Month: March 2018

Travel Day (11)

Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier | Washington | 2018

My return travel to the Streets of Nuremberg got off to a bad start this morning, when just after 6am I got a text message from KLM that the flight from Amsterdam to Nuremberg tomorrow (Saturday morning) has been cancelled.

Well, let me guess, if KLM cancels a flight from their home airport 20 hours before it actually happens, it probably won’t be due to a malfunctioning aircraft or the weather (which will be fine, I already checked). Maybe because the flight to Nuremberg on a weekend morning had a low load, so it’s cheaper to cancel and cope with a few angry passengers?

Just speculating…..not the first time that happened to me…Lufthansa does that regularly with their short haul connections from Frankfurt or Munich to my city (but here I can get at least on a train). And we got already notified that Air France cancelled the originally booked morning flight Paris to Nuremberg in coming August when we return from our vacation in the Pacific Northwest on a Saturday morning. We get to wait an extra 10 hours in Paris before eventually being transported to Nuremberg on the evening flight….anyone seeing a pattern here?

Now you could argue that I shouldn’t complain as long as I eventually get safely home in one piece. But I’m just not looking forward to this 8 hour layover in Amsterdam when I could be home with the family. And to make things worse, I will need to go directly to an evening event in my clothes that I’ve been wearing for 28 hours by the time I land, because I won’t have time to head home to shower and change. Thanks KLM, much appreciated! And a platinum status card doesn’t help either….

On a brighter note, I got another nice view of Mt. Rainier while approaching Seattle. With the sun pretty much behind it, it was difficult to shoot, colors were dull, for that I already had a B&W conversion in mind when taking the photo at 1/2000 sec @ f/4.5 and ISO 200. Remember, when shooting out of an airplane window, make sure you use a wide open aperture to minimize degrading effects through a dirty or scratched window. Camera was my Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4 Pro Zoom.

Now I’m sitting in sunny Seattle waiting for my flight to Amsterdam to board. In the end all will be well. I hope!

Have a great Friday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Travel Day (6)

Street ? Airport ! (5)

Monday Mountains (7)

Around the World in 12 Days – Greenland

28

Hockey Fans

Fans
Fans | Portland | 2018

Strolling around the Rose Quarter, a sports and entertainment district located east of downtown Portland on the banks of the Willamette River, I saw a couple of Hockey Fans waiting in front of the Memorial Coliseum. This couple caught my eyes, so I walked up to them and asked them what game they are waiting for, as Portland doesn’t have a NHL team. So they educated me about the Western Hockey League, where hockey is played by young athletes between 16 and 20 years old. The league consists of  teams coming from Canada and and the Northwestern US. The Portland based team is called the Winterhawks.

Joan and Ron told me they like the passion with what the kids play the games, that it is a very laid back atmosphere at the games that, obviously, are much more affordable to watch than the high profile NHL games.

And after a very nice conversation they happily posed for a portrait.

Today is my last workday in the Rose City, tomorrow morning I head back home via Seattle and Amsterdam. Can’t wait!

If you want to pic up your camera and are looking for tips and inspirations around photography, be sure to check out my free Learning Center.

Have a great Thursday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Looking forward to the weekend

Rip City Experience

Instant Inspiration (8) -Make a portrait of a stranger

Street Photography Quick Tip 8 – Capturing Gesture

9

Snacktime

Lunchbreak
Light Snack | Portland | 2018

While standing on a parking lot trying to photograph a giant mural in downtown Portland last Saturday, I couldn’t help noticing this guy leaning on his car and munching a fully loaded sandwich he had just picked up from one of the food trucks across the street.

The reason I noticed him was because he had a good loud chuckle. So after snapping the mural, I walked up to him and asked him what was so funny. He pointed to a car still trying to maneuver its way into an empty parking bay, explaining it was his buddy who is just never able to properly park the car. I just replied that to some it is given, and to some it is not. And we shared a good chuckle together.

