TIME IN LAS VEGAS

I took a break from writing here in the blog for a week and there was a good reason for. Joan and I attended the wedding of Joan’s daughter Ellen and her husband Danny this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. No, I didn’t shoot the wedding, the wedding photographer they hired knew what he was doing and however his images will turn out, they will be better than what I can contribute to an event like that.

I haven’t been in Vegas since 19 years and of course, much has changed. It is still the city of endless fake to me but it also has a fascination that sets it apart from any place I have traveled to in my life. We had some time to explore the city and these are some of the photos I came up with.

It was a photographer friendly weekend in Las Vegas, with great clouds and even some rare rain. All what the lady at the wedding chapel had to say about it to me was, I don’t even own an umbrella…

Fake everywhere you look in Vegas. The indoor copy of the Grand Canal of Venice is fascinating but at the same time just mind-boggling for someone who was born in Europe…

You may used to see wildlife photos in my blog but all “wildlife” I can show you from this trip are the flamingos who had their own habitat in the gardens of our hotel… More to come, so please stay tuned.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS

We wish all readers, friends, and visitors of the blog and website a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Wir wünschen allen Lesern, Freunden und Besuchern des Blogs und der Webseite ein schönes Weihnachtsfest und angenehme Feiertage.

CRAZY HORSE

If you ever want to see a great human endeavor in progress you need to see the Crazy Horse Memorial while in the Black Hills area in South Dakota. It is the worlds largest mountain carving and far from being finished. The first rocks were taken off by a blast in 1948 and millions of tons have been removed since. Oglala Lakota leader Crazy Horse has been chosen by the Indians for this sculpture and sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-1982) accepted the invitation by Indian chiefs to carve a mountain. Realizing that this project would span several generations Korczak and his wife set in place various forms of guidance, plans, scale models of the sculpture, and the Crazy Horse Foundation. Today six of their children and some grandchildren carry on the family legacy. The memorial is strictly funded without state or federal funds. (source: Crazy Horse Memorial visitor brochure 2015) For those who like to read more about it: https://crazyhorsememorial.org

The photo was made at the visitor center and shows a 1/34th scale model on the left and the sculpture in the distance. To give you a better idea about the dimensions, the four heads of Mount Rushmore Memorial would fit completely into the area of Crazy Horse’s head dress!

I have been familiar with Tashunke Witco (Crazy Horse) and his role in history through several books I read in my younger years. He was a great leader of his people. After I learned about this memorial I wanted to see it sometime in my life. I admire the artistic vision of Korczak Ziolkowski and as an engineer have a deep respect for the logistics of this ongoing project.

DOESN'T ALWAYS NEED A GREAT VIEW...

Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

I spent the week in Chicago. That sounds maybe promising to some of you, but during GraphExpo, the trade show our company always attends as an exhibitor at this time of the year, there is not much time to go out and look for interesting subjects to photograph. The least I try if we stay in one of the downtown hotels is to get a room on a high floor. The receptionist put me on the 16th floor, almost on top, but she said, we don’t have really great views from any of our rooms. My room faced to the west and especially in the early morning and again in the evening, when the sun disappeared behind the skyscraper across, I had some good opportunities that involved quality light

Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

The first shot was made shortly after sunrise, with the light coming across Lake Michigan, and the sun still below the clouds. The second photo was captured the evening before. I used f/22 in order to get the star shape for the sun but this wasn’t the only reason why I made the click. The dappled light on those walls actually not facing the sun, drew my attention. The glass facades of our hotel and other buildings around worked as giant reflectors and threw the light back towards the sun. The receptionist was indeed right, not a great view, but hey, she knew nothing about “killer light”…😉

LIGHT AND COLOR, BUT NOT WILDLIFE

Why is this post not filed in the category of wildlife photography? Good question, because most of my blog posts circling around wildlife. Why not, especially if my #1 “most wanted” bird, the Belted Kingfisher, is in the frame? The distance between me and the bird, and the water of the marina at Finley’s Landing between us, would have resulted at its best in a documentary shot. I make a lot of those, just to keep track about times and dates when I see particular birds during a year. This helps me later to draw conclusions about another photo opportunity, maybe in better light, at a later point in time.

This shot was taken not too far from sunset and it is the composition, the subtle light, and the colors that make me like this photo. I admit, I concentrated on the kingfisher but my subconscious level of attention took care for the rest. The almost identical angle of the slanted roof of this boat dock and the hill behind it, the wild flowers in the lower left corner, and the luminosity of the gravel road and the roof, reflecting the remaining day light, it all comes together in this photo. I think the picture would work somehow without the bird but the appearance of the graphical bold kingfisher puts the icing on the cake…

MASONIC TEMPLE MINNEAPOLIS

Hennepin Center for the Arts, Minneapolis

This building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota drew my attention already last Sunday when I had the first look at it from my hotel window. It is the Hennepin Center for the Arts and was built in 1888 as a Masonic Temple. The building is an exemplary representative of the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture and is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

It wasn’t before early Tuesday morning that the sun had mercy with me and revealed the details of its facade. As so often in these “modern” hotels you can’t open the windows and the glass is tinted. Not a good starting point but I tried it anyway. I finally settled with an exposure compensation of -3EV and went strictly for the highlights. Every detail in the shadows is swallowed but the eye is nailed to the subject, which is of course the sunlit facade of the Masonic Temple.

IT'S NOT ABOUT FLOWERS...

Nikon D300s, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM                                   

No, this post is not about flowers. It is about light. Flowers can be very pretty but most pictures of garden flowers are boring. It is a little bit like taking the picture of someone else’s artwork. It may not be the photo that becomes art in both cases. Sure, using flowers as a subject for honing your photography skills on the technical level is a valid way to do. They are perfect for learning about depth of field, exposure, exposure compensation, and other things. Sheer beauty might be a reason for taking a picture but I have seen too many technical perfect photos of flowers that totally miss the story telling. So, what’s my solution for this? I don’t really have a universal one, but making the click at the right time of the day helps to tell the story about the season and this shaft of light just before sunset, that only occurs if there are no leaves at the trees in our neck of the woods…

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #5

It may not have been the right day, and definitely not the right time, to make the photos of the Sabula-Savannah Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River. No cloud in the sky and kind of a glare from the sun on everything is usually not what triggers my desire to shoot landscapes or architecture. But I heard on the radio, and later read an article on the web, that this 1932 built structure will be replaced with a new bridge,. Construction is supposed to start this summer and that’s why I made the shots while I was in the area anyway.

Shooting from the Iowa side of the bridge is only possible at the end of the causeway, where the bridge begins, because you can’t stop the car anywhere else. At least light was in my favor to render the blue color properly.

On the Illinois side it was easier to find different perspectives (and a safe parking spot ;-)  ), but shooting against the harsh early afternoon sun, well, not such a good idea. While I made the pictures I didn’t really think about black & white but later at home, in front of the computer, it appealed to me.

My engineering background makes me appreciate old steel structures probably a little more than most people. It is a pity that this old bridge has to go and different opinions about are discussed on the web. Our photographs can at least help to keep the memories about this part of the cultural heritage alive. I think we have a commitment to make the click…