My favourite shots of Heidelberg, where I took them and the settings I used.
Heidelberg is a well-known tourist destination and the city has been well covered from all the common angles. But I have spent a lot of time around here over the past year and a half and tried to cover the city from a less common perspective. So here’s my take on Heidelberg and surrounds:
Ziegelhausen and the Odenwald
While these images are not specifically in Heidelberg, they’re close enough for me… One of the things I like a lot about Heidelberg is the proximity to the outdoors and what seems like complete wilderness. Heidelberg is surrounded by forests full of walking and mountain biking trails.

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/25 sec at f2.8
ISO 100

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/40 sec at f2.8
ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark III (with tripod)
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @24mm
30 sec at f11
ISO 100

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/15 sec at 2.8mm
IS0 100

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/25 sec at f2.8
ISO 100
Note: You’ll realise that basically all my drone shots are shot at ISO 100. If the conditions are calm then I prefer to lower the shutter speed rather than raise the ISO. Of
Also, given the perspective of top-down shots, depth of field isn’t really required, so shooting at 2.8 doesn’t present any problems.
Philosophenweg
The most famous walk in Heidelberg. This path runs parallel with the Neckar River – Rather than capture the traditional shot of the city from up above, I like to head a bit further and capture the forest trails. Particularly in autumn when the fog starts to roll in.

Canon 5D Mark III
Sigma Art 35mm 1.4
1/200 sec at f2.8
ISO 200

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @24mm
1/125 sec at f4
ISO 1250
– A higher ISO than I usually use, but I don’t like to slow the shutter down much more than I already had – Mine aren’t the steadiest hands out there! One of those situations where I’d love to have the 24-70mm 2.8

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/400 at 2.8
ISO 100
– I purposely underexposed this shot to avoid losing the bright details in the sky, but not so much so that the shadows were unrecoverable.

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USMĀ @24mm
1/250 sec at f5.6
ISO 500

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USMĀ @24mm
1/60 at f6.3
ISO 640
– Here I wanted to capture some depth from the foreground to the background, hence the 6.3 aperture. Because of
Kƶnigstuhl
Evidently I like to go up Kƶnigstuhl when it’s snowy, and I generally only go there for drone shots – and usually for sunrise. The reason being that Heidelberg is in a valley and the sun doesn’t show until quite late. So if I get to the top of the highest peak then I can catch the first light better. Also, while the snowfall doesn’t usually stick around for long in town, the extra elevation up here means I’m more likely to catch some wintery looking shots.

DJI Phantom 3 Standard
1/10 sec at f2.8
ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @24mm
1/80 sec at f4
ISO 200

DJI Phantom 3 Standard
1/4 sec at f2.8
ISO 100

DJI Phantom 3 Standard
1/6 sec at f2.8
ISO 100
Heidelberg Altstadt
Heidelberg’s Altstadt is famed for its beauty. As a

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/10 sec at f6.3
ISO 100
– The 6.3 kind of contradicts my earlier comments about not needing depth of field for top-down shots. Anyway, I’d only recently upgraded to the P4P and I guess I felt like I needed to make the most of the option to adjust aperture. But, like I said, in calm conditions the slower shutter isn’t really a problem with this drone.

Canon 5D Mark III (with tripod)
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @47mm
20 sec at f14
ISO 50
To have the best chance of capturing a lightning strike I’ve increased the aperture and decreased the ISO to allow for a longer exposure. I found f14 offered the perfect balance between maintaining sharpness and allowing for a slow shutter speed.

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @47mm
1/200 sec at f5
ISO 250

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @45mm
1/160 sec at f4
ISO 250

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/30 sec at f2.8
ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USMĀ @105mm
1/4 sec at f7.1
ISO 50
– This shot took a bit of trial and error, but the idea is to ‘swipe’ the camera from right to left smoothly and while staying as parallel with the horizon as possible. Try it when there’s water to the horizon – it looks incredible!

DJI Phantom 3 Standard
1/160 sec at f2.8
ISO 100

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/60 sec at f7.1
ISO 100
Heidelberg Castle
While it is the obvious focal point of the city, I still had to include some castle shots. Hopefully, they’re a little different to what you’ve seen before!

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @47mm
1/160 sec at f6.3
ISO 200

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
1/30 sec at f3.5
ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 mm 1:4.0 L IS USM @65mm
1/60 sec at f4
ISO 320
– In hindsight, I should have bumped up the ISO here and used a faster shutter speed, especially with the focal length at 65mm. On close inspection there is a little camera shake involved.

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
This is a composite of 5 shots ranging from 1/8 – 1/50 sec at f7.1
ISO 100
– I’m not completely sold on the merits of HDR merging but I did like the way this turned out. There’s still a bit of lost detail in the highlights but I actually prefer that,

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Also a composite of 5 shots ranging from 1/10 – 1/60 sec at f4.5
ISO 100
Leave a comment to let me know what your favourite shot(s) are and if any of the information I’ve provided is helpful!
Some of these photographs are available in my Print Store, but to enquire about purchasing the others as prints of digital reproduction please send me an email!
1 comment
Hi Paul. We were in Heidelberg at the end August 2017 was our first stop after leaving Budapest lovely City. Awesome Photos
Regards Jamie Janice