1311 - still upright

setup: sony nex 7 with walimex pro 8 f2.8 fisheye | 8mm | f4.0 | ISO800 | 1/60 | cornerfix & lightroom 4.2

the lights are often harsh in november and the temperatures decrease constantly, all the contrasts get harder. the falling and especially the already fallen leaves give a premonition of the coming winter.

only a few leaves are still solidly attached to their mother plants. mainly the small plants that have enjoyed the protective shield of the conifer wood treetop all year still resist successfully against the ordinary course of things. from their points of view they appear not that small as they really are what might empower their war of resistance again. but in not too distant future they, for sure, will shed their last bright, yellow leaves, too.

cu, trshptr

2710 - plumed visit

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO200 | 1/160 | lightroom 4.2

tina and i take care of animals in the same way like we respect humans.

this fact finds expression for example in our direct environment: besides our own cat we sometimes look after the kitties and dogs that live in our yard, too. additionally to that tina donates a little sum to an animal welfare organisation.

i for one try to help all the beings in my direct surrounding. for that reason i started to feed the birds in our yard since a few days again. corresponding the first spit of snow fell today and the first soil frost is said to appear in the coming night. i'm pretty sure that the eurasian nuthatch of my today's pic is very pleased with the delicious seeds that we usually serve.

on bad weather days like today the observation of approach and departure of the beautiful european birds is more amusing than watching a movie in the home cinema and a welcome variation to my learning periods.

cu, trshptr

2010 - mist man

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f4.0 | ISO100 | 1/320 | silver efex pro for lightroom

the main reason for my current trip to spain is the participation in the international march of the iml here in barcelona. 

on two days, saturday and sunday, the walkers have to manage routes of different lengths and difficulties. my mate martin and i decided to choose the longest one (30 km) for today and 20 kilometres for tomorrow. today's walk should lead us to the great forests in the north of barcelona, whereas the route on sunday will guide us through the whole city with all its splendid sights. so the necessary variety during the walks of four to six hours is definitely given. 

the weather forecasts predicted very cloudy and misty conditions what is basically not bad for a march. unfortunately there should be also a lot of rain. a spain walker told us that the current conditions with visibility ranges below 30 metres are very unusual for the region around barcelona. also because of that the humidity is currently far above the normal level i know from the iberian countries. 

luckily there was no noticeable rain today. well, the heavy fog was omnipresent but even conducive for a great atmosphere while walking through the catalan woods. the predicted heavy rain showers will allegedly occur tomorrow, the related thunderstorms will already start in a few hours. a red weather warning was issued. hopefully it will be not that bad.

cu, trshptr

3009 - green(stuff) swan

setup: sony nex 7 with fujian 35 f1.7 | 35mm | f1.8 | ISO100 | 1/320 | lightroom 4.1

autumn has definitely arrived. there are a variety of indications that the late summer atmosphere is also gone now. the temperatures fall from day to day and wetness makes the already not very comfortable temperatures feel like a half onset of winter. the people head out to collect mushrooms in the marshy forests and today we were following the current trend, too. our yield was satisfying although we are still checking at the moment if each of them is edible - i really don't want to spend the night in the hospital.

furthermore the season of pumpkins and stews is ongoing. the healthy food points, as a reader of this blog had named the self service food stalls that you can find on the street in the region of lake constance, have adjusted their choice of products to autumnal vegetables - different kind of pumpkins are dominating the display.

anyhow a few of the pumpkins will survive as inviting and observing marginal figures.

cu, trshptr

1909 - making a dive

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

sometimes it occurs to me that living at the edge of germany may be a privilege, too. only three and a half hours of relaxed car drive to reach a vacation destination in the middle of south tirol almost 2000 metres above sea level is pure luxury. that's why we already arrived at half past two o'clock in sulden at the bottom of the huge ortler.

the weather was perfect - for a travel day in the car. rain, rain, rain, mist and fog. but - as you might know if you are a permanent follower of the blog - i really like moody weather conditions like that. so we took our backpacks and rain covers and strolled through the wet and dripping high valley. after a short walk we got to a wonderful coloured pond with also wonderful coloured and drawn ducks inside that made a dive for the rests of our pretzels.

a few hours and sauna visits later tina and i made a dive for a delicious dinner at our guesthouse. quite interesting how similar all the beings still are...

cu, trshptr

1809 - huh?

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f3.2 | ISO100 | 1/1250 | silver efex pro for lightroom

today was packing day. tomorrow morning we'll sally towards italy. first we are going to spend a few days of hiking in the ortler alps and afterwards we'll regenerate while relaxing by the mediterranean sea in liguria. we both are thrilled to bits. we simply can't get enough of travelling.

at the beginning of the week we took temporary farewell of kingston, the dog of our neighbours. during a long walk in the sunset we got over the the first vacation stress. haha, of course there was no stress yet, but prevention is better than clemency. dog walking with kingston is a real pleasure - he is attentive, mostly on orders and a big funster. he's a great companion although only a temporary one for us.

if there is any internet connection almost two kilometres above sea level i'll report with the daily pic from south tirol tomorrow.

cu, trshptr

0609 - rural parking

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO1600 | +0.7ev | 1/20 | lightroom 4.1

of course you might believe that you know everything about your local environment. and then one day you break the usual habit and suddenly you find your way into a completely new world.

after a great dinner in a nearby restaurant that is operated from a couple from the alsace we had an absolutely necessary after-dinner walk through the villages. thereby a neat timber-framed building that i'd never noticed at daytime attracted our unrestricted attention. not only the great illumination but also the in front of the house parked tractor cut a great figure. in my opinion this was a really suitable scene for a rural village portrait.

marginal note: today in the afternoon very creative thoughts appeared in my brain, funnily while i was hoovering - tina would say that i should do this more often. some interesting photographic ideas were shaped to concepts. there's more to come.

cu, trshptr

3008 - behind bars

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

keeping of animals is a sensitive topic. who gives the mankind the authorisation and permission to cage up animals of any kind? is it the evolution, our superiority? or is it outright ignorance?

every human being on this planet has to answer this question for itself. basically there are different reasons for keeping and caging animals and i don't want to kick off a huge discussion about the reasonableness of caged pets. only one question: dear lovers of nature and animal protection advocates, why is it okay for (the most of) you to cage up these wonderful horses?

cu, trshptr

2308 - ripening

setup: sony nex 7 with sel 50 f1.8 | 50mm | f1.8 | ISO100 | 1/400 | lightroom 4.1

weekend after next the wine festival of our village is due. today in the evening we went for a blow in the vineyards with kingston, the dog of our neighbours. the light came in in a shallow angle and pierced the leafs of the vines. funnily there was exactly one yellow-red leaf that shined out the bulk of green ones.

the stroll generated a thrill of anticipation to the festival where the different wines of the last vintages will be served. a year from now at the latest we'll see if this year's vintage will be as good as the last ones.

cu, trshptr

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