ZOOMING OUT, BETTER STORYTELLING

Elbe River, Dresden, Saxony, Germany, May 26, 2024

We had met with a dear friend in one of the lovely beer gardens along the Elbe River in Dresden, Saxony and enjoyed a great time together. On the way back to the apartment we watched mighty thunderheads developing around us and with them the low sitting sun created some spectacular light in the sky and on the river.

I took a few pictures of the scene, zooming in on the clouds, with the sun beams as my subject, but wasn’t really happy with the results. I realized that it was more about where to place the different elements in the frame, the river with reflections, the steam boat, the silhouette of the building, and of course the position of the sun in the cloud. Zooming slightly further out made finally for better storytelling about location and time.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 43mm, 1/500 s, f/8, ISO 100

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.

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…

DRESDEN - FRAUENKIRCHE

A couple pictures from our trip to Germany earlier this month. One of the world-famous landmarks in the city of Dresden, the capitol of the German state of Saxony, is the Dresdener Frauenkirche. The Baroque church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during World War II. From the time of my childhood I still remember the ruins and pile of rubble that was left as a war memorial for almost 50 years. If you like to read a little more about the history of this wonderful church and its restoration between 1992 and 2005, here is a link you may want to use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_Frauenkirche

It was my first time that I had a chance to see the Frauenkirche from the inside. I didn’t bring a tripod with me on this trip but handholding the camera with the Nikon Nikkor 16-35 f/4 attached and utilizing vibration reduction led to some acceptable results. It wasn’t until the late afternoon that the gray overcast of this day finally broke apart. When the sun hit the historic silhouette of the city during late afternoon, it made me quickly forget all pictures I took earlier…

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…😉

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…