Montag, 21. Dezember 2009

Visitors


This has been shot when we travelled along Australias east coast on Nov. 2007. It's a detail of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and I still like the image a lot. The five people are visitors that walk along the bridge - of course secured. We learned that it's a rather expensive adventure but still I think it would be fun to do it one day. I'm sure not with my wife, she's thinking I'm crazy.

From this angle the steel beams look really interesting and give a good feeling of height and how massive the bridge is. Added the people you have a good sense of scale. Surprisingly there are rare images of this kind around. People always like to photograph bridges in full view. I think they miss something.

As I sell some images to stock image agencies I was amazed to find out that this particular image has been used as a CD cover. Have a look here. Although it was cropped to fit the CD square format, it still looks good, I think.

Sometimes your are rewarded a way you never thought before :-)

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Dienstag, 24. November 2009

Island


While we were in the Tux valley I did a short walk in rainy weather to get some fresh air. As usual I took my camera with me - you never know what to find. Near some depots filled with heaps of shavings I found a rusty and weathered white container. Actually I passed that place many times and never noticed anything special.

Not until this day, the weather was not good and I had time to stray around. I inspected that container and found it was full of bright orange rust marks. So I started to shoot in macro mode and looked for unqiue and different abstracts of rust.

There were lots of them! The image shows a figure that resembles a flower, corn or and island. The black lines of the flaking paint are a wonderful detail. And the orange of the rust harmonizes very well with the bright white of the paint.

You can see more of the series here.

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Montag, 23. November 2009

Entry


After a while away from the Blog I will continue to show more images. I've just been too busy.

This photo has been taken at the entry to the Weitental valley which is located near Tux in Tyrol, Austria. Actually you have to hike upwards about one hour from the village of Hintertux to reach this spot. In the background you can see the waterfalls named Schleierfall. There's little water now because of the cold season. In summer there's much more water pouring down.

To get into the valley one has to follow the path through the gates and walk up a steep and narrow path on the right side of the waterfall. You can see the path on the upper part of the image where the hills form a "V".

Now in November there should be much more snow already. But this year it is a really warm fall season and we had 5 degree Celsius up to 3000m altitude! So you won't see much snow in this image, although there is some on the way leading up. Especially in the shadowy parts where there's no sun all day. The valley itself is covered on snow.

I followed the path up but I used my crampons to pass the snow and ice. When you have to pass a slope with a lot of inclination which is covered by frozen snow you know what I mean. It also feels much safer.

When I returned I rested at a bench right besides the wooden gates you see in the picture. Then I noticed this would make a great image and took this shot. It really works for me because of the combination of unusual angle and light contrasts. I also like how the waterfall is in the lower part of the image and so it's not the main focus. You also can see the primary colors for this season in the Alps: brown, blue and white. Soon it will all be covered in bright white!

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Dienstag, 13. Oktober 2009

Primeval Paradise


We're back from our vacation to the Seychelles Islands. Two weeks in tropical heat, strong sun, heavy rain and gorgeous scenery. We liked the islands, lots to see and explore and the landscape is really unique and beautiful.

The image has been taken on the famous beach Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue. We arrived on the island at noon and decided to walk to the beach (which took us about 1 hour). The weather was not so good and we already thought we would not be able to make good photos. Lucky us the sun broke through the clouds right as we arrived at the beach.

And you need sun to really appreciate the beauty of the rocks, beach and sea. The granite rocks are impressive and the water is crystal clear in the bright sun. The color of the sea shines from deep blue to a light turquoise. Of course there are a lot of tourists, you just have to wait for a good and undisturbed view.

Still it is not easy to get interesting images. I tried to find the right angle and composition to combine the rocks, the water and the blue sky to a perfect image. I think these settings works best when the motifs are reduced to "pure" lines, geometry and colors.

This image, for example, works for me because of the lines of the rocks and clouds. Both lines lead to the center of the image where then the pristine water is the main focus. And I even waited for a wave to come towards me ;-)

I will now work on the Seychelles images and probably will show more here. You can find all at my RedBubble site.

