1101 - expectations

expectations - sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f2.0 | ISO1600 | 1/60

a large part of the ballet performance of compañía nacional de danza reminded me of one of the most beautiful videos on vimeo: murmuration. 

the dancers were correlating almost as good as the thousands of starlings in the video. nevertheless every once in a while the majority of the players came to rest and only the main actors were performing their part of this modern drama.

2409 - surreality

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/250 | lightroom 4.1

so this is the cinque terre, the world famous cinque terre? in advance tina and i had thought about visiting the well known villages monterosso, vernazza, corniglia, manarola and riomaggiore for a very long time. should we do it or should we steer clear of this overcrowded world cultural heritage?

summarising i can tell you that the view on these villages, especially from the upper paths, are simply stunning. surely anywhere in italy or the rest of the europe there are villages, paths and landscapes like the one you can find in the region of cinque terre, too. probably you don't have to search for a long time, in the north in the so called little cinque terre from moneglia to levanto or in the south in portofino you might find (maybe a bit more authentic) wonderful places and postcard sceneries, too.

the most important fact when you visit the cinque terre is to know what you are letting yourself in for. in off-season many, in season times a great many people will want to walk the same way with you. all prices (accommodation; food; parking; local traffic; the path itself, that is partly charged) are overpriced, the journey there is complicated, the paths besides the mainstream ones are not really good signposted.

however the other side of the coin is definitely existing. the locals are pleasant, the architecture is great and the paths are simply terrific, especially the difficult ones. maybe all the negative and typically touristic points are something that you simply have to take in if you want to see a world famous monument like the cinque terre (or the empire state building, the great wall of china or the pyramids).

maybe cinque terre isn't reality, but anyway a really funny peculiarity is located in manarola, my favourite of cinque terre: there is definitely the most beautiful roof terrace of the world.

cu, trshptr

2508 - under observation

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/800 | lightroom 4.1

this weekend i reside in laufenburg, a small city that is part of the district waldshut in the very southwest of germany, at the family of a work and cycling mate. laufenburg is located directly at the border to switzerland, opposite to the equally named swiss city and separated from the switzerland by the big river rhine.

on the german side of the border a huge monument, a stone eagle with widespread wings and a golden cross in his clutches observes all machinations on the (german and the) swiss terrain. the memorial was built in remembrance of the many soldiers that were killed in action in the first and second world war.

the relations between the germans and the swiss and germany and switzerland are matter for a separate story: huge wage differentials, tax haven switzerland, conversion rates, non-EU country and voluntary nation are only some keywords that describe the country switzerland and its relations to its neighbour germany. many things are handled completely different to germany, but the people of both countries have to live together on both sides of the border compliant with the rules and laws of the respective countries.

tomorrow i'll visit the swiss side for a long public cycling ride again. however today i haven't seen anything to complain about for the stone eagle.

cu, trshptr

2205 - pour oil into the fire

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/400 | high contrast monochrome jpg ooc

my first day with the new equipment.

as expected i'm blown away. the nex 7 is simply incredible. there are so many customisable features that at the moment - after hours of usage - i still haven't completely realised which button triggers which special function.

regarding image quality there is no need of a discussion. 10mp of my borrowed eos vs. 24mp of the nex: forget everything you would expect of a compact camera about details and replace this with more than the twice - nex 7, here we go!

today i have already tested the sigma 30 f2.8 as well as the sony sel 50 f1.8, which is currently mounted to my new device while i'm sitting here next to two chattering ladies in a cozy restaurant in friedrichshafen and writing the draft of my posting on my cell phone. although i have a bunch of nice portraits of the two girls shot with the 50mm wide open resting on my sd card, today's pic is of a rough nature.

the fire bowl of our neighbours filled with a puddle of water, embellished with a little shovel, a little bit garden waste and a reflecting oil film that shows the detailed heavy clouds in the sky - believe me, the scenery wasn't made by me - and my new nex in combination with the sigma in ooc high contrast monochrome mode deserves my recognition.

so there is really no reason to proverbially proud oil into the fire.

cu, trshptr

1505 - rear view

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 55mm | f5.6 | ISO200 | 1/800 | lightroom 4

the rape's blossoms were sprouting quickly during the last days. now the yellow colour mixes well with the green stems. moreover today we had perfect dramatic nature shot weather. the weather conditions were changing, strong winds came down. therefor all parameters seemed to fit for a nice landscape pic.

fortunately i was able to convince tina to model for me. she was the most important parameter. she was the most important parameter for my shooting. and indisputable she is the most important parameter for my life.

we've had enough of words - a beautiful rear can also endear.

cu, trshptr

1005 - curved lines

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 55mm | f8.0 | ISO100 | 1/250 | lightroom 4

currently we have foehn at the lake constance. today the temperature increased about eight to ten degrees, the humidity decreased and now the sky is full of cirrus clouds. i'm going to tell you more about the microclimate at the lake in the near future, i have the wish to combine this information with a great panorama of the alps with the lake in the foreground. unfortunately here at the lake constance we need very special conditions to have good visibility and one of the essential parameters is the foehn, of which more later.

nevertheless at prime weather i was seeking for a nice scenery for today's posting. the fruit farmers have already prepared their plantations for the protection against birds that perhaps consume the yield and possibly eventuating heavy thunderstorms that are also conditioned by the microclimate at the lake. for this reason they fixed meshes above their fruit trees to protect them against birds and hail. the meshes are not yet stretched but when the fruits finally grow or the forecast switches completely the farmers will be well-prepared.

cu, trshptr

0105 - cheeky easiness

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 55mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/400 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

1st of may, national holiday, may day or labour day in many countries. in the most states of germany the rite of walking and cycling has a great vogue. you have the sense that everybody is on the streets in these days.

of course we were on the roads today, too. during our bicycle tour with friends we stopped at the lake for an ice and a cappuccino. i spotted the scene shown in the picture in hagnau sitting next to the gangplank. the family on the right side was enjoying their sundae while the cheeky little girl on the left showed her butt for a funky shooting. please always keep your easiness, little lady!

cu, trshptr

2804 - enlightenment

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 55mm | f5.6 | ISO200 | 1/500 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

first of all i like to excuse for my very short statements belonging to the last week's postings but i think that the pictures tell their stories by themselves. furthermore i concentrated on the photography itself, its choice and post-processing. if there are any questions concerning more details of the story - be my guest and write a comment.

summarising i have to pinpoint that not all questions could be anwered till the end of the trip. why are the temperature sensitivities of natives and tourists that different? a local women wearing a down jacket is reading the newspaper in the sun at almost 30 degrees while hot pant wearing, central european ladies are cooling down in the shadowed gelateria lane.

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 37mm | f5.0 | ISO200 | 1/100 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4 

and why is there always a libertine, doubter or sun worshipper?

in this manner both stand in the sun, the spotlight or the centre of interest. it is easily visible that either of them feels more comfortable than the other.

2704 - togetherness

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 55mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/160 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

prejudices and pigeonholing. things that i try to avoid. but sometimes a chliché is perpetuated by the person concerned. study the photography and you will understand what i mean.

2504 - insights

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 18mm | f11 | ISO100 | 1/100 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

okay, it's an idyllic shot. but you would have been impressed, too. please enjoy the view over baunei, a beautiful mountain village to santa maria navarrese and the tyrrhenian sea. the altitude difference between the site of capturing and the sea amounts round about a half kilometre. really stunning.