Street-Photography

Keep Portland Weird
Keep Portland Weird

KPW | Portland | 2017           1/40 sec @ f/2.8 and ISO 200

After a six week hiatus I was back in Rose City this week. And amazingly, the weather matched the season, with some beautiful and warm summer days. Despite a fully loaded schedule I managed a small photowalk last evening, just taking my tiny Ricoh GR II that I had brought for this trip and doing a bit of walking through a mild Portland summer evening. I was looking for the famous “Keep Portland Weird” sign that I haven’t seen before, and that set the tone for the rest of my walk. For some more “weird” photographs from PDX continue after the jump… (more…)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Transient

Apocalyptic Bird

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge has the theme “Transient”. Sure I have photos of driftwood, of a poppy bud the moment it pops open. But then I thought that Street Photography is all about capturing transient moments of life. Attempts to preserve a short, fleeting moment of life, with all its stories behind. Each of these situations is fully unique, a snapshot of life that will never happen again, a moment in time as we and the ones we photograph wander through our lives. For my selection of images from transient moments continue after the jump…. (more…)

Instant Inspiration (19) – Tell your day in two photos
Road to America

Road to America | Portland | 2017

“Instant Inspiration”  is my series for you if you feel you suffer from “Photographer’s Block”  or simply want to shoot something that you have never tried. Or at least not recently. Read the posts, become inspired, take your camera, head out and have fun!

Episode 19 should inspire you to describe your day’s content with just two photos.

The idea to this inspiration came to me while on my “usual” Delta flight from Amsterdam to Portland. “Usual” ? Well,  despite having not travelled to Rose City in the past six weeks, this is already my tenth business trip to the USA this year, and we are not even at the half year mark. And in addition to this trip there will be minimum two more travels to PDX before my summer vacation. And I really like being in the USA. Since my days as an exchange student in Pennsylvania some 33 years ago,  I consider the USA my adopted second home country. I have been here countless times for travel and on business. And I liked each and every trip.

The thing is, this short trip is packed full of “road work”. I have meetings lined up from the moment of arrival until I step back on the plane for the return flight Friday afternoon. No time for photography this time. But thankfully there is the archive (I took the two photos during one of my last trips to Portland).

 

Road Work

Road Work | Portland | 2017

So how does your day look like? Try to capture it in two photos. Take your camera (or phone) and be creative! I’d love to see your photos – post a link in the comment section.

For all other episodes of my instant inspiration and many more photography tips visit my Learning Center

Have a good week!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Instant Inspiration (4) – Juxtaposition

Instant Inspiration (I) – Get Down Low

Instant Inspiration (11) – Change of Perspective

Instant Inspiration (12) – Playfulness

StoNur on the Road – One Night in Budapest
Lions Gate

Lions Gate | 1/13 sec, f/4, ISO 800, 14mm

I just returned home from a marvelous long weekend that I spend with my significant other in Austria’s “Mühlviertel”. During the trip home today we passed through the Czech Republic, visiting Unesco’s World Heritage Site in Český Krumlov (pictures are coming up). Which brings the total of visited countries in the last 7 days to 5 (Germany, Egypt, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic). And Tuesday I head back over the pond to Portland.

During last weeks business trip I actually had a free evening in Hungary’s capital Budapest, were I had the chance for 5 hours sightseeing (from 7pm to midnight). To see the photos and for a bit of history and information continue after the jump…. (more…)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus
Travel Love

Travel Love | Budapest | 2017

“Focus” is the theme of this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge from Word Press’ “The Daily Post”. I can meet the challenge with one of my street photos that I took just this past Tuesday evening in Budapest.

A photograph has to convey emotion, has to have heart and soul to capture the viewer’s imagination. It does not have to be technically perfect, it does not have to perfectly in focus. Sometimes, being a bit blurred can even add to the message of an image. When you look at the works of the masters of the genre, like Henri Cartier-Bresson or Elliott Erwitt, many of their iconic photographs are not technically perfect, but have an abundance of heart and soul.

This photo of kissing teenage travelers I took on Budapest’s famous Fischerbastei (Halászbástya) with the parliament building providing the background is for me such an example where the focal point of an image does not need to perfectly in focus.

I took the photo with my Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 14-150mm F/4.0-5.6 travel zoom, image specs are 1/10 sec at f/6.3 and ISO 1600, 63mm focal length.