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Donnerstag, 17. September 2009

The last calendars for 2010

Here are the last calendars I created for 2010:

13 Animals























Black & White























Fields























Open

Mittwoch, 16. September 2009

Dienstag, 15. September 2009

More Calendars for 2010

Today I had following ideas for calendars:

Beaches























Dreamscapes























Textures
Some more calendars, I hope you like it:


At The Wall























Facades























Rocks

Freitag, 4. September 2009

Dreaming


As we stayed at Lake Weissensee this July, we had mostly bad weather. Lots of rain, clouds and chilly wind. No summer at all. But on some days the sun broke through and we could enjoy some time in the sun.

When crusing the lake with a passenger ship we always passed the shoreline and it gave me the opportuntiy to take this shot. First I tried to place the man in the lower part of the picture but then I thought it works much better when he's at the top. This way the title fits perfectly, a dreaming person floating on green water.

The reed also is a good addition, it even matches the green of the lake perfectly. Sometimes I'm lucky to find such a motif. It's hard to plan such an image.

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Dienstag, 25. August 2009

Pause


While walking down many steps towards our day target deep in the valley we passed farm houses and inns. In rural Nepal most of the goods are transported by porters and so we have seen many of them on our hiking trip resting and drinking.

It was hot and we've been walking for five hours already, so actually I only thought about a rest and some water. But I spotted this man and quickly grabbed my camera. Lucky me I managed to make a shot while he was pouring water out of the can.

After I put my camera away I thought how refreshing a drink must be now ;-) But soon we reached our target and I had some cool drinks by myself.

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Donnerstag, 20. August 2009

Drama


Just recently I meant I seldom photograph clouds - now I have done it again ;-)

But it was a lazy day, swimming, relaxing, daydreaming. And a thunderstorm passed by, we had luck and no rain came our way. But some clouds drifted in our direction and while I lied in the grass my eyes followed the spectacle high above.

Using the tele lens I took a series of images and tried to capture an interesting crop and some rays of light. Granted, most of the photos turned out boring, but that's a problem of - clouds. They are so common its hard to find an interesting motif.

But I think this is good, tweaking a bit with the contrast on the PC I got this "dramatic" cloudscape. The dark-to-white clouds and the light rays work very well. I also like the crop with the fluffy clouds framing the rays. And still there's enough blue sky visible.

I hope you like it, too. So I can try to get another cloudscape image - resting, being lazy, watching the sky and waiting for the motif... that's a good job ;-)

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Explorer


This was fun. On a sunny and hot day we went swimming to a lake and enjoyed a great day out. After a refreshing swim in the dark green alpine water I rested in the meadow and watched insects flying by. One of the flys stopped on our inflatable mattress and checked it for food. Unofrtunately for the fly the mattress was yellow and glowed in the sun, but surely it's not a flower.

After some minutes watching I decided to take some pictures. Using my tele lens at 300mm I got some good shots, luckily it was a bright day so enough light for the lens. None of the images was blurry and actually it was fun to lie in the grass and zooming onto that tiny insect just a meter away.

The result lookes much better on the screen than on my cameras display. It just seems to be a distant and different world, bright yellow and full of hills and valleys. The black fly is an explorer looking for signs of life ;-)

So I learned to watch out for everyday objects and especially in "Macro" mode. Combine the usual things you use with insects or some other small and tiny beings. Chances are good to get a great "outer world" image!

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Donnerstag, 30. Juli 2009

Regatta


Last weekend we did a short hike in one of our favourite regions, the Salzkammergut (Salt Lake District), it's a 1-2 hour drive from our place. We are often there because you have 76 lakes (large and small), lots of mountains and gorgeous villages. Being there always reminds us how beautiful Austria is...

That image shows Lake Wolfgangsee as seen from the village St. Wolfgang where our hike ended. That small town seems to be magnetic to tourists from all over the world. As usual we've seen dozens of Japanese, British, American, German, etc. people. All enjoying the scenery and the sunny day. These are the moments when I realize that tourism plays a major role in our countries economy.

