spring2life take2

Kugelbachweg, Bad Reichenhall

This is the first time that even an in-depth web search couldn’t give me the appropriate translation for the title of this post. “Überhälter” is a term used here in forestry, designing old trees that are left over on purpose in clear cuts, using their protective function for the young trees, but meanwhile also their positive effect for the biodiversity of these areas.

Paul-Gruber-Haus, Bad Reichenhall

Kugelbachweg, Bad Reichenhall

Kugelbachweg, Bad Reichenhall

Müllnerhorn, Bad Reichenhall

For my eyes, the green of young rice plants is the most beautiful I know, but beech leaves in spring surely come next. And, least I forgot, no touch of the saturation slider. I put an oath on it.

Müllnerhorn, Bad Reichenhall

Thumsee, Bad Reichenhall

The wallpaper for May is here for download. Enjoy!

Bayerisch Gmain, Bavaria

Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria

Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria

Bayerisch Gmain, Bavaria

Hopefully not too late as February Wallpapers, you find here a pastoral scene from Bayerisch Gmain, the neighbouring village of my hometown.

Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunisia

Blog note: This blog suffers since months from degrading performance, culminating in suspension of service because of allegiated overusage of ressources twice this week. I am taking the necessary steps and search for a better hosting. This consumes time however, and a solution probably will not be at hand within days. Please bear with me.

Hochschwarzeck, Bavaria

Preising, Bavaria

Hochschwarzeck, Bavaria

This goes with special regards to Chris, who stated that he doesn’t “trust air that I can’t see”. Enjoy and download as usual from here.

Hochschwarzeck, Bavaria

No danger for Dr. Faustus here, as lingering (by car) is forbidden.

Preising, Bavaria

Some weeks ago, we had a typical grey and misty November weather. I enjoyed it in spite of the cold fingers when dealing with the camera.

Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria

First of all: Thanks to all of your for encouraging words re. my epic failure in a competition. Of course my disappointmant was big at first, but meanwhile I am over it. I guess my images and the expectations of the jury were just in some parallel worlds – no meeting possible. As it’s now almost 01:00 in the morning I’ve postponed further responses to your comments until tomorrow, instead I found one image of a friendly fall landscape, taken last week only. For November, where cold and dreary and sometimes even snowy weather is to be expected, this pastoral scene looks almost too friendly, too inviting. But I enjoyed the warm weather and golden light, knowing that it’s only a question of time until the cold time will come and stay for long and dark weeks.

Hochschwarzeck, Bavaria

Steinhögl, Bavaria

Adlgaß, Bavaria

Adlgaß, Bavaria

Adlgaß, Bavaria

Frillensee is Germany’s coldest lake, and we are lucky that it did not fell prey to a ice rink planning already decades ago.

On another topic: This was not the only image I had set hopes in, but the only one where the lens was fully shaded by some trees. As I had neglected to clean the front glass from dust, three well composed images are just pixel trash due to dust and sunlight forming large bright spots. Note to self: take more care of the gear…

Marquartstein, Bavaria

Thumsee, Bavaria

Karlstein, Bavaria

The first cold autumn day with temperatures not much over 6° C makes looking at summer pictures a somewhat melancholic activity. But this one I like for its supernatural impression.

Wals, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

The wallpapers for August 2011 are available for download as usual from here. This scene mix of modern, sober walls and an almost pastoral idyll was recorded in the University of Salzburg, where I attended a conference on Geografic Information Systems.

Hammerau, Bavaria

Update: Following a conversation with Carl Weese, I created a new version of the first image, removing partially the color cast in the first image. To the right is the version posted originally, for comparison.

Only one day later, commuting home, the scenery had changed completely, when rain had washed away all romantic assets.

Piding, Bavaria

Aufham, Bavaria

Aufham, Bavaria

Despite the recently acquired LX3 I still do enjoy my SLR, like here with a long focal length. The two cameras instill different ways of photography, sometimes enforce them due to their limitations (namely composing on a display instead of a viewfinder, especially in bright light), but it’s not that one could rule out the other. And they both inspire me to look and to try and to see. What better could I say?

Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria

All my sympathy is with the people of Joplin, Missouri.

Thumsee, Bavaria

The weather was friendly, however with gusts of cold, continental winds, the water magic blue-green, almost inviting. Yes. One person dared to swim, but only one. No wonder, the water was 13° C/55.6 °F

Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria

Image courtesy of Gallery Stephen Hoffmann

This can happen: you walk to see a show in a gallery, and get greeted by one of Edward Weston’s “Pepper” images in the window. Ok, in this place, the gallery Stephen Hoffmann in Munich, it can’t be seen as unusual, but it is still astonishing, kind of a mild shock.

The other very positive surprise were Cara Weston’s images (You can get a good impression from her website): Very straightforward, technically perfect black and white photography, but with just the right amount of soul in the greatness of the exhibited west-coast landscapes to differentiate her way of seeing from the images of her father and grandfather (Cole resp. Edward Weston). Her “Waterfall And Trees” (here on her website) is a wonderful photography, a real landscape of a dreamscape, where you could ponder the question if that’s a fountain or a waterfall. For a German, these American landscapes have their own quality, as it is is almost impossible to find similar sceneries over here. I don’t fall in the trap of romanticising U.S. landscapes and landscape photography, but I certainly concede the attractiveness of Cara’s photography.

Also very agreeable was the mood in the gallery, complemented by a interesting conversation with the kind gallery owners. A clear recommendation if anyone happens to visit Munich. The Jerry Uelsmann show scheduled for April 2011 will certainly see me as a visitor.

February went by fast and with it the greater part of winter’s darkness is gone. But cold and snow remain here in Bavaria in spite of the sometimes strong sunlight and the intense colors, and this is what I tried to transport in my march wallpapers.

That image also marks the transition from my 2.5 months Sri Lanka image series to, again, pictures from my immediate surroundings. Here too the end of winter’s darkness helps: the days offer hours of light again even for an office worker, and do not limit me to night captures or weekend imagery any more.

Not from Sri Lanka, rather from a wintery and dark Bavaria, are the new Wallpapers for January available for download from here

Found in the woods adjacent to the bog with the hunting stand. Sometimes high tech units like this gas pipeline just matters to integrate with the natural surroundings…

Admittedly I am drawn to quiet color schemes, restricted palettes, harmonious forms. And I am always glad when I find it in landscape, being it rural or natural. I guess this is so because it is rare.

Sunday ended with a short excursion, one of the daughters with me. Talking a little bit, explaining to her an older film camera but also various plants and insects, and enjoying the last light of the sun, already hiding behind rain-filled clouds, but still providing a golden shine. Quality time, a reservoir for a week full of work.

And this is another aspect of landscape photography, not the grand scale, and not the glorious light and full creamy color. I recently had a conversation with Martin Storz of the public eye blog, and I would highly recommend to have a look at his blog and his take on ‘landscape’.