0307 - sea level from above

July 05, 2012 in 30, b+w, beach, coast, fun, grey, lagos, landscape, minimalistic, nature, nex 7, people, portugal, rest, sea, shore, sigma, sony, summer, wave

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f8.0 | ISO100 | 1/800 | lightroom 4.1

before we leave the algarve towards lisbon besides surfing a bit of landscape exploration had to be done, too. after we visited the north of portugal with the regions around porto, aveiro, figueira da foz and peniche whilst the second of our last year's surf trips with their long and flat beaches for this year we expected a rocky and mountainous shore and more clayey soil.

and we weren't disappointed by the south of portugal: along the seaside we were walking for round about three hours from porto de mos to dona ana. it was a constant up and down with the view of beautiful postcard pictures.

despite everything i was especially taken with the special angle of the view on the things on the sea level. it was a bit like flying over the shore and observing the activities from this special position.

cu, trshptr

0207 - parallel running

July 03, 2012 in 50, art, b+w, bruno guerreiro, contrast, eyes, face, glass, lagos, light, nex 7, night, pattern, people, portrait, portugal, sel, shadow, sony, street

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.8 | ISO1250 | 1/80 | lightroom 4.1

many things in life run parallel. love and hate, black and white and also things that aren't that contrasting like occupation and vocation. not everybody is able to unify occupation and vocation. a great many people only work to earn the necessary amount of money to ensure the life standard and actually fulfil their selves in spare time with any hobbies.

by pure chance i met bruno guerreiro, a portuguese photographer, in the historic town of lagos today in the evening. he approached me because of my camera equipment and in so doing we got into conversation about photography and anything else. he's going to exhibit some stuff in the cultural centre of lagos starting in the middle of july. i entrust a visit of his exhibition to everybody who lives or is currently for holidays in portugal: http://brunoguerreirophotography.pt.vu

like the great many people i spoke about in the first paragraph he is also not able to earn his bread and butter with his photography but it is his passion and his heart is really in it. it was really nice meeting you, bruno!

cu, trshptr

0107 - flagged

July 03, 2012 in 50, architecture, art, colour, flag, lagos, light, nex 7, night, pattern, portugal, red, reflection, sel, sony, stairs, street, texture, townscape, urban

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.0 | ISO400 | 1/20 | lightroom 4.1

till wednesday everything revolves about surfing. so at present there is hardly time for other activities because after three hours of surfing you are simply dead.

after a restful sleep of minimum six to seven hours you have to breakfast extensively to accumulate an adequate amount of energy for the first lesson. after the transfer to the surf sport monte clérigo near aljezur at the west coast you complete your equipment and before the action restarts in earnest. three hours of surfing that are divided by a break of round about one hour for lunch.

in the evening we are completely starved and exhausted so much that after another extensive meal in the historic town of lagos in the most cases the next way leads us directly into bed. anyhow one or another photo opportunity falls to me. probably i'm going to zero in on photography in lisbon again.

cu, trshptr

3006 - scepticism

July 01, 2012 in 30, air safety, blue, chaos, cloud, eyes, face, flight, hair, light, mirror, moment, nex 7, people, portrait, reflection, sigma, sky, sony, trip

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

today in the evening we fortunately landed safely in portugal after we had to stomach a very turbulent flight from memmingen to faro. i've never seen clouds like that, 6 to 8 kilometers high cumulus clouds were piercing through two to three layers of cirrus clouds. we really had an unbelievable view through the windows. sadly the employees of the airline had forgotten to clean them, so no picture of this spectacle turned out really well.

anyhow the little lady in front of mine marveled at the view, so please think your way into her mind by interpreting her facial expression.

cu, trshptr

2906 - among the others

June 29, 2012 in 50, agriculture, blossom, bokeh, cereal, corn, countryside, field, flower, germany, green, landscape, nature, nex 7, sel, sony, summer, sunflower, sunset, yellow

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.0 | ISO100 | 1/800 | -0.7ev | lightroom 4.1

tomorrow we will depart germany towards portugal. a few days of surfing will be combined with a roadtrip along the southern west coast to lisbon. for that reason today we were enjoying our spare time after work before we will have to leave our home: besides some hours of chilling in our yard under the sun umbrella in the afternoon tina and i had a long walk through the fields around our village where we played hackysack and badminton and watched the sunset till the mosquitos began to eat us alive.

when you observe the edges of the fields attentively you can sometimes spot special sceneries of the vegetation: at odd times a complete different breed is arrayed among the others. similarities to real life can't be denied.

cu, trshptr

2806 - that's it

June 29, 2012 in 50, action, b+w, bokeh, contrast, eyes, face, germany, hair, immenstaad, moment, nex 7, people, personal, portrait, public viewing, sel, smoker, smokers´ corner, sony

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.0 | ISO800 | 1/80 | lightroom 4.1

halftime. short break. time to catch a breath. time to have a cigarette, even for non-smokers. disillusion already at halftime.

