2208 - asleep in the woods

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f4.0 | ISO250 | 1/60 | -0.3ev | lightroom 4.1

forests calm me. always when i go into the woods i sense a mystical atmosphere. this mood is somewhat similar to the atmosphere in the mountains or at the sea: a huge, balancing and compensational power enchants and encases you. no matter what you have in mind - you will not carry weight with the forces of nature.

today in the evening i went back to a pond i'd spotted yesterday on my way home from a swimming round in the lake. the colour green dominated the whole scenery. what a nice single-coloured, natural subject.

cu, trshptr

2108 - entrance into new life

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f4.5 | ISO100 | 1/80 | +0.3ev | lightroom 4.1

it's safe to say that with marriage (at least a few) things change. the most people celebrate this transition with a huge multi-day party, usually they want to experience the best day(s) of their lives. subsequently the bride and the groom depart to the greatest journey they have ever planned...

well, this is the way the majority of the marrying people handles their weddings. not we. the documents were signed at half past 10 and in the afternoon tina went to work as usual. we didn't do many things different from normal days because we don't want our life to be different from before the marriage. it was great before this date and it hopefully will be also similar great after it. in our opinions great changes are followed by great disillusionment - of course exceptions prove the role.

for that reason till today we haven't trespassed the entrance into new life yet.

cu, trshptr

2008 - family

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f2.8 | ISO100 | 1/320 | lightroom 4.1

unfortunately we have a few issues with the topic family. it's not that we wouldn't get along with each other or wouldn't stick together - no, this all works brilliant.

the first problem is that both tina and my parents live separated. so the feelings of our youths will not arrive anymore. never again. but despite the divorced families we are now very satisfied with the situation of our parents because mercifully they are satisfied with their new life partners and lives, too. the second issue is the distance between the residences - you don't drive 550 kilometres every weekend if you want to live your own life, too. for that reason we sadly miss a lot of the growth process of our siblings.

my big sister maxi hits one growth spurt after the other. she is not far off being an adult female. take care of yourself, maxi! at least my heart goes out to you.

cu, trshptr

1908 - retro charme

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/400 | lightroom 4.1

now, on sunday evening, the heat wave is almost over. we had a wonderful weekend at our beloved families and extended the trip for another night. therefor we will have to get up at five o'clock in the morning to arrive before noon at our place.

while walking through the town crimmitschau - the village where my mother lives belongs to it - we have spotted a tuned and modified trabant 601. the trabant is a car that was produced by the former east german car manufacturer veb sachsenring in zwickau. it was by far the most common vehicle in east germany. more information about the trabant on wikipedia.

the crumbled wall, the renewed street and the antique car - this could have been a retro-style scene of a movie from the 80s but it actually is the real life in 2012 in the eastern states of germany.

cu, trshptr

1808 - orange wisp of cloud

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f7.1 | ISO125 | 1/80 | lightroom 4.1

some pics create the impression that they weren't captured by a camera but painted with a brush. today in the evening i have shot an incredible sunset over saxony while we were walking over the fields to view the horses' way to the paddock where they usually stay in the night.

it was already getting darker and we had to turn around and go back the same way to reach the restaurant in time for the dinner of my father's birthday party when the sky bloomed in the most wonderful orange.

cu, trshptr

1708 - morning glow

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO125 | 1/60 | -0.3ev | lightroom 4.1

today was an exhausting travel day - i picked tina up at half past six in the morning at the hospital - unfortunately she has had a horrible night at work with almost no sleep - and drove to my hometown werdau in saxony, where my father lives. he lends me one of his two cars for this weekend because the maintenance service is performed in my volkswagen. at half past two we finally reached our daily aim tina's grandma in thuringia.

it is great to see how zizou manages her new life. we spent the afternoon and evening with jawing, eating a great many grilled things and drinking (a lot). so to say usual family affairs.

the daily pic shows the misty sunrise that i have realised in the very early morning while i was driving to the hospital in friedrichshafen.

cu, trshptr

1508 - vista

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/160 | lightroom 4.1

the hottest weekend of the year is due. its harbingers are already visible and palpable: at 7 o'clock we still had 32 degrees, stuffy air and before the heat wave a heavy thunderstorm will approach, a few cumulus clouds are already visible on the western horizon. today my single aim was to go to the lake after work again and to take to the water.

i met tina at half past six at our favourite lake access and afterwards we chilled there till the sun had set down. many more emulated our deeds and plunged into the water. some others settled for being in the shade and looking at the many yachts that were harbouring in the bay.

cu, trshptr

1408 - firefighting operations

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

1308 - pomp and splendour

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f9.0 | ISO100 | 1/200 | -0.7ev | lightroom 4.1

the intermediate destination of my today's after work cycling tour was the splendid castle of heiligenberg. besides the cloister of birnau and the castle of salem "schloss heiligenberg" is one of the most famous medieval, architectural sights north of the lake constance. it was initially built in 1250 on a plateau more than 700 metres above the sea and almost 250 metres above the lake level and continuously enlarged. in 1559 the castle was rebuilt and remodelled in the renaissance style. with its famous hall of knights it hosts one of the most magnificent renaissance halls north the alps.

unfortunately due to the very misty weather conditions - i told you about the micro climate at lake constance - you can only see the lake and not the alps behind in the background, what would be theoretically possible on a day with foehn or low pressure and temperature.

cu, trshptr

1206 - garden-fresh harvest

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO125 | 1/60 | lightroom 4.1

i know what the saying "living from hand to mouth" rather implies: you are so poor that provisioning isn't quite possible because you need simply everything you can find for your daily ration. fortunately this state isn't appropriate for us, actually most of the people of the first world don't have this problem. everything is available almost everywhere.

nevertheless also in the industrial countries some people still carry on a kind of organic farming and grow products that are obtainable in stores and shops, too. vegetables of all kinds are grown, so for many recreational farmers a hobby is associated with a useful thing - your daily bread. regardless the use of the saying of the first paragraph is also suitable for them: provisioning isn't convenient because garden-fresh, natural products are easily perishable.

the topic is present in the first place because this week tina and i care for the kitties and the great many plants and vegetables of our neighbours because they are currently on vacation. since we are assertively allowed to pick their ripe harvest, i think there are worse jobs on this planet.

cu, trshptr