Reise

NYC Experience – Top of the Rocks
1 sec @ f/4 and ISO 200

View South towards mid-/downtown | 1.6 sec @ f/4 and ISO 200

In this episode about our week in NYC I want to take you up to the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center, called “Top of the Rocks”, just a few blocks to walk from Times Square. At 10:30pm there was no waiting line, so after showing our vouchers from the New York City Pass we could directly take the elevator up to the 67th floor, from where we enjoyed first views through glass panels (a bit protected from the cold winds), but then continued on to the open air viewing platform on the 70th floor. For a bit more info and some more photos continue after the jump…. (more…)

NYC Experience – Times Square
Times Square

1/8 sec @ f/8 and ISO 200

A great way to start a New York City experience is to visit the ever-bustling Times Square.  We started our evening with a great dinner at Tony’s Di Napoli just off Times Square, then headed to the New Amsterdam Theater at 42nd Street to see a splendid performance of Disney’s musical “Aladdin” (a present from the kids for The Signifcant Other). I was a bit concerned bringing my camera into the theater, but it turned out to be no problem whatsoever, as long as the cam stayed in the bag during the show, where photography was obviously not allowed. I needed to have it with me, as after the show we wanted to have our Times Square experience with a chance for me for some night photography. For the images continue after the jump… (more…)

Life in the Big Apple
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Red Tie |New York City | 2018

The post should be titled “Sign of Life from the Big Apple”. We’ve been roaming the streets of New York City for 5 days now. Initially I intended to blog each day, but gave up on it on day 2. Anyone surprised? The SD cards are filling up nicely now. You will get to see it eventually, promised! Also please bear with me not answering to comments or reading other people’s blogs, I will catch up on both once back home. So I will leave you just with a few street shots, as those need not much curating or processing. For a few more shots, what we saw so far and how happy I am with the gear I brought, continue after the jump… (more…)

My New York City Eye Opener
Eye Opener

Eye Opener | New York City | 2018

This is my New York City eye-opener from this morning, in the truest sense of the word. When I opened my eyes at 6:05am this morning, this is what I saw from my pillow. Our hotel room has floor to roof glass windows, and sure we slept with the curtains open, with the view of the downtown Manhattan skyline. I grabbed my E-M1 and squeezed off a shot through our windows at 1/5 sec, f/4 and ISO 200, to capture the magic of the pre-sunrise blue hour.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Empire State Building | New York | 2018

The debate was not really a debate. We threw some clothes on and took the stairs from the 12th floor (where our room is) to the rooftop on the 19th floor of our hotel in the Meetpacking District directly above the Highline Park. In the midst of a freezing morning (it was 32F / 0C) we enjoyed, all by ourselves, a magic Manhattan sunrise.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Rooftop Reflections | New York City | 2018

The rooftop has also a glass wall, in which I captured the reflections of the sunrise behind the midtown skyline (behind us) and the downtown skyline with the new World Trade Center. No double exposure, a single shot. 1/320 sec @ f/7.1 and ISO 200. Lens was the 12-100mm F/4 I brought along with my OM-D E-M1.

NYC Sunrise 6

Room with a View | New York City | 2018

I took this panorama with my iPhone from the roof, this is practically the same view we enjoy from our room, only without any window reflections. Isn’t this a million dollar view? Life is good! Today we head downtown to World Trade Center and the 9/11 memorial and museum.

Have a great Monday!

Marcus

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Travel Day (12)
White Whale

White Whale | Frankfurt | 2018

Travel Day once again, but this one is special. To find out why, continue after the jump… (more…)

A Photographer’s Easter Egg Painting
Mountain Forest

Mountain Forest | Lungau | 2018

Approaching Easter Sunday, The Significant Other and the Kids diligently colored some Easter Eggs. I decided to work on a photographic Easter Egg for myself, trying a technique I read about on the web but have never explored so far. For a bit of how to continue after the jump…. (more…)

Good Friday
Mystic Mountain

Mystic Mountain | Lungau | 2018

The Friday preceding Easter Sunday is Good Friday,  a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, and Black Friday. 

