DIFFERENT WETLANDS, DIFFERENT SMELL

Tauerwiesenteich, near Förstgen, Saxony, Germany,

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, Panoramic image created from 4 single photos,

This photo is best viewed at a computer. Click on the picture for a larger image on screen.

No, this is not any of the backwaters along the Upper Mississippi River here in Iowa. A week ago, back in my home town Bautzen, Germany, I had the chance to make a short trip to the biosphere preserve ”Upper Lusatian Pond and Heath Region”. This area stretches to the north of town, away from the mountains, and is a mix of woods, heath, wetlands, agricultural land, and includes 240 ponds. Many of them are used to raise fish. One of the treasures in the preserve is the high variety of plant and animal species. This all happens in harmony with agricultural and fish farming.

Today, over there, they received the first snow in the ”Upper Lusatia” (so did we here in Iowa), but a week ago some fall colors were still present in the woods. An observation tower that overlooks this part of the wetlands was used as a shooting platform. A single image seems not to do justice to the wide view from the tower and therefore I took five overlapping photos. I used four of them for the final image and stitched them together in Adobe Photoshop. This used to be a time consuming, sometimes tedious task but with today’s computer power and state-of-the-art software capabilities it is only a matter of a few seconds to obtain the panoramic view.

I love it here in the Driftless Area along the Upper Mississippi River Valley, with its deciduous forests and wildlife, but I definitely miss the smell of resin from pines and mushrooms in abundance, as it was present in my old stomping grounds a week ago…

A FAVORITE VIEW

Fischerpforte (Fisher gate), Bautzen, Germany, Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

I wasn’t sure if I get this shot sharp enough because a tripod wasn’t with me that evening in my home town Bautzen in Germany. This over 1000 years old city holds many interesting views for the photographer but this stairway from the Spree River up to the old town is among my favorites. The place where the photo was made is called Fischerpforte (Fisher gate). Back in the old days the fishermen living down below used these stairs to bring their fresh catch to the market in town. Part of the old city wall is visible at the right hand side and at the upper end of the stairs was a gate that could be closed in the matter of defense.

Back to the exposure time for this image. It was shot at ISO3200 but still required an exposure time of 0.4s. Despite image stabilization in cameras or lenses, stabile handholding and exhaling the air from the lungs is still mandatory for a sharp picture at night time.

FALL COLORS, LATE OCCURRENCE

Maple tree, Dresden Neustadt, Nov 12, 2023, Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

Hey everybody, I’m back from a trip to Germany where I spent time with family and friends, hence the silence here in my blog. Before the airplane even touched the tarmac in Dresden earlier this month I realized how many leaves were still on the trees and foliage just started to change colors. This is not common for early November but warm temperatures without any cold snap had delayed the changes that usually come with autumn.

The photo of this beautiful maple was made from a balcony in Dresden. The sun peeked from behind a cloud for a moment and revealed the brilliance of the leaves colors. The Nikon Z6II was set to ”vivid mode” to get the most out for this shot.

AFTER THREE YEARS

Hauptmarkt (main market) in front of city hall, Bautzen, Saxony, Germany,

It has been three years that I visited my home country Germany and met family and friends, and I guess no explanation is necessary why it took so long to go across the Atlantic Ocean. Half of the trip was for education and training on the business side. The print and finishing industry is undergoing rapid changes, and Europe is leading the game in automation and robotic solutions for the post process in the printing industry (my part of the business). Mind blowing solutions were demonstrated to me and my American colleagues, a trip worthwhile!

The second half of the journey was dedicated to visits with family and friends. My wife Joan joined me in Dresden for this part of the trip. It was a very emotional visit (three years is a long time) and I’m absolutely grateful to have friends and family that offer hospitality way beyond anybody’s expectations. We really like to thank my kids, their families, and our friends who helped in an unforeseen situation during the last week. Anke, Tarja, Seraphine, André, Ramona, and our hosts in Bautzen, Gabriela and Claus!!! You are the best, and we hope to see you soon, maybe in the United States of America!!!

