a mechanical engineer who believed that understanding how things worked made you appreciate them more. When I was seventeen, he handed me the keys to his Opel Kadett and pointed toward the Brenner Pass. "Pay attention to the road surface," he said. "Notice how the engineers solved problems." He didn't mention that I'd also notice the way light falls across glaciated valleys at 7 AM, or that certain combinations of speed, altitude, and scenery would fundamentally rewire my brain.

Twenty-three years later, I'm still paying attention. The engineering still impresses me. But it's the other stuff—the moments between the technical appreciation—that keeps me coming back.

I moved to Salzburg for a photography job in 2009, thinking I'd stay a year or two. The proximity to the Grossglockner made that plan obsolete almost immediately. I drove it six times that first summer, learning its moods and seasons, and realized I'd accidentally positioned myself in the center of some of the finest driving territory in Europe.

People ask about my car more than I expected. Currently, I drive a 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI—manual transmission, because some rituals shouldn't be automated. It's not the most exotic choice, but it's practical, reliable, and perfectly sized for Austrian mountain roads. The Golf also has the advantage of blending in; nobody assumes you're showing off when you pull into a mountain restaurant parking lot.

Before the Golf, I had a series of increasingly sensible German sedans. The most memorable was a 2005 BMW 325i that I drove into the ground over eleven years. It crossed every pass documented on this site multiple times and taught me that the best car for alpine roads is the one you know intimately.

My advice for visitors: rent something comfortable with good visibility and reliable brakes. You don't need a sports car to enjoy these roads. You need confidence in your vehicle and the willingness to pull over when something catches your eye.

Most of the photography on this site comes from my drives—nothing staged, nothing planned beyond showing up when the light might be interesting. I shoot with a Fujifilm X-T4, chosen because it's light enough to carry when hiking and robust enough to handle mountain weather.

I'm not a professional landscape photographer; my commercial work pays the bills. But the alpine images are the ones that actually feel personal. They're documentation of specific moments—the fog clearing over Vermunt, the way shadows fall across Grossglockner's hairpins at sunset, the unexpected light that sometimes appears just when you're about to give up.

For images I haven't taken myself, I credit the sources properly. The photo community on Unsplash has been generous, and I believe in acknowledging that work.

I genuinely enjoy hearing from people who've used this site to plan their own alpine adventures—especially when they share stories of things I got wrong or viewpoints I missed. My email is always open for questions, suggestions, or good-natured arguments about which pass is actually the best.

For professional inquiries—photography commissions, writing assignments, or anything that involves being paid to drive mountain roads—reach out and we'll talk. I'm selective about commercial work, but I've been known to say yes to interesting projects.

Social media isn't really my thing. I'd rather spend the hour driving than posting. But the email works, and I respond to everything eventually.