0301 - ll

ll - sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/125

the beams in our more than 300 years old house are raddled. the variations of humidity and temperature, the  permanent incidence of light and all the other parameters and boundary conditions have left their marks in the walls. at least a few signs are man-made: the former craftsmen branded the beams according to the construction plan by cutting numbers into the wood. by doing this they could ensure to avoid mistakes, although only in the scope of planning and assignment.

more or less every wall in our home is crooked. who cares? this is just what makes our place so special.

3112 - the big burning

ladder to the moon - sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f5.6 | ISO200 | 6s

usually i don't work according to the principle of trial and error. however if you want to take a photograph of fireworks, your preparation time is zero and your equipment isn't appropriate, you have to trust your luck and coincidence.

a toast to 2013 - sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f5.6 | ISO200 | 6s

actually i did not have a good basis to shoot a successful image of any of this wonderful money destruction rockets today. besides my nex7 with the sel 35 i had nothing with me to work with, no tripod, no remote release and so on. never mind, let's have a try. steady shot off, search for any bolster, manual settings. go!

the lake is burning - sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f5.6 | ISO200 | 30s

the location couldn't have been better. the view from the local "summit" gehrenberg over the lake is tremendous. and despite the fog and the incineration gases the shapes of the lake itself and the alps were vaguely perceptible.

3012 - shapes

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/800

some kinds of images work especially because of their simplicity. despite the lack of peculiarities geometric shapes, colours and textures make for an interesting, stating photograph.

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/500

some other kinds of composition base on the opposite concept - many details, differently structured parts of the frame and harsh contrasts. you may decide what your favourite is, but i don't want to commit myself to one line, at least not for the moment.

2912 - focus on top

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f1.8 | ISO100 | 1/2000

both manual focusing and autofocus work well with the sony sel 35 f1.8. for the picture above i focused on the solitary flower in the upper middle of the frame. due to the focus peaking feature of the nex system and the butter smooth focus ring manual work is rather a pleasure than a step backwards in history. i really like the atmosphere of this (definitely imperfect) photograph, it might have been captured also at the mediterranean seaside.

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f1.8 | ISO1250 | 1/60

some hours later cold and rough friedrichshafen got us back. for this street shot i used the autofocus system, applied on the four ladies on the left-hand side of the frame. the chief difficulty in this scene was the fact that what you see in the photograph is actually a scattered reflection of the goings-on in the street, quasi an image of the ceiling of this corridor. despite that issue the autofocus didn't pump and did his work satisfactorily. 

2812 - headless

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f2.8 | ISO100 | 1/80

although i often rail against the dreariness of friedrichshafen, its museums are not less than first class. both the dornier museum at the airport as well as the zeppelin museum on the waterfront have straight, clear shapes and consequently message. besides huge bodies of knowledge that are presented in different modern and interesting ways - new media included - and are only waiting to be checked out by the visitors, also the photographer doesn't come off badly.

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/60

today i used the visit to the zeppelin museum of friedrichshafen as a chance to attach the new sony sel 35 f1.8 to my nex7 the first time. how shall i put it? it's gorgeous! 

sony nex 7 with sel 35 f1.8 | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/100

what's the easiest way to shortly describe the capabilities and peculiarities of a new gadget without using technical wording and rattling out specifiations?

in my opinion the sel 35 is rather a shrunken sel 50 than a hybrid of the sigma 30 f2.8 and the sel 50. although i must confess that i haven't stopped down the lens above f4.0 yet, it seems to be obvious that the sigma will remain the sharpness champion in this competition, but the sel 35 is almost on level. however in all the other categories there is a clear decision by me - the sony is the better package. stabilisation (i love it!), much better look and feel and the low light advantages definitely compensate the plus in costs. moreover the 35mm focal length gives a bit of a more interesting angle of view, at least for my photographic eye.

  

 

i'm going to use the sel 35 continuously for at least one week now. so stay tuned to my daily updates if you are interested in further details, images and opinions about the sony sel 35 f1.8.

2612 - at the centre

sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | f2.8 | ISO1600 | 1/13

in winter the ordinary street lamps receive temporary support by the incandescent christmas decoration. this makes for a cosy atmosphere, for example in the narrow alleys of historic towns like markdorf. if the moon additionally appears by back-lighting the clouds, your christmas feelings get into top gear again, despite being already on the home stretch.

2312 - happy late summer christmas

sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | f2.0 | ISO100 | 1/200

what is the date today? 23rd? of august? or september? it's unbelievable that we already have end of december and that we had masses of snow and more than ten degrees sub-zero only two weeks ago. today is the day, the day before christmas. almost 16 degrees, a warming sunset and a walk across fresh, humid meadows. we have to like it or lump it - i think kingston has already declared his opinion.

dear readers, i wish all of you cosy and pleasant christmas days. enjoy the free time and dedicate a dose of extra time to your beloved. they will thank you most sincerely with all of their attentiveness.

2112 - recreation

sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | f2.8 | ISO1600 | 1/25

could there be any better ways to start filthy weather vacations than with an extensive fitness and spa session? not for me.

after i had locked more or less all the doors at work late in the afternoon, tina picked me up while heading to our fitness studio in meersburg. the rest of the evening was pure recreation. although the interior of the attached spa is at least from the 90's and the whole facility is quite small, the key factors are definitely right - the spa is clean, tidy and there is everything you need for having a pleasant time.

2012 - alpenglow

sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | f2.8 | ISO500 | 1/60

in the language of the currently extremely bashed instagram today's image could be definitely tagged with the string #nofilterneeded. today in the morning when i walked from the parking to the company area, on the horizon the alps were shaded in a strong, intense orange and the dark clouds above beautifully illuminated in purple and magenta.

anytime i'm going to watch this spectacle from a summit in the middle of the mountains.

1912 - crossing the cross

sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | f2.8 | ISO400 | 1/160

it's funny how things appear after getting multiplied with a transfer function. is the lady really walking with a luminescent umbrella? 

rain has a stimulating effect on me. sometimes when i have to wait for the end of tina's work day, i observe the people around the hospital. they often don't expect to be photographed so you can work calmly. today everybody's solely aim was to reach the rescuing entrance of the hospitals main house, except me. i intentionally stood out front and watched the hectic races of the visitors, nurses and doctors. great environment for a photographer.