Shooting with a relatively low shutter speed at 1/10 sec (due to the low evening light) my lens was not fast enough with the motions of the young couple. This is also a good example why leaving the camera in “P-Mode” makes so much sense. When you see a motive that attracts you just compose and press the shutter, without fumbling with the settings. Because capturing a possibly imperfect image that means something to you is better than no photo at all. It might not be perfectly in focus. But it can have heart and soul.

Have a great Friday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wanderlust

Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth

Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise

Check out my Learning Center with free tips and inspirations around photography

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Order

Muizenberg Bath Houses

This weeks Weekly Photo Challenge from Word Press’ “The Daily Post”  has the theme “Order”. Here are a few of my images that represent my various takes on the theme. To see them all continue after the jump…. (more…)

The End is Near
Thunder

Thunder | Camogli | 2013

No, don’t get me wrong, I’m not referring to the end of the world, just to the end of a summer day at the beach of Camogli on the Italian Riviera.

As a series of thunderstorms passed overhead Nuremberg today, I thought I post this one from the archives.

Camogli is an Italian beach paradise in Liguria, just a few miles east of Genoa, and just over the hill from Portofino, which was subject to yesterday’s post.

The photo was shot with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 with the mZuiko 14-150mm F/4.0-5.6 travel zoom. The RAW was shot at 1/320 sec f/9 and ISO200 at the wide end of the focal range. I converted the RAW (that actually looked quite dull) to B&W in Lightroom. I opened up the shadows, increased clarity, played with graduation curves and increased the reds and oranges in the image, bringing out the detail in the buildings. To finish of I sharpened the image, introduced a bit of grain and added a vignette.

If you are looking for tips and inspirations around photography, visit the Leaning Center of this blog, by clicking on the link. It is also accessible from the top menu.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflecting

A Valentine Sunset

Instant Inspiration (11) – Change of Perspective

Instant Inspiration (18): Alternative Portrait
Father and Daughter

Father and Daughter | Hamburg | 2017

This is a very alternative portrait of my big girl and me. We were riding the metro train in Hamburg on our way to see the “Lion King”. I took this shot with my iPhone. Have you ever thought about shooting portraits of loved ones or friends in a very different way?

Take your camera (or phone) and be creative! I’d love to see your photos – post a link in the comment section.

For all other episodes of my instant inspiration and many more photography tips visit my Learning Center

Have a great and peaceful Sunday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

Instant Inspiration (16) – Dusk at the Ocean

Instant Inspiration (10) – Nocturnal Skyline

Instant Inspiration (5) – Puddle Shooting

Weekly Photo Challenge: Friend

Jeune et Heureux

This weeks Weekly Photo Challenge from Word Press’ “The Daily Post”  has the theme “Friend”. Here are a few of the street images that perfectly symbolize friendship for me.

Friendship is one of the greatest gifts of life and we all need to make sure we cherish it. Have you called an old friend lately? Pick up your phone and do it. One of the great treats of true friendship is that it is timeless. It doesn’t matter when you have last spoken. You start talking, cherishing to hear your friends voice, and it is as you have just spoken yesterday. Let’s all be inspired by this weeks photo challenge…..

For a few more friendship images continue after the jump… (more…)

Perfect Imperfection
Cuddly Protection

Cuddly Protection | 2017

This capture of an intimate moment between father and son is not a perfect photograph.

I took this photo late in the evening in a dimly lit street cafe. It was a difficult situation to focus in as there was just not enough light. Aiming and shooting quickly the auto focus did lock on the contrast rich edge of the toy tiger in front of the two main subjects of the photograph, resulting in their faces being thrown out of focus due to the long focal length and the wide open aperture of f/5.6 at the far end of my zoom range.

I took only this one shot, as a second later they changed their posture and that intimate  moment was lost.

Missing the focus makes this technically a failed image. Is it a failed image? I think it is not. A photograph needs to have heart and soul, needs to carry a story. It’s contents over form. A technically flawless photo isn’t any good if it’s missing heart and soul. If you study the work of the masters of Street Photography like Henri Cartier-Bresson or Elliot Erwitt, you find many of their great photography are technically imperfect images. But they carry a strong story.

So my advice is press the shutter when you see something that touches your heart and your emotions and worry about the settings later. Having perfect settings or a perfect focus doesn’t help you when the moment is lost.

The photo was taken with my OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 14-150mm F/4.0-5.6 travel zoom, image specs are 1/13 sec @ f/5,6 and ISO 1600, 120mm focal length.

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

Have a great Wednesday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

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

Finding your photographic style

Stay Interested !

Have you checked out my learning center for all my photography related tips and inspirations?