Heiligenkreuz Abbey is the oldest and continuously active Cistercian monastery in the world. Here’s some tips to help you make great photos on your visit.

Founded in 1133 by St. Leopold III Heiligenkreuz Abbey is a lovely, peaceful place that was visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

My own, somewhat less celebrated visit to Heiligenkreuz Abbey was on a bright, sunny summer’s day. Situated near the Austrian capital the drive through the Vienna woods, known locally as the Wienerwald, made for a very enjoyable trip.

I was on a day long group tour, a fairly unusual experience for me, because I'd heard that this very beautiful place does not allow entry to independent travellers.

Fortunately the day was fun and, because I made some photos with which I’m really happy, quite successful.

I even managed to catch up on some long overdue sleep on the bus.

Regarded as one of the most beautiful monasteries in the world the site offers enthusiast photographers numerous opportunities to create compelling images.

However, it needs to be noted that it's only possible to enter the monastery as part of a tour.

This fact creates problems for the serious photographer, particularly if you want to make beautiful, timeless architectural photos free of other people.

One of the problems with people is the clothes they wear, which tend to date a photo.

Given that nude photography is, largely, outside of my experience and also unlikely to occur inside the abbey the best option was to make photos in the brief moments when people weren’t around.

Photographers Have To Deal With People

The hardest thing about being on a tour for a photographer is having to make your pictures while other tourists are inhabiting that space.

That wasn’t going to work for me at Heiligenkreuz Abbey so I decided the best way to proceed was to make my photos immediately after the rest of the group had left each of the numerous spaces we visited.

I asked our tour guide if he would allow me to linger a few short moments after the group had begun to move on so that I could make my photos, prior to catching up to them again.

Thankfully he granted me permission on the strict provision that I had to make my photos and leave the room in question no later than he did.

This was no small gesture and one I wasn’t going to take for granted. I made sure I worked quickly, quietly and efficiently.

I thought that was totally reasonable, though I did have to work quickly to make the images you see here.

Here’s how it worked.

• Tour guide would give his spiel

• Tour group would slowly begin to shuffle off to the next location in the abbey

• I’d make my photos and catch up just as the tour guide, who kept an eye on me, was exiting the space

• The process would be repeated at several similar sites in the complex

I very much appreciated the trust and understanding our tour guide extended to me. I did all I could to ensure I wasn’t a bother and made sure I tipped him, generously, at the end of the day.

I believe that what we do in the here and now has a direct influence on what happens in the future, be it to ourselves or to others.

Tipping my guide was a gesture, that benefited him in the now and may well have benefited other like minded photographers well into the future.

Peace and Beauty in Photography

The last Babenberg Duke, Frederick II, known as Frederick the Quarrelsome, is buried at Heiligenkreuz Abbey.

A former ruler of the country he died in 1246 and is buried in a romanesque sculptured tombstone in the middle of the Chapter House.

It's a lovely, peaceful and contemplative space within the monastery and I wanted my photo of the duke’s tomb to convey those feelings.

Despite the color in the stained glass windows I felt that, to adequately convey the mood I experienced at the time, a black and white rendering seemed appropriate.

I wasn’t allowed to enter the abbey with a tripod so, to reduce the dynamic range of the scene I had to create a HDR sequence under low light conditions.

That meant holding the camera still for the five image sequence at shutter speeds from 1/8 to 1/125 second.

As you can see, from the photo at the very top of this post, there’s plenty of detail from the relatively bright stained glass window down to the deepest shadows.

I’m really happy with the result, as I am with all the photos in this post.

How To Make Photos Without A Tripod

I thought this scene of old wooden and leather bound bibles displayed in a chapel at Heiligenkreuz Abbey was just beautiful.

To do justice to this most wonderful place a tripod, more time and a more contemplated approach are needed. But we can only do our best given the opportunities available to us.

I often find myself photographing, without a tripod, down as slow as 1/8 second with a wide angle or standard focal length lens.

You're not supposed to be able to achieve sharpness at such a slow shutter speed, particular with high resolution digital sensors.

But I'm well practiced with this technique and I'm very confident in my ability to achieve sharp results under such conditions.

Actually, I’ve been doing it for years, way back in the days of film and long before image stabilized lenses.

With my Leica M-series rangefinder cameras I’d be able to photograph down to 1/4 second hand held.

I love working under low levels of existing light and only resort to flash at the utmost end of need.

Composition Is At The Heart Of A Great Photo

This photo features what, I'm sure, is one of many corridors in the Abbey. In addition to a range of luscious honey colors and lovely, soft light this image is about texture, shape and repetition.

I knew immediately that a high degree of sharpness was essential if the image was to be successful. The problem was that the light was low and a slow shutter speed would be required.

Not being able to bring a tripod into the Abbey meant extreme care had to be taken to steady the camera so that a sharp image could be made.

Despite the 1/10 second exposure time, I'm glad I was able to achieve it.

Improve Your Photos By Controlling Contrast

Even though the light was relatively low indoors, it was quite a lot brighter outside.

We can define contrast, also known as dynamic range, as the difference between important highlight and shadow areas within the scene.

The way our eye sees and our brain processes visual stimuli and emotion to form an image in our own mind is both fascinating and complex.

But it’s also a key reason why most folks are unhappy with the way many of their photos turn out.

Needless to say that the way the camera records the scene is often quite different to the way we perceive at the time.

Perhaps the hardest element for a photographer to control, historically, has been contrast and this kind of scene would have been difficult to photograph, outside of a HDR workflow, if I'd included the actual windows in the composition.

To reduce contrast, which would have resulted in burnt out windows and overly dark shadows, I simply moved my body a jump to the left (just like in the song) and then turned my camera a step to the right.

This meant that none of the actual glass and, as a consequence, the outside light, was visible within the frame.

Problem solved and a successful photograph was born.

If ever you are in Vienna you can reach Heiligenkreuz Abbey as part of a day trip that can include, as mine did, a drive through the Vienna Woods with stops at other interesting locations along the way.

I certainly recommend it as a fun and interesting excursion on your next trip to Vienna.

Glenn Guy, Travel Photography Guru