Travel impressions - Prague, part 1

The avid readers of my blog knew already I wouldn't start this little "travel impressions series" about our trip to the capitol of the Czech Republic Prague with a "postcard view", if there were not some special ingredients involved. One of them is great light and the other one are the wonderful clouds over the scene. I usually don't care much for this kind of image unless the light sets it apart from the usual tourist snapshot. For those who have never been in this beautiful city, this is a view from Prague's most famous bridge, the Charles Bridge, over the Moldau River to Stare Mesto, the Old Town of Prague. I can tell you, this city is photographers heaven. You can shoot all day and never run out of interesting views and details. I will show you during the next few days just a few of the things that drew my attention. I hope all friends that watch out for nature photography only get something out of this too..., so please stay tuned!

Travel impressions – Bautzen, Saxony, part 5

A few more pictures from my home town Bautzen. Again, I focussed on views that you may not find in the brochures of a travel agency. The photos were made on three different days. We were walking through the old narrow lanes in the old part of town in search for light and perspectives.

Wasserturm / water tower

This water tower is actually one of the newer towers in town. It was built in 1877 within the ruin of an old church. Many other buildings and towers are more than 500 years old.

Travel impressions – Bautzen, Saxony, part 4

My home town Bautzen has many landmarks and they have been photographed probably millions of times. The Old Waterworks on the left and the church Saint Michaelis are probably among the most recognized ones. It is almost impossible to find a new angle or view but playing with exposure and the remaining light of the day made me create an image that I like and that you may not find in the postcard stand of the local tourist information... ;-)

Travel impressions - Bautzen, Saxony, part 1

 

Three eventful weeks lay behind us and we are now back in Iowa again. I haven't posted anything recently but that does not mean I didn't take any photographs. Joan and I visited my old home town Bautzen in Germany and we had the pleasure to be at the wedding of my son André and his wonderful wife Seraphine. We had a great time meeting with family and friends and as you can imagine spending time in front of my laptop was the last thing I wanted to do. We also went for three days to Prague, the capitol of the Czech Republic and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I will post some images from our trip to Europe during the next couple of weeks and I hope you enjoy it.

Let me start with a picture from the over 1000 years old city of Bautzen, which is located in the Free State of Saxony in the Southeast corner of Germany. The evening sun spilled its warm light onto the Röhrscheidtbastei, an old bastion and one of the numerous towers that give the city its character. This was an easy task for the photographer. We were sitting in a beer garden and had just to wait until the light was right...  ;-)

Nature clicks #99 (or Arizona, part 5)

The only wildlife I had in front of my lens in Arizona was this lizard, who was very well camouflaged on this old tree trunk. While I processed the image on my computer I  became aware that this  is actually a "butt shot" and but shots are rude. Lizards are not running around here in Eastern Iowa in great numbers and so I think it is ok to show this picture anyway ;-) . I still like the shot because the lizard placed himself in this sunny spot on the tree trunk. The picture was taken just below the Montezuma Castle, a pueblo that was built in the cliffs of the Verde Valley. The Southern Sinagua, a culture that lived and farmed in the Verde Valley, built these pueblos by about 1150 but they were abandoned by the early 1400s for unknown reasons. Montezuma Castle is one of the best preserved prehistoric structures in the Southwest. (Source: Visitor information brochure Montezuma Castle / Tuzigoot,  National Park Service)

Red Rock Country, part 3

A wonderful place to be is the Slide Rock State Park, located in the Oak Creek Valley between Flagstaff and Sedona, Arizona. I stopped there yesterday morning. The colors of the surrounding canyon walls were still not washed out, like later during the day, and I tried to capture the essence of this lovely landscape.

The house at the entrance of the state park caught my attention. I love how the white trim and the stairs speak a clear graphic language and emphasize the design of the house in its natural setting.

3413 + 2164

Today, on my way back to Phoenix, I stopped at several interesting locations. One of them was the train depot in Clarkdale, Arizona. Unfortunately the passenger train had already left for a tour with visitors, but those two diesel locomotives were parked at the depot. The puffy clouds made for a nice  background and nobody was there to bother me while I took the pictures between the railroad tracks. More to come...

Red Rock Country, part 2

Another quick post from my short trip into RedRock Country. Yesterday I went from Flagstaff to Jerome. Jerome is an old miner town tucked to the slope of a mountain. Lots of tourists and bikers, and there is always something interesting to see. The harsh light during the day made me keep the camera in the bag for landscape photography most of the time but some of the fun stuff I saw in Jerome needed to be captured. On my way back to Flagstaff some clouds developed over the desert and I gave it a trial.

Bar in Jerome, Arizona

Red Rock Country

 

Another week of traveling. Well you guessed it, I'm in Arizona where record high temperatures are expected for this weekend. I worked the walls of the Red Rocks around Sedona with my camera this evening. Will be here until Sunday. The light during the day isn't exciting and the sky is always boring blue but I see it as a challenge. Stay tuned...

Weeks ahead of season

We were blessed here in Eastern Iowa, and probably in the whole Midwest of the United States, with an extremely mild winter and a very early spring this year. Can you believe, the crocus blooms are gone since more than  two weeks already, the Daffodils (for my German friends: Osterglocken) are almost all gone already, and the tulips and fruit trees are in full bloom...

Normally the green leaves take over the valleys along the Little Makoqueta River, where we live,  and the Mississippi in the month of May. This image was made today and tells the story how much we are ahead of season. I love subtle light in nature and a walk down in the valley just before sunset made me find this image.

 Chag Sam-each, and Happy Easter, wherever you are in the world my friends.

New portfolio - Landscape photography

Even if I do not have the chance to go out shooting because life dictates something different, I still try to work every night on my images or maintain my photo library. The recent update of Adobe's Lightroom software (we are now at LR 4) made me digging out some photos and redo the whole post process. Thanks to shooting always in Raw I can start from scratch with any file in my library. Adobe has done some great refinements in the Develop Module of LR4. In combination with NIK's Color Efex Pro 4 I have now some tools in my hands that have never been so powerful and at the same time subtle before.

It was time to think over my landscape portfolio. I kicked out some images, reworked some others, and added some new photos. If you like to have a look at the results, feel free to click at the left hand side on the PORTFOLIO bar or just right HERE.