2106 - oasis of carelessness

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f8.0 | ISO320 | 1/80 | +0,7ev | lightroom 4.1



setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f8.0 | ISO1600 | 1/60 | lightroom 4.1

the 100th post. wow, amazing, how the time goes by. as intended i learn day by day and have a lot of fun while using the sony. my current three lenses have established in the usage with the nex: most of the time the sigma 30f2.8 is mounted, for special uses i have the sel 50f1.8 and if technical picture quality doesn't matter the fujian 35f1.7 is my first choice, especially for dreamy portraits.

today was the date of departure, what means that we had to leave our oasis of carelessness and relaxation in the alps and return to real life. if you had a view from the terrace of your cottage as shown in the two photos of this posting, you would possibly think twice about your impending departure.

but of course you don't want to leave your lovely waiting.

cu, trshptr

1806 - closing time

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f4.0 | ISO800 | 1/60 | lightroom 4.1

new week, new business trip. this time austria, this time more comfortable than last week. instead of subject-specific training the central topic of the further training of this week is team building.

besides the arrival in steinplatte a short mountain climbing was planned for the schedule today. nevertheless some participants of the training decided to rest at the cottage where we will live for the next three days and a few people set off to the summit of the duernbachhorn (1776m).

after a sporty way up in today's summer heat we were sweating that much that we necessarily had to undress our shirts. never mind, thereof you won't see any pics, censored! fortunately I spotted an even better scene at our stop at an alp inn while decline.

a lumberjack was resting on a bench after his hard daily work and reading the daily press. he was a very representative sample of the common mountain men - wiry, fit and above all very kind!

cu, trshptr

2005 - delicious small fruit

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 28mm | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/25 | lightroom 4

as i wrote in a former posting at the weekend breakfast amounts to a huge ritual in our household. since two weeks domestic strawberries are available again at last. we had missed these delicious small fruits coming fresh off the regional production!

our thanks have to be conveyed also to the polish temporary workers who are appointed in questionable wage conditions only for the high season. to be honest: i would accept the circumstance that a lug costs twice as much if either the employers would raise the wage of the polish harvest hands or more local workers would be hired.

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

1105 - community

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 35mm | f4.5 | ISO400 | 1/40 | lightroom 4

contrary to f.e. the uk in germany it is common practise to rent the dwelling. of course we don't buck the trend. as i said before we live in a very beautiful rented accommodation with a huge courtyard in its middle. next to us a handful other parties reside. today we - (almost) all together - had a very nice time at a wine tasting directly next to our house at the vineyard "markgraf von baden".

we have learned a lot about wine, its production, the vineyard (140 hectare) itself and the earl. after five hours of talks and fun i summed the evening up in a small piece of poetry for the host's guestbook. in german:

freitag abend,

6 sorten wein,

erquickend und erlabend,

da sagt der eichenhof nicht nein,

dazu ein opulentes vesper,

nette gedichte,

definitv keine rester,

nur mehr lachen im gesichte.

analogous in english, of course without rhyme:

friday evening,

6 sorts of wine,

invigorating and refreshing,

the "eichenhof" doesn't say no,

additionally an opulent evening meal,

nice pieces of poetry,

definitely no remains,

just more laughter in our faces.

the community is strong.

in the pic above you can see some bottles of homemade pear schnapps of the vineyard.

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

3004 - s-curve

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 18mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/640 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

today and tomorrow are fortunately still non-working days, at least for me. tina had to work today because diseases aren't directed by the calendar. so i had decided already at the weekend that today should be a bicycle day for me.

while my excursion i was cycling through three countries: of course germany with its regions baden and wuerrtemberg, austria with the vorarlberger land and finally the switzerland. at romanshorn i took the ferry back to friedrichshafen. at the end of my tour i had driven 120km by bike. not that bad, besides my butt i feel fine. you can comprehend the whole route here [click].

one special thing attracted my attention: after the very modest, peaceful and contemplative holidays in sardinia i was really shocked by the prosperity tourism and the conceited high society that i had to see today. it was a scenery like a disney land for pensioner. huge mercedes benz with gold decorated ladies inside were parking in front of showy golf and yacht clubs. barf!

cleanliness, perfection and wealth - these things were hard to take for me today. fortunately the surroundings were getting more authentic in the switzerland. i saw construction zones, suburbs and eventual more normal people than tourists. finally i found the gangplank shown in the pic above near rohrschach, where ornithologists had arranged themselves for the observation. moody chill out area.

cu, trshptr

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.

0404 - resistance

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 21mm | f8.0 | ISO200 | 1/125 | aperture priority | raw file cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

almost every morning of the last three years i pass a moody derelict barn that decays nearby a main road between salem and markdorf. shacks like that inspire me and draw my interest. again at last i feel like a baby boy when i´m exploring the area and the hut itself.

today i took time to discover this piece of history shaped by nature and the ravages of time. tina dropped me off close by the shack. i only had to plough through a non-vegetated, lumpy field to reach my today´s object of photography.

after i had walked around for half an hour to take some photos i got a feeling for the history of this scarred building: today it is used as a compound site for wood and a carport for a probably equaly aged tractor. but rust, moss, fungi and dust occupy the surface of the shack for a long time.

i wish to elapse the whole story of the shack in fast motion to marvel at its decay. however more admirable than its decline is its resistibility. since a bunch of decades light, rainfall, snow, cold and heat, storm and seasons fall on its roof like warriors on their enemies without receiving any maintenance besides patchwork.

but it resists. and it will resist the next twenty plus years.

cu, trshptr