yesterday italy operated simply more intelligent than our team. tactical clever, mersiless effectiv, simply great: for long periods they have played masterfully. despite a huge bunch of opportunities our attackers didn't bring about to net. and if you don't score you won't win.

now i wish the italian team the best of luck to beat the spanish. contrary to all other teams the italians have managed to improve their performance with each match. on sunday they will have to perform once again.

cu, trshptr

2706 - illuminated reception

June 27, 2012 in 30, architecture, b+w, balcony, building, countryside, door, germany, home, house, light, long-time exposure, nex 7, night, personal, sigma, sony, street lamp, texture, tripod

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f8.0 | ISO100 | 15s | tripod | lightroom 4.1

since today was a long business day with joint dinner afterwards, some sports had to been done, too, and the football match between portugal and spain seemed to have no end, i want to show you a part of our proximity with my daily posting. in the break between normal and extra time i've shot a couple of long-time exposed images of the entrance to our flat.

the entrance area is directly attached to the courtyard. we live downstairs: the illuminated window gives you an insight into our kitchen. it's truly a lovely place to live.

cu, trshptr

2606 - dead wood

June 26, 2012 in 50, agriculture, b+w, bokeh, book, contrast, germany, home, nature, nex 7, novel, pattern, reading, rest, sel, sony, still life, texture, tree, wood

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO100 | 1/640 | lightroom 4.1

tina is one of the old school - reading becomes accepted only on paper. printed matter is highly regarded by her, kindles are admired but fundamentally not used (yet).

"there are enough reasons against these items. what would for example be that they don't smell. or that i can't open a kindle up."
"yes, you can. use a cover and you will be able to open it up."
"but the smell..."

ok, a compelling evidence is nonexistent, but life isn't always logic and coherent. reading a novel has to do with dreaming and the medium has to transfer this atmosphere. so i can absolutely take her point.

for our upcoming surf vacation in portugal we bought a novel for each of us: tina is going to take jonas jonasson's "the hundred-year-old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared" along and i'm going to read mcgrath's "white heat". maybe i'll tell you more about these two pieces of poetry after the vacation.

since we ignore electronic reading material we put a direct strain on the nature - for the most part paper is made of wood. i don't exactly know what is worse for the environment: the complete life cycle of a handheld reader or the consumption of the at least renewable resource wood. my gut says that i'm currently on the correct side of the green conscience, even if only just.

cu, trshptr

2406 - chimichurri

June 24, 2012 in 30, blossom, colour, dinner, drink, eating, flower, food, germany, home, nex 7, pattern, personal, sigma, sony, spice, steak, still life, vegetables, wine

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

today we had dinner outside in the yard. nothing of note, but all parts of our meal could be prepared on the charcoal grill. for that reason with today's posting i'd like to bring the recipe of our dinner home to you.

asado beefsteak with chimichurri for 2 persons

meat
- 2 entrecóte steaks (250g)
- pepper from the mill
- sea salt

chimichurri
- 1 scallion
- 1/2 bundle parsley
- 2 fresh branches thyme
- 1 handful oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 to 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tea spoon of sea salt
- 1/2 tea spoon of black pepper
- 1/4 red paprika or tomato
- 1/2 tea spoon of paprika powder, sweet
- 100ml olive oil
- 50ml red wine vinegar
- 50ml water

if you like the taste of beer pickle your meat in beer for 24 hours. at the start of the preparation take the meat out of the fridge minimum half an hour before the preparation, wash it with cold water and dab it dry. cut into the layer of fat at an interval of 2cm. necessarily use a charcoal grill, otherwise the meat wouldn't been flavoured as intended. grill the steaks medium, 3 minutes per side. afterwards wrap it in aluminium foil and let it rest at the edge of the grill for 8 minutes.

for the garnish use mortar and pestle to shred to dry ingredients. afterwards mix it with the liquids and let it rest in the fridge. brush the grilled and flavoured meat with the chimichurri.

enjoy your asado beefsteak for example with a grilled corncob with soy sauce.

cu, trshptr

2306 - torture ship

June 24, 2012 in 50, action, art, b+w, bodyart, contrast, exhibition, eyes, face, fashion, fetish, friedrichshafen, fun, germany, nex 7, people, portrait, sel, sony, torture ship

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f3.2 | ISO100 | 1/320 | lightroom 4.1

tolerance is a quality you have to work hard for. it seems to me that not everybody achieves this goal. today at the boarding to the fetish party on the so called torture ship where i sensed some interesting photo objects i again became aware of the parochialism of the people in germany. i had to hear dialogues like "yuck! despicable! but we watch them every year." and "kinkier!".

i don't want to live in a country where the people are insincere and mindless like that. the basic question that arises is who is perverse? the people before or the people behind the barrier?

cu, trshptr