1206 - rebellion of the kids

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 28mm | f4.0 | ISO400 | 1/160 | lightroom 4

it's not what you say but how you say it. the tone of a few rebellious kids we observed in santa maria navarrese was questionable. but i want to let them get away with their rebellion - growing up and all that goes with it need strength and the ability to assert oneself.

cu, trshptr 

0306 - ladies at their best

setup: sony nex 7 with fujian 35 f1.7 | 35mm | f1.7 | manual focus | ISO1600 | 1/20 | +1.7ev | high contrast monochrome jpg | cropped and optimised in lightroom 4.1

time flies, on a large and also on a small scale. it's been round about seven years that tina's best friend jeen visited us in hamburg for the first time. it's all water under the bridge.

but time flies in microcosm, too. just arrived some blinks later the weekend and their flying visit are gone again. nevertheless we four had a great and impressing time with talking, laughing, eating and drinking, sightseeing, boating and fortunately a bit sleeping. there's a reason for that: tina and jeen are a bit like chalk and cheese and jeen's boyfriend is simply a terrific choice, we and especially i really enjoyed the time with him.

even if today's picture's technical implementation can be allocated to the "fun and imperfection" - category, i really go for the moment i captured with my fujian toy lens: today i wanted to play around with the high-key effect for what i overexposed the ladies sitting in front of a window by round about two exposure values, using the high contrast monochrome mode in my nex. afterwards while post processing i raised the exposure and the different values for black and contrast once again in lightroom. it's a first high key attempt, not more, but i like it! whereas this might be down to the wonderful ladies...

cu, trshptr

3105 - private peek

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f8.0 | ISO200 | 1/100 | lightroom 4.1

in regions with an appropriate social base money is not to be sniffed at. especially the area north of the alps and the lake constance profits clearly by its inherent natural beauty. the amount of money that is received in this way flows mainly back directly into the communes.

you can see this circumstance in any issue of daily life. one noticeable topic is the structural condition of the (most of the old) buildings in the historic townscapes. if you use f.e. the view of the cities in the east of germany as reference for comparison you will find a lot more derelict houses than here in suedbaden. so far, so good.  this comes as no surprise.

but what does that really mean? it seems to be a kind of vicious circle for the affected regions regarding different aspects: either tourists or qualified employees are attracted, therefor their money flows into other regions. so the communes have no funds to modernise their infrastructure, their townscape and so on. which means that everything remains as it is. unfortunately i know this phenomena from different regions of germany, among others my homeland.

the region of the linzgau was never affected by this vicious circle. the historic townscapes are in most cases proper, neat and tidy, even more than 300 years old houses like ours are in a good condition. way back when the municipal administration of our commune bermatingen had understood that buildings like the eichenhof have a great appeal with the tourists and therefor their money.

of course i rejoice at our home, it is individual, full of character and it's a pleasure to live here. i hope you enjoy the private peek, too.

cu, trshptr

2405 - faked fisheye

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO1600 | 1/40 | lightroom 4

with today's photo i kill two birds with one stone: you get a glimpse of my lovely bathroom and also without a vivid fantasy you are able to get an idea of my simple hairstyle. i took the picture immediately after leaving the bathtub.

while you are passing judgement on the technical implementation of the shot (f.e. regarding focus) and on the seeming length of my nose, please have consideration for the crowning of the shower head... ;-)

cu, trshptr

1705 - breaking the habit

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 55mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/200 | lightroom 4

although today is father's day and actually all the wives, girlfriends and sisters should be ignored, i'm very happy that currently - at my birthday weekend - my father, his wife and my little sister nadja are paying a visit to tina and me at lake constance. for this reason it is really no problem for me to break the habit of strolling about with my guys on father's day.

the five of us had a wonderful day at the lake in ueberlingen in prime weather conditions. nadja was positive flustered the whole day. her brother, the beloved tina, the sweet kitty nila and the big lake - she is a water fool - the sum of these impressions was almost too huge for her capacity. at the moment i'm writing these lines she is already out for the count since two hours. don't worry, nadja: we all have had the experience of being fagged out while being unaware of this circumstance in our youths. finally the sleep of the just relativises your impressions.