We are spending Easter at a very good friend’s house in the Lungau region in the Austrian Alps. Not really the place for Street Photography, but the opportunity to capture some monochrome landscapes.

The weather was not all that great, rather fitting for the subdued mood of Good Friday. While the kids took to the slopes, the Significant Other and I hiked up the Weißpriachtal along the Longa River. Readers of this blog might remember my post about High Contrast Landscape Photography, where I took some Ansel Adams like images on a sunny December day in the very same valley during an earlier visit.

Today there were only low hanging clouds, nothing spectacular to photograph, so we just enjoyed the hike. Only when returning, I took my Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the 12-100mm F/4 Pro Zoom out of my backpack and shot a few detail shots of what nature gave me. Kind of zen-like. Probably nothing anyone apart from me would look at, but really satisfying me as a visual artist. I will share these images tomorrow.

My photo of the day was that of the mountain above us, in a brief moment when the clouds opened up and gave us a vista of a moody mountainscape. Perfect for a Good Friday.

Image specs are 1/640 sec @ f/7.1 and ISO 200, focal length 100mm (equals 200mm full frame equivalent).

Wish you all a great start into a hopefully splendid Easter weekend!

Marcus

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Abandoned or Alone

Some thoughts on monochrome shooting

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NYC High Contrast Monochrome
Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty | New York City | 2010

Preparing for the trip to the Big Apple a week from Sunday, I was looking at some old photographs from my last visits in 2010 and 2012.

Just to play around, I was looking for some images with high contrasts, that I could convert to monochrome. All of those places (Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial / Top of the Rocks) are on our to-do list for our upcoming trip. The Significant Other even secured tickets to visit Lady Liberty’s Crown. Can’t wait!

Memories

Memories | New York City | 2012

Twin Towers

Twin Towers | New York City | 2012

Top of the Rocks

Top of the Rocks | New York City | 2012

All photographs were taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the mZuiko 14-150 F4-5.6 Travel Zoom. RAW and monochrome conversion in Lightroom CC Classic.

Have a peaceful Good Friday

Marcus

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Rise/Set
Etosha Sunset

Etosha Sunset | Etosha | 2017

“Rise/Set” is the theme of this week’s WPC from Word Press’ “The Daily Post”. This is a perfect challenge to send us all into a (hopefully) sunny Easter weekend. In Germany, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays, so we have a long weekend ahead. Time to spend with friends and family, time for some photography. To see some sunsets (and a sunrise) from my travels around the world, continue after the jump…. (more…)

The Beauty of Spring
Springtime Bellezza

Springtime Bellezza | Nuremberg | 2018

Another nice day is in the books, spring is coming with all might. The job that pays the bills is once more demanding all my time, but a long Easter weekend is just around the corner. Time to see friends and family, time for some photography. We’ll be heading down to Austria for the weekend, then four more workdays (and the 18th birthday of my Big Boy), and the Significant Other and me will be off for a week in the Big Apple.

I’m still figuring out all the great things we want/need to do, but then again, isn’t planning the trips just as much fun as actually doing them? Equipment-wise I want to travel light, the OM-D E-M1 with the 12-100 F/4 as all-round cam/lens combo, and the PEN-F with the 17mm F/1.8 for some light street shooting. That’s all. Maybe I bring the Lensbaby Trio and/or the WALIMEX Pro 7,5mm 1:3.5 Fish-Eye, two small lenses that easily fit in the bag. That’s it. Maybe I change my mind, maybe 😉

The photo was taken with the E-M1 and the 12-100 F/4. Image specs 1/2000 sec @ f/11 and ISO 3200. Yes, also this photo was affected by me not noticing the wrong ISO setting with which  I shot all afternoon. The Olympus handles ISO well, so no big deal in this sunshine  photo.

Have a great Tuesday!

Marcus

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