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.
Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada ---------
Back to our Lake Superior roundtrip in August / September. Ouimet Canyon is a gorge, cut into the rocks of Lake Superior’s northern shore. Ice, wind, and rain, the architects of time, have chiseled deep into the Canadian shield to form one of the most striking canyons of eastern Canada. (source: Information board at Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park). There were two theories discussed how this canyon was created, and the geologists among us may have their own ideas (Anke?), but for the photographer the story telling about the magnificence of the place has precedence. We got there mid morning, too late for the lifting fog of that day, but still early enough to beat the high contrast of an average summer day. As much as I dislike places where tourists like me gather in large numbers (yes, I throw stones out of the glass house.. ;-) , we had this canyon view surprisingly all for ourselves.
The bottom of the canyon is about 100 meters deeper (more than 300 feet) and the flora and fauna below is about the same as you’d find on the shores of Hudson Bay, 1,000 km to the north. This is mind boggling, but facts like this enhance my appreciation beyond any photographic expectations…
There are cities in the state of Saxony that are even older than my home town Bautzen. Meißen is one of them and it was founded in 929. This view from the Albrechtsburg (Albrecht castle) across the Elbe River triggered my desire to make a panorama picture. Two images were merged in Adobe Lightroom, which took only a couple minutes, still unthinkable a few years ago.
Meißen is famous for its manufacture of porcelain. Meissen porcelain was the first high quality porcelain to be produced outside of the Orient.
Meissen, Saxony, Germany - Albrecht castle and towers of the Meissen Cathedral
Market at Meissen Altstadt
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.
Nikon D300s, Sigma 10-20mm / f4-5.6, at 15 mm
During my wildlife spotting tours along the Mississippi I visit frequently Sabula, Iowa’s only island city. Beside the road bridge and causeway that connects Sabula and Savannah, Illinois there is also the Sabula Rail Bridge. This wonderful single track swing bridge was opened in 1906. During the winter, with no barge traffic, the bridge was always open for the railroad. Last weekend I saw it in its other position, open for the boats. Both sides of the pivot point are navigable. The swing span of the bridge is 364 ft (~111 m) long.
The photo shows also that the Mississippi is relatively clear at the moment. The water we see is mostly from the snow melt up north and therefor not so muddy as after heavy rain sometime.
I’m excited to announce that my latest photography project has been finished. It is called VISUAL STORIES- COAST OF MAINE and you can find it by clicking on the COLLECTIONS - tab above (or just HERE). The photos in this slide-show-like gallery are an excerpt from a book about the coast of Maine that I created already last year. I can tell you, it is the most difficult task during the whole process to downsize the number of pictures even more from an already existing project, like a book. The book is much bigger but I wanted to show you the essence of what we have seen, without making it too big. The coast of Maine is a wonderful place and has so many different things to offer. I want the photos tell the story about this great part of New England in the Northeast of the US, hence the title VISUAL STORIES. I hope you enjoy.