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

1305 - quality and passion

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 49mm | f5.6 | ISO200 | 1.6s | lightroom 4

today afternoon i was up for an extensive music listening pleasure. i would like to describe two different perspectives on the topic.

the head:
technics assures quality. since my uncle had given me an understanding of loudspeakers, amplifiers and sound sources i am very interested in acoustical engineering. for that reason i have studied mechanical engineering with the area of specialisation mechatronics and acoustics and in autumn i will begin a further education study - designed as distance learning - with the topic computational engineering in berlin - i'm looking forward. i want to be forearmed when my time at lake constance has passed and i'm going to return back to acoustics - maybe in 2014.

to assure appealing sound quality i own a good and proper equipment, maybe further details will be the topic of future postings. beforehand i would like to recommend the company nubert: the value-for-money ratio of their loudspeakers is outstanding.

the soul:
music is passion. enthusiasm catches everybody up that opens up to its energy. music is a permanent feature of my daily life. my favourite radio station fm4 from vienna is on constantly and if it isn't i permanently look for new music at spotify. additionally tina and i as often as possible visit concerts and festivals, this year probably the southside festival and the rock am see festival.

above all i have the liability to depressive music. music can't be too sad for me. even though it may sound unusual - many a time i'm overwhelmed by a special transient mood so that i just can't help it and indeed the music makes me cry. for me this is a cathartic process.

music is passion. among others it is my passion.

cu, trshptr

2604 - play with us

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

besides salamanders you can find dogs everywhere in sardinia. many landowners use them to protect their property against unwelcome visitors or boars. in the scene of the picture tina was being investigated by five  (!) cute dogs simultaneously. only at the first appearance she seems to be a little bit peeved.

1604 - master painter

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 34mm | f4.5 | ISO800 | 1/30 | aperture priority | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4 

today i have brought - as the word is in germany - colour into play. this is a saying for making the things more interesting. besides this saw directly matches with the words you would say if a soccer player is straightly red-carded.

in my case today colour was brought proverbially under the skin - although today it was all about black, i exceptionally count this manifestation among the colours. in the early evening i had an appointment with konrad k., the tattooer of my confidence and owner of the studio xxxl-tattoo. as always we were in an animated conversation while konrad was smartening me up. today's subject was the tree of life, a symbol that signifies infinity, at least for me.

being at the tattooer is maybe comparable with a woman's appointment at the hairdresser. the customer has to trust the service provider blindly. at this moment you are at the contractor's mercy. a relationship of trust comes into existence only when the provider reveals its innermost thoughts. this state konrad and i had already achieved some sessions ago - most of the women vibe with their hairdressers directly after the first prosecco, too. konrad is a thoroughly honest, straightforward and positive guy from warsaw (pl) that by the way is a great tattooer. he is my master painter.

the pic was shot by me, hand-held, the left arm outstretched. it was one of round about twenty attempts. the focus is on konrad's hands.

cu, trshptr

1104 - moonless night

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 25mm | f8.0 | ISO100 | 15s | aperture priority | multiple triggered with android application dslrcontroller | raw files cropped, aligned and processed in lightroom 4

urban abandoned places at night have a great appeal with me. see that i had to cater anything for dinner this evening, an urban self-shot was obvious.

while i was driving around the town i was on the look-out for a moody place where i could capture a frozen long-time exposed, depressed shot of a small being in the middle of impressive architecture. really no easy statement of task in the middle of nowhere but i'm not going to lower my sights until i hit the wall. satisfaction implies stagnation.

in my opinion except a little light scattering in the lower middle the picture turned out very well. it shows the educational center of markdorf that was built in 1972. i love the architecture of the 70s with its straight lines, strict symmetry, the plain facades and the primary structures made of metal. it is simple and timeless. and if you put an outlined, shadowed person in the center of attention and illumination, your composition becomes clearer and more consistent. a picture turns into a story.

cu, trshptr