I thought he had an interesting face, so asked him if I could take his portrait. He thought for a second, than agreed without hesitation, and threw himself into this very serious pose. I just took two shots, and immediately liked this one with the tighter framing, after checking my camera screen to see if it was sharp. We wished us a good day and went our ways.

Just one of a few nice encounters I had with the people of Portland last weekend. More to come.

The photo was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-100 F/4 Pro Zoom. Image specs are 1/125 sec @ f/4.5 and ISO 200, 44mm focal length.

Wish you a great Wednesday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

A Street Photographer’s Dialogue

My Eric Kim Workshop Experience

Street Photography Quick Tip (13)

My little Portland Christmas miracle

20

Hiking on the Oregon Coast

Cascade Head Trail 09
Panorama from Cascade Head | Oregon | 1/500 @ f/11 and ISO 200 – 29mm focal length

My free weekend in the Pacific Northwest was kissed by an unusually warm spring sun, that brought record temperatures for this time of the year (we hit 70F today). Around 10am I left Portland for the 75 mile drive to the Oregon Coast near Lincoln City, arriving just after noon. The trail I selected for my Sunday hike was the Cascade Head trail. The trailhead is at a parking just three miles north from the intersection of OR18 with US 101, at the mouth of the Salmon River. For the photographs and some descriptions continue after the jump… Continue reading “Hiking on the Oregon Coast” →

59

A quick Sunday Movie Quiz

Passengers
Passengers | Portland | 2018

Used my free Saturday in the Rose City for some street shooting and shopping, before finishing off a relaxed outing with watching a great performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem by the Oregon Symphony in the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (next to the Heathman Hotel).

Endangered Species
Endangered Species | Portland | 2018

Both photos were taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4. Specs of the first image was 1/125 sec @ f/4 and ISO 500, 61mm focal length, the second image was shot with 1/200 sec @ f/6.3 and ISO 200, 100mm focal range.

While browsing quickly through my images this Sunday morning I found that the combination of two of yesterday’s shots make for a great movie quiz.

Can you guess the title? Leave your answer in the comment section.

After uploading this post I will head out to the Oregon coast for some hiking on the cliffs of Cascade Head. I really need to maximize my free weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Stay tuned for some photos.

Wish you all a great Sunday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

The Streets of Portland – Finally

Portland Sneak Preview

Ski the Volcano

Where the river meets the ocean

28

Rip City Experience

Rip City Experience 01

After flying into Portland on Tuesday and four intense work days, I finally got off Friday night and treated myself to something special, visiting my first ever professional basketball game. The opportunity was too good to pass up, as defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors came to town to take on Portland’s Trail Blazers, both currently in second and third place in the Western Conference. For my photographs of this memorable evening and some in game experience continue after the jump…. Continue reading “Rip City Experience” →

22

Travel Day (10)

P3069688 1080px
1/125 sec @ f/2.8 and ISO 200 – 17mm focal length

After a five-week stint at home it was back to business traveling today, taking my (usual) 6am flight from Nuremberg to Amsterdam and on to Portland for two weeks of project work in the Pacific Northwest. The five-week flying hiatus meant finally a new meal menu and also a bunch of new movies to watch.

During the early morning approach to Amsterdam Schiphol I took some aerials of the frozen coastal area of the Netherlands. And connecting through AMS airport I used the opportunity for some quick street (or rather airport) shooting. For all the photos continue after the jump…

Continue reading “Travel Day (10)” →

30

Weekly Photo Challenge: Out of This World

Dusk at Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park

“Out of This World” is the theme of this week’s WPC.  A place where I always feel detached from the hectic and challenges of this world is at the seashore, taking in the ever present magic light and the roaring surf of the big ocean.

Shooting becomes something truly meditative, I set shutter speed to about 6 seconds and click, moving the camera ever so slight, creative experiments with the impossible mission to transfer the sights and sounds of an ocean evening onto the sensor of my camera…..

Dusk at Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park

Dusk at Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park

Dusk at Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park

I wish all of you a great and relaxed weekend!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Elemental

Sunset at the end of the road

A Pacific Sunset

Street ? Beach !

34

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: