0101 - too much

January 02, 2013 in 35, architecture, art, b+w, contrast, dinner, eating, germany, indoor, nex 7, pattern, people, restaurant, sel, shadow, sony, symmetry, texture, ueberlingen, vietnamese

too much (for an european) - sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f2.8 | ISO1600 | 1/60

although the vietnamese don't celebrate on our new year's day, having a dinner at a great foreign restaurant seems the thing to do. it's not just that you still receive little christmas presents by the vietnamese on the 1st of january: besides the wonderful asian food also the interior and especially the decoration is worth the visit.

i wonder how they may have furnished their living rooms? even if it seems to be a bit too much, at least for a central european: enjoying a delicious dinner in an authentic surrounding - therefore i love the cultural diversity in our new world.

1512 - in the commercial vortex

December 15, 2012 in 8, action, bermatingen, blur, colour, corridor, drink, eating, fisheye, food, fruit, germany, movement, nex 7, orange, red, sony, vegetables, walimex samyang rokinon

sony nex 7 with walimex pro 8mm f2.8 | f8.0 | ISO200 | 1/6

shortly before christmas we are completely caught up in the commercial vortex. in these days the corridors of the shopping malls are usually overcrowded, since everybody seems to guess that the human kind will starve during the holidays and so the people start to build up reserves again.

fortunately there is a brand new shopping mall in our village since a few weeks now. it's a pleasure to go shopping there, the corridors are wide and empty and you can easily breeze through the shelves. at least today.

2710 - plumed visit

October 27, 2012 in 50, animal, bird, bokeh, corn, countryside, courtyard, eating, food, germany, home, nature, nex 7, nuthatch, portrait, sel, sony, window, winter

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO200 | 1/160 | lightroom 4.2

tina and i take care of animals in the same way like we respect humans.

this fact finds expression for example in our direct environment: besides our own cat we sometimes look after the kitties and dogs that live in our yard, too. additionally to that tina donates a little sum to an animal welfare organisation.

i for one try to help all the beings in my direct surrounding. for that reason i started to feed the birds in our yard since a few days again. corresponding the first spit of snow fell today and the first soil frost is said to appear in the coming night. i'm pretty sure that the eurasian nuthatch of my today's pic is very pleased with the delicious seeds that we usually serve.

on bad weather days like today the observation of approach and departure of the beautiful european birds is more amusing than watching a movie in the home cinema and a welcome variation to my learning periods.

cu, trshptr

1210 - a la turca

October 13, 2012 in 30, colour, dinner, eating, food, germany, green, hamburg, meat, nex 7, red, restaurant, sigma, sony, vegetables

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f2.8 | ISO1000 | 1/60 | lightroom 4.2

a few days ago i've told you a restaurant that you should avoid please. today i'd like to recommend you one.

the restaurant a la turca in billstedt is the best turkish restaurant i know. you can get wonderful turkish food of all kinds there. the service is attentive and the prices are moderate. obligatory visit!

cu, trshptr

3009 - green(stuff) swan

September 30, 2012 in 35, animal, autumn, bermatingen, colour, countryside, eating, fujian, fun, germany, green, harvest, nex 7, orange, portrait, pumpkin, sony, still life, swan, vegetables

setup: sony nex 7 with fujian 35 f1.7 | 35mm | f1.8 | ISO100 | 1/320 | lightroom 4.1

autumn has definitely arrived. there are a variety of indications that the late summer atmosphere is also gone now. the temperatures fall from day to day and wetness makes the already not very comfortable temperatures feel like a half onset of winter. the people head out to collect mushrooms in the marshy forests and today we were following the current trend, too. our yield was satisfying although we are still checking at the moment if each of them is edible - i really don't want to spend the night in the hospital.

furthermore the season of pumpkins and stews is ongoing. the healthy food points, as a reader of this blog had named the self service food stalls that you can find on the street in the region of lake constance, have adjusted their choice of products to autumnal vegetables - different kind of pumpkins are dominating the display.

anyhow a few of the pumpkins will survive as inviting and observing marginal figures.

cu, trshptr

2709 - market bustle

September 27, 2012 in 30, action, candid, city hall, colour, contrast, eating, farmer, italy, la spezia, light, market, nex 7, people, portrait, sigma, sony, townscape, urban, vegetables

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/250 | lightroom 4.1

one of the most interesting opportunities of italian life for us foreigners is the terrific food. as everybody should know the italian cuisine is world-famous for its pizza and pasta, but also the pesto and antipasti. the basis for these delicious fares are fresh and organic, local ingredients: vegetables, noodles, bread and oil, spices and pesto, meat and fish and of course also wine. all of that can be obtained on the market.

besides a few recipes that result in a buying list in your mind and the colourful display a great many of busy people make a still urban scenery alive.

cu, trshptr

2209 - feeling at home

September 22, 2012 in 30, bolano, bottle, cottage, eating, food, house, italy, kitchen, light, nex 7, night, personal, portrait, sigma, sony, trip, vegetables, window, wine

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f2.8 | ISO1600 | 1/60 | lightroom 4.1

after a five hour car drive straight to the south tina and i finally arrived at our cottage at half past four. we'd already got a bunch of italian food ingredients in a local grocery store: vegetables, wine and beer, meat, pasta and of course a lot more, also for our breakfast as from tomorrow.

the cottage that we'll live in during the coming seven days is very small, but all the more comfortable. it's furnished in typical italian style, very cosy. we are feeling at home.

cu, trshptr

2608 - brisk goings-on

August 26, 2012 in 50, action, bbq, bokeh, dinner, eating, face, garden, germany, grill, laufenburg, moment, nex 7, paella, people, portrait, sel, sony, summer, yellow

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f3.2 | ISO100 | 1/320 | lightroom 4.1

unfortunately the weekend is already gone again. it was very interesting for me to reside at andi's brother's family with some other friends of them (and now also mine) in one huge house directly next to the swiss border: altogether four men, three women and four kids bustled about the whole house and property to prepare and support the men's cycling ride on sunday and have a great time together.

after that the ride itself was a great pleasure: we worked through the distance of 100km in a group of eight riders. all of us reached the finish line without any problems. the only criticism we had was that we had to brave the storm which massively obstructed our progression, fortunately only temporarily. however finally we've defeated him in the downhill.

in the afternoon after the race there were usual brisk goings-on in the garden again. the women had already prepared the ingredients for a delicious spanish paella so that we only had to grill them in a huge pan on the gas grill. andi handled this job very experienced so that we could brace ourselves after the challenging bicycle ride in the black forest. of course the child might not be absent: they made for a quite busy atmosphere that is needed to have a really cosy surrounding.

cu, trshptr

1408 - firefighting operations

August 14, 2012 in 50, action, bbq, contrast, courtyard, dinner, eating, food, germany, grill, hand, handicraft, home, meat, nex 7, personal, sel, sony, tripod, vegetables

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO200 | 1/800 | lightroom 4.1

during the last week a very special issue has caused topics for discussions in germany: highly probable germany's biggest poultry company wiesenhof will sponsor the bundesliga football club werder bremen. wiesenhof hit the headlines with information about antibiotics in the animal food, bunions, corroded lungs and absolutely disastrous living conditions for their animals plus killing in childhood.

as a result many club members are threatening werder bremen with their resignation if werder is really going into the contract. in my opinion the current discussion is bringing temporary awareness concerning the products we eat in our daily lives and how they are formed into the light of day again. no more, no less. probably rogue firms like wiesenhof are in the majority. everybody has to decide for himself how he manages the situation. and in a few weeks nobody will talk about this topic anymore.

i for one buy poultry and other meat only at the butcher of trust. if tina had her way we wouldn't eat meat anymore, but for me it's essential. fortunately today i didn't have to be behind the 8-ball: we had rib of beef of very good quality, and anyway the cows are reared completely species-appropriate.

cu, trshptr

0308 - late night shopping

August 04, 2012 in 50, agriculture, countryside, eating, fruit, germany, light, markdorf, market, nex 7, night, people, personal, schnapps, sel, shadow, sony, street, vegetables, wine

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.5 | ISO200 | 1/20 | lightroom 4.1

like i already said, the area around lake constance is characterised by agriculture, especially fruit and vegetable cultivation and the processing of these products. so you can buy regional products like apples, courgettes, grapes, cherries, cucumbers or homemade juices, vines, liquors and schnapps for little money in every store.

the most of the farms also sell their agricultural products in small self-service kiosks at the streets. of course depending on the time the offer is more or less opulent because their commodity is always fresh. in our case we've stopped at the kiosk at 10pm after we'd have dinner with friends in their favourite balkan restaurant: for that reason the number of products was limited, but you always get anything.

cu, trshptr