2509 - shutter island

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/640 | lightroom 4.1

sometimes in life you determine similarities between real life and stories that only exist in your mind. these can be stories from books, movies or also your own, personal dreams. today we've acted in a movie, of course a very great one.

besides the central, main cinque terre there are also villages and places in the region of liguria that are worth the journey and visit. today we had a look at porto venere, a very beautiful little town directly next to la spezia. additionally we had a long walk on the offshore isola palmaria, one of three islands next to porto venere, that seem to be reincarnations of the shutter island, a prison island (and identically named terrific film with leo do caprio) from hollywood.

there were different hints why shutter island is a suitable comparison to the isola palmaria: we heard some very loud gunshots today, walked along a few old massive bunker, saw many very old power lines, that have their origin in different fenced off areas, the abandoned island is characterised by high coast and of course there is a lighthouse. in the night it could have been really frightening staying on this island, but fortunately we visited the wonderful island at daytime.

funnily we were heaving a sigh of relief when we finally spotted the church san pietro of porto venere on the opposite mainland where the taxi boat dropped us off another hour later.

cu, trshptr

2109 - blue rain

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

unfortunately today was already our last day in south tirol. there are definitely some points that we will miss in the second part of our holidays in liguria:

first of all we will shed tears over the wonderful ortler alps, that are simply feast for the eyes. during our today's walk to the rosimboden almost 2500 metres above the sea level we had a great view over the valley of sulden across the huge kings of the ortler alps - the koenigsspitze, the zebru and the ortler itself. of course i've captured this absolutely idyllic postcard view in a panoramic photograph. to marvel at the three mountains in its perfect beauty in the described order from left to right please click here.

marginal note: the panorama function of the nex 7 works very, very well in good light conditions. as for me there's no need for wider lenses in this cases!

the second fact that we'll probably miss in liguria is the wellness world of our hotel. our guesthouse is very clean, tidy and beautifully furnished and the spa is supposed to be completely modernised. a sauna, a steam bath and a whirlpool complete the regeneration after a long day in the mountains. a special gimmick in the wellness area is the terrific rain shower that is illuminated in blue colour and spreading a fresh fragrance at the push of a button.

the sight is conveyable, but you have to fancy the smell.

cu, trshptr

0809 - summer relapse

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f3.2 | ISO100 | 1/4000 | lightroom 4.1

earlier than expected the summer is back for a late summer interlude. yes, this weekend was supposed to be an active outdoor weekend but we couldn't calculate on such prime weather conditions. even better that we've had almost 30 degrees and bright sky today again.

whereas tomorrow the upper sections of our bodies will be strained by an outdoor climbing session in the danube valley today extensive hiking was due. we visited the marienschlucht, a ravine on the steep bank of the western end of lake constance. we walked almost 20 kilometres, half of it along the waterfront and the other half through the fabulous woods of constance.

of course our feet were glowing when we finally arrived bodman after our hike again. so why shouldn't we use the late afternoon for no resting and cooling down in the fresh water?

cu, trshptr

3108 - home time

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f13.0 | ISO100 | 5s | tripod | lightroom 4.1

finally it's home time. tomorrow we'll visit the local rock music festival in constance which will take up our whole day and night. the weather forecasts are very bad, it'll probably rain the whole time. so what? we'll be prepared. unfortunately  the camera has to stay at home for that reason.

also the last employees had already left the offices when i took the night shot of an interesting facility in markdorf. maybe tomorrow there will be some of them among the 25.000 visitors.

cu, trshptr

2708 - summery enjoyment

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f5.6 | ISO100 | 1/500 | lightroom 4.1

at odd times the actual state of our living conditions passes through tina's and my mind: fortunately we are able to enjoy the four seasons in a region where the most of the germans (and also a lot italians, dutch people, polish and other europeans) want to go for holidays.

the lake, the mountains, all the boats and (sometimes even) the foreign people mix to a great pleasure. being only half an hour on the lake in the evening compensates almost a whole exhausting work day.

today we've played the joker again and faded out the time at work with a relaxing cruise in a pedal boat.

cu, trshptr

2408 - edge transition

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f5.6 | ISO320 | 1/80 | lightroom 4.1

sometimes the assessment of the current situation depends on the perspective you are looking on the issue.

going to school was almost always boring and annoying at school days. now, 10 years after the graduation, school (and study) days seem to be prime of life. i think you might know many of these constellations.

today's transition was a whole lot simpler: with an angular view on straight objects like the colour-framed windows of the quiescent-looking school of friedrichshafen - there are still holidays in south germany - square shapes shift to parallelograms.

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

1507 - preparation

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.0 | ISO500 | 1/80 | lightroom 4.1

one time a year an open-air cinema event is conducted in our small village bermatingen. a visit to a movie is nothing out of the ordinary, but an open-air cinema is always somewhat special. we got excited about this special kind of event already in our youth, because one of the few drive-in cinemas is located only a few car minutes from our hometowns and we have been there many times in our youth, by car and also by bicycle.

an open-air movie enjoyment is completely different to an indoor session: anyway it is especially cosy, the people are allowed to smoke and if the weather is suitable you can see the stars in the sky. and if the movie is as good as the yesterday's one - "intouchables" was shown - everything is inherently consistent.

as a sideline i have observed the preparation work of the operator of the movable cinema equipment some minutes before the event started. the used system still works with film roles that had to be fixed in the projector. of course the operator managed this task very meticulous and experienced.

cu, trshptr

1407 - spanish folklore

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f2.0 | ISO400 | 1/120 | -0.3ev | lightroom 4.1

open air music, some beers and the setting sun - that's how an evening at the weekend should be. and if the music is spanish folklore and the beer tastes fresh and delicious, it would not have taken much for completing the vacation feeling.

unfortunately i don't know who the two guys are that made music yesterday afternoon near our home, but what i know is, that they are really good at playing their instruments and conveying the local mood of the iberian peninsula. thank you for the pleasant evening!

cu, trshptr