Hi,

I will be in Slovenia during the last 2 weeks of july, planning to test my 5d + Leica 19mm fusion as far as my female companion allows me (fusions...)
My question, besides where to shoot;
How do you prepare your evening/morning shootouts, so as to take a maximum of pictures. My fears are fumbling with that manual focus, stop down metering, filters, tripod,... while the magic of light steadily vanishes in front of me. I simply do not have enough experience with landscapes to have full control over the whole process of 'going for a shoot'.
During day trips I'll simple use my 17-40mm to shoot around in a relaxed manner.

Thank you in advance!
Roeland

You'll get lots of replies eventually, but remember, the most important thing is location. Once you have that set, the next most important is to get there well before sunrise, so you can get some throwaway test shots before the real thing. If you have a companion along for the shoot, you may have to deal with a big boredom factor, no different than hunting and fishing, or watching baseball. Nowdays you can carry the Internet in a pocket phone, so that could help with those issues. Shooting late is like shooting early, except the light comes from the opposite end. You might want to map out where the best sunrise and sunset locations are, not for sunrise and sunset shots per se, but because it will affect how the light hits your targets, and most of your shots will work better with one than the other. Planning that well may allow you to get the best early shots in one locale, then drive to the best locale for the late shots, so you can get more done in a day.

If you go to Slovenia and are into photography, you must visit Lake Bled. I rank it as top 10 photo locations in Europe. Below a shot I took there a few years back. The castle up the hill has nice views as well. I didn't visit the monastery on the island, but there are regular ferries there.

Ljubljana is a beautiful city with a very nice old town. Slovenians are very friendly and warm people, quite germanic in their efficiency, but more laid back - nice combination, which is even more pronounced in Croatia. I only spent two days there, so can't say much more.

As for shooting, get to know your camera combo before going there. Don't sweat it, don't go with the intention of "I need to grab 5 great shots on this trip." Just take photos where you see the opportunity, and enjoy your time with the SO!