OK, it’s a photography blog, let’s talk a little about the image. I grew up in the over 1000 years old city of Bautzen, in the State of Saxony, and even after three years of absence still had the feeling, I have seen everything before. These blooming trees in front of the Rathaus (city hall) have not been there in my childhood. Many changes were made in this town during the last 32 years, after the wall came down in Germany, which divided east and west of the country for political reasons. Years ago I would have never made an image from that perspective on a day with overcast. With the blossoms in color contrast to the Rathaus and the mood of this gray day the click had to be made. It’s actually pretty busy during the week in downtown Bautzen, but I waited patiently until nobody was in the frame…

THREE LIGHT SOURCES

Staircase, Meissen Cathedral, Germany

The Meissen Cathedral has many interesting architectural details. When I was ready to leave one of the chapels and stepped into this spiral staircase, I knew immediately I had a picture. The light that came through the small window and from the room behind me was complemented with light from a small lamp in the staircase. The mix of daylight and incandescent light from the bulb were actually well taken by the camera (white balance was set to Auto), but I knew only the development of the photo in black & white will do justice to the subtle impact of all three light sources.

OLD ARCHITECTURE

Alley in Meissen, Free State of Saxony, Germany

Ever since I live in North America my appreciation of interesting medieval architecture has grown. I grew up downtown in the German city of Bautzen, which is over 1000 years old. Being surrounded by old castles, towers, buildings, and structures, built 500-600 years ago, makes you not think much about it all the time.

During our recent visit in Germany we spent time in my home town Bautzen, in Dresden, Berlin, and also made a day trip to Meissen. This old city is even older than Bautzen and is the home of the famous Meissen porcelain. Here is a link for people that like to dig deeper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meissen 

Old towns like Bautzen or Meissen, built around castles on the rocks above the river banks, don’t have many straight lines. The play of light and shadows can be very complex and a rainy day with less contrast seemed to be a good time to capture the character of the narrow cobbled streets. I like how the reflection of the sky on the cobblestones leads the eye into the picture, the only one I was able to make without people in the frame. This city attracts a lot of tourists…

Sure, I could post “candy-colored” photos of the Albrechts castle, the Meissen cathedral, or many other places, as you may find them in the latest travel brochures, but working in black and white is the way I like in order to hide the modern touch of life better and tell the story of this old architecture. I have a few more, so please stay tuned if this is your cup of tea…

BERLIN, ALEXANDERPLATZ

I knew ahead of time this was the perspective I would consider at Alexanderplatz, in the center of Berlin, for telling the story about location and the pulsating life there. I grew up in eastern Germany and Berlin was the playground during my time as a young engineering student for almost three years back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The famous World Clock in the foreground, S-Bahn station (rapid transit train station) Alexanderplatz in the back, and the whole scene overlooked by the Berlin Fernsehturm (television tower) was the way to go. I took a few shots but wasn’t happy at first. When the yellow street car pulled into the station I knew I had my picture. The color contrast helps to overcome the harsh light of an early afternoon and draws away the eye from an almost cloudless boring sky.

STREET ART

Street artist, Berlin, Alexanderplatz, Germany

As you know, I’m not a big portrait shooter or people photographer. So let me file this image under travel photography, at least that’s how I do it in my books. This young artist delivered an incredible performance with his puppet and the music they produced was just great. I have seen a lot of street artists in many countries of the world but this was one of the best I have ever seen in my life. It was a sunny day back in May and high contrast scenes were the standard all day long. I was happy that this young artist was in the shade of a building, right at Alexanderplatz in the center of Berlin, Germany, making it easy to get a shot.

BAUTZEN / UPPER LUSATIA / GERMANY

Oddly enough we had only a few hours to visit my over 1000 years old home town Bautzen in the Upper Lusatia / Germany. It was a holiday weekend and almost all my friends were out of town for a hiking weekend (a tradition we established when our kids were little), but Joan and I used the short time for a walk across the whole city from west to east.

This photo is one of my favorite views of the old part of the city, taken just a stone throw away from where I used to live before I came to the United States fourteen years ago. The picture shows several of the landmarks always worth a visit. In the foreground is the Old Waterworks, to the left Church of St. Michael, and the tower behind it belongs to St. Peter’s Cathedral, Eastern Germany’s only historic interdenominational church edifice. The tower on the right marks the town hall, the center of the historic city.

