This autumn I visited Luxembourg’s Land of the Red Rocks! While I have become very familiar with places such as the Upper-Sûre Lake or the Mullerthal, exploring the southern Minett region has been a new and very productive experience this year. Read on and accompany me to one of Luxembourg’s most colourful regions.

The Land of a million colours

Luxembourg’s most southern region has a long industrial history. Extensive mining for iron ore has shaped the landscape until the early 1960s. Since 1964 and the end of all mining operations, the region and its many mining sites have slowly been reclaimed by nature.

My visit to the land of the red rocks this autumn took me near Differdange where I hiked through various parts of the landscape, one more colourful than the other.

Abstract nature

The colour palette reaches from deep greens, through bright yellows all the way to fiery reds. It’s a fantastic playground to create abstract nature pictures, concentrating on shapes and complimentary colours.

Silver birches

The Land of the Red Rocks is home to many different kinds of trees. Silver birches are among the most intriguing subjects here, with their white bark and delicate textures. They have been one of my favourite subjects this autumn season.

Lone trees

While visiting the Minett, I have also been on the lookout for lone trees, trying to isolate them against the background.

For this first image, the bright yellow leaves contrasted nicely with the deep browns and reds of the earth and the rocks behind it. It reminds me of places like Zion National Park, where you may find similar compositions.

The second image was one fo the first ones I made and it may well be my personal favourite. Once more the image depicts a bright yellow tree isolated against a darker background with deep greens and more yellows. I feel the isolation works even better, creating a softer transition between the subject and its background.

Vistas

The close proximity to the trees and rocks makes the Minett a challenging place to capture wider vistas, which I am very fond of. However, using a long telephoto lens allowed me to isolate certain parts of the cliffs and forest, getting closer to that vista feeling.

Now that I have seen the Land of the Red Rocks in autumn, I am looking forward to seeing it again in spring and summer. Even a winter visit may be interesting since snow or frost would probably allow for some very contrasting scenes. My ongoing exploration of the Grand Duchy will most definitely take me back to this place in the coming months…

Have you ever visited the Minett? Let me know by leaving a comment below.