Despite the bustle we had a nice hour strolling the alleys and having some ice cream :-) And while I licked my vanilla I spotted the bright white sails out in the lake. I noticed that actually it's a regatta taking place and right after finishing my desert I picked up my camera.

Now it wasn't easy to get good images, I can tell! The ships have been really fast, floating and turning quickly. Most of my shots weren't good because with a zoom (at 300mm) it's even more difficult to get sharp images when the object moves.

But finally some were good. The bright white sails make a fine contrast to the forest in the back. Also the ships form a row which looks good, too. And the glistering blue water shows what sunny day it was.

So again I was rewarded with a fine, unplanned image :-)

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Dienstag, 30. Juni 2009

Nobbys Head


This is the lighthouse at Nobby's Head in Newcastle, Australia. We walked there at the pier to enjoy the view and relax a bit from driving down Australias east coast. I like the image a lot, it has a great feel of the ocean and sunny day to it.

Actually I waited several minutes to catch the right wave for the image. I wanted a good white wave in contrast to the green sea. It turned out that the wave also forms a fine arc and fits well to the lines formed by the rocks and beach. Also the clouds give depth and the colors are catchy.

As usual Sylvia walked ahead while I waited (we photographers are always behind), but it was worth the time. This is one of my favorite images I took Down Under.

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Samstag, 27. Juni 2009

Dreaming


A nice image, made while we rested on a short hiking tour in Salzburg in June. It was our last day of a three-day weekend when we walked a easy tour before driving home. This is on a summit at 2000m altitude which is easily accessible by cable car and then a 1-hour walk. So, actually we haven't been that tired, but it was relaxing to sit and watch.

After eating our picknick I noticed the colorful meadow which would make a perfect addition to Sylvia's boots and the mountains. In the next minute you could watch me lying on the ground and pointing the lens towards the shoes. Must have been funny to watch for the other people ;-)

It's a classical motif to integrate your hiking boots into a landscape shot. Look at any magazine or hotel brochure in the Alps. So it was fun to try it by my own. Although I think it is still work to make a series with models and pros. It was more fun for me.

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Mittwoch, 24. Juni 2009

Duo


This has been taken at the Great Barrier Reef, a one hour trip with a ship from Cairns. It was our first or second day in Australia and we did a cruise to the world famous reef. There we snorkeled and enjoyed the day swimming and relaxing. Many people were on board and so in the water. So when everybody jumped into the sea I waited and grabbed my camera. Sometimes you get a fine image unplanned ;-)

This couple was swimming among all the others, I managed to get a shot of the two alone. In the evening in our hotel I checked the images of that day on my laptop (yes, I took a PC with me, but mainly because my company urged me to do so. I had to contact the office every 2-3 days and help get problems solved). Only on the laptops screen I noticed that both swimmers make the same movements that second!

When I look at the picture today I have to think about how couples or pairs often walk in the same rythm. It's funny to me that even in water the same synchronization occurs.

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Samstag, 20. Juni 2009

Anticipation


Of course we went to see the Opera House when we stayed in Sydney in Oct. 2007. Early morning we've been the only ones that wanted to do a guided tour, that way we got our very own tour guide ;-) We walked through the building and got all the special things explained. Very nice tour and a friendly lady that told us many things.

Taking pictures inside the Opera House is limited, especilly no one is allowed to make photographs of the concert hall when there are people on stage. Even then, when it's stagehands that prepare a concert. So I was allowed to make a shot when all workers left the stage for a moment, but of course it was way too dark and with ISO 800 setting the resulting image was noisy and not worth showing.

But in the rest of the building we could take pictures occasionally and so I tried my luck on the steps with that red carpet. The curves/lines and the shadows made it interesting to me. The abstract and minimalistic feel is very nice.

I'm sure you can find such stairways and carpets in any theater building or concert hall all over the world. So next time I have the opportunity I will look for these gems and hopefully there won't be any people walking on it and the light will be good ;-)

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