Other than with my wildlife photography I have no problem to clone out elements in Photoshop that hurt my esthetic feelings (to say it mildly). On the balcony on the right was a satellite dish, GONE! Down at the bridge that crosses the Spree River were some new tourist information signs, GONE! And a contemporary street light disturbed the view as well, GONE! Would you have known if I hadn’t told you? 😉

THE ZWINGER / DRESDEN / SAXONY

The Zwinger, Dresden / Saxony / Germany

We are back from our trip to Germany since two weeks and I have only shown one photo made during our journey. On the day of our arrival we used the afternoon and evening for a nice walk through parts of Dresden, the capital of my home state Saxony. It was late in the day when we wandered through the Zwinger, a palace, built in Baroque style and designed by court architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court. Today, the Zwinger is a museum complex that contains the Old Masters Picture Gallery, the Dresden Porcelain Collection and the Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments.

Dresden is visited by over 4 million tourist every year and it is difficult to take a picture of any of the attractions, like the Zwinger, without any people in the frame. It was almost 8PM when this shot was taken and even then we were not alone on these historical grounds. I guess a little luck is sometimes necessary…😉

GARTENROTSCHWANZ (COMMON REDSTART)

Gartenrotschwanz at nest box, Templin, Germany ---------   

During our recent travel to Germany I took just a small amount of photo gear with me. The bag contained the Nikon D750 and two lenses, the Nikkor 16-35 and 70-200. I used my feet to “zoom” if I had to fill the gap between 35 mm and 70 mm focal length. It served me well most of the time and I didn’t regret to leave a 24-120 mm lens at home. We moved around every day and traveling “light” was my aim.

As you can imagine I didn’t plan for any wildlife photography. When this opportunity of a breeding pair of “Gartenrotschwanz” in the backyard of our friends in Templin came up, I was a little short with 200 mm focal length since the nest box was high up in a giant pine tree. This is not an “every day” bird in Germany’s gardens anymore, I hadn’t seen one in ages, and the light was just great. With other words, I couldn’t let this chance go by and rather chose to crop the image in post. Both parents were feeding the offspring and this click was made when the male paused for a few seconds before he delivered the bug in its bill to the little chicks in the nest box.

2016 RETROSPECT / 4

Bautzen, Saxony, Germany, May 2016 --------

Back in May I was over in Germany, first to see my family and friends in Bautzen and Dresden, and second for a trade show in Düsseldorf. Especially during the first half of the trip I shot a lot of pictures in my old stomping grounds. This is always fun to do in cities that are over 800 years old, like Dresden, or even over 1000 years, like my home town Bautzen where these photos were made.

THUNDER HEADS OVER DRESDEN

Dresden, Saxony, Germany

Spending time with my German family and friends is priceless. Yesterday we made a trip by train to the more than 1000 years old city of Meissen and returned to the capitol of my home state Saxony Dresden by paddle river boat. The famous skyline of Dresden was crowned by big thunder heads. You can’t ask for more as a photographer…

OPENED THE TENT CAMPING SEASON

Paint Creek, Yellow River State Forest, Eastern Iowa

Despite temperatures slightly above freezing at night, Joan and I couldn’t resist to go out and open the tent camping season this weekend. We did a lot of bird watching along the Mississippi River and spent Saturday night in the Little Paint campground at Yellow River State Forest in northeast Iowa. We live in the drift-less area of Iowa, land that has not been flattened by the glaciers. As a result we have deep valleys, streams, rocks, bluffs, and large areas covered by forest. Yep, Iowa is not just corn and soybeans!!

One of the reasons I like it here so much is the fact that the landscape reminds me of the Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland), an area not far from my hometown in the southeast corner of Germany. The sandstone bluffs and rocks in this part of Germany are very similar to what we have here in eastern Iowa. The Sächsische Schweiz is also a National Park in the state of Saxony.

There are many reasons to safe money in the endless world of “modern” consumption if you try to make a living by going to work five days a week. However, when it comes to camping and outdoor equipment we only buy the best of the best. There is nothing worse than freezing or being uncomfortable during a time when you are supposed to have fun. First class sleeping bags, good insulating mattresses, and the best tent in the world (Swedish Bo Hilleberg NALLO3!!!…, ours is almost 19 years old, and has still not let any water in) are the ingredients for trouble free camping! Even with the best equipment, a nice campfire works wonders. As you can see, Joan makes sure we have enough firewood on site before the night starts. Will talk about wildlife later, … so please stay tuned! 😊