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…